Yesterday

Western Samoa's population was increasing at a faster rate than the population of any other country in the Pacific, PIM reported in May, 1955. The rate of increase was higher than that of Japan or India. During the budget session of the Legislative Assembly, the High Commissioner, Mr Powles, urgently warned that Western Samoa's production must keep pace with the rapidly-increasing population. The rate of increase was 3.3 per cent a year, compared with 2.6 per cent in Fiji, 1.9 per cent in New Zealand, 1.7 per cent in Japan and 1.26 per cent in India.

Alleging that they and their family had been chased out of Eastern Samoa, Robert L. Ketner and his wife, Arlene, claimed $lOO,OOO damages from the Governor, Mr Richard B. Lowe. They filed their suit in Honolulu. They claimed they had been living peaceably in Eastern Samoa for seven months, starting in October, 1953, but the governor had "commenced a course of conduct calculated to harass them and interfere with their civil rights", that he had referred to them "in terms of odium and ridicule". There was also a claim that Mr Ketner left under threat of deportation, under escort of an armed guard and against his constitutional rights. Mr Ketner, who had been a teacher at Denver, Colorado, complained to Washington; Washington upheld the governor, who said he had ordered Ketner to leave because he was taking business away from the Samoans.

Providing startling news for those who believed that an organised strike in New Caledonia was impossible, 1,000 nickel-smelting workers at Noumea and 400 mining workers at Thio downed tools. Europeans, Islanders, Indo-Chinese and Javanese were all represented among the strikers, who alleged that the company employing Ihem had persistently shelved consideration of claims for pay increases.

Fhe strike ended the day it started on »he understanding that there would ae negotiations for a complete new working contract.

Mew Zealand's insatiable capacity for stowing away island bananas was llustrated by a housewife's complaint the Prices Tribunal in Auckland. >he complained, and it was easily

proved, that up to l/4 a pound was being charged by retailers in country towns not far from Auckland. The fixed maximum legal price in Auckland was a pound, and lOd for the area concerned in the complaint, though in practice l/- was frequently charged. The under-the-counter, favoured customer rule still applied in more distant country areas. Today, the Island banana is still a rare commodity because production has dropped and quality has deteriorated. The Ecuadorean banana is stealing the market.

Itinerant Indian barbers, who plied their trade squatting at the roadside, were on the way out in Suva in May, 1955.

When the Suva City Council was discussing the registration of hairdressing shops, Cr P. K, Bhindi asked, somewhat surprisingly, "What about the Governor?" He said that although the Governor had his hair cut at home.

Government House was not a registered barber's shop. The Chief Health Officer replied that although itinerant hairdressers would be abolished in the city, discretion would be shown about the sick, elderly and other persons who wanted to have their hair cut at home.

Rarotonga's annual round-the-island bicycle race, over 20 miles of rough coral road, was held as usual. And as usual, it was an endurance test for both rider and machine, for the road was in a very poor state of repair after heavy rain. The bicycles used were heavy roadsters, with two-inch balloon tyres, which made heavy going over tandy patches, but were sturdy enough to stand up to punishment. The winner

was Manoa Heather, who covered the distance in 56 minutes six seconds. It was his second win in succession, and it was the fifth consecutive win for a member of the Heather family.

Nga Carlson won the women's race for the fourth consecutive year.

PIM, in May, 1955, carried a picture of the Houng Lee family of Fiji, the head of which, Mrs Mary Houng Lee, bad celebrated her 99th birthday the previous month. She was the first Chinese woman to settle in Fiji, the wife of Moi Ling, who set up a successful trading business at Levuka. Of their nine children, three sons and a daughter were living in May, 1955.

In the picture, next to her was Mr George Houng Lee, then 68, and a noted shark fisherman. Mr George Houng Lee was a well known figure in Suva as he chugged through the streets on his motor-bike.

Indonesia's claim to Netherlands New Guinea was "so utterly unreasonable, futile, inconsequential and emotional" that there might be an inclination to dismiss it with a shrug of the shoulders if it were not that artificially-aroused sentiments in very young countries might easily run out of hand, and if "colonialism" was not such an effective battle-cry in some parts of the world.

That statement was made by the Netherlands Ambassador to Australia, Mr A. M. L. Winkelman, in an address to a Rotary Club in Australia. But whatever the merits of Mr Winkelman's claim, Indonesia eventually secured control of Netherlands New Guinea and renamed it West Irian and then Irian Jaya.

Semesa Sikivou, a master at Queen Victoria School, became the first Fijian to graduate Master of Arts in the University of New Zealand. But the first Fijian to become an MA was Ratu K. K. T. Mara, who graduated at Oxford. Both men went on to political careers. Ratu Mara is now Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the first Prime Minister of Fiji, while Semesa, after serving in the Legislative Council for 11 years, is now the Fiji Ambassador to the United States, High Commissioner to Canada and permanent representative to the United Nations, and possibly in line for a knighthood.

"... a large English town, with two banks, several churches, dental surgeons, a large gaol, auctioneers, bookmakers, two newspapers, and all the appurtenances of civilisation!"

A quote from a letter written to a friend in England before World War I and reprinted in the 20-year-old PIM.

The writer? Poet Rupert Brooke —and the English town? Suva.

Semesa K. Sikivou first Fijian to graduate Master of Arts in New Zealand, reported PIM 20 years ago.