"Civilisation moderne"

comes to Noumea

From HELEN ROUSSEAU , in Noumea Noumea, New Caledonia, continues to boom, thanks to the nickel economy. But strange things are happening as the modern civilisations begin to take over.

When a Pacific island begins to produce marching girls, a tenpin bowling alley, two antique shops and its first business credit cards, then visitors may well ask is it really still a Pacific island.

The Noumea marching girls first appeared several months ago, when the island was in the midst of cele brations surrounding September 24, the main territorial festival time. The troupe of 21 attractive “majorettes” had been trained by a secretarial teacher at the Chamber of Com merce. The girls were accompanied by the local French military band and proved quite a sensation as they marched around the centre of town.

The Le Commodore tenpin bowling alley opened its doors at the end of December. It is part of an amuse ment complex yet to be completed, in front of the aquarium overlooking Anse Vata beach.

It is planned to keep the bowling alley open from 10 a.m. to midnight, with special demonstrations having been held initially to acquaint the Caledonians with this new form of indoor amusement. The hall is managed by Mr. Blin, who previously had experience in a Sydney bowling alley.

Marching girls and tenpin bowling may be readily accepted as signs of evolution in Noumea, but surely the opening of “antique” shops is an even further indication, in reverse, that other objects round about must be getting “modern”.

The new boutiques Brie a Brae and Ad Lib, have been opened in the districts known as the Motor Pool and Anse Vata, respectively.

Brie a Brae, as its name implies, assembled all manner of wares from the whips and branding irons of in land “stockmen”, to ancient pistols, secondhand furniture and so-called

“hippie” jewellery.

Ad Lib seems to be concentrating more on antique furniture, collected overseas by its operator, Max Shekelton. Many of the period pieces are from England: nothing is as normal, since the boutique is intended for a French clientele. And that clientele may now choose such objects as an 18th century rocking cradle,

at $450 —nothing as normal either, for the nickel-plated babies of the coming Caledonian generation.

It may be this rapidly increasing cost of living in Noumea which has prompted the launching of a further innovation in Caledonian society— the issuing of the territory’s first credit cards.

This system was introduced in the New Year by one of the island’s main chain store groups—Etablisse ments Ballande. The principle of sales on credit has long been accepted in the territory. In earlier days, when the population was smaller and more intimate, this operated in an almost casual fashion. However, the current speeding-up of business tempo and rapid influx of migrant workers has resulted already in the shocks of false cheques and cheques drawn on insufficient funds, by clients who have then tried to fly out of the ter ritory. A more controlled and speedy system has become necessary.

There have been attempts to wean the Caledonians out of their credit buying habits: one supermarket has totally abolished such sales, while another offers a 5 per cent, rebate on cash purchases. However, the shopping on credit seems rather to be increasing. When food prices can jump as much as 20 per cent, on the shelf overnight and a modest couple’s round of the supermarket food shelves (excluding meat) can cost $3O per week, the need for a handy credit card becomes fairly obvious.

In any case, the Caledonians can console themselves that these are but the birthpains of the newborn “civilisation moderne”. • At a Coroner’s Court inquiry at Vila into the death of Mrs.

Susan Wallington at Tanna on September 13, the Coroner, Mr. R.

J. S. Hutchinson, found that Mrs.

Wallington died by accident or mis adventure from the inhalation of carbon monoxide fumes emitted by a gas water heater in an unventilated room. The Coroner drew attention to the dangers of operating any gas burning appliance in an inadequately ventilated room.