This Month

• Australia and the Pacific - Australia remains the awkward Oceanian in its efforts to fit into the Pacific family of nations without being, or appearing to be, paternalistic 9 • Cook Islands Excerpts from a new book which bares the political soul of these islands, long dominated by the Henry family 15 • SPEC - Mahe Tupouniua looks back over five years as director of the South Pacific Forum’s executive arm and has a stab at predicting what is in store for 18 • American Samoa An American lawyer, after visiting this US colony, sees tarnished and shiny sides to the ‘almighty dollar’ 20 • Religion - Percy Chatterton sees the present crisis in Christianity in Papua New Guinea as possibly one aspect of the confrontation between communalism and individualism in Melanesian society today 45 • Books - Olaf Ruhen says Western Samoan novelist Albert Wendt, in his latet book, Pouliuli, lives up fully to his early promise 41 • New Caledonia French Overseas Territories Minister Dijoud had to do some fast talking in Noumea recently to keep the lid on a difficult situ ation 31 • Fiji Sugar politics sees a former opposition leader, Siddiq Koya, fighting for his credibility . 28 • Gilbert Islands —An insider at the London consti tutional conference offers his interpretation of events 28 • French Polynesia - Fiji’s Ratu Mara finds himself caught up once again in Tahiti’s colonial politics 27

Afterthoughts 45

American Samoa 20 Australia " g Books ..". 41 Cook Islands 5 Deaths !".””!"!!...’... 65 F| j 6,28,42,50 F. Polynesia 2 7,58 Gilbert Islands 28 Islands Press Letters 5 Media gg New Caledonia 6,31,50,57 New Hebrides g 31 New Zealand ’52

Pacific Report

Png 5,45,49,50^57,58

People 24 Political Currents 27 Religion 45 Shipping Solomon Islands 6 34 53 spec 8 The Region Tradewinds Tropicalitles Tuvalu Western Samoa 41,50 Yachts 67 Yesterday

Lady Henry... a power behind the Cooks’ throne?

Albert Wendt... a mature second novel