PACIFIC ISLANDS Monthly September, 1949 Vol. xx. No. 2. toblished 1930.

L Registered at the G.P.0., Sydney, jar transmission by past as a newspaper ] New Guinea Men Receive Wartime Decorations WHEN the Governor-General of Australia (Mr. McKell) was in Rabaul, New Guinea, in August, he formally invested certain men there with decorations awarded to them by the King—mostly for distinguished services rendered by them in World War II, in New Guinea. This photograph was taken at the conclusion of the ceremony. The names, left to right, are:- Lieutenant C. W. Blake, of Rabaul, Military Medal.

Mr. J. Gilmore, Jr., DCM, member of a well-known New r Britain family, whose father was decorated in World War I.

Captain W. M. English, now ADO at Kokopo, MBE (Military Division).

The Governor-General.

Mr. G. H. Marsland, of Witu, MBE (Civil Division).

Mr. D. McEvoy, of Rabaul, BEM.

Captain F. M. Boisen, of Sohano, MC.

Sgt. G. Smart, BEM.

L/Corp’l Benge, of the Royal Papuan Constabulary, Royal Humane Society’s Medal.

Mr. Chin Hoi Meen, of Rabaul, King’s Medal awarded in the Cause of Freedom.

Australia is only HOURS away by Qantas Islands Air Servkes TIRADE and travel between the Pacific Islands and Australia assumes a new and greater significance as Qantas Air Services speed the transport of passengers, mails and cargo across the South Pacific.

Fast, comfortable travel saves weeks of time—gives you more leisure for business and pleasure.

Bird of Paradise Islands Services : • Sydney. • Noumea. • Suva. • Sydney. • Lord Howe Island. • Sydney. • Norfolk Island.

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1 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

An Important Announcement

On 16Mm Entertainment I

Columbia Pictures

are pleased to announce that they have concluded an agreement with

Hunts Agency

SUVA—FIJI for the distribution of their product in 16 m.m. version, to all clients in FIJI TONGAN GROUP.

WESTERN SAMOA. COOK ISLANDS GROUP.

These 16 m.m. films are all HOLLYWOOD PRODUCT, and they will come in

Technicolor . . Cinecolor . Black & White

Each programme of entertainment will consist of at least one Feature picture and several short subjects; each programme will have a screening time of approximately 2 HOURS DURATION.

We specialise in ACTION films including COWBOY-WESTERNS, and our first lot of product made available to the clients in these territories have been specially selected and contain Columbia's best ACTION and OUTDOOR pictures.

BANDIT OF (Technicolor).

RENEGADES (Technicolor).

PRINCE OF THIEVES (Color).

LAST OF THE REDMEN (Color).

BEST MAN WINS.

BOSTON BLACKIE’S RENDEZVOUS.

THE CORPSE CAME C.O.D.

DEAD RECKONING.

I LOVE TROUBLE.

JUST BEFORE DAWN.

NOTORIOUS LONE WOLF.

PHANTOM THIEF.

SO DARK THE NIGHT.

BULLETS FOR BANDITS.

BLAZING THE WESTERN TRAIL.

DESERT HORSEMAN.

GALLANT DEFENDER.

LONE STAR MOONLIGHT.

OUTLAWS OF THE ROCKIES.

PRAIRIE GUNSMOKE.

ROARING RANGERS.

ROCKIN’ IN THE ROCKIES.

SINGING ON THE TRAIL.

STAMPEDE.

WESTERN CARAVAN.

A list of the features available to you now follows hereunder:—

Sherwood Forest

To hire any of the above Films, and for any enquiries in connection with Columbia 16 mm. Entertainment, please contact:

Hunts Agency

Fiji Trading Co. Building, Victoria Pde.

Suva, Fiji

Cables: Huntage, Suva.

ATTENTION! CLIENTS IN ISLANDS OTHER THAN FIJI, WESTERN SAMOA, TONGAN GROUP, COOK ISLANDS GROUP, WHO ARE INTERESTED IN COLUMBIA’S 16 mm. ENTERTAINMENT. Please write directly to: COLUMBIA PICTURES PTY., LTD. 251 a PITT STREET, SYDNEY Cable Address: Columfllm, Sydney. 2

September, 19 4 Pacific Islands Monthi

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G.P.O. BOX 509. Tel. BU 5095 Index to Advertisers Achun, Gabriel . . 60 Alois Akun ... 93 Aluminium Union . 33 Amplion (Aust.) . 85 Angliss & Co. . .62 Aitoo Motor Mowers .... 34 Atkins, Wm. . . . 2f Aust. Health Services .... 58, 97 Bank N.S.W. ... 88 Berger, Lewis & Sons ...... 63 Bethell Gwynn & Co 89 8.0.A.C 38 Bradford (Eng.) . 97 Broomfields .... 64 Brunton’s Flour . . 89 Budge, James ... 21 Burns Philp (NG) . 31 Burns Philp (NH) . 15 Burns Philp (SS) . 67 Burns Philp Trust . 69 Bunting, A. H. . . 13 Blaxland, Rae ... 98 Blundell, Spence . 97 Breden, Wynne S. . 65 Caine Studio ... 80 Carpenter (Sydney) 2O, cov. iv.

Carpenter (Fiji) . 96 Colonial Meat . . 28 Colyer Watson . . 48 Commonwealth Bank ...... 58 Carrlock & Co. . . 99 Columbia Pictures . 2 Consolidated Mail Orders 102 Crammond Radio . 24 “Cystex” 45 Dangar, Gedye & Malloch .... 3 Davison Paints . . 67 Degener, Otto ... 47 Donaghy & Sons . 45 Donald, A. B. (Rarotongai . . 102 Donald, A. B. (Auckland) ... 72 Dunlop Rubber . . 74 Snmore Poultry . . 27 Excelsior Supply . 16 Electrolux .... 20 Etablissements, Donald 81 f’ord Sherington . . 64 Jarrett & Davidson lO4 >arrick Hotel . . 35 Jillespie, Robert . . 1, 22, 29, 80, 91 Jillespie Bros. . . 23 Jilbey’s Gin ... 87 Jladstan Hatchery 71 Jordon's Gin ... 37 Jough & Co., E. J. 15 Jrand Pacific Hotel 4 Jregory, A 61 Jrove & Sons . . 43 lalvorsen, Lars . 103 lerco 36 leinz & Co. ... 70 lemingway- Robertson ... 68 tettig, August . . 22 (oover. Francis . . 70 nter. Trading Co. 35 ackson, S. Wentworth 33 Kasper Refrigerators . 30, 39, 66 Kennedy, Captain . 59 Kerr Bros. . . 71, 98 Kodak (Aust.) . . 61 Kolynds, Inc. ... 78 Kosak, Robert . . 47 Kopsen & Co. . . 46 Kui, George ... 81 Kwong Chong Bros. 68 Mail Publicity Co. 26 Maloney, N. F. . . 72 Manning & Manning 44 “Mendaco” ... 60 Millers, Ltd. ... 22 Morris, Hedstrom . 12 Molloy & Schrader 97 Mcllraths Pty., Ltd. 48 Nat. Airways Cdrp. 77 Nelson & Robertson 59 “Nixoderm” ... 17 Nordman, Oscar . 17 Pan American Air. 14 Pacific Islands School of Music 46 Pacific Islands Society 99 Pacific Is. Trading Co. ....... 41 Peterson, Ed. ... 97 Piper, Tom ... .73 Prouds Pty., Ltd. . 57 Qantas .... cov. ii.

Qld. Insurance . . 21 Ransomes, Sims & Jeffries .... 32 Reed, Will. E., 94. 95 Reynolds {Yacht Darnley) . . 15, 101 Robinson, G. H., 16, 44 Rohu, Sil . . . .88 Scott, Ltd., J. . .64 Shell Co 86 South Pacific Insurance .... 36 Spartan Paints .79 Stewarts & Lloyds 73 Steamships Trading Co 40, 75 Sullivan, C. ... 27 Swaan, Wm. ... 93 Tallerman & Co. . 45 Taylor & Co. . . 72 Thornycroft ... 32 Tilley Lamps . . 92 Tillock & Co. . . 100 Tooth & Co. . cov. iii.

Tyneside Engineering 65 Union Mfg. & Export 84 USL Batteries . . 43 Vacuum Oil Co. . . 82 Ventura Trading Co. . . 17, 41, 43, 89 Vincent Bros. . . 37 Vincent Chem. Co. 23 Watson, Wm. H. . 19 West, Harry ... 66 “Westclox” ... 41 Williams, Dr. . . 39 Widdop. H.. & Co. 26 Wills, W. D. & H.

O. . ..... 42 Wright, E 93 Wilson, W. F., & Son 97 Willreed Agencies • • ... 94, 95 Yacht “Darnley” l5, 101 Yorkshire Insurance 23 A wedding of interest to pre-war resists of Nauru, Ocean Island and the Albert and Ellice Islands took place, at Matthew’s Church, lanly, NSW, when Mr. Ellice Swinourne, fourth son of Major and Mrs. C. ;• kwinboume, married Miss Valmai rrc m ?? on T?’ yo un S er daughter of Mr. and ITS. O. R. Drummond of Manly. The jJJSL y as .- b orn when his father was dimmstrative Officer in charge of the 1 an 4 ? nd was given his name fttwr5 e ?£ ? f^ a promise made to the atives of that Group. His brother Gilii£.J vas so - nam , e d for a similar reason.. received his early education at ,5;? Is l3-nd, gamed an Honours Diploma niw mi 5 try the Sydney Technical i° ChenSstry e 6 ‘ S at present a lecturer 3 ACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

\B IN THIS ISSUE: Editorial: “Future of Dutch NG, Solomons, New Hebrides” .... 5 NZ Frigates Conclude Successful Cruise 6 No Friendly Hand Yet for Inhuman Japs 6 Tongan Premier Retires 7 Unhappy Planters in BSI 7 Last Two Japs Give Themselves Up in New Guinea 7 First Trans-Pacific Flight Was Made 21 Years Ago 8 Rabaul Echo of Jap Brutality .... 8 Mr. Ward Under Fire 8 Chinese Deported from Australia to New Guinea 9 Night Air Service from NZ to Fiji 9 Military Training in Fiji 9 Fiji Taro Disease under Control .. 9 No Danger from Rabbits in Fiji .. 10 Manus Base under Inspection .... 10 Third BP Shin for P-NG Run .... 10 UK War Damage Decision Hits Missions The Month In Moresby 13 An Annexation that Britain Repudiated—Chester Incident in Port Moresby in 1883 13 TEAL Loses £A4,000 per Week .... 15 Question of Fiji Sugar, Copra Export Tax Comes up Again 19 No compensation for BSI War Damage—Planter Comments ... 21 Adi Rewa to be Retired 21 Indians Hanker to be Called “Mr.” 23 Police Travel over 10,000 miles in Ocean Is. Murder Case 25 Australian Rice for Pacific .. .. .. 25 PIM Goes Into Prince Bismarck s Museum • : • • • • 26 Moderate Fiji Indians Criticise Independence Day Extravagances 27 The “Missing” s,ooo—Latest Development of Press-Made BSI Mystery 29 Tourists Are Not Impressed With Papua-New Guinea 30 Papain—Valuable African Product 32 Do You Wish to Enter Papua-New Guinea 33 Search for Oil in Papua—“Strike”

Denied 35 Pitcairn’s Hectic Morning When New Stamps Issued 36 Making Life Difficult for Shipowners —Stowaways are a Public Nuisance in Fiji 37 Airport facilities m Samoa and Cook Islands 37 News Items from W. Samoa .... 39 Pacific Islands Trading Co. Changes Hands 39 Radio Stations for Torres Islands .. 39 Gloomy View of W. Samoa’s Future 40 Western Samoa Needs More Doctors 41 Less Aid for BSI from UK 41 Cause of BP Fire at Ba Unknown 41 Honiara is Growing—but Slowly .. 43 New Stamps for W. Samoa, Tonga 43 South Pacific Commission 43 Fiji Launches all-out Drive Against Tuberculosis 44 The Administrator, According to Osmar White 45 Fiji Mails Jettisoned at Sea .... 48 Co-operative Societies Boom in Fiji 48 Talk Talk 49 The Navy Shows the Flag—Rotuma and Tonga 50 Octopus-Fishing is Women’s Work 51 Is Much-Praised Tahiti a Disappointment? 52 Tropicalities 54 Dominie in Difficulties 55 Mr. Blonk 56 Norfolk Island Notes 58 Soil Erosion in Fiji 58 Growing Hold of Indians on Fiji’s Economic Life 59 W. Samoan Finances Still Sound In Spite of Sliding Cocoa Prices .. 6C Recommendations for Suva’s Dairy Industry 6J Western Samoa Trade, 1948 .... 6J PMG Men’s Notable Achievement in Papua-New Guinea 61 Lack of Amenities in Papua-New Guinea 6( South and East Africa —and Groundnuts 6!

Mixed Blood in Polynesia—Unusual Social Problems 7' Western Papua Notes 7 Tarawa Memorial—22 Victims of Jap Atrocity Commemorated .. 7 Godeffroy and His Influence on Early Pacific 7 Report of Liquor Bill, Constitution Change in Fiji 7 Showing the Flag in the Atolls .... 7 Dollars are Troubling W. Samoa Now 8 Mr. Ward is Politically Unhappy .. 8 US Tackles Pacific Health Problems 8 Order of the Crown of Tonga .... 8 Heirs of Jonas M. Coe—Memories of Queen Emma 8 “Smithy” Memorial for Suva .... 8 Plane and Shipping Timetables .. 8 Fuss on Makatea £ Rabaul Roundabout £ Rabaul Residents Say Good-Bye to Popular Official 10 Growth of Southern Pacific Insurance Co .••••• 1( New Mobile Clinic for Fiji Child Welfare 1( ORGANISATIONS: Planters’ Assn. < NG, 44; PI Society, 89; NG Women Assn, of Melb., 100; New Guint Club, Rabaul, 103.

INDUSTRIES: Oil, 7,9, 35; Copra, 11 Sugar, 19; Rubber, 37.

OBITUARY: Miss Lea Carlson, 11; Md Baas Becking, 16; Georges Ahne, 3 p G. F. Harrison, 40; Hugo Quintal, 5 4

September, Im.-Pacif.C Islands Monthl

Pacific Islands Monthly The Newspaper-Magazine of the South Seas IRegistered at the G.P.O., Sydney, for transmission hy post as a netosp.aper ] Published Once Each Month and Circulated in Australia and New Zealand and in the following Pacific Territories and Islands Groups: Australian Territory ot Papua.

Trustee Territory (Australia) of New Guinea.

Australian Territory of Norfolk Island.

New Zealand Territory of Cook Islands, Trustee Territory (NZ) of Western Samoa.

British Colony of FIJI.

British Solomon Islands Protectorate.

British Protectorate of Tongan Islands.

British Crown Colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands.

Trustee Territory of Nauru.

British and French Condominium of New Hebrides.

French Colony of New Caledonia.

French Colony of Oceania (Tahiti, etc.).

American Territory of Eastern Samoa.

American Territory of Hawaiian Islands.

Owned and Produced by Pacific Publications Pty., Ltd., Union House, 247 George Street, Sydney.

Telephone: General Office and Advertising, BW 5037.

P.O, BOX 3408 Registered Address for Telegrams, Radiograms, and Cables: “Pacpub,” Sydney.

CONTRIBUTIONS, Articles, Stories, and Photographs dealing with Pacific Islands subjects are Invited and wIU be paid for on publication.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES.

Per Annum, Pre-paid, Including Postage.

In Australia, New Zealand, FIJI, New Guinea, Papua, Western Samoa. Cook Islands, Tonga, British Solomons, Gilbert and Ellice Colony, Nauru, and United Kingdom 18 0 Elsewhere $3.50 £1 1 0 Single Copies 1 9 Editor and Publisher: R. W. ROBSON. P.R.G.S.

Assistant Editor: JUDY TUDOR.

General Office: Union House, 247 George Street, Sydney. Telephone: BW 5037.

Advertising Manager: W. E. Rogers.

REPRESENTATIVE IN LONDON.

J. T. WalUs, Coronation House. 4 Lloyds Avenue, London, E.C.3, from whom may be obtained copies of Pacific Islands Monthly, Pacific Is. Year Book, advertising schedules, etc.

REPRESENTATIVE IN U.S.A.

PACIFIC ISLANDS TRADING CO.. 244 CALIFORNIA ST., SAN FRANCISCO, U.S.A.

AGENTS.

The following are authorised to receive subscriptions for Pacific Islands Monthly:— Burns. Phllp & Co., Ltd., and Burns Phllp (South Sea) Co., Ltd. All branches.

W. R. Carpenter «fc Co., Ltd. All branches.

Morris, Hedstrom, Ltd. All branches.

Steamships Trading Co., Papua. All branches.

Steele’s Central Store, Suva, Fiji.

Cook Islands Trading Co., Rarotonga, Cook Is.

Oscar Nordman, Papeete, Tahiti.

Islands Branches and Representatives of W. H.

Grove <sc Sons, Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand.

Ed. Pentecost, Noumea. New Caledonia.

Soclete Gubbay Kerr et Cle, Noumea, New Caledonia.

VOL. XX. No. 2.

SEPTEMBER, 1949. r 1/9 Per Copy Price \ Prepaid, p.a.; 18/- Aust I In USA, p.a.; $3.50.

Future of Dutch N. Guinea, Solomons, New Hebrides—and Pacific Security THERE is much that is significant for us in recent events in Indonesia and South-east Asia: — • Under pressure from the mischief-making United Nations, the Dutch apparently have surrendered to the Indonesians, to the extent that they now are going to allow these people to have an equal if not a dominant voice in the future Government of the large Archipelagoes between Australia and Asia. • Dutch interests—which naturally do not like what they see developing in the East Indies—are making a strong effort to keep Dutch New Guinea (the western half of the great Island of New Guinea) out of the new set-up, so that the Indonesians can have no voice in the control of Dutch New Guinea—in the future of which Australia and Oceania generally are vitally concerned. • United States interests, preoccupied with the problem of the future of Japan (where the population is increasing by nearly 2,000,000 per annum) are inclined to support the proposition that Dutch New Guinea should be thrown open to colonisation by surplus Japanese. • Guided, directed and equipped by Moscow, Chinese Communist armies are sweeping steadily southwards through China. They already are close to the British Colony of Hong Kong; they threaten to close the gap m South China through which the remaining Nationalist provinces In South-west China receive supplies, and they are menacing the non- Communist administrations of Indochina, Malaya, Siam, and Burma. • In order to impose a real obstacle between China and Japan (which they regard as an important bulwark between Communist Asia and the United States) General MacArthur and his advisers are believed to be giving serious consideration to the occupation by American troops of the great island of Formosa, just off the coast of China.

TT'OR many decades, the communities * of the South Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand, have seen the menace to their future security which lies in the over-population of Asia. That menace has become greater in recent years, since Asia began to pass under the influence of Moscow, and to become generally Communist.

The establishment of Communism in China means its early establishment in South-east Asia. The Indonesian set-up, into which the unhappy Dutch have been forced by Western European visionaries, Is honeycombed with Communism. It is not too much to fear that this line of stepping-stones between Malaya and Australia soon will be more or less controlled bv world Communist power.

That seems to be the situation, stated in general terms. At the moment. Australia—and Oceania— has a peculiar and particular interest in political events in New Guinea.

AUSTRALIA is as much interested in the future of Western New Guinea, which she does not control, as in Eastern New Guinea, which she holds in trust.

Three important factors now near upon the future of Western (Dutch) New Guinea—namely, the apparent wish of the Indonesians to control this Territory, and the equal determination of the Dutch that Indonesia shall be kept out; the proposal to transfer thither the surplus population of Japan; and the discovery and recent development there of a great, new oilfield, which must profoundly affect the Territory’s economic future.

The future of Dutch New Guinea has been widely discussed lately in newspaper articles. The Territory is being called, by some, “Iriania,” and it is believed there are 1,000,000 natives there. A small, literate section of these natives has petitioned the Queen of Holland, begging that Iriania shall not pass under the control of the proposed United States of Indonesia, the constitution of which is now being discussed at The Hague. It is reported that a deputation of four Irianians is on its way to The Hague to make a further appeal that Iriania shall be developed as a separate Dutch Colony, independent of the “Republic of United Indonesia” —and, failing that, that it be placed under Australian Trusteeship.

The 200,000 Eurasians of the former Netherlands Indies are asking that Iriana be kept as an independent State for them.

AS it is plain that under the double impact of Asiatic Nationalism and advancing Communism, startling events are likely in South-east Asia and the Western Pacific generally within the next decade, non-Asiatic communities in the South Pacific— and especially Europeans. Polynesians and Melanesians—naturally look to Australia for leadership, in meeting whatever threats to their security are implicit in these events. So far, Australia’s policy in relation to such developments is indefinite, and confused by Socialistic thinking.

But the facts cannot be much longer ignored. Sooner or later Australia must—in consultation, of course, with Britain and the United States —frame a policy which will guide her future political activities in the South-west and Western Pacific.

