News in a Nutshell

The crew of the peace mission ship Fri planted a memorial tree on Sai pan’s beach at the end of January.

The ceremony was attended by Sen ator Olympic Borja, chairman of the Congress of Micronesia’s Joint Com mittee on Rongelap and Utirik, where Marshall islanders experienced the radiation fallout from US nuclear tests, and the Rongelap magistrate, Nelson Anjain, a relative of Lekoj Anjain, who died of leukemia caused by the fallout. The Fri, which is on a peace mission to Japan, carried more than 15,000 “peace” messages from people in the Pacific. The Fri was at Mururoa atoll before sailing to Micronesia and its crew was arrested and later released by the French authorities. At Majuro, TT Government officials ordered Fri’s deportation but the order was can celled when the Marshalls’ Congress representatives insisted that the Fri be allowed to carry its peace mess ages to the people of Rongelap and Bikini. Earlier in January, the Fri’s crew planted a tree at Betio, Tarawa in the GEIC. scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific War.

Coconut Coins

Western Samoa will soon release a set of coins depicting the country’s agricultural projects. They are 1c (coconut seedling), 2c (cocoa branch), 5c (pineapple), 10c (taro plants), 20c (breadfruit), 50c (banana tree) and one tala (coconut tree).

Proof sets of sterling silver coins have been put on sale for collectors at SUSS3 a set. The Treasury expects to earn a net profit of about SWS2OO,OOO from the sale of the coins.

Commissioner Goes

Mr Robert Langlois, French Resi dent Commissioner in the New Heb rides since 1970. left the condo minium with his wife at the end of January on retirement. He was fare welled by the British Resident Com missioner, Mr R. W. H. du Boulay.

Mr Langlois, who has been in the Pacific, in the New Hebrides and French Polynesia, since 1961, will be attached to the Political Affairs section of the Department of Over seas Territories in Paris.

Deadly Drink

Two men died and six others were ill after drinking methylated spirits at a party in the Darn sub-district of Papua New Guinea. The dead were Borobe Mapa (36), a Port Moresby waterside worker, and Oma Bugoko.

They died at Port Moresby hospital.

Another in the drinking party, Aisi Kaito, is partly blind.

Ghost-Hunter!

A man from Western Samoa found an understanding and lenient magis trate when he appeared in court in Auckland on charges relating to breaking and entering a locked house and damaging several articles. Fealo fagi Leuatea, 32, told the police when he was arrested that in the

Islands a locked home meant there were ghosts inside, and when he found a house was locked he wanted to see the ghosts. There was laughter in the court when the police ex plained this to magistrate N. R. Tay lor. Mr Taylor quickly silenced it when he said it was not exactly a matter to laugh at as the explanation might be given perfectly sincerely.

He said he would take a lenient view as Leuatea was obviously a new comer to NZ. He discharged him and ordered him to pay $l5 restitution.

Usp's Mixed Bag

The University of the South Pacific in Suva had 981 full-time students in 1974. There were 154 part-time students and 135 external students. Of the full-time students, 777 were from Fiji (228 of them Fijians and 465 Indians), 45 from Tonga, 34 from Western Samoa, 32 from the GEIC, 32 from the Solomon Islands, 20 from the New Hebrides, 18 from the Cooks, six from Nauru and one from the Tokelaus. Ten of the stu dents were from Australia, Papua New Guinea and American Samoa.

These five stamps from the Cook Islands were on sale on February 5 to commemorate the exploration of the Pacific. An earlier series pictured the sailing vessels used in the original Polynesian exploration. This series portrays five of the first European explorers to reach the Pacific.

How Many Bricks?

Australia’s Independence gift to Papua New Guinea may be a sub stantial contribution towards the con struction of a $lO million national parliament building, the Speaker of PNG’s House of Assembly, Mr Barry Holloway, said in January. He had held tentative talks on the subject with the Department of Foreign Affairs in Australia. The present House of Assembly building in Port Moresby is a converted hospital building, first opened for the Legis lative Council, which preceded the House of Assembly 14 years ago.

The building and its facilities have been overcrowded for the past 10 years.

Png 'Export 7

After nearly a century of being on the receiving end of Australian missionary operations, Papua New Guinea has decided to turn the tables. A New Guinean is going to work as a missionary among Aus tralian Aborigines. Mr Hosniel Tade, 33, of Takubar, near Rabaul, will leave for Darwin with his family in March. At present he is Education Secretary for the islands region of the PNG United Church, and will be mainly involved in education work in the Northern Territory.

President On Guam

President Hammer Deßoburt, of Nauru, and his wife, were guests at the recent inauguration of the new governor of Guam, Mr Richardo Bordallo. With them were Sub- Inspector J. Olsson, Mr Kinza Clodu mar, MP, Miss Vira Clodumar and Miss Elsena Depaunne.

Cj's New Job

The Chief Justice of Nauru, Mr Justice I. R. Thompson, has been appointed a special lecturer in the Faculty of Law, Monash University, Melbourne. He will take up this post on July 1, 1975. He has been Chief Justice of Nauru since 1970 and will retain that post. For the last four years he has been engaged in a re vision of Nauru’s legal system. He was in the Colonial Service, and be fore becoming Chief Justice of Nauru was a magistrate and then a Supreme Court judge in Fiji.

