The Editor's Mailbag

Wuvulu Island

An article under the heading “New ttern of development for an elite :w Guinea island retreat” in your bruary issue deals with the pro sed development of a de luxe irist resort on Wuvulu Island, in ;wak area, to provide a get-away m-it-all retreat for “a limited few the well heeled”. The new owners 0 desire to sell some 181 surveyed '-acre blocks for $30,000 each— ich should return a nice round ire of $5,400,000 —and thus provide ;ood profit on their deal.

Ml sorts of amenities are promised the islanders—such as provision medical, dental, optical services, dication of the mosquitoes, electric it and good roads, etc. In any case se would have to be provided for de luxe foreign visitors and the ives benefit “on the side”.

Despite all these promised ad itages, of which none has yet eared on the island, the inhabi ts’ main need is more land NOW n area that would join their two ill native reserves at the western of the island and thus give them m to spread their villages in Ithy, Samoan-style hamlets as Dre, more room for gardens for a wing community, privacy against threatened invasion of strange sign tourists, and hope for the ire instead of being almost vded off their island and ancestral ic. These most urgent needs of native people, have been lected consistently by the adminis ion, despite many representations le over the past eight years. 4 the time of the sale of the vu\u plantations the administra should have ensured that the ves obtained extra land—through :hase or negotiation—sufficient their present and future needs, ensuring future security and well s' They are a unique Micro an community and deserve every iideration. But, instead, the ad istration was satisfied with written nises and undertakings from the mlu Holdings Company and this 1 self-government at hand and pendence round the corner—both many changes to come—could )Oth vague and uncertain! our article mentions the area of ve land as “about 840 acres” but, sality it is probably less than half amount. And, as it is, the natives

cannot pass from one of their re serves to another, or to the only ship ping point on the island, without crossing company-owned land. Per mission could be withdrawn if owners so wished.

It appears that a proper course, and without further delay, is for the administration of Papua New Guinea to negotiate with the company owners for the acquisition of Tumuvali area —some 570 acres—at the western end which joins the two native reserves and so give the natives privacy and security. If this is not done, disrup tion of this unique Micronesian com munity could result. They are a timid and unsophisticated people and could be conned into agreeing to al most anything if glittering promises are held before their eyes.

Representations have been made to the MBs in Canberra and to native members of the PNG House of Assembly recently, and it can be predicted that they will get some assistance and MORE LAND—land that is theirs to have and to hold— and not their own ancestral land leased to them for a term of years!

Fred Archer

Buka House, Rabaul, NG.

Fiji For The Tourists

I have sent the following letter to Mr. L. Marshall, of Paddington, who wrote about Fiji tourism in PIM (Apr. p. 15); — As president of the Fiji Hotel Asso ciation, I have written to all of our active members and sent them a copy of your Letter to the Editor which appeared in April PIM.

I have written separately to our own company’s three associated hotels, The Fijian, Skylodge and the Fiji Mocambo, requesting that they take a close look in any areas where we may be offending. I think this particularly involves mangoes and other fresh fruits and more use of coconut and fruits in the mixing of cocktails.

We do try and give our visitors a touch of the local foods and this is normally done on barbecue or buffet nights at the various hotels. Most visitors are venturesome enough to try some of the local methods of pre paring food, but if they are here for any length of time they still by and large stick to their usual dietary habits and this includes baby lamb

chops, Vienna Schnitzel and Chicken Maryland.

Your comment about Fiji waters abounding in fish is no doubt valid, but getting them from the sea to the frying pan is another matter, par ticularly in the quantity required to supply a hotel. For example, we have three first class fishing boats at The Fijian, and they do not catch any where near enough fish to supply the hotel’s needs. We have a contract with an Indian fisherman who still fishes at night to supply The Fijian with 800 lb of fresh fish a week and while he does a reasonable job, as I dictate this letter, the fish don’t seem to be biting anywhere in the dominion.

I think by and large your criticisms are valid and that we need someone to remind us occasionally of our short-comings.

I hope things continue to be good enough so that you still think enough of Fiji to visit us approximately twice a year.

Peter Slimmer.

Managing Director, Fiji Mocambo, Nadi.

Germaine Who?

If you’re famous, notorious and worldly and you want to get away from it all and pass unnoticed, you could not do better than spend a holiday in sleepy Port Vila.

A famous lady of letters did just that while southern journals had her name in headlines blazoned across the nation. She was not even heard to utter her famous “magic word”, and even if she had it would have passed unnoticed, as it’s a legitimate word in Pidgin.

She addressed no feminist meetings and drew no attention to herself and her youthful companion. She did not even use that word, or the eight lettered “cowdung” one.

In the La Lagon Hotel there is no sign which says. “Germaine Greer slept here”.

P.S.: I feel a cad even reporting this.

Angus Tuffit

Port Vila, New Hebrides.

No Fiji Coalition

The Fiji Alliance Party’s moral victory over the Opposition Federa tion Party was well displayed before the general election result in May with the ruling Alliance having en dorsed 52 candidates for all seats whereas the Federation Party failed to acquire enough candidates within its party.

Unsurprisingly, the sweeping victory

Continued on p. 121

of the Alliance Party was well pre dicted and, as of now, the Prime Minister of Fiji should give a second thought to the idea of a coalition government.

I am of the fullest opinion that coalition government at this transi tional political stage will be highly undesirable. Remember, the Fiji electors wanted the Alliance Govern ment in power for another five years —not a coalition.

Satyendra Pratap

Sharma, Jp.

Granville, NSW.

• * M ™£ h f ma,s le ' tter was dated May 6. PIM has been informed from official sources that his name was erased from the list of NSW Justices of the Peace on April 26 and notice nsw Was contai ned in the State Gazette of May 12. th ™ m cu April 107 > revealed that Mr. Sharma had been convicted of an offence in Fiji in 1962, and of offences in Sydney in February this b a i970 e WaS madC a JP in Sydney