Australia now controls Eastern New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago. For her future security she should control also the archipelagoes of the Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides, thus giving her a complete screen of Islands defences covering her northern and north-eastern frontiers.

So far, Australia has made a poor showing in the administration and development of her Pacific Islands Territories. But that is due to politics —confused thinking. Socialistic preoccupation with native welfare, and the maintenance of the wrong men in positions of authority—and the phase will pass. Australia is quite capable of properly developing the tropical Archipelagoes placed in her care: and there is little doubt that the European residents of the now tragically-neglected Solomon and New Hebrides Islands would prefer active Australian control to the conditions under which they'now suffer.

It is not necessary to point out that efficient administration and a happy and contented European community provide the safest guarantee of native welfare.

It is not too much to hope that there some day will be created, under non-Socialist government, an Australian Department of Pacific Islands, to take care of Eastern New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, and the eight or more other large Islands of the Solomons and New Hebrides. This would represent a Territory almost as important in area, resources and potentialities, as the former great Dutch Territory of the East Indies; and this expanded Australian Pacific Islands Administration then might co-operate very happily with the Dutch (Dutch New Guinea), British (Borneo and Fiji), French (New Caledonia) and Americans (Micronesia and the Philippines), for the security of the Pacific and the protection and advancement of the native peoples of the Islands.

A games evening was held at the residence of Mrs. Sutherland. Rabaul, NG, on August 29. The function was most sucand as a result of it. the RSL Building fund was opened with the sum of £5/5/-.

No Friendly Hand Yet For The Inhuman Japs Memories of 1942 and 1943 A SECTION of American public opinion, led by General Douglas MacArthur, appears to be in favour to a “forgive and forget” policy in relation to the Japanese.

A non-Communist Japan could be a valuable barrier between the United States and the onward-sweeping power of Communism in Asia, which now has the Americans somewhat bothered. One sympathises with their viewpoint.

But the idea has not been well received in Australia and New Zealand, and the islands of the South Pacific. Some events of 1942 and 1943 are much too fresh in the memories of all of us. We have not forgotten;— • How the Japs massacred the young Australian servicemen at Tol plantation, in New Britain. When the Japs came down in overwhelming numbers upon Rabaul, a few handfuls of Australians got away westward into the jungle. The majority escaped, but a considerable number were rounded up, exhausted and helpless, at Tol, and simply butchered. • How 22 men —17 New Zealand servicemen and five civilians—were massacred at Tarawa, in the Gilbert Islands. The Japs had held them prisoners. American planes, one day, attacked the Jap fortress at Tarawa. The immediate reaction of these sub-human creatures was to march their 22 helpless prisoners out, and butcher them. • How ten Anglican missionaries were massacred by the Japs in Northeast Papua. One was beheaded even while he was celebrating Communion at Gona.

Two young European nurses were taken out into a plantation, where a grave was dug, and slaughtered. Who can forget the report of Mr. W. R. Humphries, who later investigated this horrible occurrence? • How a hospital ship was sunk off the Queensland coast, with tragic loss of life. • How helpless Australian servicemen and women were massacred at Ambon, East Indies. • How the fiendish cruelty of the Japs caused the deaths of many, many hundreds of Australians who became prisoners at Singapore.

There is no end to the foul record.

Those merely are cases which spring to the memory of this writer.

We may perhaps forgive the Germans They introduced some fiendish forms of war, and the way in which the Nazis massacred Jews is one of the blackest blots on history’s pages. But they did not murder military prisoners.

Our friends the Yanks will perhaps understand if we of the South Pacific show a certain unwillingness to resume civilised relations with the most uncivilised and inhuman enemy we ever encountered.- R.

Copra Price in Papua-New Guinea CANBERRA, Sept. 15.

EXTERNAL Territories Department announces that the Conra Agreement with the British Ministry of Food has been confirmed along lines already indicated. It had been unofficially reported that the Agreement (which has been in operation since January 1) had not been confirmed.

NZ Frigates Conclude Successful Cruise THE four New Zealand Navy frigates which spent ten weeks cruising in the Pacific returned to Auckland in early August having performed a mixed bag of duties and shown the flag from Sunday Island to Tahiti.

Taupo spent most of her time in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. A meteorological officer checked up on weather stations in the group and a considerable time was soent in surveying the Tarawa Atoll.

Hawea visited Tahiti, Cook Islands, Niue, Suva, Western Samoa, Tokelaus and Raoul (Sunday) Island. Her duties included blasting with depth charges a main shipping channel about five miles from Apia, Western Samoa, where coral growth had made it unsafe for shipping; and visiting Savaii Island, Western Samoa, which had not seen a British warship for over 20 years.

Pukaki travelled extensively among the Fiji and Tongan Groups. Kaniere visited the remote Northern Cooks, Phoenix Islands, Christmas, Fanning, Canton, Sydney, Hull and Gardner. One of their duties was to reaffirm British sovereignty over Flint and, at Christmas Island, two officers acted as assessors when a native was tried for manslaughter.

All four ships checked radio and meteorological stations, gave medical aid when necessary, landed stores, presented gifts of tobacco, flour, tinned meat, sweets, etc. All personnel of all ships were entertained lavishly by the native inhabitants of the islands, were feasted, admired, and showered with gifts of native handicrafts.

The captain of the Kaniere calculated that he made 31 speeches in response to ceremonial welcomes which invariably marked the ship’s arrival at island anchorages.

New Peak Appears in Pacific DURING her ten weeks’ cruise, Pukaki investigated a new volcanic cone that has more than doubled in size tiny Matthew Island, 200 miles east of New Caledonia. It had been reported by the British Phosphate Commission’s ship, Triona.

Until recently, Matthew Island, a volcanic cone, was about 30 acres in extent; now a second cone has been thrown up alongside |the first, making the whole island the shape of an hour-glass and about 1,200 yards long by 800 yards wide Matthew Island was discovered in 178£ and the older portion is covered with rough grass. Its sides are precipitous, it is uninhabited (except by a huge population of sea birds) and it is doubtful il anyone has ever landed on it.

Effect of New Exchange in Pacific CANBERRA. Sept. 19.

TWO factors of the international # currency rearrangement announced thii morning will immediately affec Pacific Territories; — • Sterling has been de-valued about 3( per cent, in relation to the United State! dollar. Australian, NZ and Fiji currenciei remain in the same relation to Sterling and therefore automatically are reducet in terms of Dollars. In other words, th< Australian, NZ and Fiji pounds buy thi same amount of Sterling as heretofore but one third fewer dollars. • Gold has been increased in valui from £lO Aust. to £l5 Aust. per fin ounce. This immediately benefits th economies of New Guinea and Fiji. 6 SEPTEMBER. 1949 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY

Unhappy Planters In

SOLOMONS Resentful of British Administration and Policy (CONDITIONS in the British Solomons j provide a good example of what happens in an under-developed British tropical territory under a Socialist regime.

Before World War 11, it was the policy of the British Colonial office to encourage private enterprise to go into such places and develop their resources. There was not much to develop in the Solomons then —copra was not greatly in demand—but a good type of planter was at least assisted to make his home there.

To-day, there appears to be nearly double the pre-war number of public servants in BSI; but the production of copra —in quantity—is probably no more than half the pre-war volume. The Administration’s pre-war policy of encouraging private enterprise has been replaced by a laissez-faire attitude that is taken to mean that, while officialdom is indifferent about the condition of non-official Europeans, it is intensely pre-occupied with native welfare.

The net result, of course, is seen in three things—discontented and resentful Europeans, spoiled natives and a heavy additional burden upon the British taxpayer. Only a handfull of the planters and traders who were driven out by the war have returned to the Solomons.

In some respects, conditions in BSI are almost a duplicate of conditions in Papua- New Guinea. In the latter country, the Socialist policy, directed from Canberra, discourages private enterprise, spoils the natives, makes non-official Europeans non-co-operative and resentful, and throws an enormously increased burden upon the Australian exchequer. Before the war, Papua-New Goinea was almost self-supporting, and BSI was only a little less so.

IN a comparison, however, the planters who have returned to the Solomons are worse off than the Australian non-officials in Papua-New Guinea.

The Australians got war damage compensation from a fund created for that purpose in war-time; BSI got nothing at all. The Australians escape taxation — although they are heavily taxed through import duties —but they lose from £lO to £I2A per ton on their copra. The latter is taken from them by Canberra as (a) export tax and (b) some mysterious deduction —which Canberra so far has refused to explain—called “stabilisation fund.” The BSI planters have to pay an export tax; and, also, they are savagely mulcted in income tax. It is only 1/3 in the £ on the first £1,500 of income; but, after that, the rise is so steep that, around £5,000, a big trader can lose a large part of his income.

The collection of income tax in BSI — something new since the war —is an evil imposition. Income tax should be imposed only when the citizen receives, from his government, substantial amenities and encouragement. BSI is such a primitive country that it gives its European residents practically nothing in the way of amenities —someone said lately that “The BSI, to-day, is at the same stage of development as England was in the time of the Romans.”

"117’E are so sick of administrative pin- Tf pricks, and official indifference to European welfare, that we should welcome any move for transfer to Australian government,” said a BSI planter recently. “We pay an import tax of 17a per cent, an export tax of 15 per cent, on our copra, and now we are faced with heavy income tax.”

Other residents say that, although nonofficials, who lost everything, get no wardamage compensation at all, all officials who were affected by the Jap invasion have been given, secretly, a sum of £5O each, as compensation for the loss of their personal effects.

It is anticipated that there soon will be a new Resident Commissioner in the Solomons (Mr. Noel, who has been away on long leave, is not expected to return, and Mr. A. Germond, MBE. has been acting RC); but no change in policy is expected while the Socialists rule Britain.

Last Two Japs

Give Themselves Up At Saidor, NG From Our Own Correspondent PORT MORESBY, Sept. 6.

TWO Japanese walked into the Government post at Saidor, northern New Guinea, a few days ago, after havinglived among the natives of that area for five years without being discovered. The natives sheltered them, and never once mentioned their presence to Government officers, who patrol the area regularly.

When they gave themselves up the Japs were barefooted, and their clothing was falling to pieces; but, apart from slight malnutrition, their health was good.

Speaking in Pidgin English they told their story yesterday to District Officer J. K. McCarthy, at Madang, where they were taken from Saidor by trawler.

They said they deserted their unit during the Japanese retreat and joined tribes in the Saruwaget Range, inland from Saidor. After several months they threw away their weapons and went completely native, hunting native fashion and growing native foods. A native medical orderly supplied them with quinine and other drugs. They said their friends had told them the war was over but they were too frightened to emerge from hiding until a faw days ago.

On Thursday, they will be flown to Manus to join the Japanese war criminals who are imprisoned there.

Seventeen Japs have now given themselves up in the Madang area since the war ended and, according to these last two, there are no more in hiding.

Search For Oil

Progress At Five Bores THE progress of the oil-boring operations in Papua, during August, is thus reported by the Australian Petroleum Co. Pty., Ltd.:— Hohoro: The hole has deepened 131 feet from 2,192 feet to 2,323 feet. As previously reported, a core taken in the last 16 feet drilled revealed a low oil content, Resumption of drilling awaits the arrival of barytes.

Upoia:: The depth remains at 2,662 feet. Pressure drilling equipment recently received from overseas is being installed.

Oroi: The hole has been deepened 1,947 feet, from 2,096 feet to 4,043 feet.

Malalaua; Road formation has been completed, the rig site levelled and foundations commenced. Construction of staff quarters and industrial buildings is in progress.

Wana: Area development has been in progress in preparation for receiving the drilling outfit.

Tonga'S Premier Retires

Prince Tugi To Act As Head of Cabinet NUKUALOFA, Sep. 7.

IT has been officially announced (by Queen Salote) that the Hon. Ata.

OBE, who has held the office of Premier of Tonga since 1941, will proceed on leave immediately, prior to retirement.

The Queen has announced, also, that the following new Cabinet appointments have been made, with effect as from September 1 HRH Tugi to be Acting Premier, and Minister of Education, Hon. Akau’ola to be Deputy Premier, and Minister of Lands and Minister of Health.

Hon. Tu’iha’ateiho to be Minister of works, Hon. Ulukalala to be Minister of Police.

HRH Tu’ipelehake to be Governor of Vava’u.

Prince Tugi, who is to act as Premier, has been Minister for Education for some years. He has many friends in Sydney, where he took a degree at the University of Sydney some nine years ago, and where he was personally popular. He, of course, is heir to the throne of Tonga.

Representing Spc At Un

CONFERENCE Mr. B. E. V. Parham, OBE, Senior Agricultural Officer, Fiji, and Associate Member of the Research Council of the South Pacific Commission, will represent the Commission at the forthcoming United Nations conference at Lake Success, New York, on the conservation and utilisation of resources. Mr. Parhan who was educated at Canterbury College, New Zealand, has been on the staff of the Department of Agriculture, Fiji, since 1933. He is an acknowledged authority on practical agriculture in the tropical South Pacific, and his botanical research work has attracted the attention of students overseas.

He has made a special study of agriculture among Fijians and has been prominent in establishing Fijian agricultural co-opferative societies. During the 1939-45 war he played a leading part in organising the growing of fresh vegetables and fruit by Fijians for the largo forces of New Zealand and American troops stationed in Fiji. -Fiji Public Relations Office photo. 7 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

First Trans-Pacific Flight Was Made 21 Years Ago IT is almost exactly 21 years since those wizards of the air, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and C. T. P. Ulm, made the first Trans-Pacific flight (San Francisco to Brisbane —June, 1928) and the first Trans-Tasman flight (Sydney to Christchurch, on September 11, 1928). (See also page 89, this issue). Later, the two great Australian airmen (Kingsford Smith and Ulm) were lost, on different occasions, when attempting other pioneer flights.

That excellent New Zealand magazine, White’s Aviation, thus describes the first Trans-Pacific crossing:— The Southern Cross left Oakland and flew out over the Pacific at between 70 and 80 knots. To-day the speed is in the region of 300 m.p.h. There was monotony in the sea below and the blue sky above. After flying for nine hours they had covered 700 miles and still had 1,390 to go. Darkness set in and another day broke. At last the pioneer airmen saw a landmark at their first destination. They passed over Honolulu and landed at Wheeler Field. After flying for 275 hours they had successfully covered 2,400 miles nonstop.

The next leg, from Hawaii to Fiji, represented what was then the longest ocean flight ever attempted. The distance was 3,138 miles.

The Southern Cross was flown from Wheeler Field to Barking Sands some 90 miles away to be refuelled for the takeoff. The beach was cleared to make a runway 4,500 feet long and a load of 1,300 gallons of petrol was taken aboard. The take-off was set for 5.20 a.m. and everything depended on the accuracy of navigation for, as Kingsford Smith commented, “We were making a long shot at a dot on the map and that dot was over 3,000 miles away.”

EARLY in the flight Ulm saw a trickle of liquid running from the wing tank and he nudged Smith. But, it was not petrol, only water formed by the condensation of air around the cold petrol pipe. That incident remained in their memories for some time.

Smith then records that he was worried by the clouds ahead and that worry was justified because they passed through thunderstorm after thunderstorm.

A motor coughed and spluttered. That gave them another shock, but it started a steady roar again and gave no further trouble for the rest of the trip.

Daylight began to wane and the aircraft was put into a climb for nightflying. Higher flying was safer at night and moreover there was a possibility of keeping above stormy clouds. Smith also wrote: “By climbing, we prolonged the day, for the higher we went the longer we kept the sun’s rays in view.”

After being 32 hours in the air the airmen picked from the feel of the tropical air that they were drawing close to Fiji and they began to look for land. Ulm, who at that time was at the controls, was the first to spot land on the horizon, so to check where they were they went down to 20 feet to allow the navigator to obtain a sight. While he was doing that another look for the land showed that it had disappeared. That was uncanny, but the fact was that they had simply lost sight of it through losing altitude —the curvature of the earth had played a trick on them.

WHEN nearing Suva, Kingsford Smith began to think about Albert Park, the only suitable snot for a landing.

He had never seen it before. He had been advised that the longest runway would be only 400 yards and the landing would require good airmanship. That was not so easy after 34 hours in the air.

But he successfully put the old Fokker down on the Suva sports ground and completed the longest nonstop ocean flight on record at that time, a distance of 3,138 miles in 345 hours.

The Southern Cross was flown to another beach to take off on the last leg of the epic flight. Brisbane was 1,700 miles away. Soon after take-off, their most important compass refused to work and once again they flew into storms. It was blind flying with a vengeance. Dawn brought an improvement. Finally, however, they saw land and they found that they had been driven 110 miles south of their course by the storm. They flew up the coast to Brisbane and completed the first crossing of the Pacific by air.

Mr. Ward Under

FIRE Papua-N. Guinea Administration IT was reported in Sydney in August that the Australian Territories Minister (Mr. Ward) proposed to make a quick visit to Papua and New Guinea, where many urgent matters await his attention. The visit was not made, however; the Australian Parliament is in session; and the Australian general election campaign follows immediately.

Election day is December 10.

A Ministerial visit, therefore, need not be expected before December 10. And, if the Australian electors think that way, the Ministerial visit then will not be made by Mr. Ward.

There are indications that Papua-New Guinea affairs will receive considerable attention in this last session of the Australian Parliament.

The renort of the Royal Commission into the New Guinea Timber Leases was debated in the House on September 7; and, in the course of some hours, most of the leading men on the Opposition side had something scathing to say about Mr.

Ward’s administration of the Department of External Territories. There was nothing new or startling in the debate, however —the facts are all familiar to residents of the Territories. The Deputy Leader of the Liberals, Mr. Harrison, made a strong plea for an inquiry into the administration of the Department, but this was brushed aside by the Government majority.

Mr. Ward was defended fiercely by the Minister for Immigration (Mr. Calwell) who said that, “perhaps the best indication as to the Minister’s integrity in financial matters can be found in the fact that throughout the whole of 1948 continuous efforts were made to unearth material to be used to destroy him, but without success.”

Island Chieftain

The Qantas Empire Airways’

Catalina Island Chieftain. at anchor at Kikori, Papua. This flying-boat is providing much-appreciated services to isolated places in Papua-New Guinea.

Rabaul Echo of Jap Brutality Reburial of Chinese Officials Prom Our Own Correspondent RABAUL, August 21.

IN 1942, when the Japs had over-run New Guinea, two officials of the Rabaul branch of the Chinese National Party—Leong Nin, president, and Chan Yai Nan, secretary—were shot.

The place where they were buried was noted by other Chinese prisoners and by natives.

This particular Jap atrocity has not been forgotten by local Chinese; the bodies were disinterred, and on August 20, 1949, a re-burial was conducted in the Chinese section of the Rabaul Cemetery.

Hundreds of Chinese formed the cortege and paid homage.

Asiatic Labour Contracts

An Embarrassment

NOUMEA, Sept. 4.

NEW CALEDONIA is finding it a costly matter to repatriate its South Asiatic labour, contracts for which expired in the war and post-war periods.

Not only have births in the colony increased the number of those needing repatriation, but the cost of passage since 1939 has gone up from 750 francs to 5,000 francs.

Repatriation arrangements are in the hands of the Immigration Department, which deducts a monthly sum from employers to cover this charge.

Air Services

Network In Southwest Pacific SINCE Qantas began to run a plane every fortnight from Lae (New Guinea) to Honiara (British Solomons), via Rabaul and the Bougainville airfields, the Qantas service, Sydney-New Caledonia-New Hebrides-Solomons, has been reduced to Sydney-New Caledonia- New Hebrides, and return. The plane now does not go beyond Santo.

The network of services that has been put into the Southwest Pacific Islands in the last three years, to connect them with Australia and each other, is now very extensive.

Big passenger planes run frequently between Sydney and Papua-New Guinea.

Feeder services, off this main route, run out to Western Papua, Eastern Papua, Northern New Guinea, Manus, Northern New Britain, New Ireland and Bougainville, There is also the direct service between Sydney and New Hebrides; another service between Sydney and Suva (Fiji) via New Caledonia; and another from Sydney to Norfolk.

To get some idea of what air services now mean to the economy of the South Pacific Islands, readers should take a look at the Pacific air serices, set out in detail in the latter part of the PIM, every month. 8

September, 19 49 Pacific Islands Monthly

Chinese Returned To NG By Mr. Calwell IN a special chartered plane, Mr. Calwell’s Department of Immigration sent nine Chinese from Australia back to New Guinea on August 28. Australian newspapers said that the charter of the plane was arranged “secretly.”

All of the Chinese had gone to Australia in 1942 as evacuees: all had gone into business or had taken jobs there and did not want to leave. However, they said that they bore no grudge against the Australian authorities and were returning to New Guinea “because they did not want any trouble.”

Plans had been made by Australian Immigration Department to fly a number of other Chinese to Hong Kong. However, an injunction restraining the Government from deporting them was obtained and a decision of the High Court is now awaited.

Legal opinion is uncertain as to whether the Chinese who have been sent back to New Guinea would be able to return to Australia if the High Court upholds the appeal against deportation.

