This Month

• 19th South Pacific Conference Meeting in Papeete (above), the conference brought home the point that in the Pacific it’s the ‘little people’ that count . 11 • Easter Island A conference shows Latin America looking for a Pacific role and the search could be a long one 21 • Cook Islands ‘Lose One, Win One’ Sir Albert Henry could his recent suc cessful appeal against a ban on his political activity be the start of a comeback trail? 22 • New Hebrides - An arts festival neither British, French, nor ‘condominial’ just Niu Hebhdis 24 • Papua New Guinea - Prime Minister Somare appoints a new chief justice from Australia, and names the first Papua New Guinean to a seat on the Supreme Court bench 29 • Kiribati A traveller tells how the newly independent nation looks from a bus window 21 • Yesterday - A remarkable tale of a successful drift voyage from Ocean Island to Nauru 49 • Solomon Islands Feelings run high on crop-dusting activities on the Guadal canal Plains ricefields 52 Cover: Sights like this qne greeted delegates to October's 19th South Pacific Conference, the first ever held in Tahiti. Photo: Teva Sylvain.

Afterthoughts 25 Books 43 Deaths 7 3 Easter Island 21

Fiji 9

Islands Press 59 Kiribati 31 Letters 5 New Hebrides 24 Norfolk Island 11 Pacific Report 9 Papua New Guinea 22, 25, 27, 29

People 27 Political Currents 21 Shipping Services "

Ships 91 Solomon Islands 27, 52 South Pacific Conference 11 Tonga j. 11, 34 Tradewlnds 52 Tradewlnds Intelligence 56 Travel 31 Tropicalltles 37 Yachts 65

Yesterday 49