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The Fiji Olympic swimming team coach, Gordon Petersen, scored a victory of his own in Los Angeles.

After a whirlwind courtship during the Olympic Games, he married a security guard, identi fied at first report only as Rosemary.

Fiji Olympic swimming com petitor Sharon Pickering told The Fiji Times that Mr Petersen and Rosemary were married in Los Angeles on August 13.

She said the three swimmers in the team, Samu Tupou, Warren Sorby and herself were invited to the wedding recep tion together with the bride’s relatives.

Mr Petersen, 20, a former Fiji national rep and the present Dolphin Swimming Club coach, met Rosemary only two days before their wedding.

Miss Pickering said Mr Petersen had told them that Rosemary proposed.

She could not say whether Rosemary would accompany him back to Fiji.

Michael Wilson, Australian Ambassador to Yugoslavia since 1980, has been appointed Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, succeeding Robert Birch.

Dr Malcolm McNamara, who has been New Zealand’s Repre sentative on Niue for the past two years, has returned to New Zealand and will go to South Korea next January as counsel lor and deputy head of mission.

Fiji’s Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, donate Mavoa, in September announced a new seven-member board for the country’s national airline, Air Pacific. Chairman of the new board is lan Thomson, who is also chairman of Fiji’s Economic Development Board.

The new board replaces the previous members who res igned late in August including chairman John Hill. Announ cing the new appointments, Mr Mavoa said the most important consideration for the govern ment was to have a board

capable of bringing the airline to commercial viability and pro fitability.

George Wray, president of South Pacific Islands Airways, was recovering in September from injuries and temporary paralysis arising from a swim ming accident in August.

The 53-old airline executive and his son were swimming in waist-deep water near their Kailua Beach, Honolulu, home when Wray was hit by a large wave. He struck the bottom, floated to the surface, and was pulled from the water by his son.

He was treated first by Castle Medical Center, and then at Straub Hospital.

On PlM’s latest information, he was conducting SPIA busi ness from his hospital bed.

Dr Friedrich Steinbauer, his torian and long-time missionary in Papua New Guinea, led a group of three historians who visited the country’s East New Britain province in August- September.

Their purpose was to locate a number of old markers and flag poles set up by the German administration more than a cen tury ago.

The group are members of the newly established German Pacific Society, which aims to foster goodwill between Ger many and the Pacific countries which at one time or another in the past have had German administrations. Dr Steinbauer is the Society’s President.

Aiwa Olmi from Chimbu Pro vince, Papua New Guinea, re cently completed a six-months assignment as Trade Deve lopment Officer with the South Pacific Trade Commission in Sydney. In PNG Mr Olmi is a regular Rugby referee and, naturally, he transferred this activity to the Australian scene.

Pictured is Mr Olmi re fereeing a game between Mas cot and La Perouse at Sydney’s Kensington Oval. Australian Rugby players found Mr Olmi a firm but fair referee and greatly

appreciated his participation in this Australian sport.

W. R. Carpenter Holdings Ltd. has announced the appointment of Michael Ben dall as chief executive, Pacific Operations.

Mr Bendall has returned to Sydney to take up his new appointment following 13 years as Carpenter’s chief executive in Papua New Guinea, and joins John McClue, chief ex ecutive, Australian Operations, to complete the group’s senior management structure.

Hima Douglas, director of Niue’s University of the South Pacific Centre, has built a home-made dish to pick up the television signals being relayed by the many communication satellites now floating above the Pacific.

Said the former educational broadcasts officer with the South Pacific Commission: “I wasn’t at all confident in spen ding money on something that could end up in the Tafalao dump, if the engineering work was a fraction out of alignment.

But with the Olympic Games due to start, and my enthusiasm to build my own dish, I went ahead.

“I got my first picture at quarter to six on Saturday, August 4, and that was a direct program feed from Los Angeles to the Australian Channel Ten.

Within five minutes of that momentous occasion, my front lawn was packed with people wanting to watch television.

“It ended up by my having to leave the TV on the verandah so people could watch, and averting the Niuean way of

showing disappointment, by belting your roof with rocks.”

Prominent Tongan business man Sione Lipoi Tupou has been appointed the Republic of Korea’s honorary consul in the Kingdom of Tonga.

A Fiji businessman living in Hong Kong has been made a Member of the British Empire in recognition of his services to Tuvalu.

He is Puran Sundarjee, a director of Sundarjee Group of Comapanies Fiji-Hong Kong, and managing director of Sun darjee Brothers (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Mr Sundarjee is the Tuvalu consul in Hong Kong.

His MBE citation said the award was for “dedicated service to Tuvalu, particularly in the field of finding employment opportunities for Tuvalu sea men overseas.”

Mr Sundarjee has lived in Hong Kong since 1970.

He has two brothers in Fiji, Jethalal Sundarjee and Mur jee Sundarjee, JP, who are also directors of the family owned company.

Peter Clarke, marketing and sales manager of the Regent of Fiji since 1982, has moved to Chicago, U.S.A., as director of special sales projects for Regent International Hotels.

The Regent’s newly appointed director of marketing is Cherrill Watson, who joins with sales manager Bill Dan sey, and sales executive Moira Lee, in a restructured sales and marketing department.

Referee Aiwa Olmi (right)

Michael Bendall