Meanwhile, the Chinese-deportations war between Mr. Calwell and Australian newspapers continues. Mr. Calwell says that these men are “scum—who are living in the filthiest slum conditions”: that most of them were deserters from shins which had called at Australian ports during the war, and that therefore they were traitors.

Australian newspapers (who do not like Mr. Calwell, anyway) describe them as upstanding citizens.

Chinese Needed in NG From Our Own Correspondent PORT MORESBY, Sept. 1. /CHINESE communities in New Guinea \j are preparing to receive 335 of their countrymen whom the Australian Government intends .to leturn to New Guinea under the Wartime Refugees Removal Act.

Nine Chinese—the first batch to be returned—arrived at Lae on August 29 in a Government-chartered Qantas plane. Until the confusion in Australia over the deportations is sorted out, the a’rival date of the remaining Chinese will be indefinite.

District Officers have been asked to arrange accommodation for the Chinese and to help them as much as possible. The Administration’s view is that the Chinese will have no trouble getting jobs as most of the men are skilled tradesmen.

Night Air Service From

Nz To Fiji

THE first regular night air service to be operated by a New Zealand airline will commence in mid-September (see Plane and Shipping Timetables, this issue) with the NZ-NAC flying-boat service between Auckland and Suva, Fiji.

Phnes will leave Auckland every Thursday night at 10.30 p.m. and arrive m Suva a little after seven the following [Homing. It is hoped that this will releve pressure on Suva hotel accommodation by allowing passengers for country listricts to reach home the same day.

The return journey from Fiji will >tart at 11.30 p.m. on Sundays and arrive m Auckland at 8.15 next morning.

Mr. W. E. J. Donovan, Fiji Assistant Accountant General, has returned to the colony from Australia, where he has been in leave.

Military Training for Fiji THREE months’ continuous training for batches of 40 men drawn from territorials is proposed in a bill which the Fiji Legislative Council will consider soon. Some New Zealand Regular Force officers and instructors have already arrived in Fiji on loan.

The intake of men for training is restricted to 40 because of limited accommodation. It is proposed to restrict groups to men from the same locality and of the same race.

The manning of defences for Suva is to have priority, and first recruits will be enlisted there.

The Governor of Fiji has appealed to employers to co-operate by granting men leave and keeping employment open until the training period ends.

Auckland Star.

Trobriands Photos A FINE series of photographs depicting native life in the Trobriand Islands is being shown during September by Kodak, Ltd., 379 George St., Sydney.

These photographs were made by an Australian Department of Information photographer, and represent portion of the official photographic record made during the recent Nutritional Survey jointly organised by the New Guinea admihistration and The Institute of Anatomy, Canberra.

Oil From Dutch New

GUINEA 4,000 Barrels per Day IT was stated by a Shell Company official in Melbourne, on August 23, that 4,000 barrels of oil a day were being produced from the Klamono field, Dutch New Guinea.

This field was discovered and proved early in the war period, but it was not developed until after the war. The first shipment of crude oil from the Klamono field was sent to Java for refining last December.

It is this important fact which has encouraged Australian interests to believe that oil will be similarly discovered in Papua, in the South-East section of New Guinea, 500 miles east of Klamono. £4,000,000 already has been spent on the Papuan search—see article elsewhere in this issue.

Fiji Taro Disease Under Control THE dalo (taro) disease which appeared near Suva, Fiji about two months ago appeared to be completely under control in early September.

It has not spread in the area where it was first discovered and no reports have been received of its appearance elsewhere.

Australian Governor-General Visits Rabaul

These pictures were taken when Mr. W.

McKell. Australian Governor-General, visited Rabaul, New Guinea, in early August.

Top photo shows Mr.

McKell inspecting guard of Royal Papuan Constabulary, on his arrival at Rabaul airport on August 5.

Also shown are Sub- Inspector J. Palmer Officer-of-Guard, and, walking at rear, Governor’s aide, and Sub- Inspector C. Normoyle.

The lower photo show's a group at the public reception given Mr. McKell at Rabaul.

From left to right: Mr.

W. E. Sansom, District Officer, Rabaul; the Administrator Papua-New Guinea, Colonel J. K.

Murray; Mr. B. B. Perriman, managing-director, New Guinea Company Ltd.; Mr. J. R.

Keenan, ADO, Rabaul; the Governor-General and his aide. —Photos by C. H. Meen. 9 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

This, too, is Suva

No Danger From Rabbits

IN FIJI Opinion of an Expert IN a recent issue of the PIM, alarm was expressed at a report that wild rabbits had been seen on Viti Levu, Fiji. It was suggested that, if rabbits got loose in Fiji, great harm might be done.

That fear, of course, was based upon the history of the rabbit plague in Australia and New Zealand.

A recent statement by Mr. C. R. Turbet, the well-known veterinary officer of the Department of Agriculture, Fiji, presents a different aspect. Mr. Turbet sees no danger of the rabbit becoming a pest in Fiji and he has suggested the removal of the ban on the importation of domesticated rabbits, so that they could be raised for food. He says: “I have made a careful study of the subject and conclude the rabbit will not survive at large either in Fiji or in any other country in the wet tropics. The environment suitable to the rabbit is climate from frigid to temperate, with low humidity and low to moderate rainfall.”

Manus Base Under

INSPECTION Australian Works Minister Is Told Something THE Australian Minister for Works and Housing (Mr. Lemmon) in the latter part of August visited Manus.

Manus is the huge naval and air base built by the Americans, in the Admiralty Islands, north of New Guinea, in the war period, and abandoned later to Australia, when Australia refused to give America any post-war rights there.

Mr. Lemmon has given no report upon Manus since his return to Canberra. It is understood that the Australian Departments concerned are doing their best, with their limited resources, to keep the jungle from over-running the huge area that the Americans put into shape at Manus.

While he was in Papua-New Guinea, the Minister was given some details of the extremely wasteful expenditure of his Department in Territories centres—see article elsewhere in this issue. This may have influenced the decision —unofficially reported—to carry out important public works in the Territories by public tender.

One report—unofficial and unconfirmed —is that the Administrator of Guinea recently made some very frank representations to both the Munster for Territories (Mr. Ward) and the Works and Housing Minister (Mr. Lemmon).

In Defence Of Manus

MR. H. O. FLETCHER, who has had plantation interests' on Manus Island, New Guinea, since 192 b, takes exception to some of the abuse that has been heaped on the island by Australian newspaper correspondents.

He says that Manus is no “Hell Hole” —as one journalist called but, as nature left it, one of the most delightful spots in the Pacific. The rest was up to man. With constructive treatment and vision, Manus could become a credit to Australia. But this is not likely to be achieved by viewing the whole scene through King’s Cross lenses.

Third BP Ship For P-NG Run IN September the Burns Philp vessel, Mangola (3,500 tons) will be transferred from the Australia-Singapore service to the Australia-Papua-New Guinea run. She will call at Brisbane, Port Moresby, Samarai, Lae, Madang, Manus and Rabaul.

The two other BP ships, Bulolo and Malaita, will remain on their present schedules and, with this new addition to the New Guinea service, the supply position should improve considerably for the P-NG territory.

Mangola will not carry passengers.

The Islanders’ Medical

SERVICE Training At The Suva School THE June issue of “The Medical Journal of the Assistant Medical Practitioner Service” serves again to demonstrate the excellence of the work being done by the Central Medical School. Suva.

To this institution there come selected natives of half the Territories of the Pacific, to undergo the four years’ course which, if they are otherwise found suitable, qualifies them to receive the Diploma of Assistant Medical Practitioner.

The Journal is produced for the graduates and students of the School.

Among the news items in this welledited and well-printed magazine is the announcement that the long-overdue building of the new Medical School, on the hills overlooking Laucala Bay (and only about half a mile from the Hospital) will be commenced soon, and that this institution, as well as a new Central Nursing School and a new Maternity Block, should be ready for use in 1952.

Half the articles in this issue of the Journal are written in impeccable English, and with an apparent grasp of medical science—by native practitioners, mostly Fijians and Polynesians.

Fiji Hydro-Electric Scheme

PROFESSOR R. M. SHACKLETON, who has been in Fiji making a geological survey for the Colonial Development Corporation of the site oi the proposed dam and reservoir for the Navua hydro-electric scheme, has returned to the United Kingdom.

Mr. A. R. Porter is continuing an engineering survey of the site and is completing arrangements for exploratory drilling. Representatives of New Zealand boring contractors have visited the area and when work begins it will be supervised by Mr. A. A. Cruikshank, a Colonial Development Corporation engineer. As the cores are extracted they will be sem to the United Kingdom for exammatior by Professor Shackleton.

Uk War Damage Decision

Hits Missions

THE New Zealand Methodist Missipr (and presumably others operating ir the Grouo) has been hard hit bj the UK decision not to pay war damage compensation in the British Solomons, In Auckland, in early September, * Methodist Mission spokesman said tna thp losses of his mission society in 80. were between £70,000 and £BO,OOO at pre' war values and that replacement cost! would be about £250,000. The Missioi had lost every one of its stations m th Group.

These photographs, by G. Anness, give some idea of the shocking conditions under which the Indian community is housed in and around High Street, Toorak, Suva. Toorak —named after Melbourne’s high-class suburb —is mostly a collection of filthy slums. The shiftless Indians do nothing to help themselves in relation to housing—and the Fiji Government seems to tolerate these conditions. 10

September. 134.-Pacific Islands Monthly

The Month In Moresby

Prom Our Own Correspondent PORT MORESBY, Sept. 2.

A VOLUNTEER defence unit similar to the old New Guinea Volunteer Rifles may be formed in Papua-New Guinea. General Nimmo, GOC Northern Command, has been visiting the Territory to prepare the way for Major Hobbs, of Northern Command, who will organise the unit. Major Hobbs will address ex- AMF members at the Moresby RSL Club on September 8, as one of the first steps towards forming the unit. Port Moresby RSL is also urging the formation of a squadron of the Citizen Air Force in the Territory. ♦ ♦ * THE Minister for Works and Housing, Mr. Lemmon, visited Manus during August and before returning to Australia reassured the Administration that it would have first call on wartime buildings on the island. There were 1,000 steel framed and galvanised iron buildings to be dismantled at Manus, he sa He didn’t say anything, however, about the slowness of the salvage work there. * ♦ * SECRETARY General of the South Pacific Commission, Mr. W. D. Forsyth, is due to arrive in the Territory on a two or three weeks visit early in September. It is expected that he will attend some sessions of the District Officers’ conference, which starts at Moresby on September 14. The conference will discuss “general problems of the Administration.” ♦ ♦ * THE reaction of the Port Moresby firm of G. G. Smith & Co., to price control is to cease bread production in protest against the recent price drop.

The Deputy Prices Commissioner cut the price of a 2 lb. loaf from 1/4 to I/Oh, then raised it to 1/1. Steamships Trading Coy accepted the new price, but G.

G. Smith & Co. claims that it could not make a profit at this price. The Deputy Prices Commissioner claims that there is a good profit margin.

In principle, residents are backing the Prices Commissioner but bread is now in such short supply that they wonder whether it isn’t better to get bread at high prices than to get none at all. * * ♦ BISIANUMU plantation, near Sogeri, is being turned into a livestock introduction and breeding station and a rubber research station. The Administration recently bought the property from the Armstrongs and will use the rattle already there as a basis for its livestock activities.

Rubber budwood from Ceylon will be propogated on the station and distributed to planters in order to raise the quality and yield of their trees. ♦ * * HMAS Australia’s flag-showing cruise in Papua-New Guinea waters looks like being a dull one for the crew.

Measles and mumps have broken out on the ship and unless they clear up quickly the crew will be confined aboard for the entire cruise. Social activities planned oy Moresby folk to entertain them had t? be cancelled and if the Administration had not organised trips out to the ship on the Laurabada, residents would riot have even seen the crew, As it was, they were only able to circle the ship and wave.

THREE Europeans were fined heavily in the Moresby Court of Petty Sessions recently for supplying liquor to natives. Reahio William Taylor, of Stubbs’ Construction Company was fined £2O; Edward Biddle, of the Education Department, was fined £25; and Hugh Clark Kennedy, of Works and Housing Department was fined £4O. Most people agree that this type of offence deserves strong punishment; but the Administration suspended Biddle, although Kennedy is still with the Department of Works and Housing. Apparently the Commonwealth is more forgiving than the Administration. ♦ ♦ * TENDERS are being called for the supply of fresh vegetables and fruit to the Administration in the Port Moresby area. The contract will be for two years from December 1, 1949, and tenders close on September 30. * * * ANEW, important-sounding post—that of Secretary for Planning and Development—has been created in the Administration and the Director of District Services, Mr. J. H. Jones, has got the job, on an acting basis. Mr. I.

F. Champion becomes Acting Director of District Services. Creation of the new position was recommended by the Commonwealth classification officers, Archer and Bland. One thing the Administration is not short of is plans, so Mr. Jones should be kept very busy. ♦ ♦ ♦ OFFICER in charge of Jackson’s Strip, Mr. Kelly, is being transferred to Madang as OIC of the Civil Aviation station there. Mr. Steve Hutchinson, formerly acting OIC, Madang, will return to Moresby. ♦ • * MR. LESTER SIMS, who successfully produced the three-act play, “Night of January 16th,” in Moresby, some months ago, is now working on Noel Coward’s “Private Lives.” In the cast are George Bardsley and Warren Steele, who both did well in the first production, with Tina Wright, Leila Steege and Dallas Baldwin. The show will be staged at the Papuan Theatre on October 18, 21 and 25 and proceeds, once again, will go to the Red Cross. * * * MISS NORA HOUSTON and Mr. Fred Werrin, both of APC, are due to leave Moresby soon for Melbourne, where they will be married on October 1.

The bride’s uncle, the Reverend A. S.

Houston, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Victoria, will perform th,e ceremony. The couple will be returning to Port Moresby to live. ♦ ♦ * AMONG those who left Moresby for Australia on the last “Bulolo” were Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Olsson, Mr. G.

Loudon, Mr. and Mrs. F. Edwards, Mrs.

C. G. Oneile, Mr. G. Hogarty, Mrs. A.

Parnell, Mr. and Mrs. J. Evans and Mr. and Mrs. D. Wilmott. * * * HIDDEN local talent was revealed at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition held by the Port Moresby RSL on August 19 and 20. The walls of the RSL Club were covered with paintings, drawings, photographs, etc., and the Club itself was crowded with people on both nights of the exhibition. Nearly £2OO was raised to help RSL members who need financial assistance to give their children secondary education in Australia. A competition which created much interest was for a design for a Papua and New Guinea postage stamp. The winner was Miss Muriel McGowan. Her design and those of other entrants will be considered by the authorities for use when the Territory starts issuing its own stamps again. * * * DESPITE protests that “it’s too hot” and “the ground’s too hard,” Rugby League football has got under way in Moresby. Only two teams, Paga Hill and the Magani’s, have been formed so far but others are expected to be organised. A trip to Wau is being discussed at the moment. Officials of the Football Association are Mr. R. E. Grout (President), Mr. F. S. Lawn (Secretary), and Mr. Buckley (Treasurer).

Sudden Death Of Well-Known

Tahiti Girl

PAPEETE. July 30.

THE Tahitian community learned with deep regret at the end of July that Miss Lea Carlson, daughter of Captain Louis Carlson, Papeete port’s official pilot, had died suddenly in Paris, Lea Carlson, young and good-looking— she was only 19 —a notable singer and an outstanding figure in Papeete’s younger Mr. Gurudayal Sharma, editor of Shanti Dut, has returned to Fiji from the United Kingdom, where he has been the guest of the British Government as a member of a party of visiting Colonial journalists. The second Fiji representative, Ratu Naulivou Naucabaiavu, who is responsible for Fijian broadcast programmes, presented by the Public Relations Office, will take a short course with the BBC before returning to the Colony later this ye?;-.

Late Miss Carlson set, went to Paris a year ago, as the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Pedro Eyzaguirre (he is an attache at the Chilean Legation in Paris). She was to have been married in July to M. Jean Brasart, a midshipman on the cruiser, “Dumont D’Urville.”

Her frequent companion in Paris was Miss Anatila Nordman. The latter left Paris a few days before Lea’s death to join Mr. and Mrs. William A. Robinson on their yacht, “Varua,” at Honolulu, en route to Tahiti, and she has not yet learned of the tragedy. 11

Pacific Islands Monthly'— September, 1949

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September, 19 4? Pacific Islands Monthly

An ‘Annexation’ That Britain

REPUDIATED Chester Incident in Port Moresby in 1883 AVERY famous incident of Australian- Southwest Pacific history is illustrated in this 65-years-old photograph, kindly loaned to us by Mr. J. West, of Rabaul. It came into the possession of Mr. West’s daughter, Betty, who received it from a relation of the late H.

M. Chester, now a resident of Toowong, Queensland.

This group was taken in Port Moresby on April 4, 1883, when Mr. H.

M. Chester, on behalf of the Queensland Government, “annexed” all that portion of New Guinea, and the islands adjacent thereto, lying between East Longitude 141 and 155.

All of New Guinea eastward of Long. 141, and the region later called the Bismarck Archipelago, was a no-man’s-land in 1883; but there were indications that Imperial Germany, then eager for colonies, intended to grab any unclaimed islands in the Pacific. The leaders of the six young colonies in Australia, and of New Zealand, had long vision; and they did not like the thought that Germany might become their close neighbour, in New Guinea. They urged Britain to act, but Britain did nothing: so, finally, Queensland sent her Thursday Island magistrate, Mr. Chester, and a police party, across Torres Strait, to Port Moresby, to take possession, in the name of Queen Victoria, of the area referred to.

Queensland’s action was endorsed by the Governments of New South Wales, Victoria, and the other States, and of New Zealand. But, to their dismay, it was promptly repudiated by the British Government.

The German Government had given the British Government certain reassurances regarding its intentions in these islands, and London chose to regard the uneasiness of the Australian colonies as unjustified, and the Chester “annexation” as most ill-timed.

But, within a very short time, Germany took action; and the sleepy gentlemen of the British Colonial Office awoke one morning in 1884 to learn (unofficially) that all northeastern New Guinea, with the large islands of New Britain and New Ireland, and a host of smaller islands, had been annexed by Germany.

The British Government, in collaboration with the Australian and New Zealand Governments, thereupon acted in great haste, and formally took possession of Southeast New Guinea and the archipelagoes to the eastward (comprising what is now the Australian Territory of Papua). But Germany was now established in what was then called German New Guinea: which, after World War I became the Mandated Territory of New Guinea; and which, following World War 11, is now the Trustee Territory of New Guinea.

If the Chester “annexation” of 1883 had been accepted by London, there probably would have been no German colony in New Guinea; no Mandate: and none of the exasperating nonsense of the present day, when the Australian administration of New Guinea is constantly subjected to interference by a coterie of cranks Communists and new-planners, which seems to run the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations.

THE course of events in Papua is thus set out in the 1912 edition of Staniforth Smith’s “Handbook of Papua,” which was virtually an official publication:— “In 1846, Lieutenant Yule, while surveying from the head of the Gulf of Papua to Redscar Bay, took formal possession of the South Coast for the British Crown.

“Captain Moresby hoisted the British flag, and took possession in the Queen’s name of the large islands east of the mainland, on April 4, 1873.

“Mr. H. M. Chester, the Government Resident at Thursday Island, acting under instructions from the Queensland Government, raised the British flag at Port Moresby on April 4, 1883, and annexed, on behalf of the Queen, all that part of New Guinea, and islands adjacent thereto, lying between the 141st and 155th meridians of east longitude.

“This action (as in all previous cases of attempted annexation) was not endorsed by the British Government, although strongly supported by all the Australian Colonies and New Zealand.

"On November 6, 1884, a British Protectorate was proclaimed by Commodore J. E. Erskine, Commodore of the Australian Station, over the southern coasts of New Guinea, and islands adjacent thereto, lying between the 141st and 155th meridians of east longitude. Through some confusion in the instructions from the Colonial Office, Commissioner Romilly had some weeks previously hoisted the British flag and proclaimed a Protectorate.

“The German flag was hoisted, almost at the same time, at three places on the north-east coast of New Guinea, and the British Government was officially notified of same on December 19, 1884.

“On May 17, 1885, an Imperial Charter of protection was granted by the German Emperor to the ‘New Guinea Company’ to acquire and occupy that portion of New Guinea not under English and Dutch sovereignty, to be called ‘Kaiser Wilhelm’s Land,’ together with the islands near the coast, to be called ‘Bismarck Archipelago’ and (subject to the maintenance of the political institutions agreed upon, as well as payment of expenses of a sufficient administration of justice) rights of sovereignty corresponding thereto. The territorial boundaries set out in this charter are those as existing to-day (1912).

“The Australian Governments were advised by the Secretary of State for the Colonies on May 25, 1885, that an agreement with Germany had been arrived at regarding their joint boundary. The telegraphic despatch added:—‘This line, calculated to approximate watershed and divides Territory nearly equally.’

