Islands

From the

Press

Part of a letter from teacher Dick Gavun, published in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, Port Moresby One of the reasons for the decline in our education standards is lack of discipline, and this is due to the fact that the government has put a full stop to harsh punishment. Therefore, to our dismay, we teachers never discipline the children. Good citizens and disciplined students were produced in the colonial days. I am proud to be one. I, for one, will produce undisciplined students for PNG because the government doesn’t allow me to discipline the children in a harsh way. We no longer have trust, confidence and respect from our students.

From a column by Akio Heine in the Marshall Islands

Journal, Majuro

A religious man has given me his opinion why we haven’t had much rain. There’s too much sinning in the Republic, he believes. He said the Republic had become like Sodom and Gommorah. Said he: “Sundays are now favorite fishing days for everybody, many stores are open and the girls are now wearing provocative trousers.” Many beer drinkers are now switching to hard liquor. Nowadays beer can leave you broke, but not drunk unlike, say, a bottle of vodka. So expect the sale of hard liquor to go up. Another man said he is definitely thinking of going back to drinking yeast, a favorite drink of the outer islands.

From a reader’s letter published in The Norfolk Islander, Norfolk Island In last week’s newspaper David Lewis wrote in a way which suggested Norfolk Island is part of Australia. I don’t think or feel that Norfolk is like Australia or is part of Australia, and I would hope that it never is. Norfolk can do without income tax, strikes, racial problems, police with guns, tall buildings, crowds, traffic jams, lights, parking meters and lots of other similar things. Norfolk is different and much better, too. That is why every one appreciates it. Many people want to come and live here, and if they meet the basic requirements they probably can. It is a good thing that Norfolk does not deliberately set out to increase its population. If it were to get any more crowded it would not be appreciated by the residents or by the tourists, either.

From a letter in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, Port Moresby, headed “Message to Hagen policemen”

Mount Hagen police are a disgrace to the public. Are there any regulations each policeman is supposed to abide by? Nearly all policemen in Hagen are improperly trained. If they are trained well they must have forgotten their notes. Any Western Highlander will agree with me. Some I have seen in the station were half dressed in prescribed uniforms. Some are drunk while on duty. I can name each policeman. Some during duties have their hands in their pockets just hanging around.

From a report in The Fiji Times, Suva, about a 19-year-old woman convicted of stealing from shops A gust of wind foiled a shoplifter’s attempt to steal a bottle of Tang which she had hidden under her skirt, Suva court heard yesterday. A witness told the court that the woman had walked out of the shop in a peculiar way. When a gust of wind came, her skirt lifted and a bottle of Tang was seen between her legs.

A second witness told the court that the woman walked from another shop in a waddling manner. When she shook her body

two mosquito nets and two towels fell from under her skirt. She pleaded not guilty to three charges of larceny but the court accepted the prosecution evidence and found she had stolen two bottles of Tang, two mosquito nets, two towels, shaving cream, after-shave lotion and film. She was remanded in custody for sentence.

From a letter in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, Port Moresby, headed “Be warned on race pollution”

I have seen many young ladies from towns or even outside the villages mucking around with white men. I am concerned and don’t want these matters brought out into our provinces. It will ruin the color of our bodies throughout PNG.

From the Marshall Islands Journal, Majuro If you need to visit any of the government offices the best time is after coffee break (around 9.00). But don’t get there late because at 10.00 there is another coffee break. You will have to sit around till they get back at 11.00, or maybe even after lunch. The same thing applies if you are trying to make your visit in the afternoon.

From an editorial in The Fiji Times, Suva, commenting on the despatch of Fiji avocados to Buckingham Palace

in England

Now the Fiji avocado pears have found their way to the Royal dining table in Buckingham Palace, hopefully some local entrepreneur will be sufficiently interested in exploiting the highly lucrative market abroad for this much sought-after tropical delicacy. Visitors to Fiji are astounded to find that the avocado pear grows wild, and not many people here care for it.

From an editorial in The Observer, Apia, on the condition of the roads in Western Samoa Meantime, every time a person is elected a Member of Parliament the road around where he lives gets pounded smooth and paved over in no time. Why don’t the Sinamoga people and the Leone people invite an MP to come and live in their

villages?

From an item published in the American Samoa News Bulletin, headed “Yachtsman confused by storm”

Yachtsman Stephen Neumann was riding out a cyclone off the Fiji Islands recently when a huge wave carried his boat across coral reefs and up to the bar of a beachfront hotel. Shocked and disorientated by the battering, Neumann leaned over the side of the yacht and fired a distress flare, right into the establishment ceiling . . . Feeling “like an idiot,” Neumann said he climbed out of the boat and hid in a linen room. The yacht is still parked in the bar at Plantation Village Resort. Said Neumann, “I think the manager would rather it was someplace else. The boat weighs 14 tons, not an easy item to move.”

From the Flotsam and Jetsam column in The Fiji Times, Suva OVERHEARD; A cyclone-struck resident commenting disgustedly on the threatened arrival of Cyclone Sarah. “Cyclone Oscar has come and gone, now his wife’s coming. Next it will be their kids.”

From the Marshall Islands Journal, Majuro The Majuro Police Department has decided to drop the physical fitness requirements to join the force. They said if they enforced these there would be no police force.

From the Pitcairn Miscellany Importation of Dogs: As the island population of dogs is now down to one lonely specimen, some members felt that more should be imported. The Governor thought this was up to the individual, as the “machinery” for importing dogs already existed. Other council members felt that one dog was too many.

From the Voice of Vanuatu Last Saturday was “Snail Day” at Walaha, West Ambae, and 331 kilos of snails were collected by Walaha school. First prize for the most snails caught went to Class Six. The agricultural department who organised the “Snail Day” congratulate the headmaster and pupils. African snails are a pest and are finding their way to more and more islands.