Yesterday

March, 20-years-ago, was a month in which PIM aired old problems and added news of a few new ones. But in between the criticisms we added some optimistic items which, if they didn’t exactly turn the South Seas into Eden, at least suggested that life had its compensations.

For instance, there was the news that the ramshackle appearance of old Apia was being steadily improved.

Concrete structures were taking over from wooden buildings along The Beach, and thanks to the terri tory’s copra-cocoa prosperity, the Samoan capital was taking on the appearance—for better or worse— of a “civilised” town.

Following on repellents for mos quitoes and the bush tick, a British doctor in Ceylon claimed to have produced a boot polish that was pure anathema for leeches. Follow ing World War 11, quite a bit of research had been devoted to beat ing the leech, with little result. The good British doctor, however, found a boot polish of oil, wax and dimethyl phthalate, which, although it smelt “rather like squashed mos quitoes,” appeared to do the trick in Ceylon. We’ve never heard of it since.

Sporting traditions of the British were well upheld in Honiara when residents from Australia and the UK played a series of local “test” cricket matches. In March, the English team, captained by Mr. J. R.

Wrightson, and the Australian team, captained by Mr. K. J. Angel, had a win each.

And not to be outdone on Niue, the LMS had introduced soccer to the island. PIM reported that teams rather unsportingly clapped when their own side scored, but gene rally the standard was reaching the point where teams from visiting warships would find their hands full. Arrangements were also under way to introduce the delights of basketball to the island girls, who in the years since have improved their skills to championship stand ard.

Something new in the Rabaul District of Papua-New Guinea, was the establishment of three separate movie theatres for natives. Hitherto, natives had been allowed into local houses only on what were called “boy nights.” Residents generally wished the venture well, although some feared that “natives might pick up Communist propaganda at the movies.”

Port Moresby residents no longer

had to walk the streets in darkness.

Seventy street lights had been fitted and another 70 promised soon.

Final crowning glory was expected to be suspension lights along Ela Beach.

But there was plenty to complain about in March.

In London, well-known BSIP planter and member of the Advisory Council, Mr. R. C. Symes, man aged, with some difficulty, to get an audience with Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Griffiths.

After hearing of the “high rate of taxation” levelled at the planters of BSIP, Mr. Griffiths promised to “look into the matter,” and, follow ing further brow-beating from Mr.

Symes, suggested also that the BSIP Planters’ Association address griev ances directly to him in future, in stead of through the BSIP Resident Commissioner or the Western Paci fic High Commission.

“Government racketeering” might seem a mild term to describe the way native producers in the GEIC were receiving only £2O a ton for copra, PIM said. The GEIC Gov ernment took all native produced copra and “slugged” them for freight, storage, shrinkage, insur ance, handling duty, export duty, etc. It then sold the copra under the MOF contract for about £55, when world price was much higher.

The South Pacific Commission needed capable personnel and men of vision if it was to survive, PIM said, shortly before the opening of the seventh session of the SPC in Noumea. PIM felt that secretary general, Mr. W. D. Forsyth, who was resigning to return to the Aus tralian Public Service, was a cap able man, and that the SPC would be worse off without him.

Kukum wharf, last of the Ameri can-built BSIP wharves to remain operative, was completely destroyed by heavy seas in late February, 1951.

The wharf where overseas shipping discharged and loaded nearly all Guadalcanal’s cargo, had been in a

dangerous condition for some time.

Cargo was now being unloaded off Honiara by lighter.

The New Zealand Soil Bureau had completed a survey of Niue’s “preci ous” soil. It recommended that an agricultural officer be appointed to the island immediately and that the people—virtually all of whom de pended on the soil for their liveli hood—should receive instruction in good soil management. Niue, of course, is more coral than soil.

A New Zealand university lec turer announced that the Cook Islands were a “forgotten frontier.”

Mr. W. B. Jackson, having spent six weeks on Rarotonga, said no ships had called there between August and November. Some supplies had run out while others were very ex pensive. Although the Cooks used to be a big exporter of fruit, he said, natives had tired of seeing their crops rot through lack of ships to collect them. They were now turning to wage-earning jobs.

The management of Trans Oceanic Airways of Sydney must also have been feeling frustrated when it received yet another delay to TOA’s proposed flying-boat ser vice from Brisbane to Port Moresby.

First, the company had been refused government permission to stop at Townsville during the flight; then the company’s newly ordered Solent crashed off Malta on its way to Aus tralia, and latest news was that there was a strike in the British factory of Short Bros., makers of Solents, and a new plane for TO A would be held up indefinitely.

PIM understood that a four nation UN mission to Papua-New Guinea in 1950 would recommend that Australia spend $lO million on building a road from Madang to Mount Hagen. PIM thought a better proposition would be to build it from Lae (as it later was), but felt it was not worth while anyway, unless the Highlands were thrown open to European settlement. (The latest UN mission, led by Sir Denis Allen, has been in the territory since January).

Norfolk Island, which made £15,448 out of the sale of liquor by permit system in 1950, refused a leading guest house permission to open a house bar. There were no pubs on the island and many had thought the hotel had a good chance of a licence. Then the local clergy took a hand and the Advisory Council said no. Today all liquor is still imported by the government.