Pacifique Sud
p. 28 · Read in the full issue
With Helen Rousseau
There was plenty of sporting activity around the French territo ries in recent weeks from the stream of Paris government of ficials testing the temperature in Pacific waters, and the armada of Australian yachtsmen invading Noumea, to unscheduled games reported from the Casino Royal and a young French legionnaire testing his legs on a sprint around Tahiti.
The legionnaire, Jean Hartel broke the record set by a military man last year when he made a complete circle of Tahiti on foot, covering the distance in 12 hours 14 minutes.
No doubt “sport maketh the man” in this leisure age.
Certainly, that seems the way or ganisers of the Club Mediter ranee resorts think of people on holidays. At the Club Med village on the island of Moorea, off Tahiti, young Americans, French and Australians are attracted by the casual mood teamed with coaching In scuba diving, water skiing, tennis and yoga. The sporting organisers of the day help present cabaret shows at night, not forgetting what has been cynically described as the “sexual smorgasbord’’.
Club Med founder-chairman Gilbert Trigano visited French Polynesia from Paris in April ac companied by other top com pany executives. The group also visited New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Fiji and Tonga to choose a site for the next club village. Though no final choice was announced, leaders of the main political parties in the New Hebrides, who are scheduled to attend talks with British and French government officials July 19-21 In Paris, have been Invited to visit Senegal. There they can see what the Club Med has built in a newly-lndependent African nation.
Meanwhile, at the Paris talks, decisions are expected on the date for new elections In the New Hebrides and on some indica tions of. a .timetable towards achieving Independenee.
However. Mr J-G Eriau, French High Conhmlssioner In the Pacific, speaking late April at the opening of the newly tar-sealed airfield at Pekoa, Santo, told the Hebrideans that France would not abandon the islands if the future government wished to re ceive her financial and technical aid. Further offers of French tech nical aid were made to other Pacific Islands when officials from Paris. Noumea, and Papeete met in Noumea in May before a scheduled visit to Papua New Guinea, Fiji. Western Samoa and Tonga. The mission was led by Mr C. Le Breton from the Paris Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The mission Indicated growing French initiative to introduce their scientific and technological know-how around the Islands.
Further moves to extend French Interests in the region, partic ularly in uranium and defence, were underlined by the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser’s invitation to visit France. June 18-20, for talks with French Prime Minister Ray mond Barre.
At the same time, the French have been offering a warm welcome to overseas tourism promoters. Recent visitors from Sydney included Mr Clarrle Davis, South Pacific director of Thai Airways, and Mr Len Man nel, regional director of sales and marketing for American Ex press. Both were visiting new representative offices In Noumea.
The other ambassadors of overseas tourism recently in Noumea were crews aboard the .33 yachts completing the Sydney
to Noumea race in May, won by Mark Twain with French yacht Escapade second. The Caledo nians celebrated the event with plenty of things Australian, from cricket to Australian foodstuffs in the Prisunic supermarket. With typical French flavour, a Noumea cartoonist depicted the Australian products as ranging from “to be AFt NOTTS to be’’, mint cheese, ginger cheese sugar butter, cheese powder with beetroot sugar, etc. Such sweet ness is of course, In considera ble contrast to French cheeses which carry such savoury labels as “delight of the gods’’ and “droppings of the devil’’.
The Australian mood around town also prompted a friendly match of le cricket between Melanesian women and an Australian team led by Mrs Bill Fisher, wife of the Australian con sul. Wearing kangaroo teashirts, the Australians were defeated by the Melanesians In their brightly coloured Mother Flubbards. This dress, Introduced by prudent English missionaries, was ap parently so-named because un derneath used to be “bare’’.
Rather unsportingly, a scandal has been reported from Noumea’s Casino Royal. The company stated that In June last year the chief cashier was charg ed with having “milked’’ the poker machines through the re serve key. This “indelicate employee ’’ was given a sus pended prison sentence by the Noumea court and after restoring his avowed illegal gains of $A 1.600 was promptly de spatched back to France. The company has since strengthened security in Its gaming rooms. The casino is, nonetheless, a good money-spinner and this year pro posed a 1 for 10 bonus issue to shareholders, after allowing for $A350,000 in local taxes.