People

Mr Edward E. Johnston, appointed High Commissioner in Micronesia in 1969 by President Nixon, has resigned to take up a SUSSO,OOO a year post as executive vice-president of the Pacific Area Travel Association. He served longer as High Commissioner than any previous holder of the post. Mr Johnston was an in surance executive and chairman of the Hawaii Republican Party before going to the top post in Micronesia. In 1975, he and his administration were criticised in two US Government reports. But ac cording to Mr Johnston, charges in the reports of “waste, inefficiency, mismanagement and corruption”, were “totally unsubstantiated and unproved allegations”. There’s one thing though a few Micronesian top brass are changing their jobs as a result of the reports.

Mr C. H. Allan will return to the Pacific Islands later this year as Governor of the Solomons. At present Governor of the Seychelles, he was an administrative officer in the Solomons from 1945 to 1959. Then, he went on to the New Hebrides as British Resident Com missioner. The term of the retiring Gover nor of the Solomons, Mr D. M. Lud dington, expires in October. He went there in 1973 as High Commissioner and became Governor in 1974 when the Legislative Assembly replaced the Gover ning Council and the Solomons took the

first steps towards independence.

Mrs Fetaui Mata’afa, widow of Fiame Vlata’afa, former Prime Minister of Western Samoa, has been awarded an lonorary doctorate of laws at Victoria Jniversity, Wellington.

Captain R. J. (Bert) Ritchie retires on [ uly las general manager of Qantas and vill be succeeded by Mr K. Hamilton.

Veil known in the Pacific in areas served >y Qantas, he started his flying career >efore World War II with Mandated Airlines of New Guinea. He is a twin •rother of Mr Chris Ritchie like two «as in a pod also well known in ’acific aviation circles, having done two tints as general manager of Fiji Airways nd Air Pacific and as a director of Air 4elanesiae.

Mr Eric Jones, 51, an economist, has een appointed chief executive of Fiji ugar Marketing Co. This company, ewly formed, will take over the larketing of Fiji sugar from CSR Ltd. Mr anes, who was chief economist in the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and orests, has been actively engaged in a

number of negotiations connected with the sugar industry. These included the Fiji Government purchase of South Pacific Sugar Mills from CSR Ltd and the long term agreements with New Zealand.

Mr Ikipa Togatula, the first Niue Islan der to graduate from a university in New Zealand, has been appointed to a position in the Parliamentary Counsel’s office in Wellington. He was educated at Niue High School, Wanganui Boys’ College and Canterbury College, where he graduated in law. He will work in Wellington till about the end of 1976, when he will return to Niue as the Government Legal Officer.

Prince ‘Alaivahamama’o, second son of King Taufa’ahau Tupou, of Tonga, is ser ving as a midshipman in the Royal Navy frigate, Mermaid. The frigate, part of the Royal Navy’s cod war flotilla off Iceland water, was once derided as a “Floating Gin Palace” for former President Kwame Nkrumah, of Ghana. The prince, apart from his duties as midshipman, is also un dertaking navigational in-service training.

The Rev Santakumar Singh, just Santa to many who knew him as a photographer, salesman and executive of Stinsons Ltd, in Suva, has rejoined the firm, now Stinson- Pearce, as chaplain and personnel manager. Fr Singh was ordained as a Church of England priest after study in New Zealand.

He must be the first clergyman in the South Pacific to have a shop as his parish.

Mr Jacques Fabre, after 1 5 years in the New Hebrides, returned to France in March. He was Chancellor at the French Residency. He has been succeeded as Chancellor by Mr F. Doyen.

Nelson and Robertson Pty Ltd, Sydney-based Islands agents, has opened branch offices at Suva and Lautoka. Pictured are the branch managers, Messrs Kantilal Jiwan, left (Lautoka) and Rashmikant Patel.

Both are well known businessmen in Fiji. Nelson and Robertson, in the past, has operated in Fiji through other agents, but has instituted the branch system to give the company a better relationship with Australian exporters and manufacturers.

Patel

Jiwan