deaths

John Te Herekiekie Grace In Wanganui, New Zealand, on August 11.

Sir John Te Herekekie Grace was New Zealand’s first high commissioner to Fiji, in the period 1970-73.

He worked in the New Zea land public service before tak ing up the Fiji post, serving as a private secretary to the Minister of Maori Affairs from 1947-58.

In World War II he rose to the rank of squadron-leader in the RNZAF, and was awarded the Efficiency Decoration.

In 1926 he represented Southern Hawke’s Bay and Auckland “B” at rugby, and in 1936 was both east coast and Wairoa golf champion.

His book, Tuwharetoa, is an authoritative record of the tribe of his Maori ancestors.

Sione Mulikiha’amea Ma’asi In Tonga in August, aged 63.

Captain Ma’asi was a third cousin of King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, the king’s great grandfather, Tungi Halatuituia, and Ma’asi’s great grand mother, Tupou ’Ahau, being brother and sister.

Captain Ma’asi served the Tonga Defence Services in war and peace. He was mentioned in despatches while serving with the Second Tonga Commando Detachment in the Solomon Islands campaign in World War 11.

Captain Ma’asi enlisted with the then Tonga Defence Force in May, 1941, and was posted to the reserve in January, 1944.

In 1952, when the force was reactivated, he re-enlisted, ser ving continuously until his re tirement in 1967.

In more recent times he served as manager of His Majesty’s farming projects, con tinuing in this capacity until his death.

Richard Gordon McCloskey [n Bothell, Washington, USA, on May 14, aged 71.

Mr McCloskey’s love of the sea and those who sailed single handed led him to form the Slocum Society in 1955. The □rganisation continues to thrive, and is a signal monu ment to him. It will celebrate its

30th anniversary in Annapolis, Maryland, on October 25, amid special tributes to its founder.

The Slocum Society, which encourages the making of long distance voyages on small yachts and the careful keeping of records of such voyages, honors the memory of Captain Joshua Slocum, who made the first single-handed circum navigation from 1895-98.

Ailap Nampim Nweleun At Lodonwe, South Malakula, Vanuatu, in July.

Chief Ailap Nampim Nwe leun was one of the few chiefs in Malakula to have reached the highest level of Namanki (pig killing graded society).

The chief, whose territory lay in the small Nambas area of Malakula, was renowned for his wisdom and power in preven ting the spread of Western civilisation into his community during the colonial era.

In September, 1984, Prime Minister Father Walter Lini and other Cabinet ministers attended the pig-killing cere mony in which Chief Nweleun achieved the highest Namanki rank.

Prime Minister Lini said in a tribute: “We are sad to lose one of our greatest chiefs. Chief Nweleun’s work to promote custom, tradition and culture in our society will always be re membered. ”

Ashik All In Suva on June 25, aged 36.

Bom in Sigatoka, Mr Ali attended the St. Joan of Arc Primary School in Sigatoka and later went to Marist Brothers High School in Suva.

After graduating from Auck land University in 1977 with an LLB, Mr Ali started working for Scott and Company in Suva.

In 1978, he joned Vijay Par manandam and Co. and left last year to form his own law firm in Suva.

Mr Ali had been a legal adviser to the Muslim League in Sigatoka since 1981.

Bill Forgan-Smith On the Gold Coast, Queens land, on June 29, aged 73.

One of the best known fi

gures in Papua New Guinea aviation, Captain Bill Forgan- Smith was affectionately known to generations of PNG pilots and air travellers as “Forgie”.

Born in South Australia in 1912, Forgie learned to fly at the Newcastle Aero Club in 1935, and as a sideline built his own aeroplane, a tiny machine powered with a 35 hp Anzani engine. He went on to obtain his commercial pilot’s licence, and along the way qualified for A, C and D aircraft engineer’s licences, which allowed him to fully overhaul aeroplanes and engines an unusual qualifica tion for a pilot.

During the later years of the Depression, Forgie earned a meagre living giving joy-flights in an ancient Klemm Swallow monoplane. “Five bob for five minutes”, he used to say. In 1939, he was offered a job by the grand New Guinea pioneer aviator, Ray Parer, and was unlucky enough to crash into the treetops at the head of the Bitoi River in a Fox Moth. It took him five days to walk out to Salamaua.

During World War 11, Forgie flew Empire flying-boats for Qantas on the Sydney-Karachi run, and took part in the Singa pore evacuations. Later, he served as personal pilot to the American General Yeager.

After the war, Qantas entered PNG, taking over the dominat ing role that Guinea Airways had filled in aviation in the pre-war years. New Guinea In ternal began on June 1, 1948, at Lae. Bill Forgan-Smith was the obvious person for the job of chief pilot. He held the position for five years, thor oughly establishing the Qantas presence in PNG, and doing an enormous amount of flying himself, principally in the DC3, which he considered the great est aeroplane of all time. Retur ning to Australia, Forgie flew Super Constellations on Qantas international routes, and then served as operations manager in Queensland before taking early retirement in 1961.

Flying was in Forgie’s blood, and he wasn’t ready to sit on the sidelines yet. When Cliff Jackson offered him the job of chief pilot of Papuan Air Trans port in Port Moresby, Forgie jumped at it. Patair had just been granted an airline licence, and urgently required a pilot of Forgie’s qualifications and wide experience. He continued to fly throughout his years with Patair, and played a full part in the development of that very successful company. He stayed on the job after Ansett Trans port Industries bought out Patair, retiring at the age of 60, with 25,000 hours up.

Forgie was not an admirer of the civil aviation authorities, either in PNG or Australia. His candid opinion of aviation officialdom was blistering. His principal charge was of over regulation, and he told me with satisfaction: “DCA was very glad when I left New Guinea Forgie had a rich fund of aviation stories, and a unique way of telling them. He was a man of robust, vivid speech. On one famous occasion, he “dropped his tweeds”, on the main tarmac at Jacksons, in full view of the terminal buildings. It was after Ansett took over.

Patair men had always prided themselves on keeping flights rigidly to schedule, but during the early days after the takeover, flights were often late, as new schedules were intro duced. Forgie was enraged. “If you bastards ever get me out on schedule,” he threatened, “I’ll drop my dacks on the tarmac at midday, right in front of the Customs building.” The despatchers rose to the chal lenge, and next day Forgie’s DCS was on the line, right on time. Forgie was as good as his word, dropping his trousers and presenting his backside to a cheering multitude.

Aviation is the poorer for the passing of Bill Forgan-Smith.

They don’t make them like Forgie any more they’ve broken the mould. James Sinclair.