“On September 4, 1888, His Excellency the Hon. William MacGregor, MD, CMG, Administrator of British New Guinea, declared by proclamation, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, that the Territory and Islands of British New Guinea should henceforth form and become part of Her Majesty’s Dominions.

“On April 1, 1899, the ‘New Guinea Company’ surrendered their charter to the Emperor, and the German Government assumed the administration of Kaiser Wilhelm’s Land and the Bismarck Archipelago.”

The administration of “British New Guinea” was carried on bv Britain, Queensland. NSW and Victoria until 1902. when it was handed over to the newlvconstituted Commonwealth of Australia.

ANNEXATION OF “BRITISH NEW GUINEA,” 1883.

The names of the persons in this group, numbered from left to right, are:— (1) Frank Walsh, a grazier—visitor from Thursday Island. (2) A Water Police constable from Thursday Island, who accompanied Mr. Chester. (3) Andrew Goldie, a pioneer storekeeper, of Port Moresby. (4) The Paramount Chief at Port Moresby. (5) A Water Police constable, Mr. Warren, exman-of-war sailor, from Thursday Island. He was known as a crack rifle shot. (6) Coxswain Crispin, of the Water Police, from Thursday Island. He was an ex-man-of-war sailor, and was described as “one of the best.” (7) Mr. Henry M. Chester. Resident Magistrate for Torres Straits. He had been a Lieutenant in the Indian Navy and a Captain in the Bombay Army. He spoke, read and wrote Persian fluently, and had Persian war medals. He was twice mentioned in despatches. and publicly thanked, on the deck of the flag-ship, by the Commodore of the Persian Gulf Squadron, for his services. He was a man of great strength and courage.

After the Indian Mutiny and the war with Persia, he rode from Baghdad to Samsun, on the Black Sea, 999 miles, in 18 days, on his way to England. The Papuans called him “Mamoose.” (8) Rev. James Chalmers, famous missionary of the London Missionary Society. He was killed by the natives of a village, up the coist from Port Moresby. He would never carry a weapon. He and H. M. Chester were the closest of friends. The natives called him “Tamate.” 13 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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TEAL LOSES £A4,000 PER WEEK Mounting Losses of Governmentowned Airlines Need Investigation FIGURES released in New Zeland show that Tasman Empire Airways Limited, for the year ending March 31, 1949, lost £NZ 170,000. TEA is owned by the governments of New Zealand (50 per cent.); Australia (30 per cent.); and United Kingdom (20 per cent). This means that NZ taxpayers must make good £85,000; UK taxpayers, £34,000; and Australian taxpayers, £51,000 stg.—or £63,750 in their own currency.

Another interesting indication of huge losses achieved by government-controlled airlines is the announcement that NZ will have to find £48,000 towards the losses of British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines and £21,000 to offset the deficit in New Zealand National Airways Corporations’ Pacific regional services.

These figures saw the light of day through the New Zealand Auditor- General’s annual report to Parliament. So far there has been no emulation of this engaging frankness on the other side of the Tasman. Mr. Chifley believes that the less the Australian taxpayer knows about how his contribution to the Treasury is spent, the happier he will be.

Australia’s airways commitments are far greater than New Zealand’s and its losses must, therefore, be far greater. As well as a share in TEA and BCPA. Australia owns Qantas Empire Airways and Trans-Australia-Airlines. Qantas was acquired by the Australian Government in 1948; TAA was the Government’s answer to a decision of the Australian High Court that it could not nationalise existing airline companies. TAA has been in operation for about three years and is said to be still losing money, in spite of every effort of the Government to bolster it.

Government-owned airways can serve two purposes—to guarantee an efficient service to the people at low cost; and to pioneer new fields that are outside the scope of a private company. Government airways give efficient service to passengers but far from lowering fares, they keep them fixed at a high level once they have gained a monopoly.

In respect of the second purpose, it can be said that the Australian government, with Qantas’ Island services, and the NZNAC, with its Pacific regional airways services, have fulfilled this purpose admirably. This is particularly so of Qantas who have linked Sydney with even the remotest parts of the territories and islands of the South-west Pacific, running regular services that would have little interest to private operators.

If these services cost the taxpayer money, then it is a justifiable expense— not only because it brings the world to the isolated people of the Island terri tories, but because it maintains a vital link between Australia, or New Zealand, and their rich island outposts.

BUT there is no pioneering entailed by TEA in running (without competition) the 1,300 miles between Sydney and Auckland and the loss of large sums on this route are unlikely to please either New Zealand or Australian 15 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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HEAD OFFICE : 160 BROADWAY, Former In known as George St., West, SYDNEY, N.S.W. 50 Victoria Street, WELLINGTON, N.Z. taxpayers. If TEA slides so badly into red ink at this stage, then it seems that it will always be a liability and drastic remedies are indicated. Prom the beginning of the Pacific war until 1948 there were no ships on the regular Australia- New Zealand run. For those years TEA had a monopoly of all transport across the Tasman. In the last 12 months since two ships came back to the Tasman service, it has continued to have a monopoly of the air route. Not even BCPA, which is owned by the same governments, has been permitted to break into this close preserve.

This has created the ridiculous situation of putting New Zealand out at the end of a blind alley as far as the trans- Pacific route is concerned, instead of permitting Auckland to take its right place on the natural circuit between North American, the Pacific Islands, and Australasia.

SOME time ago, in PIM, we compared the high fares charged by TEA with the low fares charged on internal airlines in Australia. In an effort to justify this difference in fares, the NZ journal, Whites Aviation, in its August issue, gave a number of reasons, some of them sound enough, but compared the charge of 3.4 d. per mile, Melbourne to Townsville, made by Australian companies with the charge per mile across the Tasman—which they stated was 4,506 d. per mile. The Tasman fare, however, was calculated in NZ currency; the Melbourne-Townsville fare in Australian currency. In other words, an Australian can fly from Melbourne to Townsville, a distance of 1,600 miles, for £23/12/6 (3.4 d. per mile); but if he wishes to fly from Sydney to Auckland, which is only 1,300 miles, he must pay £A3S for a single fare or £A63 return (5.6 d. per mile for the return journey).

Furthermore, consider that, in August, 1948, the fare from Sydney to Auckland was only £2B in Australian currency.

Then the NZ- £ went to parity with sterling—a move that was designed tc assist New Zealanders. The fare for the trans-Tasman flight was not reduced for New Zealanders, however —it remained at £2B. But for Australians it leapt overnight to its present figure—£A3s.

Some time ago a private airline operator in Australia offered to run a trans- Tasman service for £A2S for a single journey. Australians who care little foi the high level reasonings that permit Government monopolies, would like te see this happen, as soon as possible.

WE do not know the losses of BCPA They probably are considerable. It was stated in the Sydney Press recently that it took 200 of a staff to keer two aircraft per week on the route between Sydney and Vancouver. It is unlikely, anyhow, that the airline will ever make much profit for the three governments that own it. Whether or not il has value as a prestige-builder (oi holder), is a matter of opinion.

There is no suggestion that there is anj deficiency in the service given passenger: in these Government-owned airlines Service is 100 per cent, excellent. Bui the time seems to be coming when it wil be necessary to overhaul the whole question of Government-airways’ finance The United Kingdom, in recent years, ha: lost millions in nationalised airline: operation. Australasia is fast following hei into the millionaire bracket.

To date the taxpayer has meekly paic up. Some point is given to this attitude by the cynical observation attributed t( a Sydney businessman, when discussing government-owned, Trans-Australia-Airlines: “We’d better patronise the b show—we have to pay for it, anyhow.”

Will he always be so forbearing?

Death Of Madame Baas

BECKING Madame baas becking, wife of Dr Baas Becking, deputy chairman o: the South Pacific Research Council died from injuries received a few hour: after she was injured in a car accident a their bungalow in Noumea, early in September. , . , , Dr. Baas Becking and his daughter lef Noumea for Sydney shortly after thi: tragic accident.

Mr. D. J. Barnes, of the Fiji Accountant-General’s Department, has gone t< the United Kingdom to take a three years’ course in income tax work with th( British Treasury. 16

September, 194 9- Pacific Islands Monthly

Building Materials

For Your Requirements Contact:—

VENTURA TRADING COMPANY FTY. LTD. 26 BRIDGE STREET, SYDNEY. Cables: “VENTURA,” Sydney.

Representatives: H. & R. Hutchinson, Suva. H. G. Eekhoff, Lae, T.N.G.

TAHITI To Shipmasters and Visitors When calling at Tahiti, and seeking SHIPS SUPPLIES and FRESH PROVISIONS, see— OSCAR G.

NOfiDMAN Supply Agent for Messageries Maritimes, Union S.S. Co. of N.Z., Ltd., Matson- Oceanic Line, United States Line, General S.S. Corp., Etc.

We supply general Service—lnformation about the Islands— Real/ Estate Service—Moke Reservations—Act as Shipping Agents

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Wire before your arrival to OCEANIC PAPEETE—deregistered cable address.

Itching Killed Skin Germs in 3 Days Thanks to the discovery of an American physician, It Is now possible to kill and remove the true cause of most skin troubles. Your skin has nearly 50 million tiny seams and pores where invisible germs and parasites can hide, and which are the true cause of terrible Itching. Cracking, Peeling, Burning, Ringworm, Acne, Psoriasis, Blackheads, Pimples, Foot Itch and other disfiguring blemishes.

Blemishes such as these make you look and feel embarrassed, unattractive and handicapped In life, both socially and In business. You can’t get rid of these disfigurements with ordinary treatments, which give only temporary relief, because they do not kill the germs or parasites responsible for your trouble. .

New Discovery Kills Cause Former skin sufferers throughout the world are now praising Nlxoderm, the discovery of a leading American skin specialist. This remarkable new preparation quickly penetrates into the Pores of the skin and kills the germs and parasites responsible for your trouble In 7 minutes, stopping the Itch almost Instantly. At the same time, this wonderful preparation acts as a tonic and skin food, so that as the cause of your trouble Is removed, your skin becomes soft, smooth and clear. This clear, healthy complexion will give you new charm and make It easy to win friends.

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Queer Fishing in Papeete From Our Own Correspondent PAPEETE, July 28.

PROPELLED by a high wind, a light delivery lorry owned by Mr. Oscar G. Nordman, ship-supply service, of Papeete, cast loose from its brakes at the waterfront, careered wildly across the wharf and took a flying leap into the harbour, and disappeared under the sea.

Milton, the owner’s son, was superintending the delivery of supplies to the steamer “Waikawa,” en route from San Francisco to Apia. Upon arrival at the vharf, he saw that the “Waikawa” was ibout to depart. Leaving the lorry standng nearby, he rushed with his helpers o get the provisions aboard.

When he returned, his lorry was missug. Spectators at the water’s edge, gesnculating wildly, apprised him of the of the missing vehicle which, mder pressure of the wind and assisted >y a slight seaward tilt of the wharf, lad gone overboard.

Before long, hoisting gear came to the escue, pearl divers were pressed into serice, grappling hooks were affixed—and iuthm three hours of its submergence he accompanying shot of the vehicle Pas taken.

Mr. G. F. Witty, supervisor of the new eper station at Tetere, near Honiara, Jntish Solomon Islands, returned to BSI rom Sydney this month. He has been o NZ, to take his goodlooking young laughter Natalie to BSI —she has just ompleted four years in school at Christhurch. For eleven years, the Witty amily were residents of Suva, where Jr. Witty was engineer at the hospital, le is now completing the difficult task of •uilding the BSI station. He has a score * lepers there now; there are another 50 !r so at the Melanesian Mission lepertatipn; and there are more at other mssion stations in the group.

Elections to fill the place in the Tahitian Representative Assembly occupied by the late M. Quesnot resulted in a win for M. Alexis Bersnast, with 539 votes out of 1,626 cast. There were six other candidates. M. Bersnast first came to the Pacific as one of the original Nordist colonists to New Caledonia.

Truck being fished out of harbour. 17

Aoi P I C Islands Mo*Nthly September, 1949

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September, 194 9’ Pacific Islands Monthly

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Question of Sugar , Copra Export Tax Comes Up Again From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, Sept. 4.

IN accordance with a promise given by the Governor, the correspondence between Sir Brian Preeston and the Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr.

A. Creech Jones) on the question of the taxation of primary products (opposed by unofficial members of the Legislative Council of Fiji) has been published as a Council Paper.

Behind the taxation question lie several important points: The first is that for many years, and particularly in the war period, the Colony lost enormous sums which should have been paid by Asiatic income tax dodgers. Even to-day large sums are being lost, but collection is virtually impossible without the creation of a huge collecting department because many Indians and Chinese cannot, or will not, keep books in English.

The only direct tax paid by all Asiatics, Europeans and other non- Europeans is the Residential Tax of £2 a year. Even this is escaped by Asiatics with small incomes and large families, and, in any case, a large part of the small taxation revenue that comes from the bulk of the Indian and Chinese population consists of penalties imposed on Residential Tax defaulters.

On the other hand, the Fijians are heavily taxed by their own Fijian Administration for educational and other purposes. Except in the limited Fijian copra areas, the Fijian tax burden is officially stated to have reached the limit.

Regardless of the position of both Fijians and Europeans, the Indian politicians ceaselessly proclaim the Residential Tax to be an “iniquity” as far as the Indians are concerned, and there has been a planned Indian political campaign for the abolition of this tax and for the removal of the export tax on sugar, which is met mainly by the CSR Company and hits the Indian canegrowers comparatively lightly.

Late last year and early this year the Indian campaign for a tax-free ride became linked in the Legislative Council with European and Fijian opposition to the proposed export tax on copra. The sequel to this was united unofficial support for the theory of non-taxation of primary products, ON June 10 the Secretary of State wrote to the Governor: “It is true that if financial arrangements in Fiji could be ideally regulated, a carefully graded increase in the incidence of income tax would be a better method of collecting the funds required by your Government than the maintenance or imposition of export duties.

“In Fiji, however, as in nearly all colonial territories, there are difficulties in adopting this theoretically more desirable alternative. . . . You have pointed out the difficulties in administration and collection that a reduction in the statutory income tax allowances would involve (though I note that these allowances are generous) and for this reason you reached the conclusion that the Residential Tax should be retained.”

For similar reasons, the letter continued, export duties were almost universally employed in colonial territories to supplement revenue, although this would clearly be inadvisable if they acted as a brake on production. This, however, was conspicuously not the case with sugar and copra, which were covered by long-term marketing arrangements which ensured the producers an adequate return.

“I have no hesitation in expressing the view that the imposition on export products, whose market value has greatly appreciated during and after the war, is both proper and desirable,” wrote the Secretary of State, and adds that the United Kingdom would regard the discontinuance of the sugar export duty and the decision not to impose a duty on copra, unaccompanied by any increase in direct taxation, as an impediment in the way of any development loan applications Fiji might make.

The Secretary of State, in response to the Governor’s request, enclosed a statement showing that export duties were levied by the Governments of 42 units in the Colonial Empire and Ceylon.

New Hebrides Presbyterian Church THE Presbyterian Church of the New Hebrides held its first General Assembly in mid-August. Until a year ago the Presbyterian Church work in the islands was under the direct control of missionaries, directed from Victoria: but last year control was handed over to the native Church with the title of the Presbyterian Church in the New Hebrides. The missionaries continue to act as guides and counsellors, and the first moderator of the assembly is the Rev. Graham Miller. 19 ACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER. 1949

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September, 194 9 - Pacific Islands Monthly

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No Compensation

One Planter’s Comments Letter to the Editor THE Western Pacific High Commission has announced; “Bearing in mind that the normal revenues of these territories (Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony and British Solomon Islands Protectorate) are insufficient to meet their recurrent costs of administration and that the principal factor to be considered is the degree to which payments by way of compensation are in fact needed to effect rehabilitation or to restore economic productivity, the High Commissioner has been unable to recommend to the Secretary of State for the Colonies the payment of any war damage compensation by these territories.”

A study of this official jargon indicates that the High Commissioner is of opinion that war damage in the territories mentioned was not worth while worrying about and that, in any case, the cost of restoring plantations or commercial ventures to their pre-war condition would be so paltry as not to warrant the attention of His Majesty’s Government.

I wonder how many of the companies and individuals who lost heavily as a result of the Japanese invasion will accept cheerfully such a glib dismissal of their claims. Furthermore, if it is really believed that the cumulative effects of many years of war damage are so negligible, how does it come about that even at this stage copra production in particular is so far behind pre-war volume?

I have no doubt that the individuals and companies who have tackled the job of rehabilitation would have little difficulty in proving that heavy capital expenditure without any governmental assistance has been necessary to achieve the mediocre results obtained to date.

Whatever assistance was offered by the government had too many strings tied to it to be in the least attractive.

This latest pronouncement will do nothing to allay the feeling of planters that their temporal lords and masters are not in the least sympathetic to their hopes of re-establishing themselves and stabilising their position.

The confession that the revenues of the territories are insufficient to meet administrative costs will continue to be true until such time as the government realises that the development of these countries requires outside capital, which must be fostered and encouraged—a policy designed to deal with conditions as they are now, not one based on illogical dreams of a tropical Utopia.

I am, etc., Manly, N.S.W.

MUG PLANTER.

Adi Rewa To Be Retired SUVA, September 3.

THE well-known Fiji inter-island ship, Adi Rewa, built at Suva in 1926, has been withdrawn from service by Morris Hedstrom, Ltd. An examination on the slip showed that the extensive repairs needed were not warranted in view of the few years of active life remaining to the vessel.

Skippered by Captain E. Williams, the Adi Rewa has been popular with travellers for 23 years. Recently she was on the Suva-Levuka-Macuata run, but when she started life there was no highway right round Viti Levu, as there is now, and travellers from Suva to Lautoka, Ba, and Penang, voyaged by sea. To-day a large part of Fiji’s passenger transport is by land, and in the case of Labasa-Suva, by air. 21 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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ROBERT GHLESPIE JS, LAE and RABAUL An anonymous Auckland donor has presented a £1,600 launch to the New Zealand Methodist Mission for use in Bougainville. This makes the mission’s fleet in the Solomons complete.

The baseball season opened in Rabaul, New Guinea, on August 27. Mr. W. E.

Sansom, Acting District Officer, Rabaul, pitched the first ball after wishing the players a successful season.

Giant Sail-Fish

THIS interesting and unusual creature is a sail-fish, which was caught on June 12, 1949, off the coast of Tahiti, by Dr. Wurfel, of Papeete. It is a fish well-known in those islands where it is called “Ha TJra Ahurepe” by the Tahitians.

There is special interest in this specimen, because it appears to be one of the biggest sail-fish ever caught. It is officially certified to measure 3.15 metres (about 10 feet) from nose to tail, whereas the biggest specimen taken by the late Zane Grey, in those waters, and in the same locality, was about 9 feet.

The photograph shows Dr, Wurfel standing beside his fish, holding the rod with which he caught it. 22

September, 194 J Pacific Islands Monthly

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NOUMEA: Y. Mortensen NORFOLK ISLAND: A. E. Martin Indians Hanker to be Called “Mr.”

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, Sept. 3.

WHEN a Fiji-born Indian wrote to the Press objecting to what seems to be a widespread adoption of Indian “titles” by various local Indians although the Indian leaders in India have discarded their British titles, he added: “Indians in Fiji must be on guard against fancy foreign titles and slogans.”

Besides being the first time an Indian has called anything Indian “foreign,” this started a discussion in which it was pointed out that Indians in Fiji universally demand the English courtesy title of “Mr.” although this is absolutely foreign to them.

In Fiji no Fijian is ever addressed as “Mr.” If a Fijian is not entitled to the hereditary title of Ratu, he gets nothing.

Thus occurs the absurd situation in which Fijian officials, teachers, and (in more than one case) officers of flourishing businesses are not “Mr.,” while Indian youths of no standing whatever are solemnly given their “Mr.”

One of the Fijian members of the Legislative Council who is not a Ratu is not a “Mr.” either.

Certainly, the Fijians have never expressed the slightest wish to adopt the foreign “Mr.,” and Indian insistence is merely part of the Indian obsession over “equality.”

Resentment comes mainly from Europeans who, in one case, have pointed by way of example, to the last Suva Town Board report, which lavishly distributes “Mr.” to all and sundry Indians. The report also inadvertently deprives a Fijian Ratu of his title. This has not been the subject of any sort of protest, but there would have been an uproar if an Indian “Mr.” had been mislaid.

Incidentally, the shipping and airline companies insist on calling Fijians “Mr.” whether they want it or not. 23 pacific islands monthly September, 1949

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September, 194 9 Pacific Islands Monthl’'

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Police Travel Over

10,000 MILES Curious Sequel To Ocean Island Murder THREE Brisbane detectives (Senior- Sergeant T. E. Martin, Sergeant C.

Smith, fingerprint expert, and Constable J. Hamilton), having already travelled over 10,000 miles in the pursuit and punishment of an alleged Pacific Islands murderer, left Brisbane again on September 3 for Suva, and probably will add another 3,000 or 4,000 miles to their joumeyings before justice is done.

