transitions

Launched: By former head of the Fiji and PNG tourism offices, Rory Scott, a new joint venture company providing representation and marketing services in 10 Asian cities.

Scott Delton Representatives Ltd, based in Hong Kong, is jointly owned by Scott (who recently left Ramada Hotels) and the Delton Group.

Seconded: By Westpac as gen eral manager of the Bank of Tonga, Mr Bryn Harris, pre viously regional manager of North Sydney.

He replaces Mr Peter Jones who has returned to Westpac’s head office as chief manager, unattached, in retail financial services.

Elected: To the board of Pacific Resources Inc (PRI), Mr Charles L. Dunlap, the com pany’s executive vice president and president of PRl’s Hawaiian Independent Refin ery Inc.

Dunlap (43) who joined PRI in July, 1985, from ARCO Petroleum Products, replaces Joseph A. Pelletier (64), PRl’s former vice chairman who re tired as an officer and director last September.

Honoured: By Japan for meritorious services, Mr Bill Bennett, a well known Solo mon Islander.

He has received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays and Rosette, the highest award

Japan can bestow on any fore igner.

Bennett is the Honorary Chairman of the Solomon Is lands Broadcasting Corpora tion, president of the Associa tion of Solomon Island Wartime Comrades and vice president of the Association of Memorial Service for the War Dead in the South Pacific.

He served with distinction as a coastwatcher on Guadalcanal.

More recently, however, he has helped the Japanese gov ernment collect the remains of their many soldiers in the South Pacific region.

The Japanese government has sent more than 10 missions to Guadalcanal to collect the remains of the war dead and return them to Japan for burial.

During the World War Two more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers died on the island, most from starvation and disease.

Found: In a 3,000-year-old beach rock by Cook Islands’

Titikaveka College students, the skeleton of an ancient animal.

The head of the college’s science department, Alan Mun ro said the skeleton would be taken to the museum for further indentification.

Appointed: To the South Paci fic Commission as, respectively, economist and data processing officer, Mr Joe Stanley of Western Samoa and Dr John McLeod of Canada.

Stanley, a graduate of Otago University, New Zealand, was formerly senior economist with the Forum Fisheries Agency.

Prior to that he was a partner with Coopers and Lybrand in American Samoa and Western Samoa.

He has also worked as director of commercial services and as economic planning manager for Polynesian Airlines and is a former deputy director Western Samoa’s Department of Economic Development.

He has also worked with the Development Bank of Western Samoa.

Returned: To Fiji from New Zealand, Mr Mani Ram and Mrs Evelyn Kumar.

They had both been in New Zealand to train in BNZ’s work

study operation and will now set up the bank’s Fiji work study unit.

Seconded: To the Bank of Western Samoa to upgrade training facilities, Mr Prem Chand, assistant manager ad ministration at BNZ’s regional office.

He spent three weeks in Western Samoa to help the bank set up its own training centre and connducted senior staff courses.

BNZ is part owner of the Bank of Western Samoa.

Appointed: British High Com missioner to Tonga, Mr A. P.

Fabian. He succeeds Mr G. F.

Ranee who will be retiring from the diplomatic service.

Acquired: By the National Lib rary of Australia, the correspondence of a key figure in the 19th century colonial administration of Fiji and Ton ga, Sir Basil Home Thomson.

Thomson was a British civil servant whose book about his experiences in Tonga, The Di version of a Prime Minister was a best-seller in 1890.

He was later governor of Dartmoor jail and director of the British intelligence service.

As such, he interrogated Sir Roger Casement who was sub sequently hanged for supplying arms to the Irish.

The collection includes Thomson’s boyhood letters as well as letters to his mother, travel letters and letters from other family members.

Rory Scott

Mani Ram

Evelyn Kumar

Charles Dunlap

Prem Chand