People

Like a conquering hero home from the wars, Mr H. Rex Lee, Governor of American Samoa from 1961 to 1967, returned to Pago Pago at the end of June to sit in the governor’s elixir for the second time. This time, it will be for a few months only — until the Samoans have a governor elected by them selves. They go to the polls in November in their first election for their chief executive. Three times over the years they’ve voted against electing their own man — or woman — but in August last year they voted to have the job localised. So far, no candidates have filed their names.

Governor Lee, who was sworn in for his second term in July, was brought from retirement. He is now 67, but is determined to make his mark as well as he made it during his first six-year tour. Before he took over in 1961, American Samoa was described as “America’s shame in the Pacific”. When he left.

Reader’s Digest, which had applied

the first description, called the ter ritory “America’s showplace in the Pacific”.

He had an enthusiastic welcome at June’s end. He and his wife were draped with leis by a line of nearly 100 local dignitaries, and there were more dancing groups than had been seen for years.

Young expatriate painter Barry Jay has in a few short years made a big name for himself in Papua New Guinea for his ability to capture PNG scenes and people on black velvet.

Two of his works have been of ficially purchased: a portrait of the

late Mathias Toliman (by the PNG Government), and a scene of Port Moresby harbour at night (by the PNG Government as an official gift to Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips). The latter painting now hangs in the stateroom of the royal yacht Britannia.

An exhibition of Barry Jay’s paintings was held in July at Lae’s Melanesian Hotel.

Mr Dijendra Singh, 39, has been declared the Fiji Jaycee Outstanding Person of the year. This annual award is restricted to people under 40. Mr Singh was chosen because he was the driving force behind the construction of a sports stadium at Ba. He is a former Mayor of Ba. He received the award from a former winner, Mr Mosese Qionibaravi, Speaker of the Fiji House of Rep resentatives.

The Most Rev D. G. Browne was recently consecrated at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Auckland, as Roman Catholic Bishop of Rarotonga. He was consecrated by his predecessor, Bishop J. Rodgers, who was earlier Bishop of Tonga. More than 200 priests from the Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand at

Second-time Governor of American Samoa, H. Rex Lee. The picture was taken in 1962 when he had been in American Samoa for about a year.

tended the consecration. Twelve bishops including the Metropolitan of New Zealand Cardinal Delargey, and 18 priests celebrated Mass. The new bishop’s two brothers, the Revs M and N Browne, were his chaplains for the consecration.

Bishop Browne served in Tonga as a missionary priest for two years before his new appointment. Bishop Rodgers is now an auxiliary bishop in Auckland.

Sir John Falvey, QC, Fiji’s Attorney-General since independence in 1974, has resigned “to restore my financial reserves which have been greatly eroded during the years on a ministerial salary which I regard as quite inadequate”. Sir John became a politician in 1953 when he was elected to what was then the Southern Division of the Legislative Council. He was soon appointed to the Executive Council, forerunner of the Council of M inisters under internal selfgovernment and then to Cabinet. He was appointed a senator in 1972, vacating the House of Representatives, but as Attorney- General he was still entitled to

speak in the lower house, but not to vote. Sir John, New Zealand-born, went to Fiji in 1940 to join the colonial administration. He studied law in his spare time and in the late 1940 s qualified as a barrister and solicitor. He joined the oldestablished Suva legal firm of Cromptons in 1949. . f . . ..

Captain Freddie Ladd, a notable figure in New Zealand aviation and once a pilot with Fiji Airways (now Air Pacific), has ended a colourful flying career. At the age of 68 he has decided it is time to give the game away. He flew torpedo-bombers in the Pacific during World War 11. He then helped the late Harold Gatty to launch Fiji Airways with Drover aircraft. After leaving Fiji Captain Ladd followed an aviation career in NZ, which embraced tourist traffic, delivering newspapers, mercy flights, to name just a few. He also had more than his share of crashes on a reef in Fiji, on a Rotorua thermal ridge and into Lake Rotorua. The last-named was a helicopter in which he was a passenger.

Kevin Brian Young, 23, must have been born to be a navigator.

He is a seventh-generation member of the family of Midshipman Ed ward Young, who was navigator in Captain Bligh’s Bounty, and who joined the mutineers to overthrow the old “tyrant” and put him to sea in a long boat. Kevin is now Pilot Officer Young of the Royal New Zealand Air Gorce, and when he graduated at Wigram, near Christchurch, he was awarded the Astrolabe Trophy for the navigator who had the highest aggregate of marks in practical navigation and academic studies. Kevin was born on Pitcairn Island in 1954 and went to NZ seven years later to attend school. He would like to go back to Pitcairn when he retires in about 22 years, unless an airstrip is built on the island. Meantime, he is sta tioned at Whenuapai, Auckland, and is flying in Orion aircraft.

Pastor Colin Winch, who has flown Seventh-day Adventist mis sion planes in the Solomons and Papua New Guinea for the past 22 years, has left the Islands. He is now chief flying instructor with the Se venth-day Adventist aviation ser vice in Australia.