People

A generalisation about Polynesians that is almost always true in the particular is that they are instinctive gar deners and growers of things, no matter what career they choose in life. We had cause to be reminded of this on a recent visit to Dr Joe Williams, former

Cook Islands political heavy

weight and Minister for Health, when we finally lo cated him in the backyard of his Rarotonga home com pletely hidden among an acre of beans reaching as high as an elephant’s eye. He was picking the beans after having just sprayed a field of superb tomatoes.

This was no kitchen garden.

Since getting out of politics earlier this year (he disagreed with the policies of his former leader. Sir Albert Henry) Dr Joe has been earning his bread as a market gardener, inter spersed with medical fees from his general practice. Even Joe’s political enemies admit that the former minister is a ‘darn good gardener’ who loves his

garden and no doubt they privately hope he’ll stay in it.

Karavia village in Papua New Guinea’s East New Britain Province has produced the nation’s first female assistant bank manager. She is Elsie Bola, married with two chil dren, who was recently appointed assistant manager of the PNG Development Bank’s Rabaul branch on the Gazelle Peninsula of East New Britain.

Mrs Bola joined the bank in 1970 as a loans clerk-typist and. in 1973, was promoted to assist ant loans officer and the following year to loans offi cer.

Smallest contingent at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada, in August came from the Cook Islands. It comprised one boxer, Richard Pittman, and one official, Utia Tipikoroa. Utia claimed he was the busiest man at the games: T am team manager, trainer, friend, and there is not time to do anything,’ said he.

Semisi Taumoepeau took over as Government Tourist Officer in Tonga on the departure of Alasdair Buchanan for his home in Scotland. Mr Taumo epeau, 28, who completed a sci-

ence degree at Auckland University, has studied tourism in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the United King dom, and has been with the Tonga Visitors Bureau nearly three years. Another change at the bureau is the appointment of Princess Pilolevu Tuita as educational and training offi cer a new position. The prin cess, until her appointment, had worked on a part time basis for four years for the bu reau.

Apisai Tora, a prominent fig ure in Fiji trade union circles and politics, won an appeal to the Fiji Court of Appeal against a 12 months’ gaol sen tence. A magistrate’s court sen tenced him for a breach of the Sugar Industry Act. He was al leged to have called out mem bers of the Sugar and General Workers Union, of which he was secretary, in support of

striking stevedores. The Fiji

Supreme Court upheld the de cision of the Magistrate’s Court so Tora went one stage further to gain his freedom. After the Court of Appeal decision, Mr Tora said he would sue the government for damages.

We have heard of no younger governor-general in the Com monwealth than Solomon

Islands’ 37-year-old Baddeley

Devesi. Nor have we heard of any better snooker player than Mr Devesi among the Com monwealth’s governors

general.

George Atkin writes from Honiara that Mr Devesi, be fore his elevation, won two snooker tournaments which were conducted earlier this year at the Guadalcanal Club.

Snooker is not Mr Devesi’s

only supporting activity. He

was captain of the Solomon Islands team at the South Pa cific Games in Noumea in 1966, and was the only Solomon Islands sprinter to reach the finals. He is still a keen cricketer and squash player. Since he moved into Honiara’s huge Government House, he has taken up two new sports: he plays tennis at the Community Centre, and

badminton in the Government

House grounds.

The only sad spot in the pic ture is that there appears to be some doubt whether Mr Devesi will continue playing snooker.

We know there are many calls on the Solomon Islands’ budget, but the idea of instal ling a second-hand snooker table in Government House has some appeal. There’s plenty of room for it. But it would probably be better still

if, protocol permitting, the

governor-general went on playing at the Guadalcanal Club.

Papua New Guinea’s Consul- General in Sydney, Austin

Sapias, let fly with some highly

undiplomatic language when he criticised aspects of his

country’s immigration prac

tices. Said he: ‘Who you know rather than what you know

Joe Williams and beans

Away from the cares of office and the snooker table - Solomon Islands Governor- General Baddeley Devesi dances with his wife, June, at the July State Ball for Solomon Islands independence

appears to be the basis for entry to Papua New Guinea. I have been ambarrassed on many

occasions trying to uphold

PNG laws as consul-general only to be frustrated by de cisions in Port Moresby which to be inconsistent with

migration and employment

laws. ‘lt is evident that backdoor methods are being used by cer tain people to gain entry to PNG. These things are making us a laughing stock.’

Mr Sapias’ blast, in a fine il lustration of the fact that PNG democracy extends to its diplo mats too, was reported in a re

lease from the government’s

Office of Information. His ire had been aroused by a contro versial application for a re

entry permit by an Australian

boxing promoter, Norman Salter. Mr Salter was, at least temporarily, successful in his bid to return to PNG.

fwo post-independence diplo

natic arrivals in Solomon Islands are the British and New

Zealand high commissioners.

~rom Britain came Gordon Plater, no stranger to the Pa

cific, having established the

JK High Commission in Port Vloresby after Papua New

juinea’s independence in

1975. From New Zealand came lohn Ammundson, another veteran of South Pacific affairs, laving served in Western >amoa and the Cook Islands, ohn Melhuish, the Australian Jigh Commissioner, is the inly other diplomat- in resi

lence in Honiara. Diplomatic

elations have also been

established with Papua New Guinea, Canada and the United States on an accredita tion basis and Japan is expected to establish an embassy in Honiara soon.

Archbishop David Hand, 60 this year, is to continue as head of the Anglican Church in Papua New Guinea for a further five years. Archbishop Hand announced his resig nation at the last meeting of the Anglican Provincial Council but agreed to stay on at the council’s request. He is a naturalised citizen of Papua New Guinea.

For the first time, New Zealand is to have a Maori Chief of the General Staff. He is Brigadier Brian Matauru Poananga, 53, who will be pro moted to major-general when he takes up his new post in

November. Brigadier

Poananga has served as New Zealand’s first High Com missioner to Papua New Guinea.

An honorary doctorate in econ omics was awaiting Papua New Guinea’s ex-finance minister when he visited South Korea recently. Julius Chan, now

deputy prime minister and

minister for primary industry,

received his doctorate from Dankook University, Seoul, for his ‘contribution to the establishment of a viable econ omic and monetary policy in Papua New Guinea’. Mr Chan was finance minister until last

year’s general election, steering

PNG through its delicate post-

independence years, and his shift from the portfolio gave the prophets of gloom a field day. But their forecasts came to nought. Former speaker of the

Parliament, Barry Holloway,

smoothly took over the finance reins and has held them steady to date.

Ninety-six-year-old Norman

Deck is a veteran with 44 years service in Solomon Islands be hind him 10 years as a dentist caring for teeth and 34 years as a missionary caring for souls.

But, with only four years to go to his century, he’s still break

ing new ground.

Eighty-two years ago he clicked a shutter for the first time, and he’s been taking photographs ever since. August saw the opening of his first photographic exhibition. The Melbourne event featured 60 of Mr Deck’s old photographs studies of scenes in the Solomons, New Zealand and Europe.

T’m out of fashion. I don’t mind admitting it,’ Mr Deck told a Melbourne newspaper. ‘Modern photography where

they always seem to take stunts is good. But frankly it leaves me a bit cold. I like something that is inherently beautiful.’

Mr Deck doesn’t work in the field any more, but he does some enlarging at his Sydney home and occasionally walks around the garden taking pic tures.

New Zealand’s John Ammund son

Britain’s Gordon Slater

The Evangel, photographed in Solomon Islands in 1908 by Norman Deck (below)