Yesterday
p. 79 · Read in the full issue
Japanese fishing enterprises, now well established in the South Pacific were doing well 20 years ago. A fleet of 30 fishing craft, with an 11,000-ton mother ship, was expected to take home about 12 million pounds of tuna from the Solomons-New Guinea area. At the same time the Japanese Government approved a subsidy of £A500,000 to private owners to buLd 10 motor ships for tuna fishing in the Trust Territory and equatorial waters of the Pacific.
Nothing pinpoints a country's develop ment, and prosperity, as much as income tax. Most of the South Pacific Islands have been developing steadily over the last 20 years but none as rapidly as Fiji.
In 1953, the British Crown Colony of Fiji boasted that the income tax collectors had gathered in nearly £1 million ($2 million) for 1952, of which com panies paid £646,575. In 1971, the taxman collected $14,800,000 which isn't bad progress over a couple of decades.
Of course, the spending has spiralled even more so.
New Guinea's only commercial woman pilot, Mrs Pat Toole, crash-landed her Auster aircraft on the only clear stretch of riverbed in hundreds of square miles of rugged, mountainous country.
The area had only been brought under Administration control. Her dis covery, which led to her subsequent rescue, was a fluke. The District Com missioner of Wewak was flying over the area and happened to see Mrs Toole.
Patrols had to cut their way through thick jungle to rescue her.
A delegation from the UN Trusteeship Council visiting mandated territories did not leave a favourable impression in New Guinea and Western Samoa. In the New Guinea Highlands the leader of the party refused to ride up the mountain road in a Landrover because it was too uncomfortable! He stayed in his hotel. Other members showed little interest in what they saw at Wau and Bulolo. In Apia, while enthroned on a dais during a ceremony reserved for most important visitors, they forgot their dignity and followed their leader off it to take pictures. Commented PIM. "This may appear to be merely an amusing incident. But it does give strength to the repeated plea . . . that the governments concerned . . . should put
an end to this useless Trusteeship farce and leave the territories in the com plete control of the countries which have efficiently governed them and protected their natives since 1914". Now see what's been done in the last 20 years!
The recent death in Fiji of Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau recalls that PIM reported in July, 1953, that he took a Fiji Battalion rugby team from Malaya to Indo-China for a couple of matches.
The Fijians beat a combined French Army-Navy team 42-3 at Saigon and a French Air Force team 76-0. Ratu Sir Edward was then Lieutenant-Colonel Cakobau, commanding officer of the battalion, which also headed the league table for killing the most terrorists.
Apia was going through a spell of petty thieving and pilfering. Poultry owners in the Vaimea district lost nearly all their best fowls when some night prowler broke into their properties.
The Police later discovered over 100 head of poultry, including imported stock, on the premises of a Chinese restaurant keeper. He bought the stolen fowls from a Samoan for 2/- a head (normally fowls fetched about 6/- each). Subse quently, the Samoan offender was arrested and was awaiting trial when the report appeared. Owners of the stolen fowls were happy to recover their pro perty (still alive) from the police station.
A 50 years' link with Fiji Legislative Council ended when Sir A!port Barker, then owner of the Fiji Times and Herald, gave up his seat on the council's dissolution before a new election.
Responding to tributes Sir Alport recalled that either as a member or as a reporter he had attended practically every meeting of council for the previous 50 years.
Rabaul residents called it body-snatching when the Government Transport Department in Port Moresby advertised in Rabaul News (The Pidgin news-sheet distributed by the Education Department) that "Moresby i laikim 15 Tolai driva" —in other words, that the depart ment would like 15 of Rabaul's ex experienced and licensed car or truck drivers. As an added inducement, successful applicants were offered a house.
Proprietors of Rabaul taxi services be came sour at this latest effort to entice away experienced driver-boys.
They said no town of the size of Rabaul could afford to lose 15 such boys.
If the Government Transport Depart ment wanted drivers it should be prepared to train them.
"There will be a big programme of development ahead when oil flows in ccmmercial quantities at a Papuan
centre". So prophesied Colonel J. K.
Murray, several months after leaving Papua New Guinea of which he was Administrator for seven years.
Earlier, he had said that he had a lay man's belief that oil would be found in commercial quantities and it was a reasonably informed belief. He was right up to a point. Oil was found in 1958 after years of prospecting and a well was opened at Puri in the Gulf District, but it petered out quickly.
Since then, traces of oil and gas have been found offshore in the Gulf and Western Districts, but that fortune in black gold is still eluding the searchers.
After driving without shelter through heavy rain in the Coronation procession in London in 1953, Queen Salote of Tonga told a newspaperman that she liked the English weather. The news paper followed up the interview with a three-verse jingle which PIM printed.
The last verse read: "Linger longer, Queen of Tonga, till the summer's through.
Watch ye English Maypole dancers dance with noses blue; Dancing round with naked toe in ye slush and in ye snow, round ye merrie merrie-oh.
Linger longer, Queen of Tonga, linger longer do".
PIM reported the severing of the last living link with Robert Louis Stevenson by the death in Los Angeles of Mrs Isobel Salisbury Field, the famous author's stepdaughter who was with him in Western Samoa until his death on Decem ber 3, 1894. Mrs Field, who lived till she was 95, kept in touch with the Islands through PlM's editor. On her coffin at the funeral was the same 'ie foga (fine mat) which covered the body of RLS before his burial at Vailima 59 years before.
Sir Alport Barker ... a 50 years link broken.