Flying a flag for East Polynesia

East Polynesia

More East Polynesia news please!

I enjoy your magazine very much, and am glad I sub scribed. There are a few people at work that I pass it around to every month, and they like it too.

But what I am concerned about is the fate of Eastern Polynesia, the parts that are still controlled by France.

When Marie-Therese and Bengt Danielsson get down to business they cover an impor

tant Tahitian topic very well.

But I find that they are doing too many “beating around the bush” topics. I very much en joyed the insights on King Po mare, I used to admire him before I knew the facts.

But I want to know if there are other John Tearikis coming on South Pacific Martin Luther Kings if you will, be cause God knows the Polyne sians can certainly use an abundance of them.

We are terribly worried that

the Tahitian people will lose all their identity, becoming no more than brown-skinned French, a fate worse than death. Some Tahitian children are already talking French to each other outside of school a fatal first step. We would like to see the Tahitian people edu cate themselves more than any one, and become a prosperous little independent nation. I heard somewhere that there is a place where a sort of “technical Tahitian” is being evolved for perhaps a future Tahitian scien tific community. It would thrill us if at some future date we could buy an electronic product here in America and turn it over to find “assembled” or “made” in Tahiti. This would reduce the dependence on tourism, and boost Tahitian pride no end.

These are the things we want to hear about. The bad must be reported. But you must also give some good news to give people reason to hope.

For God’s sake and ours please refer to Eastern Polynesia by its correct name. It galls us to see you referring to French Polynesia. It was “east” long before it was French, and will be for ever after.

IVAN v. McKinney Jr.

President, Friends of Polynesia. 200 W. Columbine N0.3A8 Santa Ana Calif,

Usa

A family

centenary

March 11, 1985, marks the centenary of my grandfather’s arrival in Fiji from Aberdeen, Scotland, to take up a position with CSR at Nausori.

His wife, Isabella Clark, was to arrive later with their four small children, my father being the youngest. The graves of James and Isabella are to be found in the Ba cemetery, Fiji.

Isabella died in 1912, James in 1919. James is believed to be the first man to grow sugar cane from seed commercially, and “Clark’s seedlings” were named after him.

One of James Clark’s sons who came out from Scotland became manager of the Bun daberg sugar mill, Queensland, and three of James’s grandsons became chief engineers of sugar mills in Queensland.

I never met my grandparents as I was born a year after James died. But I am sure that if James and Isabella were alive today they would be very proud of the achievements of their grandchildren and great grandchildren, who have made their marks in this part of the world in the arts, the church, theatre, etc.

Betty Clark

Woonona, NSW Australia

Soccer in

the islands

I am trying to compile a book on soccer in the Pacific and would be interested to hear from any readers of PIM who would be able to assist me with information about soccer in their country: final league tables, past competition win ners, etc.

I especially need details from American Samoa, Cook Is lands, Guam, Hawaii, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa.

If you have any relevant information please write to me so that I can help to put Pacific soccer on the world map.

Peter Burns

4/389 Barkly St Elwood 3184 Australia