Last April, on Ocean Island (that hump-backed dot of phosphatic rock near the equator) a middle-aged engineer and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. T. Allen, were found in their bungalow, stabbed to death.

It was a strange, motive-less crime.

Ocean Island (part of the domain of the British High Commission of the Western Pacific, headquarters in Suva) appealed for help. Suva appealed to Australia.

On April 30 the three detectives, at very short notice, went out from Brisbane on a launch, to intercept and board the phosphate steamer, Edenbank, for Ocean Island, 1,200 miles away.

On Ocean Island, they found, in the Allens’ bungalow, certain fingerprints which seemed to have significance. On Ocean Island, there are large numbers of Chinese and Gilbertese, labourers on the phosphate deposits, in addition to the indigenous Banabans. The detectives set to work to fingerprint the whole population. They took no less than 18,000 finger and palm prints.

As a result, they arrested and charged with murder a 28-years-old Chinese labourer, Tai Shek, and he was committed to Suva, for trial. As reported in last Issue of the PIM, the British court in Suva, owing to some colonial law technicality (Ocean Is. is in the Gilbert and Ellice Colony) did not have authority to try Tai Shek. He was discharged and returned to Ocean Island, for re-arrest and re-committal, while the detectives (by now perhaps the most completely fed-up police officials in the wide Pacific) went back to their Brisbane homes.

The new trial was expected to commence in Suva on September 6; so the three detectives, on September 3, set off from Brisbane again upon their travels.

Unexpected Incident

ON the night of July 26, in Apia, Western Samoa, the men of the NZ warship, Hawea, were warmly entertained, in the Tivoli Theatre, by hospitable Samoans. Quite late in the evening, some of the guests were enjoying a lavish supper, spread on the stage; others were dancing. Two old Samoans — one with spectacles, one without—were chatting amicably in one corner.

Suddenly, a sharp disturbance attracted general attention. The surprised guests beheld the bespectacled Samoan being fiercely assaulted by a well-known Samoan leader. He bit the dust; and, before he could rise, the Samoan gentleman hurled himself upon his other, unspectacled, countryman.

Spectators intervened and the riotous chieftain was suppressed and led away.

As the happy party broke up, the old Samoan was searching vociferously for his glasses. They were found a dozen feet from where he had fallen —evidence of the fury of the mysterious attack.

The bluejackets thought it was a new, highly acceptable form of entertainment arranged for their benefit; but their embarrassed hosts still are wondering what impelled the big Samoan aristocrat to make that demonstration.

Australian Rice For South

PACIFIC THE International Emergency Food Committee of UN advised the Rice Association of Australia late in August that the bulk of Australia’s rice exports for 1949 will go again to natives in zones of British influence-in the South Pacific.

The lEFC has sent to the governments concerned its recommendations for the distribution of the 1949 world export supply of rice. Under the “block” system, the supplying country may send no more than its allocation to the importing country. Conversely, no importing country will accept any more than its quota.

The Premier of India (Pandit Nehru) has appealed to his people to eat less rice and more wheat, so that the populace can exist on 10 per cent, less food —all that will be available to them this year.

A Wreath From Kentucky

A LOUISVILLE (Kentucky) coalminer named David Wallen is about to set off on. a walk to Los Angeles, en route to Guadalcanal. With him there goes a metal wreath, carrying one flower for each of the 690 American servicemen who lost their lives when the American cruiser Juneau was sunk in the Solomons in 1942. Mr. Wallen’s son was one of the 690. His wife will join him in Los Angeles; and, according to him, they “somehow” will get across the Pacific to Gaudalcanal, where they will drop their wreath in the approximate spot where the warship was lost. He told reporters he was “leaving the details of the journey to the Lord—He will find a way.” 25 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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Well-Known Suva People

MARRIED From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, Sept. 3.

MR. H. E. SNELL, managing director of Morris Hedstrom, Ltd., and Mrs.

Neville Windrum, daughter of Sir Henry and Lady Scott, were married at Suva on August 30. The wedding was very quiet, only the parents of the bride and a few close relatives and friends being present.

“PIM" Goes Into Prince Bismarck’s Museum The following is an extract from a letter from Mr. F. T. Goedicke-van Asten, an elderly gentleman of Dutch birth who resides in Haapai, Tonga.

The reference in the article is to a medal presented many years ago by Prince Bismarck to Mr. Goedicke-van Asten, in connection with an event in German New Guinea about 1884. The medal was given by Mr. Goedicke-van Asten to the Pacific Islands Monthly, and is on exhibition in the PIM offices.

SINCE I have been writing articles for PIM I receive by every mail letters starting something like this: “I read with great pleasure your article in the PIM.” And many go on: “I am a great stamp collector and I would be very thankful to you if you could send me a few Tonga stamps”!

By last mail I received an unusually interesting letter by airmail. Its postmark was Friedricksruh, Germany. Friedricksruh is the estate which Emperor William II presented to Otto von Bismarck Schoenhausen, when he created him a Furst (prince).

The letter is from Count Otto von Bismarck-Schoenhausen, grandson of Prince Bismarck. Count Otto writes (translated): “I thank you for the very interesting magazine, Pacific Monthly Magazine, you sent me. I read every line of it. The article about your interview with the Prince, my grandfather, interested me also very much.

“During the last war, I shifted my family to Schoenhausen, the home of my ancestors; and there, in the Bismarck Museum, erected by my father, Count Herbert, I found in a glass case, in which all the different Orders and Decorations of my grandfather are exhibited, a medal similar to the one mentioned in your article in the magazine. I have taken the liberty to send the magazine to the caretaker of the Museum, with an instruction to place the magazine in the glass case, and have the medal placed on top of it.

“When Countess Irma, my wife, saw the 3d. stamp on the wrapper of the magazine, which I presume represents Stonehenge, she took charge of the stamp, as she is a great stamp collector. Countess Irma sends her love to you and under separate cover seven photos of Friedricksruh and Schoenhausen.

“I will close my letter, wishing you the best for the future and adding the words my grandfather used when you said farewell to him at the Imperial Chancellery, ‘and may the blessing of our Lord rest upon you’.” (The Count may be pardoned for supposing that the mysterious Trilithon, near Nukualofa, is a part of the more famous Druidic ruins at Stonehenge, in England.

There is a vague resemblance).

Melanesian Mission

CENTENARY THE Melanesian Mission ship, Southern Cross, the seventh of that name to serve the mission during the past century, has been making a goodwill tour of New Zealand ports in celebration of the centenary of the Melanesian Mission.

The activities of the Melanesian Mission are now restricted almost entirely to the British Solomon Islands, where it is very influential, and the Mission generally is controlled by New Zealand. 26

September, 19 4S Pacific Islands Monthly

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Moderate Fiji-lndians Criticise Independence Day Extravagances From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, August 28.

A CURIOUS sequel to the carefully organised Indian political demonstrations throughout Fiji on August 15 (Indian Independence Day) has been an outburst by moderate Indians in the correspondence columns of the English language press in Fiji. Some of the Indian writers condemn the aggressive waving of Indian national flags in the Colony.

The Indian Government Commissioner in Fiji has been criticised for allegedly permitting prominence to be given to one Hindu sect at a ceremony at his house on August 15 (incidentally, the Commissioner, Mr. S. A. Waiz, is a Christian) and correspondents have suggested that Indian political disunity has increased in the last year.

A Fiji-born Indian, for the first time in the English press, openly ridiculed the repeated expressions of “grateful appreciation for the kindly interest now beingtaken by Free India in the welfare of the Indians in Fiji.”

He quoted the case of two Indians who went to India from Fiji, secured jobs and then were officially told to get out of India, which did not want them. He added that it would be better for Indians in the Colony if they paid less attention to the “agitators who only seem to get the Indian people into trouble.”

Yet another, who signed his letter with his own name, briskly “demanded an explanation” from whoever was responsible for a hurricane of Indian flag-waving at a country centre and the total elimination of the Union Jack.

“As British subjects, it is our duty to be loyal and the Union Jack should have had the place of honour with the Indian flag,” he wrote, and added that as the Pakistan flag was displayed, this possibly was due to the fact that the organisers were apprehensive at the number of “Pakistanis” present.

Somewhat belatedly, Indian concern for the Union Jack appears to be growing, particularly in the country districts. The trend is much less marked in Suva, although a published letter by a young Indian recently expressed grave disapproval of the absence of the National Anthem at boxing programmes.

Malaria And The West

PACIFIC ELEVEN experts on malaria recommended to World Health Organisation in Geneva, on August 10, that WHO should give top priority to the control of malaria in its technical assistance programme for undeveloped countries in malarial belts.

It was suggested that the programme to increase food production by combating diseases should be initiated in the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia, the Western Pacific and Latin America because those regions were largely undeveloped because of endemic malaria.

Sydney newspapers have given space to the reactions of Mr. Guildford Adams. 24. of Norfolk Island, who arrived recently.

He had never previously seen a train or tram, or ridden on top of a bus. He is a direct descendant of John Adams, of Bounty fame. 27 pacific islands monthly September, 1949

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September, 194? Pacific Islands Monthli

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StTeet THE MISSING 5,000 Latest Development of a Press- Made Mystery THE story of the missing 5,000 natives in the Solomon Islands—see PIM of July—is still circulating among the news agencies of the world and causing further absurdities.

It will be remembered that, about June last, a party of geologists returned to Sydney from the Solomon Islands. One of them remarked to a reporter that they had found interesting mineral specimens upon a small island called St. George— and he added that at one time there was a population of 5,000 or 6,000 upon St.

George whereas now there are none.

The reporter asked him what had become of the 5,000 people, and the scientist replied that he had no idea.

Thereupon the reporter wrote something about the disappearance of 5,000 natives from the island of St. George.

By the time this had been cabled to the United States it had developed into a first-class mystery; and, within a week, the editor of the PIM had received messages from New York, from London and from Johannesburg asking if he could supply any further details about the missing 5,000.

The PIM informed the newspapers that it was Mendana who, in 1568, reported some 5,000 or 6,000 people upon the island of St. George; but that when European explorers next visited the place, some 250 years ago, there were no people upon that island. Perhaps Mendana got his islands mixed—we shall never know. That was what the geologist was referring to when speaking to the Sydney reporter.

But, in August, several weeks after PIM had broadcast the explanation of the mystery, there was another cablegram in the Sydney evening newspapers.

It was to the effect that certain delegates of the United Nations, who are passionately interested in native welfare, are taking steps to find out what had become of the 5,000 natives who were reported missing from the island of St.

George in the British Solomons. They evidently believe they are about to secure more evidence of capitalist exploitation!

Memory Of The Carnegie

Blown Up In Apia 20 Years Ago IT will be 20 years next month since the famous yacht, “Carnegie,” engaged in research work, was blown up in Apia lagoon; the officer in charge, Commander Ault, was killed. The vessel was loading petrol, and the fumes somehow became ignited. Commander Ault, who was reading on the deck nearby, was blown from his chair into the water, and fatally injured. Fire destroyed the yacht.

The “Carnegie” was launched in 1908, to continue the research work of the “Galilee.” She was known as the nonmagnetic vessel, and was owned by the Carnegie Institute. The purpose of these vessels was to make a magnetic survey of the Pacific Ocean. As a result, many charts were corrected, and many depths accurately ascertained.

Mr. Oscar Nordman, of Papeete, served aboard both the “Galilee” and the “Carnegie” and a fine water-colour painting of the ship signed by Commander Ault and his officers, given to Mr. Nordman before the “Carnegie” sailed on her last voyage, is among his treasured possessions.

Four Veterans Meet

Memories of Rabaul and The Coast Watchers FOUR Australian officers who served together in the 22nd Battalion in Rabaul, when the Japs invaded in 1942, had a happy reunion in Melbourne on July 27, when they attended an investiture at Government House, to receive war decorations. They were: Lieut.-Colonel Leggatt, now Chief Secretary in Victoria, who left Rabaul for Timor to command the 2/40th Battalion.

He received the DSO.

Captain W. B. Bowring (MC), who left Rabaul and was posted to Malaya to the 2/29th Battalion, and later was taken prisoner at the Muar Road action.

Captain J. Mack Hamilton (MBE, Military Division), and Lieutenant R. K.

Walls (MC), both of the 2/22nd Battalion, who took part in the now famous overland trek south through the jungle of New Britain to elude capture. After two and a half months they reached Cairns.

When they were together in Rabaul, Leggatt was a Major, being 2nd-in-Command; Bowring was a Captain; and Hamilton and Walls were Corporals.

Later, Walls and Hamilton became members of the famous Allied Intelligence Bureau (Coast Watchers), and won their commissions and both spent years in New Guinea. According to the records, both earned very fully the decorations which were later awarded to them.

Suva’s rainfall for 1949 to September 3 is 160.85 in., already a record. The average annual rainfall for 57 years is 120.85 in. 29 PAOIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY—SEPTEMBER, 1949

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Kasper Refrigerators Pty. Ltd. 77 Railway Parade, Erskineville, N.S.W., Australia Telephone: LA 1326 Tourists Not Impressed With P-NG From Our Brisbane Correspondent IT was reported recently in the Brisbane Courier-Mail that round-trip passengers, who travelled to New Guinea on the MV Bulolo recently, complained of Federal Government apathy to boosting tourist traffic to New Guinea.

According to press reports, the passengers claimed that failure to foster US tourist interest in New Guinea and nearby islands, was losing Australia thousands of dollars. The tourists complained of inferior hotel accommodation, limited sightseeing through poor transport facilities, and that no organised tourist arrangements had been provided.

The Bulolo had completed a month’s trip, including visits to Port Moresby, Rabaul, Lae, and Samarai (Papua).

A Sydney company director contended that there was a wonderful opening for an organised tourist outfit in New Guinea alone. At present, no interest was displayed in tourists, and everything was badly organised once the passengers had left the boat. He believed Australia could reap thousands of dollars from Americans anxious to bring parents and wives back to see the places where they fought in 1942-45.

Another passenger said that tourist traffic was not encouraged and that some of the hotels were “dreadful.” Trippers were totally dependent on friends for sight-seeing. “Why not have a roomy tourist coach at ports of call?” queried another passenger. He considered that taxi fares were very costly when tourists wished to go any distance.

Editorial Note: EVEN before the war there was no effort made by the Administrations of Papua or New Guinea to attract tourists. Such tourist industry as there was, was fostered by the shipping companies.

During the war, Samarai (in Papua), and all the towns in New Guinea were totally destroyed. Since the war both Territories have been labouring under the Wardist regime when all things have been orientated towards making the (now) combined Territories a fit place for Fuzzy-wuzzy. All else has taken second place which under post-war conditions has meant no place at all. Township rebuilding has been further complicated by ambitious town-plans that have thrown private enterprise and private citizens into complete confusion. Add to this the facts that until a year ago there was a totally inadequate shipping service to Papua-New-Guinea; that Communist-dominated Australian workers have refused to supply Australia with the building materials she needs; and that Australian Communistic wharflabourers, who fix Australia’s foreign policy, have refused to let Papua-New Guinea import its just quota of this material—then it is easily understood why, four years after the war, New Guinea towns are still collections of ex- Army hutments. Some of the hotels may be “dreadful.” But this is not the fault of the licencees who want to build decent establishments —(a) if the Administration can make up its mind where and how the new towns are to be built according to The Plan: and (b) if they can get sufficient material from Australia.

The round-trippers could have ascertained the state of the Territories before they left Australia. However, the trip is still worth taking if only to see how a completely defranchised, socialistic state is run. The scenery is still good, in places; the Bulolo is a fine ship; plantations have been cleaned up and are flourishing; missions are hard at work; individual Administration officials have performed miracles in getting their particular areas under some sort of organisation; and above all, Territorians, with all their problems, would not change places with any Australian suburbanite.

Ideas of attracting American tourist dollars to New Guinea are best forgotten. Other innocents once thought along similar lines. They now know better.

If, in the next five years, Papua-New Guinea can be made a really fit place for Territorians (white as well as brown) to live in that is all that can be expected.

Another Ellison In Ci

Medical Service

MANGAIA, Cl. mwARn pohatt FTimnw EDWARD POHAU ELLISON, U OBE, who for many years served faithfully the native population of the Cook Islands, and whose efforts have given Cl its splendid new TEI Sanatorium it well remembered, though he retired from local practice some years ago.

Mangaians recall the stay of Dr, Ellison here at the close of 1926, in which year h e h a d the misfortune to lose his wife His Httle three-year-old daughter, who came W ith him, was a pet of the is i a nders; the little girl was in the care of Miss Doris H ead, a member of the wpli-known Ninp fAtnilv weu Known INlue lamuy.

Nancy Ellison, now grown-up, is once 30

September, 1949’ Pacific Islands Monthly

BURNS PHILP (New Guinea) LIMITED General Merchants (Wholesale and Retail) Shipping, Customs and General Agents Head Office; PORT MORESBY, PAPUA BRANCHES: NEW GUINEA: Rabaul, Kokopo, Lae £r Madang.

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Distributing Agents, Territory of Papua-New Guinea for:

Shell Company Of Australia Limited

Petroleum Products

General Motors Corporation

Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac and Oldsmobile Cars Chevrolet and GMC Trucks Frigidaire Refrigerators

Vauxhall Motors Limited

Vouxhall Cars and Bedford Trucks

R. A. Lister Cr Co., Bristol

Producers of Petrol, Parrafin and Diesel Engines Pumps and Lighting plants

Ruston Hornsby Limited

Engines

Crossley Marine Engines

REPRESENTATIVES FOR: AUSTRALIAN AGENTS: LONDON AGENTS: SAN FRANCISCO AGENTS: 31 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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This enormous capacity makes Ransomes Gang Mowers indispensable to all controlling aerodromes, large sports grounds, etc., requiring frequent cutting. With no other machine could these large areas be kept in such good condition.

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She was at Niue Hospital previous to her Rarotonga appointment.

Papain, a Valuable African Product savs ‘^Cain^rdrteriaK says that Papain, the dried latex or pawpaw fruit, has in the last few years become a valuable East African export, A powder soluble in water or glycerine, it is an extremely active fermenting agent, used in the preparation of medicines and cosmetics, and such processes as chillproofing beer, tanning leather and softening silk. It is produced chiefly in northern Tanganyika.

In the plantations devoted to the production of Papain, it is noted that only the female pawpaw trees bear fruit, and the growth of the male pawpaw trees, therefore, is restricted to the few needed for pollination. The pawpaw trees usually are planted nine feet apart, and the plantations are kept clean weeded. Cultivating is done mostly by machines.

Collection of the latex is simple. A framework, covered by cloth and shaped like a saucer with a hole in the middle (for the stem of the tree) is fixed onto the stem about 18 or 20 inches below the bunch of pawpaw fruits. A razor-blade fixed in a bit of rubber, and fastened to the end of a short stick, is used to lightly slash each fruit, longitudinally, eight or ten times. The latex oozes out and falls onto the cloth tray, and coagulates.

The coagulated latex is then gathered from the tree-stem trays into cloths, wherein it is carried and dumped onto fine wire trays, whch resemble, in appearance, single stretcher beds. Care must be taken to avoid any contact of the latex with the skin of the workers: it has a very strong corrosive effect on skin.

The latex then is taken to a hot-air kiln, where it is dried at a temperature of about 100 degrees Fahr. for 12 to 14 hours. This is the most important part of the process.

The pawpaw fruit can be tapped in.the manner described every ten days for about nine months of the year.

There is a demand for this profitable product, which should be worth the attention of Pacific Islands planters. 32

September. 1949-P A C I F I C Islands Monthlt

0/5

S. Wentworth Jackson

(F. 1.0., SYD.) Optometrist & Optician 185 ELIZABETH ST., SYDNEY

Announcing Next Visit To The Territory

PT. MORESBY ... 14 ■ 23 NOV.

RABAUL ... 28 NOV. - 9 DEC.

Have Your Eyes Examined

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Do You Wish

TO ENTER

Papua-N. Guinea?

ALTHOUGH it is now four years since the war ended, persons desiring to travel to the Territory of Papua-New Guinea still seek a “Permit to Enter,” and submit to one of the cumbersome, timewasting “controls” which bureaucrats loved to devise during the war period, and which they surrender with manifest reluctance.

The application must be made to the Department of External Territories, in Australia. It then is sent to the head office of the Department, in Canberra.

There, presumably, the proposed visitor is “screened”—or perhaps the screening is done in Port Moresby. For it appears that all such applications are sent by airmail to the Administration in Port Moresby, and the latter solemnly reports back to Canberra. Canberra, in its leisurely way, then instructs the branch which has received the application to inform the traveller that he may travel.

The procedure usually takes about one month. We have not heard of any case of a Permit to Enter being refused. But the traveller cannot get a ticket for air or sea travel until he produces the Permit.

We do not know whether the month’s delay applies to officials and residents returning to the Territories. It certainly is used against non-residents.

Officialdom probably will make the excuse that, owing to the shortage of hotel accommodation in the Territory, it is desirable that the Administration should control all immigration. There is a shortage of accommodation—but we can think of a dozen more simple ways of Permit^ystem. trouble than this absurd Most travellers who have to submit to it become hostile critics of the Administration. Canberra is quite indifferent to that, of course.

