Postscripts

Rare!

A visitor to Fiji found he couldn’t get a decent steak so he’s built his own steakhouse in Suva, a $30,000 venture called Biddys, which incorpo rates an old-England style pub on the ground floor and an atmospheric charbroil steak-house upstairs.

The steak lover is Australian Don Biddle, who becomes managing director of the Fiji - registered, Canadian - financed company Mata - Vinaka Estates Ltd. Unlike many Fiji investors, Mr. Biddle has nothing but praise for the way the local authori ties speeded up the negotiations.

“I’ve had the utmost co-operation from everyone concerned,” he said.

Simulated oak beams, heavy wooden furniture and steak platters have all been made on the premises and local chefs and staff have been employed.

Such antiquities as long rifles, blunderbusses, hunting horns and even a couple of chastity belts have been imported—as will be the high quality meat cuts. Local suppliers are unable to meet his requirements, says Mr. Biddle.

Another company in which Mr.

Biddle has interests, South Pacific Inns Ltd., has plans for a $2 million hotel in Western Samoa. A proposal to build the 200-room hotel at Point Lefatu, six miles from the airport, is 3emg considered by the Western Samoa Government. The company has a long-term lease in principle for a 50-acre site owned by the Western Samoan Trust Estate Corporation, f approved, the hotel will be called he Samoan Village Inn.

Pitcairn Christmas

Pitcairners were busy on Boxing ) a y—celebrating Christmas Day and oting in the elections for the island ouncil.

As Christmas Day was on a Sat irday, the Sabbath Day for the danders who are all Seventh-day Adventists, feasting, fooling and vot ag were posponed until Boxing Day /hen the 91-strong community gath red in the town square and swapped resents which had been placed under tall Christmas tree.

Then the 61 registered voters put

their Xs on the voting slips under pain of a $1 fine for not voting. There was no surprise when members of the Christian family swept into office.

Twenty-three of the voters have the surname Christian and, although there are 15 Youngs on the list, three Christians were elected.

Gifford Christian and Ivan Chris tian were elected members of the council and Caim Christian became chairman of the international com mittee.

And the names of two of the beaten candidates? Christian, of course— Elwyn and Marie.

Independence Call

The United Nations General As sembly, at its session on December 20, called on New Zealand to “take further measures in accordance with the wishes of the people of the Niue and Tokelau islands so as to enable them to exercise their right to self determination as soon as possible.”

There were 117 votes in favour of the resolution, none against and one abstention. The abstainer was France who was, no doubt, trimming sails for the day when the UN turns its attention to French Polynesia and New Caledonia. The same demand went to Australia over the “speedy attainment by Papua New Guinea of self-government and independence as a single political entity.”

At New Zealand's invitation, a UN mission, comprising three members, will visit Niue in late May or early Tune.

Back to Niue

A piece of Niuean tapa cloth pre sented in the 1860 s to the Rev.

George Lawes, Niue’s first European missionary, has returned to the is land after a century of travel over seas.

Years ago, the tapa—hiapo in Niu ean—arrived in New Zealand and belonged to a family in Port Chal mers, near Dunedin, who recently sold it to an American working at Otago University. A few months ago it was seen by Dr. Duff, director of the Canterbury Museum in Christ church, who recognised it as an out standing example of Niuean tapa, which is no longer made on the island.

He bought it for the museum, but it was later given to the NZ Minister for Island Affairs, Mr. D. Maclntyre, who was searching for a gift to take to Niue for the official opening of the island’s new airport in November.

At the airport ceremony, Mr. Mac-

Intyre handed over the tapa to the Leader of Government Business, Mr.

R. R. Rex, telling him, “I think it is a terrible pity that you people have stopped making hiapo because the Niuean hiapo is some of the most beautiful ever made. I hope that this one will inspire the women to teach their daughters how to make the real Niuean hiapo with your own beautiful designs which are so much more artistic than the ones made in Fiji, or Tonga or Samoa”.

In the Cooks

The population of the Cook Islands has shot up by 10 per cent, in the last five years.

Provisional figures from the re cent census show a total population of 21,217 compared with 19,247 in 1966. Raratonga, with 11,388 people, a 14 per cent, increase, accommodates more than half the population.

Fourteen of the 15 islands are populated. Suwarrow has the smallest population—New Zealander hermit Tom Neale and his cat. Both are re ported to be in good health.

Cook Islands Premier Mr. Albert Henry was one of 12 foundation stone layers at a ceremony on the site of a new church which is being built at Tepuka village on Rarotonga to re place an old church at Nikao. The old church was too near the side clearances at Rarotonga’s new airport.

Plans for the new church, the site survey and ground preparation were a gift from the New Zealand Ministry of works.

Too many bulls

There are too many bulls and not enough cows in the New Hebrides, the group’s first cattle census reveals.

Many properties have no proper cattle handling facilities, the report says, and general cattle management competency is low. Cattle are seldom castrated in the New Hebrides and this leads to small steer numbers and a large number of bulls to female stock.

The cattle population totals 83,555, of which 73,067 are owned by Euro peans and 10,488 by New Hebrideans.

The bulk of the cattle are on Efate and Santo and more than half are on Santo.

The fishing industry has ousted copra as the leading export industry of the New Hebrides. Up to November’s end, the fishing industry had contri buted more than half of the total value of all exports for 1971. Copra, the leading export in 1970, accounted for only 35 per cent, of exports, but at the end of December nearly 6,500

tons was awaiting shipment. Exports from the New Hebrides in November were worth $l.l million of which fish exports from Palekula claimed nearly 90 per cent.

Plum pie

Some Fijian mataqali (family units) will have fingers in some rich, plum-producing pies within the next year or two, having leased land for two big hotel developments—a 250room, S4i million project on the curve of Korolevu Bay on Viti Levu’s Coral Coast, and a $1 million resort on lovely Bekana island just off Lautoka.

The Australian hotel chain, Noah Hotels Ltd., will operate the Koro levu Bay set-up for Fiji-based Coral Gardens Motels Ltd. Construction will be by the big Australian building company, Mainline Construction, which has shares in the company.

As trustees for the landowners, the Native Land Trust Board holds five per cent, of the shares and retains the right to buy, at par value, another five per cent. On top of that, of course, the mataqali gets the rent, which, for the period up to the end of the second year of the hotel’s operation, is calculated at five per cent, of the land’s unimproved capi tal value. After that period the rent is 2i per cent, of the gross receipts provided the amount actually paid is not less than 10 per cent, or more than 25 per cent, of the land’s un improved capital value.

The Bekana island resort will be a joint development by two companies holding long-term leases over the 40acre island. One is the newly registered Colony Ltd., which has the landowners’ trustee, Ratu Jone Bou walu, as a director, and Bekana Re sorts Ltd. On Bekana Resorts’ board sits Mr. Kemueli Uluikavoro, the landowners’ trustee. Several family groups are involved and they will receive a percentage of the gross turn over as rent plus 51 per cent, of the annual profit which will be used to buy a 51 per cent, shareholding.

Ex-royal chauffeur

Fonanga Vi, of Tonga, entered New Zealand on a temporary permit to act as chauffeur for King Taufa ’ahau. But when the King left, Fon anga stayed. That was 18 months ago.

The NZ Immigration Department caught up with him just before Christ mas and Fonanga appeared in the magistrate’s court in Invercargill charged with illegally living and working in New Zealand. He was detained pending deportation.