Flying Machine

An earth-moving machine weigh ing 5i tons was successfully para chuted from 1,200 ft on to Atiu Island in the Cooks by an RNZAF Hercules in late January. The dis mantled machine was dropped in three sections, each section being supported by four parachutes. The

earth-excavator was for NZ Army Engineers building a harbour at Atiu, and the drop was reported as being the heaviest yet attempted by the RNZAF. The previous heaviest was one of tons.

Because of the smallness of the dropping zone, the ’chutes were de signed to open at 250 feet above the ground. Apart from minor damage to the chassis and engine, soon re paired by the Engineers, the drops, watched by most of the island’s popu lation, were completely successful.

Carpenter Goes

Mr Stanley S. Carpenter, Director of US Territorial Affairs in Washing ton, returned to the US State De partment in January to resume his career in the Foreign Service. Mr Carpenter, on loan to Territorial Affairs, led the US team at last year’s South Pacific Conference at Rarotonga. His first job on his re turn to Foreign Affairs will be to lead an inspection team to American embassies in Korea and Taiwan.

New Oil Search?

A Japanese oil exploration com pany, Teikoku, may take up the search for oil in Tonga, abandoned last year by the consortium which spent several million dollars in fruit less drilling on Tongatapu. Accord ing to a letter received by King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV from Mr K. Hayashi, chairman of Teikoku, his company is studying the question of oil exploration in Tonga. Tech nical engineers may be sent to make further investigations.

Lost At Sea

A Badili, Port Moresby, store keeper, Mr Kirk Reinhuber was be lieved lost at sea off Port Moresby on February 1 when the 16 ft out board motor boat from which he and a companion were trolling for fish capsized in rough water. His companion, Mr Oala Rama, of Pari village, swam for 10 hours before being washed ashore at Taurama beach. Mr Rama said they both clung to the upturned boat and later Mr Reinhuber set off in an attempt to swim to shore, and that was the last he saw of him.

Australian Grants

The first instalment of more than Sim which Australia has pro mised over the next five years for the preservation and development of South Pacific cultures has been handed out and 11 groups have bene fited. Grants made are, $A4,000 to the South Pacific Creative Arts So ciety for the promotion of creative

In A Nutshell

arts; $A 12,700 to the University of the South Pacific Extension Services for cultural work; $A9,000 to the Western Pacific Archives for micro filming its work; SAI,OOO to the South Pacific Social Sciences Asso ciation to promote the publication of writings by Islanders; $A1,500 to the Fiji Museum for educational services; $A2,000 for a project to compile a Fijian dictionary; SA7SO to assist in the establishment of an archive of Pacific music; $ A 1,000 to the Nelson Memorial Library in

Western Samoa for the development of its collection of cultural material; $A2,500 to the Department of Edu cation in Tonga for the promotion of cultural activities in schools and the improvement of library collec tions of cultural materials; $ A 1,755 to the British Solomon Islands Pro tectorate to promote the teaching of traditional cultural activities in schools, and to supply books and equipment to the National Library and Museum; SA7SO to the Vila Cultural Centre in the New Hebrides for the purchase of publications re lating particularly to New Hebridian cultural matters.

Custom Money!

Custom chiefs on Aoba island in the New Hebrides have decided that “there’s money in custom” and will charge visitors $lO each entrance fee to their custom ceremonies.

Photographing or tape recording ceremonies will cost an additional $lO. Anthropologists will also have to foot the bill—a $lO down pay ment before carrying out any re search on the island. A spokesman for the chiefs said a lot of custom stories and ceremonies were taken out by visitors and the Aoba people were taken for granted. “In fact some of the ceremonies are sacred and these should be preserved on the island instead of being taken else where and sold or displayed pub licly”, he said.

Costly Fire

Fire destroyed the administrative centre of the LDS Church School at Havelu, Tongatapu, towards Janu ary’s end. Damage was estimated at around $lOO,OOO. The fire, discovered at 6 am, destroyed a modern, brick walled block which contained six offices and two classrooms. It is be lieved the fire was caused by an electrical fault in the water pump servicing the building’s ornamental fountain.

Tonga’s police will take over the Nukualofa fire fighting service, which was maintained by the Minis try of Works. Australia has approved a scheme to provide Nukualofa with a $51,000 fire engine, a supporting vehicle worth $20,700, two 100,000 gallon reservoirs, a generator, pumps and hydrants.

Generous Nauruans

Nauru, often called the world’s richest republic because of its phos phatic riches, has parted with more than half a million dollars in gifts over the last couple of months. One of $250,000 went to the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation (SPEC) for investment, with the interest to be applied to financing natural disaster insurance in the Islands. Another was one of $200,000 to the University of the South Pacific, of which President Hammer De- Roburt is Chancellor; $210,000 was handed over in Melbourne to be; shared by three of the city’s leading; hospitals, and Nauru went to the; help of hurricane-shattered Darwin j with a gift of $lOO,OOO. • Mr Sitiveni Yaqona, the Fijii government public relations officer,, officer, has been appointed managen of the Fiji Visitors Bureau in Western Division. He succeeds Mn Radike Qereqeretabua, who base joined Fiji Resorts Ltd.