Yet Canberra spends really startling sums, nowadays, on Public Relations.

Scores of highly-paid journalists and radio-script writers are now claquers for the Australian Socialist Government.

Why should some of that money and effort not be spent on creating a better public opinion in relation to Panua-New Guinea? Very many public prints, recently, seem to carry hostile criticism of conditions in the Territory. Conditions there are bad—but not as bad as some newspapers represent them to be.

New Amateur Sports Centre Near Suva mHE recently-formed Fiji Amateur J. Sports Association will acquire a complete sports oval at Laucala Bay, near Suva, which will provide room f or track and field events and for representative football, cricket and hockey matches. The association will hold its fi rs t big sports meeting at Albert Park 0 n Cession Day (October 10). , .

Shortage of playing-fields in the Suva area is acute. It is planned to create this additional centre at Laucala Bay, where the Government earmarked a suitable area more than a year ago. 33 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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September, 194 9' Pacific Islands Monthly

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Search For Oil In

PAPUA Reports of ‘Strike’ Denied THE eagerness with which the Australian Petroleum Company’s search for oil in Papua is being followed by the Australian public was shown on two or three occasions in July and August, when reports of an oil strike stirred the stock exchanges to feverish inquiries for shares. Most shares are tightly held, however.

Both Oil Company and Government officials have made statements to the effect that, as l soon as there is amy “strike” of oil, an announcement will be made; but the public still believes that the signs are better than is admitted, and remains on tiptoe. The Co. has denied persistent reports that it is sending pumping machinery to Papua.

The major oil companies behind the APC seem to be sparing neither money nor effort in their search; the total of their expenditure and commitments to date now totals over £4,000,000. Their attitude seems to be: “If there is oil under Papua, we shall get it.”

A discovery of oil in Papua would, overnight, turn that Cinderella Territory into a country of great commercial activity and wealth. So far, apart from limited copra production, Papua has only the rubber industry and one gold mine; and rubber has been under a gloomy cloud lately. Oil would change the picture entirely.

The APC on August 26 issued the following statement about its operations in Papua: “Australasian Petroleum Company reports that its bore at Hohoro has reached a depth of 2,323 feet and that a core taken in the last 16 feet drilled has revealed a small oil content.

“Company officials attach no special significance to the evidence other than that it is obviously a favourable indication and an encouragement to drill deeper. They state, however, that the evidence should be viewed in its true perspective. Small surface oil seepages occur in many localities in Papua and it would indeed be surprising if similar oil impregnations were not encountered in the formations passed through by the drill. The existence of an oil accumulation in commercial quantities depends upon a suitable reservoir as well as upon the presence of oil. It will be necessary to drill deeper to determine whether such a reservoir rock does, in fact, exist at Hohoro. Further drilling will be delayed, awaiting the arrival of barytes.

“It is further pointed out that a Government bore drilled at Upoia, in 1917, encountered a small oil showing between 185 feet and 200 feet, but the Australasian Petroleum Company bore now drilling has already penetrated to a depth of 2,662 feet without meeting a reservoir rock.

“Company officials state that in the event of oil in commercial quantities being encountered in any of its bores, a prompt announcement would be made.”

The motor-ship “Antares,” belonging to and run by Captain Savoie, of Noumea, has been lost in the New Hebrides between Aoba and Santo, together with its cargo. One of the crew, a Javanese, was drowned. The “Antares,” a vessel 75 feet long with a 100 HP Diesel engine, and equipped with radio, was bought in Sydney not long ago. She made her first voyage from Noumea to the Hebrides last April.

Death Of M. Georges Ahne

PAPEETE, August 3.

NEWS was received to-day of the death in Paris of M. Georges Ahne, Deputy of the Colony to France. A semiinvalid for some time, he was visiting the Motherland in the hope of a complete recovery, but succumbed to a final paralytic stroke. Thus was cut short the career of a clever, efficient and popular politician.

Bom in Tahiti in 1903, M. Ahne took his secondary school studies at Papeete, and his lawyer’s degree at Bordeaux, France. As an able and honest lawyer, he accumulated a major practice in the Islands. After the Armistice of France, he became a fervent De Gaullist, and later was elected by the citizens of the Colony to represent them in France.

Specialising in Economics, he was, on June 8, made a jury member of the High Court of Justice.

His loss will be greatly felt in the Colony, which he served so well. His widow is bringing his body back to Tahiti, for burial here. 35 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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Pitcairn’S Hectic Morn

The Rush For a New Stamp Issue From Our Own Correspondent PITCAIRN Is., Aug. 2.

IT was a hectic day in Pitcairn Island’s little Post Office on August 1. On that day we released our special issue of postage stamps, commemorating the Silver wedding of our King and Queen.

It evidently was an event of importance in the philatelic world. Orders for stamps had come in overwhelmingly, from all over the world.

Although there were ten times more lid. than 10/- stamps, these lid. ones were far too few; while of the 10/variety there are thousands still left in stock. So we had to be rationed on the smaller denomination.

The number of lid. stamps sold was 22,400, and the 10/- stamps brought in cash to the value of more than £l,lOO.

It is generally felt that a less costly set of stamps would have been more practical. But these may be very valuable for philatelists.

Some of us had received orders from people who desired stamps. It was interesting to note some of the different wishes of these folk, such as: “Please have the stamps cancelled lightly.”

“Be sure to have the date showing plainly.”

“Don’t forget to backstamp the cover.”

“Have the cancellation well over the stamp. Pick out certain stamps. Use certain sized envelopes.”

Some provided their own envelopes; and it was fortunate that we had a few spare envelopes, else some people might have been left without. It is evidently thought by some that we have a shop here on the island, but there is no such convenient arrangement!

Our acting Postmistress (Mr. Clark is in New Zealand for medical treatment) has been working at top speed. In fact, so strenuous has she found it that she “would be glad if she never saw another stamp!’* Some would-be purchasers will be disappointed. Although their orders were written as far back as March, they were not received here until July 27.

It was in March that we were all required to put in our orders. This gave opportunity for the Post Office to ration the stamps in proportion to the orders received.

Many were disappointed, too, because no registration was allowed merely for the sake of the stamps. Numbers of covers were ruled ready for registration, and many had valuable stamps besides those just issued; but they could not be registered.

It will be a source of satisfaction to those interested to know that drders going Panama way will be despatched immediately. The Rimutaka is calling on August 4 on her way to England. We do not know just when a ship will call to take the mail to New Zealand. No doubt many of the passengers on the Rimutaka will be glad to have the First Day Covers while they are “still warm”!

A new motor launch was brought to the island on board the Port Lyttelton, July 27. It has been estimated that the money received for the stamps will be more than sufficient to provide the cost of this launch.

It was thought that the launch would be useful in taking the island longboats quickly to and from the ships that call here. She is a trim little vessel, but rather heavy for the islanders to handle. 36

September, 19 45 Pacific Islands Monthly

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Gordon's Stands SufA&ms,

Papuan Planters

Again Selling

RUBBER Prom Our Own Correspondent PORT MORESBY, Sept. 2.

PAPUAN planters are selling their rubber again after a five months break during which approximately 800 tons accumulated at storage centres and plantations in the Territory.

The Australian Government, through the Production Control Board, is buying the rubber at Singapore prices. Although planters sayi that the present prices of 12.3 pence for second grade, and 13.1 pence for first grade, are below cost of production, they, nevertheless, are thankful for the Government’s help.

In any case, this arrangement is believed to be a temporary one. After October 31, it is hoped that a permanent stabilisation scheme will be introduced.

An officer of the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture (Mr. Grogan), is being sent to investigate the whole rubber problem. In this he will be assisted by the local Assistant Director of Agriculture, Mr. R. E. Dwyer, who is being recalled from leave for this purpose.

The rubber trouble, it will be remembered, arose at the end of March when Australian manufacturers stated that they could buy Papuan rubber only if growers were prepared to sell their No. 1 grade at the price for No. 2 grade. .

Planters refused to sell under these conditions.

There appears to have been no change in the attitude of the manufacturers, therefore the Government, in buying the rubber at Singapore prices, will have to sell at a loss if it wishes to supply the Australian market.

Making Life Difficult for Shipowners Stowaways Become Public Nuisance in Fiji Prom Our Own Correspondent SUVA, Aug. 28.

AFTER being delayed for an hour to permit an intensive daylight search for stowaways, the Union Company’s ship, Wairuna, sailed from Lautoka, Fiji, at 7 a.m. on August 24. No stowaways had been found, but at 9 a.m. the Wairuna was back to empty out six enterprising young men who had materialised in No. 4 hold.

Three of them —two part-Europeans and an Indian —are reported to have travelled to Lautoka from Suva for the express purpose of stowing away. The other three were Fijians from Lautoka.

They were taken over by the police.

Stowing away is a popular activity at Fiji’s ports. One of the Lautoka trio went to Vancouver in the Waihemo in April and was brought back by the Wairuna in June.

Fiji’s most publicised stowaway, however, is Jonasa Nasau, aged 16, who travelled to and from Melbourne and Sydney in the Wairuna, and who, by his own account, had a pretty good time. He arrived back with a new leather case, a comprehensive outfit of clothes and other gifts from benevolent organisations at Sydney.

There is usually general sympathy with the instinctive love of adventure which prompts people to stow away in ships, but, these days, stowaways often involve dollar-wastage for oil fuel as well as delay to ships and, consequently, expense to the shipowners.

Airport Facilities In Samoa

AND COOKS PROVISION for the establishment of customs facilities at airports in the Cook Islands and Western Samoa was made in New Zealand regulations published on August 25. These will be in accordance with international requirements and will be the first customs facilities for air travel established in those islands. 37 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

cc Co-operation like this makes things happen fast! 55 . Agent. He’s the chap —multiplied 3,500 times throughout the world —who saves me hours of preliminary planning.

Yes, my Agent makes things happen in a hurry.

And he knows the answers to all my riddles about currency restrictions, baggage allowances, visas and regulations. I give him my itinerary and leave the details to him. He handles everything without fuss or confusion. All I do is pack a bag and leave on schedule.

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News Items From

W. SAMOA From Our Own Correspondent APIA, August 25.

MISS MARY. WOODWARD, who as “Miss New Zealand, 1949”, has figured prominently in recent New Zealand reports, is the daughter of Mr.

W. H Woodward, SM, of New Plymouth, who was Chief Judge of the High Court of Western Samoa during the twenties, and in the period of the “Mau” trouble.

Amongst other former judges of Western Samoa, who at present hold the position of Magistrate in New Zealand, are Judges Luxford, Harley and Morling.

Mr. F. L. Goetz, well-known as former General Manager of the New Zealand Reparation Estates at Apia, and now of Auckland, NZ, was recently selected National Party candidate for the Otahuhu electorate at the coming New Zealand elections. Mr. Goetz is keenly interested in matters affecting Samoa. ♦ ♦ ♦ If weather conditions are favourable, a bumper cocoa crop will come in towards the end of this year, probably beginning in October and lasting until December/January. The “Thor I,” expected this week, is to load practically all the cocoa in stores for the American market. The local price is about £135 per ton FOB, Apia.

There is an accumulation of about 4,000 tons of copra in Apia sheds, and exporters are anxious for the arrival of the next copra steamer. * * ♦ The recent shortage of native foodstuffs, particularly of taro and bananas, has been relieved by the beginning of the breadfruit season.

The last “Matua” took 6,300 cases of bananas for the New Zealand market.

The “Waitomo” expected here at the beginning of September is bringing muchneeded supplies of Australian goods. Unfortunately, she does not carry supplies of Australian sugar—for this we still dedend mostly on Fijian brown sugar. ♦ * « The Select Committee on the Preferential Customs Tariff has heard some evidence, but has not, as yet, terminated its deliberations and no decision has been made whether or not the Preferential Tariff on British goods is to be modified or abolished.

New Head For Pacific Islands

TRADING CO.

THE Pacific Islands Trading Co., established in' San Francisco a few years ago by Mr. A. G. Andrews, formerly of Fiji and other South Pacific Territories, has been sold as a going concern to Mr. C. C. Butler, of Oakland (California), and Guam.

Mr. Butler has been a leading merchant in the American North Pacific Territory of Guam for some years and, although he has removed to San Francisco, he retains his business interests in the North Pacific.

Under Mr. Andrews’ direction the Pacific Islands Trading Co. has built up a considerable turnover in the Islands of the South Pacific; and the indications are that Mr. Butler will seek to extend and develop these connections.

Mr. Andrews will remain at the office of the Co. in San Francisco until the end of October and then, with Mrs. Andrews and their son, he will spend a year or so in Europe.

Radio Stations For Torres

ISLANDS A NETWORK of 14 wireless sub-stations was planned to connect Torres Strait islands and Peninsula missions with a central station at Thursday Island, the Health and Home Affairs Minister (Mr.

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Already sub-stations had been established at Murray, Darnley, Badu, and Mabuiag islands in Torres Strait. 39 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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Gloomy View Of Western

Samoa’S Future

(Extract from a Private Letter from a Recent Visitor to the Territory.) ICOME more and more to the opinion that the prospective “self-government” of Western Samoa is going on the rocks.

Graft and corruption are growing here; there are favoritism and money-grabbing for the few fortunate ones who can feed in the public manger.

The waste of money by the Government is terrific, particularly on education, roads and salaries—£7o,ooo for a small country like Western Samoa, whose exports amounted last year to some £1,300,000 in value!

The whole structure of the Government is top-heavy, and is bound to topple in a few years. They have already started to draw on accumulated reserves and in a few years, particularly with produce prices dropping, they will be in the red.

I give you these private opinions of mine for what they are worth. One cannot blame the new Administrator—he is the victim of circumstances he cannot control. Definitely, the state of affairs is unhealthy and the future looks anything but bright.

The present-day Samoan does not want to work on the land and the young generation, with the stress on higher education, is after white-collar jobs only.

The territory seems to be crowded with New Zealand officials and their wives, who also get Government jobs here, and the promised preference for local applicants for jobs is sabotaged most effectively.

You may think me a Bassandra with these tales of woe—but I assure you that my views are shared by the great majority of the old European, Euronesian and wiser Samoans in the Territory. (Editorial Note: Some of the conditions described by our friend may be found, duplicated exactly, in Papua-New Guinea which, like Western Samoa, is a Trusteeship Territory run by a Socialist Dominion Government.)

Dwight Long Returns To

TAHITI From Our Own Correspondent PAPEETE, August 1.

MR. DWIGHT LONG, who won considerable fame as a yachtsman, with his film production “Fighting Lady,” and with his travel book, “Round the World on a Shoestring,” has returned to Tahiti to complete his documentary film on life in Tahiti—which will include recent July 14 Celebrations.

The film is in technicolour and promises to be a success. There is a light love story woven into it, the stars being Mile. Adeline Tetahoumaui. and M. Paul Moe, both of whom are showing promise before the camera. M. Paul Moe, a veteran of the North African campaign, also acts as assistant and interpreter.

Other assistants are Mrs. Jeannette Shelton and Mrs. C. Swenson.

The Governor will give Mr. Long every facility for the successful completion of the film. The documentary is being produced entirely by Mr. Long and the camera and equipment are the same that he used to make “Fighting Lady.”

A print will be presented to the Papeete Town Council as a mark of appreciation for the courtesy and help received by Mr.

Long.

Death Of G. F. Harrison

OF PAPUA THE death occurred in Samarai, Papua, on August 1, of George Fernley Harrison, of Fergusson Island. He was born at Farnsfield, Notts., England, 62 years ago. Emigrated with his parents to New Zealand in 1902, and joined his brother, E. W. Harrison, in Papua in 1910.

For five years he was engaged in building contracts in Samarai; one of the buildings he erected was the Samarai Post Office. In 1915 ne became a planter, and made his home at Kedidia Plantation, Fergusson Island. During the depression he gave his services to the Methodist Mission and amongst other jobs, built the Mission vessel, Eliam.

He served as a supervising shipwright at the Sariba Slip for ANGAU, from June, 1942, until the war ended, when he returned to his home at Kedidia.

At the time of his death he had taken two vessels into Samarai to be slipped and repaired. His death came suddenly.

One of the old brigade—honest, loyal, hospitable, and friendly with all—those who knew him well will miss him. He is survived by his brother who also lives on Fergusson Island.

Leper Hospital For Papua

THE Rev. A. Crookes_ Hull, organising secretary of Methodist Overseas Missions, announced in Perth, in August, that a leper hospital would be built at Übuia on Normandy Island, Papua. When completed the institution would provide treatment for 80 patients. 40

September, 194 9 Pacific Islands Monthly

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W. Samoa Needs

More Doctors

From 'Our Own Correspondent APIA, August 25.

A SHORTAGE of doctors in the Western Samoan Government Medical Service has been a serious problem for the Government as well as the general public for many years and has become worse recently.

There are, at present, only two medical officers in the Territory—the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. J. Lopdell, whose time is occupied with Administrative matters and sanitation; and Dr. D. L.

Frost. Consequently, these two doctors are overburdened with work in a population of nearly 80,000 people and there is a great deal of public dissatisfaction.

It is recalled that, before the first World War, when Samoa, under German rule, had less than half the present population, there were six doctors practising, five of whom were private practitioners amongst whom were an eye specialist, a surgeon, and a specialist for women’s and children’s diseases. Apparently New Zealand medical men find Western Samoa unattractive from a financial and other points of view.

It has been that the Government should undertake an advertising campaign to try to attract Government-subsidised private practitioners, not necessarily from New Zealand, but from England, Australia, USA or Europe.

A number of medical officers have lately come to Samoa for short periods, or having come for a longer term have left the Territory before their three years’ contracts expired. They found conditions uncongenial.

The vote of the Medical Department for the current year is £150,000, but it is of little use to spend money on new hospitals and equipment, if there is a lack of competent medical officers to use these facilities.

Less Aid for BSI from UK From Our Own Correspondent A HONIARA, BSI, Aug. 1. reassuring sign of the gradual progress of BSI towards ultimate economic recovery is indicated by the fact that the annual Grant-in-Aid from Great Britain, drawn from the pockets of British taxpayers to tide the Protectorate over the painful period of reconstruction, has been reduced by £172,000 for the current year—that is, the grant has been approximately halved This announcement was made here yesterday. It was explained that a slight increase in revenue, and various economies made during the past six months, will enable the local Government to meet the reduction confidently. (Editorial Note; It may be that this is not so much a “reassuring sign” of the progress of rehabilitation in BSI, as a sign of the economic blizzard that has hit the United Kingdom. In recent months, the UK has not spared her colonies but evidently expects them, in future, to share in her austerity.)

Still Unknown

Inquiry Into Cause of Fire in BP Store at Ba From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, August 8.

THE official inquiry into the disastrous Burns, Philp fire at Ba, Fiji, on May 28, failed to establish the cause of the outbreak.

The finding of Mr. C. L. Regan was that the fire started somewhere near the boundary of the grocery bulk store and the drapery bulk store. The inquiry lasted for several days and 16 witnesses gave evidence. 41 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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September, 194 E-Pacific Islands Monthly

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Honiara Is Growing— But Slowly!

From Our Own Correspondent HONIARA, BSI, July 31.

A determined hustle-on with the new capital building programme, with labour working overtime, at overtime rates, has resulted in a new “suburb” popping up on the skyline on what is known as Langakiki Ridge, above Honiara.

Five houses, informally designated as bachelors’ residences, and capable of being added to as the necessity arises, are well on the way to completion, after little more than three months.

These will begin to relieve the housing situation in Honiara “camp” where bachelor Government employees live in 15 small, two-room huts with community bathing and laundry arrangements.

Road lay-out was a contingency faced after building was begun, but luckily, a completely overgrown American road, bulldozed down the landward side of the ridge, turned up to solve the problem.

Water arrangements are temporary until the proposed “reservoir” is constructed higher up in the old ammunition dump.

Meanwhile, the inconsistencies of their water supply remain one of the chief hazards of the occupants of the eight other new houses already in use. In most instances, water has to be pumped up to supply them and has a way of failing to arrive at critical moments.

Their troubles were increased recently by the curiosity of native passers-by who tried turning-on various master taps along the pipeline to see what they were for. The results were imperceptible to them but only too obvious to the frustrated householders.

Honiara To Have A Golf Club

From Our Own Correspondent HONIARA, BSI, Aug. 4.

ALTHOUGH it is without a club house (it was burnt down earlier in the year), and in spite of apparent apathy among some of its members, the Guadalcanal Club, steered by a keen committee, is going ahead with plans for the future.

In its new form, it will centre round a golf course, land for which is being made available by the Government on a flat shoreline area within easy walking distance of the town proper. A tentative course has been plotted out, attendant on a Government survey of the area and the granting of a 99-year lease.

Several alternative plans for the club house are being prepared by Mr. J.

Beckett, Suva architect.

