Yesterday

During the Christmas-New Year period, three young Lae residents became the first persons to travel in the one motor vehicle from Lae to Mount Hagen, PIM reported in February, 1955. They were Col Barbour, Les Hargrave and Col Slater, who travelled the 320 miles in a jeep, which they sold to Mr Dan Leahy at the end of the journey. It took them 40 hours actual driving. A year previously Seventh-day Adventist missionaries travelled to Mount Hagen from Lae, but they had to change vehicles half-way.

With a gift of £222, the South Pacific Commission signified its support of credit unions, which had made rapid progress since being introduced into Fiji a year earlier. The money was expected to be used to help in the publication of an elementary guide to credit union accounting procedure, prepared by the Rev Father M. Ganey, SJ. The SPC indicated to Father Ganey, a credit union expert brought to Fiji from the British Honduras by the then-Governor, Sir Ronald Garvey, that it considered credit unions of "regional significance".

Today credit unions play an important role In Fiji, and Fr Ganey is still behind them.

Port Moresby townspeople received printed maps showing the town area.

The object was to help them to know the street names. PIM gave the

move qualified approval, saying the plan

was an asset, then adding that an even greater asset would be the installation of street signs. Madang, at the same time, was having street name troubles. Names submitted to the District Commissioner were not accepted.

Nelson and Robertson Pty Ltd held a dinner in Sydney in February, 1955, to mark its first 60 years as an islands trading company. Now it is 80 years old, and the first century is not that far away.

Each year in Noumea, PIM reported 20 years ago, a commission sits to choose 30 people eligible to form juries for the assize sessions. This year, in keeping with the policy of giving more responsibility to the native people, eight natives have been chosen. They include four high chiefs. Two European women also sit on the panel, A mixed

bag of cases has been announced for the first Assizes —a lot of it of the cherchez la femme type. There is a murder case at Mare Island, a poisoning case from north New Caledonia in which a native woman, aided by her lover, is alleged to have poisoned her husband with weed killer, and an attempted murder of a young woman by her rejected lover.

The year 1955 started off with good, steady markets for most of the principal products of the South Pacific, and producers could look forward to another prosperous year. In an adjustment of the British Ministry of Food contract, the Islands coconut growers were expected to lose per cent of the price they enjoyed in 1954. But they could afford that, PIM said in February, 1955.

They had sold their copra in a profitable market for some years, and the new rate would still show a healthy margin.

If the first 16-page issue of the Cook Islands Review was a fair sample of what was to appear each month from the office of the government printery at Rarotonga, the people of the Cook Islands should have no excuse for not knowing of the activities of the Administration, PIM wrote in February, 1955, announcing the appearance of the newspaper. The newspaper was published in English and Maori. Advertis ing space was offered at 5/- (50c) an inch. The selling price was 6d (sc).

Today the group is serviced by the Cook Islands News, an eight to 16-page daily (Monday to Friday), selling at 4c.

Admitted to the Fiji bar was Mr Moti Tikaram, who completed his LLB degree in New Zealand, and practised with the Wellington legal firm of Rothwell, Gibson, Page and Marshall. The Marshall partner was later to become Prime Minister of NZ. Mr Tikaram later became the first Indian magistrate in Fiji, and then the first Indian judge of the Fiji Supreme Court. He is now the Fiji ombudsman.

The appearance of strange animals caused a sensation among the hunters in the north of New Caledonia. One of them, from the region of Mt Panier, highest mountain in New Caledonia at 1,650 metres, reported meeting up with an animal which, when sighted, swung 15 feet into a tree, afterwards dropping to the ground and making off into the forest. The hunter thought it was a monkey. Hunters in the neighbourhood were undecided —whether to investigate the animal or the brand of liquor used by the hunter. From time to time there had been isolated reports of monkeys being seen in New Caledonia.

Apart from the strange animals, there were also reports of strange objects in the skies. These were variously described as being like throwing nets, illuminated balls and sausages. Each time the object was visible for 20 minutes to half an hour, and after remaining stationary for some time, disappeared at high speed.

The Administration of Papua New Guinea was working, 20 years ago, on a scheme expected to emerge soon, to give financial assistance to settlers starting out in primary production.

Those to get help would be "deserving cases". PIM, however, was a little sceptical. It commented: "Just how long it will take for this particular butterfly to 'emerge' from its Administration chrysalis, is anyone's guess, but if it takes as long as the allocation of land, present PNG residents would do well to enter their sons' names for the benefits to come."

The Casino Hotel, Apia, operated by NZ Reparation Estates (a government agency) lost £BOO on its operations last financial year (1954), but that was nothing new for a government enterprise.

Built on German lines, and later converted to use as a hotel, the Casino was probably the largest commercial building in Western Samoa 20 years ago.

Most of its permanent residents were government employees.

The late Mr Ivan Nelson, founder of the Islands agents Nelson and Robertson Pty Ltd, which celebrated its 60th birth day 20 years ago. He died on July 31, 1941 aged 70.