Fiji Commissioner

Fire Destroys

Pago Fono

(And Burns Philp

Suffer Too)

The historic Legislative Building of Ainencan Samoa at Pago Pago was destroyed by fire on November 12 together with most of the legislature records. Also destroyed in the same fire was more than SUS2OO,OOO in mercharKhse belonging to Burns Philp s store—the second big fire affecting Burns Philp in the Pacific in recent months.

The fire broke out at 9 p.m. and spread so rapidly that fire-fighters were unable to contain it.

The building had been erected early in the century and was the scene of the inauguration of all the territory’s governors and the regular sessions of legislature. Burns Philp’s store had been temporarily housed in the south wing of the Legislative Building while the firm builds a new supermarket.

In September, Burns Philp’s general store in Nukualofa, Tonga, was gutted m Iri e biggest fire in Tongan memory.

A government committee will in vestigate the cause of the Pago fire and also consider a new site for the legislature.

Fiji Commissioner

now in Canberra

Fiji s first High Commissioner to Australia, Mr. Raman Nair, took up his post m Canberra in November— although he was without an office or accommodation. He is staying at the Wellington Hotel with his Second Secretary, Ratu Ipeli Nailatikau, until Commission can rent an office and a house, or perhaps one building to serve for both. Only other member of the staff meanwhile is Mr.

Robert Major, formerly Fiji Repre

sentative in Australia, who is acti as Counsellor with the High Comm sion until the end of January, wh he retires from government servic The Fiji office in Sydney will do down at the same time. The Hij Commission does have a post address: Private Box E 159, Canben

Act 2600.

Fuimaono Asuemu, Americj Samoa’s Director of Agriculture, November was elected at Samoi general elections as delegate-at-larj to Washington. He takes up h appointment in January.