New Stamp Issue For

W. SAMOA ANEW postage stamp issue is intended for Western Samoa and the Postmaster at Apia has invited designs lor the new issue, to be, preferably, of the pictorial type and at least one of which is to depict the new Samoan flag.

An award of up to £5O will be paid lor each accepted design. Entries close on November 30, 1949. Denominations and 3/- ’ 2d ” 3d ” sd ” 6d ” 8d ” 17 “* 2/ -’

For Tonga, Too ANEW Universal Postal Union issue of stamps will be made in Tonga in Oc i i0 o l e i' They will be in denominations of 2Jd., 3d., 6d., and 1/-.

A J u^ ust of Nukualofa, if On JL a ’ a( fvises that he will service sets oi these stamps on commission.

South Pacific

COMMISSION T HE Fifth Meeting of the Working Committee of the South Pacific Commission was held in Noumea on August 26 and 27. Representatives ’ attending were: Rev. Dr. John W. Burton c^^w A volfe r k k eM land; Mr. H. H. Vaskess, United Kingdom; Mr. O. N. Nielsen, United States France also was represented.

The Committee dealt with such matters as housing, the draft budget for 1950, cost of living and preparation for the Fourth Session of the Commission and the South Pacific Conference to be held at Suva in April next year A special committee has been' meetmg in Noumea to advise the Commission on cost of living, as affecting its head- Quarters staff. Members are M. P. Bon- P ard> France: Mr H - A - Verkuyl, Netherlands; Mr. H. S. Barnett, Australia. They consulted with Mr. G. Downing, an experfc made available by the Australian Government.

Archbishop Of Sydney

Visits Norfolk

™ From Our Own Correspondent miI1? A NORTOLK IS., August 28.

Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, sr-5 r -„ I £ owll, paid a visit to Norfolk Island in August. He conducted Confirmation services and attended Church affairs generally. He arrived in JoSnd aboutTp'S dav hilt the visit if hurried, waspfeTlant 43 °IFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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Mr. W. D. Forsyth, Secretary-General of the South Pacific Commission, arrived in Sydney from his Noumea headquarters early in September, on a visit to Australia and New Guinea on Commission business. During his absence of about one month, his duties will be performed by the Deputy Secretary-General (Brigadier F. L. Hunt of New Zealand).

Fiji Launches All-Out War Against Tuberculosis From Our Own Correspondent WITH the launching by the Governor (Sir Brian Freeston) of Fiji’s War Memorial Anti TB Fund, on August 16, the Colony, in effect, declared total war on tuberculosis, the greatest health menace in these islands.

In his broadcast address, Sir Brian said that in a single year (1948) 1,000 new cases of tuberculosis were discovered in Fiji. The statement was sensational as it gave great point to the frequent use of the word “appalling” in the mounting demand for an anti-tuberculosis campaign during the last four years.

Further, the Medical Department does not claim that its survey is anything like comprehensive, and the figure of 1,000 new cases is almost certainly conservative.

The Governor has asked the public to find at least £40,000 between now and November 6 (Remembrance Day). The Government will subsidise this £ for £ up to a total contribution of £20,000.

The minimum initial capital expenditure envisaged in the War Memorial Committee’s report is £33,000, but the Governor pointed out that every penny of this will be swallowed up by urgentlyneeded tuberculosis hospital extensions at Suva and elsewhere.

The surplus over £33,000 will be taken over by a board of trustees (similar to the Lepers Trust Board) and will be used in any way that will help achieve the War Memorial objective—a drastic reduction in the incidence of tuberculosis among all races, but particularly among the worst sufferers —the Fijians.

After the Governor’s speech, appeals were made to the Fijian and Indian peoples by Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna and Mr. Vishnu Deo respectively.

Probably no other appeal in Fiji’s 75 years’ history as a Crown Colony, has provoked so immediate and enthusiastic a response. Within a few days district committees had been set up in every part of Fiji to forward the appeal and offers of voluntary assistance from professional and business interests were flowing in to the Central Committee.

The War Memorial plan includes further appeals to the public every year for ten years. It is perhaps significant that no word of criticism from any quarter has been made public regarding the ambitious scope and heavy financial demands of the campaign. On the other hand, there are many signs that the idea of commemorating the heroism and sacrifices of the Second World War by a united war against tuberculosis has caught the imagination of all sections to a unique degree.

The first donations listed by the Suva committee of the War Memorial Appeal are: Sir Brian and Lady Freeston £200; Miss Wanda Freeston, £10; Mr. Robert Crompton, £lOO.

SUVA, August 28.

OTHER large donations, in addition to those reported earlier, include those of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Gatty (£200), Sir Maynard and Lady Hedstrom (£200), the Union Club (£105). Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna and Lady Maraia (£100) Mr. and Mrs. Alport Barker (£100), and the Levuka Sports Association (£107).

The Methodist Mission, to which most Fijians belong, is giving the fund its wholehearted support.

Planters' Association a New Guinea Delegates from Branches Meet it Rabaul THE annual conference of delegate from branches of the Planters’ As sociation of New Guinea was hel< in Rabaul from 28 to 29 July. Delegate attended from New Britain, New Irelam and Bougainville; unfortunately no dele gate attended from- Madang District.

Among amendments to the constitution passed by the conference was the chang of name from “Planters and Trader!

Association of New Guinea” to “Planter!

Association of New Guinea.”

The following office-bearers and exe9U tive council were elected for the ensuin year:— President, D. Barrett; Vice-president W A. Washington and J. L. Chippei Council, J. Dunbar-Reid, J. T. Allen, 1 A. Stanfield, F. Archer, J. A. Thurstoi J. Stokie, W. Moore, S. McCosker, an W. T. Thomas.

Mr. W. R. Paul will continue as genen secretary of the Association.

Delegates discussed matters relating 1 recruitment of labour, co-operative buj ing, overseas and inter-island shippm copra agreement between United Kim dom and Australian Governments ar copra stabilisation fund.

The secretary’s report covering act vities over the last six months was n ceived and all delegates . expresse satisfaction at the progress being mad€ Copies of amendments to constitutic and report of proceedings of the coi ference are being mailed to all membei 44

September, 194 S’- Pacific Islands Monthl

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The Administrator, According To Osmar White fJNDER the arresting title, “His Angels Would Probably Eat Him,” this article by Osmar White appeared in the Melbourne “Herald” at the end of August. It has a few obvious material inaccuracies; but hoiv correct the author is in his character reading is a matter for Territorians, who know their Administrator, to decide.

JACK KEITH MURRAY, BA, BSc., quondam schoolmaster, professor of agriculture, administrative soldier in two wars and now Administrator of the Territories of Papua and New Guinea, holds down one of the meanest and most fractious jobs in the Commonwealth Public Service.

Among two million primitive people best known to the Australian public as Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, he represents with dignity, tact, patience and a great deal of rueful human understanding, the King’s Most Excellent Majesty and the Rt. Hon. J. B. Chifley’s Most Extraordinary Complacency.

Murray knows that among the “angels” to whom he ministers there are quite a few who would like nothing better than a chance to cook and eat him; and quite a few more who would like nothing better than the chance to talk him to death in the cultivated accent the good missionaries teach in their convents at Kwato School, down Samarai way.

But among 5,000 or 6,000 Europeans who have gone back to post-war New Guinea seeking! sustenance or fortune, His Honor the Administrator is much less the representative of the King and Chifley than he is the instrument of External Territories Minister Eddie Ward and Secretary Joe Halligan, who is reported once to have said to a Territorian in an unguarded moment. “Governments come and Governments go, but I go on for ever!”

Murray is a man whom few love, most respect, and almost all pity.

When far enough gone in the charity of rum, the rough, tough goldminers of the Watut and Edie say of him, “Why the poor blankard only gets 2,500 a year! A man’d be a mug to do the work for that much a month!”

YET the Administrator himself does not see it that way. He probably considers himself well enough rewarded—in salary ajnyway—for the 12 or 14 hours a day he spends entertaining bores, interviewing axe-grinders or wrestling with obviously insoluble problems behind a littered desk in the rambling Government House on the hill at Konedobu, near Port Moresby.

He endures with equanimity the stinging nickname “Kanaka Jack” plastered on him by disgruntled survivors of the ancient regime; the carefully refrigerated snubs he has received ever since he invited native chieftains to eat dinner at the same Government House table as the elite of the one-horse capital.

Of small stature, greying, level-eyed precise in speech and gesture, Murray, 60 years old, is an idealist, a scholar, a gentleman—and one of the poorest politicians and most faithful civil servants a shrewd Permanent Secretary ever dreamed to see hired. For him established channels are sacred, the discipline of bureaucracy inviolate, and the Government the sole instrument of government. He is a man of rigid principles and rigid mind.

FROM the windows of the house on the hill, the Administrator looks down upon the blue, landlocked bay and the settlement of Port Moresby which was for so long dramatised as Australia’s last bastion against the Japanese.

To Administrator Murray this settlement is a symbol of the task that confronts him. He must build it in a material sense—transform it from a collection of jerry-built paper-walled dwell- 45

Pauific Islands Monthly— September, 1949

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He must also reconcile the three elements in its population, European, sophisticated native, and primitive— and that alone is a task from which any man with a grainless idealism might well flinch.

The Administrator is primarily charged with the responsibility of seeing that this melting pot does not boil over and emit a political stink. He hopes—and probably believes —that if a contained boiling goes on long enough, the brew will blend smoothly and Australia need no longer worry about outsiders peering into the caldron with either jealous or critical eyes.

If Murray were backed by a Government that had any real understanding of the task it has given him, he might succeed—or, at least, pave the way for future success. But he has not received any intelligent direction in high policy, nor the sympathy, support, or clear delegation of authority that would do much to offset the handicaps under which he now labors.

FACTOR One in the New Guinea problem is the nature of the country itself—an immoderate, sprawling, violent land of great mountains, rivers, forests and swamps of whose natural wealth we have only an inkling.

Factor Two is its geographical position, a barrier of wilderness between East Asia and Australasia.

Factor Three is the native population— the most heterogeneous collection of savages gathered together in any one part of the world.

Factor Four in the New Guinea problem is the nature of metropolitan power itself. Australia is seven and a half million people clotted unevenly along the 12,000-mfle coastline of a three million square mile continent. Australian political leaders are wholly preoccupied with problems of internal development and are inexperienced in the delicate, tricky business of formulating policy for a subject tropical country.

To the task of rationalising those four factors and controlling them, Administrator Murray brings the wisdom he gained as principal of the Gratton Agricultural College from 1923 to 1945; as Professor of Agriculture at Queensland University from 1927; as founder of a veterinary section in a Light Horse Squadron; as researcher in maize-breeding and microbiology; and as commandei of the 25th (Darling Downs) Battalion oi the AMF.

To the variety of that career he ha! now added nearly four years o patient wTestling with the smaller day to day conundrums that arriv* by letter, memorandum and word o mouth from the rotting hutments which still serve Moresby as govern ment offices; four years of patien waiting for Canberra to proclaim : public service ordinance that wouli give him some degree of rea authority.

A lesser—or perhaps a greater—mai could not have lasted the distance.

But Administrator Murray’s patienc is seemingly inexhaustible. Its source apparently, is in his deep conviction tha the Ward New Deal was inspired by re cognition of the human rights of natiy peoples and the principle that Australia prime duty is to educate them, scholasti cally and politically, to the level at whic. they can undertake self-government.

“Yes, it will take' time—a grea deal of time,” he admits. “Perhaj it will take 50 or 100 years, but w must do it . . . I am convinced tha natives are the equal in intelligent of Europeans . . . Only now we ai beginning to regret the years tha the locusts have eaten!”

The present Administrator is no ad mirer of the methods of the late S: Hubert Murray, to whom he is not re lated either by blood or common phil osophy. The late Sir Hubert ran Panu on benevolent police-state lines. Tf territory was explored, pacified and go\ erned by a patrol system, on a Parsimc nious allotment of from £40,000 £60,000 a year. Its lieutenant-governc was an old-time anthropologist wt thought even mission schoolmasters wr educated their scholars to the tnu 46

M „ T N Islands Month L

SEPTEMBER, 1949 1 PACIFIC

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Bank of New South Wales, Sydney. standard were a pack of interfering, disruptive busy-bodies.

Such an interpretation of the moral responsibilities of metropolitan government offends J. K. Murray, to whose humanitarian mind even a laissez-faire imperialism is abhorrent.

MURRAY’S jealous championship of native rights, his passionate faith in the ability of educationists to haul in 40,000 years of evolutionary slack within a couple of generations, has made 'him bitter enemies among resident Europeans in whom color-prejudice and the desire to profit from cheap labour run strong. These he coldly ignores as selfseekers —and hits them hard wherever and whenever he can.

But there is a more informed and considerable opposition to the Administrator’s convictions —those who say that he cannot yet appreciate the bewildering diversity of New Guinea. These critics claim that the natives can be helped effectively only by the administration of a man who has worked among them for many years, who understands the nuances of tribal psychology and who can distinguish clearly between what one would wish to do for them and what one can do for them, Murray, however, has clear ideas about how New Guinea could be made prosperous. Australia, he declares, must admit its island territories to an economic union—guarantee to buy for home consumption or sale overseas all the tropical crops that they can produce.

The costs of production will for many years be higher than world parity—but that is the price Australia must pay for holding New Guinea.

Indian Trading Co’S

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From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, Aug. 21.

THE Vishal Bharteeya Company, Ltd.’s, new building in Waimanu Road, Suva, was formally opened by the managing director (Mr. Vishnu Deo, MLC) on August 18, when the company entertained a large number of guests at morning tea.

Portion of the new building is occupied by the offices of the Indian Government’s Commissioner in Fiji.

The company was registered in 1945 after an Indian syndicate, of which Mr.

Deo was a member, had bought the valuable Waverley site. The purchase price has not been disclosed, but at the opening ceremony Mr. Deo said that in 1945 the company was offered £25,000 for the land. In the light of present freehold values in Suva, he estimated the value at not much under £lOO,OOO.

Martin-Ombler Wedding AT Norfolk Island, on August 11, Miss Odette Gilberte Martin was married to Mr. Robin William Ombler. The Rev. Father P. F. McCarthy officiated.

The bride, who is the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Martin, well-known residents of Norfolk Island and formerly of the New Hebrides, was attended by her younger sister, Gisele. The bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. H.

Ombler of Dunedin, NZ. The best man was Mr. D. R. Henderson of Wellington, NZ.

The ceremony and reception took place at the home of the bride’s parents where many friends offered good wishes to the young couple who will make their home in Nelson, NZ.

Mr. W. H. Carpenter, was a visitor to New Guinea on the “Bulolo’s” August trip. He will make routine inspections of Lae, Rabaul and Madang interests of the New Guinea Company, Ltd. 47 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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Fiji Mails Jettisoned At Sea Prom Our Own Correspondent SUVA, Aug. 21.

ABOUT 1,000 letters posted in Fiji went into the sea during the week when a Dakota of the RNZAF, on a flight from Nausori Airport to Auckland, developed engine trouble, jettisoned the mail, and limped back to Nausori on one engine.

When about 400 miles from Fiji, the plane’s port motor went out and before the dumping of the entire cargo, ineluding the mail, the plane was losing height at the rate of 300 feet a minute.

A call was sent to the air base at Laucala Bay and a Catalina was sent out to intercept the Dakota and escort her back to land.

The birth of a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. A. V. Guy, of Suva, was announced at Atherton, Queensland, on July 10.

Mr. and Mrs. Guy, with their small son, left Suva in April to spend leave in Australia. Mr. Guy is widely known as a draughtsman with the Lands Department, Fiji.

Co-Operative

Societies Boom In

FIJI From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, Aug. 19.

FIJIAN co-operatives have now become an economic force in the Colony.

The annual report of the Acting Registrar of Co-operatives (Mr. B. E. V.

Parham), states that by the end of the first year of organised co-operative activity, 25 societies —all but one of them Fijian—had been registered. Total membership was 1,402, with a share capital of £49,300 of which £10,796 was issued.

During the first year, 33 other groups were brought to various stages of development.

The position is summed up by Mr.

Parham, as follows: The prospects for future development are good. Fijians are naturally inclined to co-operative effort; with good leadership and some supervision they are capable of greatly increased production and activity . , .

There is a firm and resolute determination to make better use of their lands, to grow cash crops more efficiently and to market their produce to the best advantage.

A remarkable example of Fijian cooperative activity is the Fijian Co-operative Marketing Association, Ltd., registered as a company in 1942. It has 200 members and fully-subscribed capital of £5,000. This Association is engaged in farming, processing and marketing. New developments in 1948 were the processing of ginger for export, the trial shipment of special lines of vegetables and the manufacture of tapioca starch. The company operates a banana area and its own transport. 48

September. 19.4 9- Pacific Islands Monthly

Magazine Section

Territories Talk-Talk By "Tolala"

THERE was another stir, late in August, in the Australian oil-prospecting market, when APC reported “a small oil content” in the Hohoro bore, which was down some 2,300 feet.

Mention of boring for oil in NG reminds me of the early days of this kind of exploration over in TNG, when the Mandated Development Co. was putting down its first bore at Matapau, in the old Aitape district, back in 1924. They struck a seepage in No. 1 bore, at 45 ft., and hopes ran high, but it was only a seepage. Other bores put down in this area were not encouraging. The drill was the old hit-and-miss type, and the staff numbered half-a-dozen on the field.

There have been some wonderful changes during the last quarter of a century, both in appliances and staff. It will be a great day, not only for NG but for Australia as well, when that long-sought gusher comes rushing up out of the casing. But the speculator should not forget those “seepages”. ♦ * * SEPTEMBER is a historic month for TNG, and, in particular, the 13th.

It was on this day, in 1914, the Australian flag was raised in Rabaul to celebrate the capitulation by the Germans; and the Bitapaka Memorial, unveiled by Administrator Tom Griffiths in 1934, still stands to mark the spot where, a couple of days before, Australian soldiers first fell in World War I.

Thirty-one years later (September 13, 1945) Australian troops took possession of Rabaul from the Japanese and contacted the Europeans who had been imprisoned for over 3J years by the Japs.

In the mission valley at Ramale —not so very far from the same Bitapaka— when Charlie Bates, and his ANGAU rhen came in, he met a number of civilians who had witnessed both campaigns. * * * WHICH reminds me that within recent months Bishop Scharmach, who was the mainstay in the Ramale Valley during the Jap occupation, celebrated his Silver Jubilee of priesthood, and the Vunapope Mission put on a special “do” in commemoration. Those who had the pleasure of hearing native choirs would be sure of fine harmonious entertainment. One of the most pathetic Pidgin-English songs, sung by the Vunapope boys choir, is “Yumi Sori.” ♦ * * THE recent agitation against “horror” films in New Zealand brings to mind the one-time censorship on films in Rabaul. Anything of a sexy nature was definitely tabu, and the restrictions did not only apply to the screenings on “boys’ night,” but to the somewhat garish posters, supplied by the film companies, and displayed on the street hoardings about the town.

In order to preserve decorum, and having due regard to the morals of the more than 5,000 house and work boys about the place, any shapely silken legs were modestly hidden by the simple method of painting black skirts over them, often with inartistic results. But morality had to be maintained.

The result, too often, was that inside the boys’ houses, the walls were plastered with pin-up girls painted in gorgeous colours—usually culled from ladies’ journals, advertising stockings and lingerie of every description. • ♦ » THE spending of £636,000 has been approved for the building of wharves in Papua-New Guinea, so we are told. That sum won’t go very far when divided between Moresby, Madang, Lae and Samarai—to say nothing of Kokopo and Kavieng. At the same time we hear of a breakwater to be constructed at Rapopo, to cost £8 million. And where is that coming from?

The best wharf ever built in TNG was the old NDL wharf at Rabaul, which was started back in 1905, when the Germans realised that Kokopo (or, rather Herbertshohe) was an unsuitable site for the capital of the colony.

The circle is complete, apparently—and back goes administrative headquarters to Kokopo—or, at least, to that district.

Time marches on! * * * LATE last month there arrived., Drummond Thomson, from Bougainville.

He is about to retire after some 30 years’ arduous work with Buka Plantations, Ltd., which is one of the few private planting companies to make a success of things. Numa Numa, the headquarters of the company, was started back in the early 1900’s, when Bougainville was practically terra incognita, and the natives fairly wild. Hand-picked personnel, with a more or less free hand and ample consideration, has been the secret of plenty of labour and good production, which spelt the company’s success.

Drummond Thomson (who was with the Navy during the War) is settlingdown in Sydney, but will retain an interest in the Bougainville activities. ♦ ♦ * Rice - growing in the Kimberley district of Northern Australia is the latest plan in this age of planning. What I’m waiting to see is rice again being grown in NG, as it was by the Japs during their erstwhile occupation there, when they were by-passed bv MacArthur. It was hill rice, and made excellent eating. As everyone knows, NG could be self-supporting where native rations are concerned, if it would only make up its mind. And look at the saving in cash and transport! * * * JAPANESE migrants to New Guinea represent another plan in the offing, and it will be interesting to watch the outcome of the conference between Malcolm MacDonald and MacArthur in Tokio this month. Dutch New Guinea has already been re-named Iriana by Dutch settlers, but that doesn’t make it any further from Australia. I suppose it depends to a great extent on what the Australian Waterside Workers have to say, as to whether the Japs will be allowed to settle there or not! * + ♦ BITS AND PIECES: Chief Judge and Mrs. F. B. Phillips are on leave in Melbourne . Larry Dwyer, Economic Botanist at Moresby, is spending some of his leave at Orange . . .

