It's all a matter

matter of what you call it!

they might go to a movie in Pago Cinema.

It is located in Lepua. And if they fail to pay their bill they might end up doing business with the Pago Pago Collection Agency. It is located in Fagatogo.

I suppose you might charge it all up to Somerset Maugham who seemed to have a thing about Pago Pago. As I recall he mentioned no other village when he wrote about Sadie Thompson in Rain and made Pago Pago world famous and made himself a million bucks in the process.

I outlined a few of these things to Mr.

Sutley in my answer to his letter and I don’t know what decision he will reach in listing American Samoa’s capital in his future editions. I did tell him that the situation might confuse one for a while but the place is so small and so delightful that on-one ever gets lost here and no-one fails to enjoy visiting Pago Pago or any of American Samoa’s other villages.

I haven’t had an answer from him yet.

Possibly he’s too confused to write.

Cornering the

US yam market

There isn’t much that Tonga can export to the US at the moment, outside of its strong young men. But one farmer exporter has hit on the idea of providing yams for the growing number of Islanders —many homesick —living expatriate lives on the West Coast.

The Tonga yam takes some beating throughout the Pacific, and Manase Nau of Nukualofa is one of the leading growers in the kingdom. With Sunset Produce Co. of San Francisco, he is exclusive exporter of yams to California. His first shipment of 10,000 lb late last year marked the first time yams could be purchased in the US.

Since then he has shipped over 40 tons of it. and still the Islanders ask for more.

Melanesian Tourist

Fed. finds its feet

The newly formed Melanesian Tourist Federation has wasted no time in letting the travel world know what and where it is.

Formed by the tourist authorities of Papua-New Guinea, BSIP, New Hebrides and New Caledonia, it de scribes itself as a loose and friendly association formed to mutually assist member countries in promotion of travel to and within Melanesia.

At the recent Pacific Area Travel Association conference in Manila, Philippines, delegates scored a hit with bright coral coloured shirts bear ing the emblems of the four tourist authorities and the fish and coral em blem that has been chosen to portray Melanesia. They also sported Solo mon Islands shell money necklaces.

A display of masks, axes and other artifacts backed up with large scale photographs was flown to Manila, but the “give away gimmick” of the fede ration was a neat stamp wallet con taining four stamps of each country.

The cover bore the legend Stamps of Melanesia and the five emblems.

A neat way of advertising and a popu lar one judging by the appreciative comments of recipients.

For the time being effort is being directed towards telling carriers and travel agents where and what Mela nesia is and what it offers.

With three international airlines operating to Melanesia and with Aus tralia’s two domestic airlines serving one door into the chain, there’s a good choice of how to get there.

Oantas flies to and through Port Moresby twice weekly, en route to Manila and Hong Kong. It also flies to Noumea. UTA flies from Sydney to Noumea and from Auckland to Noumea. Air New Zealand flies to Noumea. All services connect with Vila.

These carriers are taking a more active interest in the Melanesian countries, as witness a recent 10-day promotion in Australia by UTA/ Oantas on New Caledonia and New Hebrides.

New Hebrides tourist identity Joe Mulders was in Australia for this promotion, while federation chairman Don Barrett flew from New Guinea to see the promotion launched and to have discussions with airlines on the federation’s future plans.

Don Barrett said in Sydney the federation was very pleased with its “launch Melanesia” campaign at Manila. It plans to hold its first an nual conference at Port Vila June 8- 10. Already he said the major airlines and P & O Line had indicated that they would send representatives.

Sold: The Fiji hotel

with a jinx

The turtle-shaped Hotel Isa Lei known in some circles as the white elephant of Fiji tourism, has been bought for an undisclosed sum bv Naviti Investments Ltd.

Since being built three years ago by Makita Holdings Ltd, the 46-room hotel has suffered a strange jinx which some attributed to bad management, some to its limited accommodation, others to bad planning. Whatever the reason, the Isa Lej couldn’t make ends jrieet —and Naviti Ltd is reported to have taken over considerable debts in the purchase deal.

Naviti, which owns the successful Gateway and Outrigger Hotels in Fiji, Plans to add 75 rooms to the hotel, possibly change the name and cer tainly run the huge turtle-shaped cabaret area as a separate operation from the accommodation.

Plans call for the eventual com plete replacement of all the existing buildings, situated on a choice site overlooking the harbour, three miles from Suva along the Queens Road.

Travelodge in BSIP

out of Apia?

The Australian Travelodge Group has been tentatively linked with the hotel site on the land formerly used by the Masonic Lodge in Honiara.

The site is known to be reserved by the BSIP Government for hotel development and has not yet been taken up.

Chairman of the Solomon Islands Tourist Authority, Mr. R. Burrow- Wilkes, was recently quoted in Honiara as welcoming the Travelodge development to counter a present shortage of hotel accommodation in Honiara (See PIM, March, p. 28).

However a Travelodge spokesman in

Sydney said “tentative” would be the right way to describe any Travelodge plans in Honiara.

Meanwhile on Norfolk Island Travelodge has formerly applied to council for permission to start build ing 100 new rooms and begin phasing out its existing Paradise Hotel.

Council’s reply was not made public.

In Western Samoa Travelodge ap pears to have lost its chance to build on the site of the old Casino Hotel (PIM, Feb., p. 53). It was announced in March that the government and Naviti Investments Ltd, a Suva public investment company, had agreed in principle to combine to redevelop the Casino Hotel site.

Announcing this. Prime Minister Tupua Tamasese said the main attrac tion of Nayiti’s participation was its proven ability to encourage participa tion by the “small man”.

Check-up on mental

illness in GEIC

Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Sir John Field, has appointed a committee to inquire in the state of facilities in the colony for mental patients.

The committee is to examine the adequacy of existing facilities, assess the nature and extent of the problems of treating mental patients and make recommendations regarding future provision of facilities for them.

The committee—Messrs. P. J. Le P. Quantick, lete Temoku, Babera Kirata, Tony Moy Tauniu and Mrs.

M. Arite—will no doubt be assured the full support of Sir John. In February he and Lady Field woke up to find a mentally-ill man in their bedroom. He was arrested only after he had belaboured both with a broom handle. (PIM, March p

A view of the main cabaret area of the Hotel Isa Lei in Suva.

From the air, the hotel resembles the humped shell of a turtle, complete with head and flippers.