People

• Mr Ernest Robin Safitoa has >een appointed Commissioner for X)cal Government in Papua New }uinea replacing Mr Ken William on. Mr Safitoa, 33„ was bom at iinipara Village. He recently at ended a course at The Hague con lucted by the International Union if Local Authorities. While in Europe le had a close look at local govern nent in West Germany and Eire. • Ex-Burns Philp Supercargo Seville Chatfield—who is pro >ably the Pacific Islands’ oldest fn ;nd—celebrated his 89th birthday on Jeptember 28. He knew most of the >acific Islands well, and was him elf well-known there, more than 70 rears ago; and his memory is good ind his stories innumerable. Writing rom Grafton Nursing Home, 12 lent Street, South Grafton, to Mr C W. Robson, Mr Chatfield says le read with interest the recent S IM article about Rotuma, and re :alls: “I was there in the ship Ysabel

in July, 1903, to land our injured launch driver and we called again in October of that year to pick him up, Dr McDonald having done a marvellous repair job on him. I was back there again in July, 1908, in the Muniara.” Mr Robson, in sending Mr Chatfield PlM’s congratulations and best wishes, remarked that he himself was 88 years old on Septem ber 16—so Mr Chatfield had the advantage over him of only one year and one fortnight. • Well-known Apia singer, Jerome Grey has been given the chiefly title of Fepuleai in Savaii. Jerome attended Chanel College, Moamoa, consistently won talent quests, sang and played his guitar in many night spots and hotels in both Apia and Pago Pago and finally went on a singing tour of the United States with the “Samoa Three.” The group performed in Disneyland and in many famous nightclubs in the US and Canada. • Amani Tapusoa, of Church Col lege, Western Samoa has won this year’s first Samoan national marathon in the time of two hours 57 minutes and six seconds. He has won several marathons and is the present record holder for the event with 2 hours 42 minutes. Western Samoa plans to be represented in the marathon at the Commonwealth Games.

• It was a case of horses for courses with the appointment of the new Official Secretary and Deputy Administrator of Norfolk Island.

Who to pick to succeed the retiring Official Secretary, Mr Gil Hitch, who’s been in the job for the last three years. There were 106 appli cants but the choice was easy. Mr Charles Buffett of course. The name was enough. He’s a direct descendant of the Pitcairners; has plenty of re latives on Norfolk, some above and some below ground and he has ser ved a previous term in the same job

Mr Buffett

for seven years, from 1952. After leaving Norfolk in 1959, he joined the Australian Public Service, acted as official representative on Christ mas Island for six months and then did seven years on Cocos Island.

Then followed another two years on Christmas Island and since 1969 he has been in Canberra with the Ex ternal Territories Department. Now, he’s back on Norfolk with wife Van da and four-year-old son Charles. • Mr Li’a Tufele, 33, recently appointed Director of Public Safety in American Samoa, is the first Samoan to hold the post. He is a high chief from Manu’a. His appoint ment follows an investigation into the police department. He succeeded Mr Robert Ranney, who retired as Public Safety Commissioner because of ill-health. Mr Tufele previously worked in the Attorney-General’s Office and the Public Works Depart ment. • Mr Jean Doutrelant has been appointed French Charge d’Affaires and Consul for Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa. He will be stationed in Suva. He was previously in the French Embassy in Canberra. He said on arrival in Suva, “I was not sent here to plead the case for the (nuclear) tests. We have relations with most of the world’s sovereign countries. Why shouldn’t we have relations with Fiji?” 9 Mr Richard W. Guy has been appointed general manager, marketing and tours, of Hunts of the Pacific Ltd, Suva. He will also be involved in the marketing services of the group’s overseas operations in New Zealand, Australia and the BSIP. He has been in the travel industry for 10 years, mainly in the United States, where he was born. 9 Manus District Commissioner Mr Des Ashton and Deputy District Commissioner Mr Rolfe Bourne left Manus at the end of September for Australia after a combined total of 54 years service with the PNG Government. Mr Ashton joined the Department of Native Affairs in 1946 as a patrol officer. He first came to Papua New Guinea in 1939 as a master of a ship trading in the south-west Pacific. He worked in many districts and was a district commissioner in the Morobe and later Bougainville districts before being appointed District Commission er at Manus. Mr Bourne also joined the department in 1946 and served in the Morobe District and Papuan districts. Mr Les Hastings has been appointed acting District Commis sioner.