One man and his sea-plane

Samoans have a reputation of getting sea-sick every time they leave the seenritv nf leave ine security ot their lagoons. Therefore, one man and his air passenger service is pretty sure to have a steady market of dients to climb aboard his Piper Cherokee sea-plane and fly on American Samoa s only internal

flight Operation.

George Wray, boss of South Seas Airways, has one of the most curious flight services in the South Pacific.

His Pago-based South Seas Airways, a year old in July, has a daily service from Tutuila to Ofa and

Olosega in the Manuas, a twice monthly service to Swain’s Island and a serv ice “now and again” to the bird sanctuary of Rose Island Mr. Wray’s plane is the only one ever to have landed at these islands.

about* thtt.y

t 1 can land in these lagoons George W ray, a Pago att rney> treats his airline more as a labour of love than a quick profit organisa tion. The profit is there to be made, and the Piper Cherokee is making it, but Mr. Wray also has an insatiable curiosity about the outer islands.

His daily flight to Of a and Olosega in the Manuas has proved itself an extremely popular mode of transport

for Samoan commuters. His flights take off daily seven times a week and sometimes twice a day. _: '. .

T „ H,S fll ht i° ?°*r * sland “ dlfferent : “A , a f dese rted bird sanctuary and

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ful P‘ ace ” Mr - Wray, “and, with t :approval, I can take peopie tnere • The flight to Swain’s Island, geographically one of the Tokelaus (although annexed to American Samoa), takes place once or twice a month depending on the needs of the owner, Wallace Jennings, and passenger demand, Although only three miles across,

Swain’s has had a varied history.

Discovered by Quiros in 1606 it was then called La Peregrina. Because of the beauty of its inhabitants it was later named Isla de Gente Hermosa.

An American whaling man, Eli Jennings, saw the island in 1856, jumped ship at Apia and settled there with a Samoan bride, the daughter of a chief. The present owner, Wallace Jennings, is his great-great grandson. First regarded as part of the Tokelaus within the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Swain’s was formally annexed by the US in 1925. The Tokelaus went to NZ control, and NZ ever since has carried out a policy of protecting the islands from outside pressures. Currently the Tokelau people are being moved in groups over a period to the NZ main land.

Wallace Jennings owns an exten sive copra plantation on Swain’s and the island boasts a fresh-water lagoon, a fine reputation for dancing and some fabulous fishing. According to Mr. Wray, Wallace Jennings puts up any traveller free of charge in his Tokelau fale, and the only bill to be incurred is the SUS7O round flight.

Mr. Wray has some big plans for his one-plane business. He plans to get a larger plane and he has also applied for permission to fly to Apia.

He claims to be able to make the trip by sea-plane in 45 minutes com pared to Air Polynesia’s three hours by land based plane.