Queen's Rough Ride

. . . And The

Of all the tours the Queen has made in various parts of the world, none could have been more colourful, more risky or more unusual than her visit to her South Pacific Islands in

February.

Visiting Rarotonga, where she open ed the new airport before flying to Christchurch for the Commonwealth Games, Norfold Island, which gave her her most dangerous sea landing of her reign; the New Heb rides, where she saw a Pentecost land diver fatally injured and was treated to an anti-royalist demonstra tion by Nagriamel; the Solomons and then Papua New Guinea, the Queen had hardly a rest as she was shuttled about, first in the Royal Yacht Brit annia and then in PNG, by plane.

Her rough sea landing came as the Queen, Prince Philip and other mem bers of the party, rode a launch through seas whipped up by cyclone Pam to land at Norfolk Island’s Kingston. The island’s senior boat man, Richard Douran, piloted the launch over five-feet seas and through a treacherous gap in the reef. Be cause conditions were so dangerous, the Queen, who planned to stay with the islanders until 10.35 pm, had to return to the Britannia before night fall.

On the New Hebridean island of Pentecost, the Queen saw the famous land divers but something went wrong.

Two divers hit the ground, one land

mg softly in the mud, his fall broken by the vines around his ankles, but the other, John Tabi, broke his spine as the vines snapped and he plunged to the ground. He died three days later.

At Santo, the Queen gave no indi cation that she had heard Nagricmel’s leader Jimmy Stephens shout that she was not their queen. That, at the time of writing when she was in the Solo mons, was the only hostile note struck in the Islands.

The April PIM will feature the Queen’s visit.

Other news in brief: LAST FIJI FLIGHT.— Air-India’s last Boeing 707 service from Sydney to Nadi and return is scheduled to leave Sydney on March 29 and re turn the next day. The service is be ing eliminated because of the fuel crisis and loading. The service will be resumed if the fuel position and traffic trends improve. The airline launched the service about mid-1964.

National Medicine.— Papua

New Guinea will have national medi cal and dental care if government employed doctors and dentists have their way. The Public Health De partment is preparing a national health plan for the Minister for Health, Dr Reuben Taureka, to pre sent to Cabinet. Proposals to abolish private practice, or limit it, has come under fire from practitioners. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr Tei Abal, said the proposal was utterly foolish and hairbrained.

STRIKE OFF. —Expatriate women teachers in PNG, who had threat ened to strike over pay rates, changed their minds after meeting Chief Min ister Michael Somare, who had pre viously warned them against striking.

The teachers said they were pleased with Mr Somare’s co-operation and sympathy. Mr Somare promised to put their request for wage parity with Australian Staffing Assistance Group Scheme to the Cabinet. Opposition leader, Tei Abal had also appealed to the teachers “not to leave our schools in the lurch.”

Purari Development.—

Chief Minister of Papua New Guinea Michael Somare announced an arrangement with the Japanese firm Nippon Koie for a feasibility study for a giant hydro-electric scheme on the Purari River. Such a develop ment would supply power for towns and large-scale industries, he said, but was not sure when the study would begin.