Islands

From The

Press

From the Solomons News Drum, quoting Chief Minister Peter Kenilorea writing in Pacific Perspective, magazine of the South Pacific Sciences Association: ... While deploring the fall in moral standards and decrying the use of mini-skirts, Mr Kenilorea posed the question of what is the true dress of the Solomon Islands: “Our cultural value and tradition in clothing was the birthday suit,” he remarks drily. “This is accepted even today in some parts of the Solomons, yet it is unnoticed by many mini-skirt critics.”

From a poem “Mamas Teaching to Son Before Leaving”, written by a Niuean student and printed in Tohi Tala Niue: As you goes there son Think hard and remember The good teaching of your parents The great songs of our ancestors ...

As you been there son Try hard and bring more Of all diplomas and degrees For still our basket is empty ...

Don’t follow your brothers trail Who disobeyed and disgraced us Sorry for them our dear sons Who destroy their lucky straw And disappearing into the world ...

From a reader’s letter in the Tonga Chronicle: Do all of you know the horrible thing that is happening on our island of Niuafo’ou? Let me tell you about what we call “weighing copra the devil’s way”. What we mean by this is weighing the copra under another name so the profits aren’t divided in two. I believe that in 1977 many thousands of dollars have been stolen from the government in Niuafo’ou by those who use the other name referred to above ...

From American Samoa News Bulletin: There’s one thing you can say about Pago Pago, everybody knows where it is. Well, just about everybody. Yesterday, the Office of Samoan Information received a letter which was mailed from San Francisco airmail on August 30. It was addressed to “Pago Pago, Am Samoa”. Scrawled in red ink below the address is the comment “Try in South America”.

Somewhere, somebody had drawn a line through that comment in black ink and scrawled, “Try New York”. There were unreadable post marks for September 8 and September 14 and a post mark from Rangoon, Burma, on November 5. We have no idea who finally directed it here, but to someone out there somewhere, we would like to say fa’afetai!”

From New Hebrides News: I am an indigenous New Hebridean. I used to be a sober and a happy little fellow. My face was bright and broad. But now I am a day-dreamer in the world of politics. The shadow of politics has shattered the happy days, makes them gloomy and dumb.

My people have adopted politics. Politics now spreads throughout the country. It chilled my flesh and into my spine.

Politics brings fear and violence. Politics brings discrimination.

It breaks up unity and love. My country is soaked with politics like a sponge in water of politics. My country stinks with politics as a rotten egg is crammed with stinking meat.

From the Bulletin of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, New Hebrides: Bar-restaurant-boutique Bauerfield air-terminal; The president explained that at some instigation from the public, the committee some months ago decided to invite the public to tender for the concession. The original contract was awarded in 1971 for three years and since then has been renewed until the present day. The present concessionnaire was therefore advised that tenders would be called. Since this, an argument has ensued regarding this decision; some members being in favour and some on humanitarian grounds against. The latter preferred to see the present concessionnaire continue for a further year ...

Mr Mackintosh advised the meeting that the chamber was not in business to protect individual citizens from social hardship; if so, the main qualification for a successful application would be social need, and not the ability to serve the public. A debate ensued and finally the matter was put to the vote and the Chamber voted 7 to 5 in favour of abiding by the original decision to call tenders.

From the Fiji Times, on a survey of Suva restaurants and snack bars: “There is no other food which is a better medium for food poisoning than pies,” Mr Jay said ... he gave a quick, stomach turning description of how a good dose of “running stomach” could be collected by an innocent pie customer.

From American Samoa News Bulletin: This story is for the birds gay birds. A university research team in California says about 14% of the female seagulls on an island off the California coast are lesbians. The scientists say it’s the first solid evidence of widespread homosexuality ever found among wild birds. The report, compiled by researchers from the University of California at Irvine, said one female gull assumes a male role and forms a stable union with another female. They go through the motions of mating, lay sterile eggs, and defend their nests like other couples. A spokesman for the group (the scientists, that is) said the gull colony has a shortage of male birds, which may be related to the high number of female pairs. H is team is also studying blood samples taken from the lesbian birds, trying to determine if their hormones are normal.

From the Solomons News Drum, as part of its tribute to the late Dr Charles Elliot Fox: Full of legends about his own life in the Solomons, Dr Fox had some favourite ones which he liked to tell his friends. When he was headmaster of Pamua catechist school, he received an invitation to a feast by a chief at Haununu district on Makira.

He refused to attend because he feared he would be eaten by the cannibals. His fears were well-founded when he learned later that about 100 men and women were eaten at the feast.

From the Cook Islands News: A four-year-old boy in the New Hebrides was playing with his two-year-old brother in 18 inches of water in the lagoon near where their father was working. A giant octopus approached and attacked the two-year-old child. The older boy called their father who came to the rescue quickly and with a bush knife and spear killed the octopus. He called his workmates to help him remove the octopus from the water. Its tentacles measured 2 x li metres (eight ft) in length.

From the Solomons News Drum: A man aged 109 has died in Kakabona village. Maturino, a warrior of head-hunting days, had his final fight in a raid on villages in the Malango district. A relative, Seraphin Taro, told the Information Department that Marurino remembered the man of Guadalcanal who had tails; a trait thought to have been of family origin, and which has since disappeared ... Mr Taro said that before he died, Maturino disclosed to his people where he had hidden a considerable amount of money, some of which came from the sale of land on which Honiara is now situated.

The mourners included old friends who came from as far away as Taboko and Lambi. The funeral was followed by a feast.