Thomas Nagle, a one-time resident of Ba, Fiji, passed away at his home at Bondi Junction on August 12. He was 77 . . .

Miss Jane Ferrier was married to Nigel Moon at St. Marks, Darling Point, on August 5. They will make their home at Port Moresby . . . Miss Nornie Santos was amongst the debutantes presented to the Governor at the Legacy Ball on August 23. She was a Papuan ward of Legacy.

Canon W. G. Thomas, of the mission of St. Peter and St. Paul, Dogura, New Guinea, has been visiting Perth on work connected with the Australian Board of Missions.

Just That Much, Please!

THE candid camera snapped this moving scene during a party given in Suva by Mr. C. C. Chuang (Chinese Vice-Consul in Fiji) and Madame Chuang, whereat many well-known Suva citizens were lavishly entertained.

The guest is Captain G. J. Webster, Marine Superintendent for the Western Pacific Commission.

There is not a large Chinese community in Fiji, but it is an influential community, most of its members being traders in a big way. 49 fi PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

The Navy Shows The Flag Part lII—In Rotuma and Tonga SOUTHWARDS to Rotuma. An easy day’s steaming brought us to this garden island, which was discovered by Captain Edwards of HMS "Pandora,” in 1791, when searching for the mutineers of the "Bounty.” At the request of its chiefs, who found that they could not keep order after an influx of Europeans and Asiatics of doubtful origin, the island was annexed by Great Britain in 1880, and now forms part of the Colony of Fiji although 300 miles distant. Unlike Funafuti, which we had just left, Rotuma is hilly and clothed in tropical verdure, and whereon fruits of almost every description grow.

On a breezy morning the ship anchored in the small roadstead of Foviung Efau, and almost under—or so it seemed —a sheer green hill which forms one of the apexes of the Bay. In the centre of this bay, across a breaking reef, could be seen the small settlement, dominated by a grey stone church. No living person was in sight and we did want to obtain some information about the navigability of the extensive reef between ourselves and the shore. It looked as if it might prove a very sharp snag to our boats. We were not kept waiting long, for soon the native District Officer, a polished and charming man, came off. It was decided to try out the other anchorage where boats can get inshore at all stages of the tide. So up came the hook and off we steamed to Foviung Emau, a few miles up the coast.

Here we found little shelter from the sea and swell which were in ho mood to be ignored. In another forty minutes we were back in our original berth making things as comfortable as possible for the

By Starshell

ship. We had to adjust both ourselves and our routine to the serving of the tide. ’Tis unusual for man to be so trammelled by nature in this atomic age; so this was a novel, and noteworthy, experience for many.

The boat problem was solved, free of charge, by private enterprise in the form of a South Seas trading company which came to our rescue with flat-bottomed barges, towed by motor boats with specially protected propellers. Even these could not traverse a partially dry reef, so the ferry service was limited to periods of high and half tide.

In the early forenoon of our second day, the Captain and about half the officers and ship’s company landed to witness a welcome ceremony of the first magnitude.

In the clearing, a short distance from the village, shelters had been improvised for the Captain and those officers and men invited (by ticket only!) to the feast; and for the local Chiefs and their families. Opposite the shelters. and under gigantic dila trees, sat the remainder of the men who had landed, with throngs of natives of both sexes and all sizes. By comparison with the natives of Funafuti, these are more hybrid and far less naive, but, nevertheless, most charming, witty and hospitable. While waiting for the show to start our Royal Marine Band played, to the great acclamations of the populace, some members of which became earnest and clinging admirers who refused to be shaken off until the very last bandsman left the island.

There was mass singing and rhythmic dancing by a mixed choir 120 strong and male action dances the most notable of these being the Rotuman war dance in which the hundred performers ranged from 15 to 50 and were in brilliantly coloured array, the whole being surmounted by a plumed conical helmet of fascinating design and colour. These helmets were much sought after as souvenirs, and are now highly prized by those who were lucky enough to be presented with one.

At “half-time” in the show there was a feast for about fifty of us. I may say that the cards were issued by the ship to prevent gate-crashing and not by our hosts who have probably never heard of such a thing. A low bench was assembled in front of our chairs and covered with banana leaves for tablecloth. Then came, not plates and knives, but food—masses of it. Sucking pigs, great lumps of pork, yams, taro, chicken, bananas, seafoods, coconuts, plantains, and other gastronomic splendours followed each other in quick succession before our astonished eyes.

These and more, were brought and served by the maidens of the village, who then sat down, giggling, to watch us eat while brushing away the few flies that tried to assist our efforts.

The problem was how to eat a proportion of this assortment before it got stone cold. The only thing for it was to grab, tear, gnaw and stuff. So we did all of these with considerable embarrassment and clumsiness, much to the amusement of the girls. We found several things which our palates were not quite attuned to; but, with the help of that fortitude and determination for which all British races are renowned, we grinned and swallowed in one motion —or so we hoped.

In the meanwhile, another team of specially selected maidens —we presumed this was their status and some, no doubt, reflected that it might not remain so for long—made kava in the traditional style and presented the first coconut cupful to the Captain who quaffed it without a tremor. The remainder were then served, but by the time it was the turn of those at the extremities of this crescent shaped festive board, the kava was mysteriously replaced by fizzy green lemonade. The latter is considered a treat as it cannot be made locally, and the visit of a store ship is a quarterly event.

The time soon came when we were suffering from a surfeit of sucking pig, yams, plantains and such like. To our dismay, but to the delight of the maidens, only the tiniest impression had been made on the glut of food which surrounded us.

That is, except at one spot, where a few champion trenchermen had made a small hole. Despite our utter rout, there was nothing for it but to sit back and feebly hold the paunch.

Then, with alarming suddenness, a great gang of males descended on the feast and, actively assisted by all the maidens, whisked the whole lot away in a twinkling.

On making anxious inquiries we learnt that nothing is ever wasted on these occasions. Each of the families told off by the Chief to make up the feast supplies one large banana leaf basket —the shape and size of a cricket bag—full of food.

The daughters set out the various dishes (or should I say heaps?) and serve it to the honoured guests. “No one,” we were told, “will be at all offended if you do not eat much because, at the given signal, the family grabs what you have left of its contribution, rushes out of sight and devours every scrap!” It seems the majority did the right thing after all.

During the remainder of our short stay at Rotuma we explored the island which is lovely, and the Band made a musical tour of several villages and was much appreciated. Our soccer eleven was beaten after an amusing match with the local Nukualofa, from across the bay. 50 SEPTEMBER. 194 - PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTH I.

team on a ground the size of a pocket handkerchief, but not nearly so uniform in shape. Our chaps simply could not get used to a large tree which grew at one end and made twelfth man for the other team, and, of course, was never “offside,”

After three days on Rotuma we returned briefly to Suva, en route to the Friendly Isles, then home.

IN 1845, King Tubou I, Chief of the central island of Haapai, became King of all Tonga and proceeded to develop his rule on the lines of a British constitutional monarchy. In 1862 he established a Parliament, Privy Council and Cabinet.

He granted the franchise to men, abolished serfdom, and limited his own power. A most enlightened potentate!

In 1900, a Treaty was signed with Great Britain which brought all the Tongan, or Friendly, Islands under British protection. His Majesty’s Agent and Consul was appointed to act as adviser on foreign relations and important financial matters.

The town of Neiafu in the northern island of Vavau was our first port of call in this idyllic kingdom, The approaches to the completely landlocked harbour proved to be both picturesque and unusual, For here, standing out of the sea, were brightly tinted coral cliffs capped by a mass of jungle green. As we wound our way between small islands and up a narrow tropical fiord, our impression was that some submarine disturbance of the past had thrust up the surrounding land to an unnatural elevation. For how else could coral grow to several hundred feet?

On rounding the final, and tortuous, bend we came into sight of the town where it seemed all the newest and best flags had been hoisted in our honour. In no time the anchor was let go and, with a rumble of cable, went rocketing to the bottom some twenty-five fathoms below, scoring a bull on the spot the navigator had marked on the chart earlier that sunny morning. It had to—for there was only just enough swinging room for the ship.

After the usual official calls, in which the Governor’s wife deputised for her husband who was sick, no time was lost in embarking on the entertainment programme. The picnic season descended upon us and, thereafter, kept us firmly in its grip. I think the whole ship’s company went to at least one of these outings, and there were many who attended several without becoming unduly distended. They were really feasts laid on for us by the various surrounding villages; but each one was attended, and appeared to be directly controlled by Mrs. Ulukalala, the wife of the Governor. Her organisation was perfect. Shortly before noon on picnic days a curiously elongated tow would approach the ship pulled by Burns Philp’s motor boat. The tow consisted of about two copra barges followed by any sailing boat which felt like a free tug. In some miraculous manner this rather disjointed crocodile managed to get itself alongside the gangway, bit by bit, where the barges soon filled with sailors.

On the feast which I attended, the sea trip was one of several miles, past many green-capped islands, one of which was the home of hundreds of flying foxes. The villagers giving this feast had chosen a site on a small island close to their homes.

They crossed the narrow water gap in the now familiar outrigger canoes, laden with foodstuffs. The ritual for these Tongan feasts is similar to that in Rotuma, the essential difference is that the Tongan girls are less shy, and so delighted us with their dancing that we wanted to try it out on the dance floor. This oppor- (Continued on Page 56)

Octopus-Fishing Is Women’S

WORK By Henry O. Wright A FIJIAN legend has it that once a shipwrecked rat, when near to drowning, was rescued by a kindhearted, though wary, octopus.

The rescuer gave the rescued to understand in no uncertain terms that, as land was a long way off, he would bear his passenger thence, only if he first received an assurance that he was “house broke” and a solemn promise that the land creature remembered his manners, keeping nature at bay until he was delivered safely ashore.

The promise was readily given, but alas, nature conquered, and at the moment the rat leapt ashore, the promise was broken. Like the elephant, the octopus never forgets!

Fijian mothers tell this story to their girl children, for its is by reminding the octopus of the false land creature that “did him wrong,” that the fisherwomen are able to catch this most welcome of seafood delicacies.

A species of sea-shell, the Kauri, with its dark mottled colouring and somewhat rat-body shape, is punctured here and there and lashed securely to a reed or tough willow wand, the appearance of the finished article having a fair resemblance to the octopus world’s Public Enemy Number One.

Armed with this, and with her coconut-frond plaited waist-basket, the fisherwoman is ready for the fray. Together with others (she believes in “safety in numbers”) she proceeds reefwards, by canoe if the reef is well offshore, or swimming there, if nearby.

Once on the reef, she begins searchingin waist-deep water for likely holes in the coral which may house the prey. (I repeat, “prey”!) Now she brings her makeshift rat to work, thrusting it rapidly in and out of the hole. Faint rat-squeak sounds are made as the water drives the air out through the holes in the shell, and should that particular hole house a “Quita”, it wastes no time in making a move to even up old scores.

First one tentacle then another, reaches out searchingly in waving eagerness, followed quickly by others that become longer with each hopeful movement.

Soon there are five or six feelers, searching, hoping, remembering, in wild abandon, then 10, eureka! one is gripping, slimily-tight, onto “the thing,” at the same time sending frantic messages to headquarters for support which almost immediately is forthcoming.

It is a matter of seconds only before five or six of the octopus’s eight tentacles are glued firmly around, not the “furry falseness”, but now the woman’s clenched fist and forearm —at the right moment she has substituted her arm for the squeaking shell, this being when she perceiyes her family’s prospective dinner hasn’t more than a “leg or two” to stand on. She begins to feel the needling pain of blood about to be drawn through the skin, as the scores of suction cups that line the tentacles begin their work, and she tenses herself. This is it!

Heaving backwards she tears the creature forth into the clear. Swift and true her other hand thrusts into the bag-like head, and gripping firmly on slimy flesh, is withdrawn, pulling the head inside out. It is over. The octopus is at once a limp paralysed slipperyness, ready for the basket.

For some minutes after, the woman’s arm sports a hundred or more small pinkish spots, where the suction cups had been busy. She hopes that before she returns there will be a moderate soreness where there is now only a tickling sensation, for then her basket will be heavy, and later, her family pot full.

The average size of her catch, measured by tentacle Length, will be about four feet long, for she is wise enough to leave the larger ones alone.

Now and then, one finds an old hand at the game, wearing a scar necklace to show that she was once a tenderfoot, and probably only because she was assisted by other fisherwomen, is she around to show off her “jewellery”.

This method of octopus fishing is, oddly enough, recognised to be one of the few which womenfolk only are allowed to practise. Others, such as prawning, crabbing and clam digging, are also “sissy” and very definitely unworthy of a Fijian fisherman’s time.

Following upon the transfer of Mr. J.

Bennett to Nigeria, Mr. J. L. McDuff has been promoted to the post of Chief Magistrate, Fiji.

Tongan Style

These objects are not, as might be supposed, the raw material for a post-and-rail fence, but a collection of huge yams, which measured from three to five feet long. They were grown in Tonga. This photograph, and the one on the opposite page, were taken by August Hettig, Nukualofa, Tonga. 51 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

Is much-praised Tahiti a disappointment?

This question is asked —and answered — by LEX HALLWAY SINCE my return from French Oceania recently, .many friends, anxious to visit Tahiti, have asked this pertinent question and, frankly, it’s one to which I cannot give a simple answer.

But I will say this: If you are the type of person who has the time and patience to stand in a queue all night to book theatre seats and can still enjoy the performance, then you’ll like Tahiti. If. like myself, you’re impatient of delay and intolerant of officialdom, you’ll find it hard to justify the performance with the effort entailed.

Don’t visit Tahiti from New Zetland if your time is limited, for you will need to be absent from these contaminated isles for three weeks before setting a cleansed foot on Tahiti’s shores. At the time of writing (early August) the 21 days Poliomyelitis quarantine st:ll applies to the Society Islands, although it ha> been lifted from all other Pacific Islands including French New Caledonia. You may visit Tahiti from the USA, where the incidence of Polio’ is high; or from the International Airport at Nadi. Fiji, where passengers and the French aircrews from Noumea to Papeete are “contaminated” weekly by scores of people arriving direct from New Zealand.

But if your passport visa is issued in NZ you must wait the 21 days set by officialdom in Papeete. This delay may mean that you miss a connection with the monthly flying-boat service to Papeete and your quarantine is thereby extended to seven weeks—expensive and discouraging to the most ardent tourist.

"Mainly a matter of timing,” you’ll say.

True —but your experience could be similar to mine and the date of departure of the French plane from Fiji turn out to be six days earlier than stated in advice originally received from that air company’s NZ agents. This miscalculation merely indicates the growing pains of a new airline not yet properly established, but nevertheless it is disconcerting.

While the plane fare is expensive and return bookings not always guaranteed, boats are even more irregular and infrequent. With luck there may be a berth on a phosphate ship leaving Auckland for Makatea which, of comse, is miles from Papeete; or there is an occasional Union SS Co. boat direct to Papeete. Suva, too, has a rare boat connection with Papeete and this turned out to be my salvation —a Greek ship running short of oil and calling at Suva to refuel en route to Tahiti was my means of arriving three weeks ahead of the plane.

Reaching Tahiti, then, is difficult and leaving it is even harder, but the biggest hurdle for intending visitors is a collateral deposit which must be lodged with the Bank of Indo-China, Papeete, before a visa can be granted. The amount lodged must be roughly £NZSO for each month of stay. For various economic reasons, Governments in sterling areas are reluctant to authorise their exchange controls to convert their currencies to francs and tourists have told me that where they can provide no valid business reason for visiting Tahiti, this advance has not been forthcoming. The French apparently impose the ruling to discourage beachcombers and, it has been said, even go so far as to ask you, unofficially, to spend more money in the Colony if they feel that you are living off the community instead of off your bank account!

It is anticipated that as the Colony's economy becomes increasingly short of foreign currency, these restrictions will be lifted.

ON arrival, your feelings will be mixed.

Your impressions from years of literary romanticism concerning the place will conflict with unfavourable reports you’ve heard from other people.

Perhaps you’ll have a poor opinion of the orderliness of French colonies and. all Tahiti’s most eastern point—Presqu’ile de Taiarapon.

Papeete’s modern market is packed week days at 5 a.m. By 7.30 a.m. photo shows it almost empty.

The day’s catch which adds tang to aroma of crowded bus.

told, by the time you sail into the beautiful harbour at Papeete, you’ve convinced yourself, in anticipation, of your disappointment.

However, these doubts will soon be dispelled. You may reject, or accept, the way of life of Tahiti, but you’ll be fascinated by the atmosphere of the place and not disappointed—at first. Perhaps this atmosphere is a result of the blending of two peoples with similar outlook.

With most Frenchmen, enjoyment of life is given high priority and they have evolved this philosophy through stress on individuality, and dislike of communal or mass thinking. It is even more so with the Tahitian; enjoying life seems to be his daily occupation and the climate and richness of his land make the task an easy one.

And so it is that few folk hustle to get things done in Tahiti and life can be very pleasant. People of all races and creeds fraternise freely. Cabarets stay open till well into the night; and, if you have enough money, you can spend time enjoying the rowdy cosmopolitan atmosphere of Papeete itself, or hire a cottage somewhere along the beautiful coastline and find a pretty native girl to cook meals for you.

You may be shocked (but. more likely, excited), at the apparent casual disregard for social customs as you’ve known them, but in time you will take this aspect of life for granted, and still lead your own, as do the old and established families of Tahiti.

Social life, then, follows much the same pattern in these as in other Pacific Islands. The difference being that in British Colonies outward appearances are maintained at all costs, while the French, perhaps, waste less time on such subtleties.

UNLESS on business bent, and often even then, it is advantageous to have an introduction to someone in Tahiti. He will put you wise to the ways of the place, tell you where to eat, to live and how best to enjoy yourcelf. Occasionally tourists visiting Tahiti are attracted to the bright lights of the dance halls and cafes and, in their search for the romantic Tahiti of the story-books, get themselves into more trouble and expense than enjoyment.

Prices of goods and services are extremely high and when shopping is concerned, the advice of friends or experienced shoppers is literally worth its weight in gold. One housewife suffering from ennui, a common complaint in the islands where women have little to keep them occupied in the enervating climate, had made a study of living costs. She poured a tale of woe into my ears and a mass of figures which I jotted down for the record. To offset them it should be borne in mind that domestic help is readily available and only a comparatively small outlay is required for clothing and other items in the tropics But these, according to my friend, are the ruling prices in Tahiti: eggs, when available, 70 f. to 80 f. doz. (NZ 7/- to 8/-) • butter, 1 lb. tins, 30 f. (NZ 3/-)); sugar’

Fijian Brown, 9 f. 50 c. a Kilo; a Kilo equals approx. 2\ lb. (NZ 2/-); tea, 73 f. lb. (NZ 7/ 3i>; Bananas, very large 10 for 10 f. (NZ 1 /-); grape fruit, each, 15 f (NZ 1/6); prunes, 1 lb. packet, European store, 20 f. (NZ 2/-) Chinese store, 25 f. (NZ 2 6); cabbage, small 8 inch, 25 f. (NZ 2 6) fish, string of eight, 60 f. to 75 f. (NZ 6/- to 7/6); salmon, red, Canadian, 1 lb tin, 40 f. (NZ 4/-); meat, standard price, per Kilo, 55 f. (NZ 5/6); 3 small pork chops, 25 f. (NZ 2/6); (unofficially one must pay more than the standard prices or go without meat); teapot, 2 pint, enamel, 200 f. (NZ £1); sandals, plain, 300 f. pr. (NZ £l/10/-).

The above in Papeete at June of this year. Comparative prices on nearby Moorea Island were slightly cheaper.

And to these I add my own impressions of accommodation which in Papeete is inferior, overcrowded and costs about 200 f. (NZ £1) a day for bed and, perhaps, coffee-and-roll breakfast. All meals must be eaten “out.” In the cafes, European food is indifferent, poorly served; Chinese food is better. Both are costly. Each item is priced separately and the amount of food lodged in your stomach is directly proportional to the number of francs that leave your pocket. A satisfying meal costs around 100 f. or more. Although most people eat moderately in the tropics, they drink liberally and it is hard to say which of these pleasurable pastimes is the more expensive.

Taxis seem to average about 30 f. (NZ 3/-) a mile dapending on your ability to argue in French. The drivers understand English well but this language usually costs more. They are, however, most careful and courteous.

In contrast to the din and clatter of Papeete you’ll find quiet surroundings a few miles along the coast in the form of charming bungalowstyle hotels. Your room will be one - of the tiny thatched cottages scattered amongst coconut palms. Each has its own electric light, bathroom, bedroom and porch with table and chairs. You can sip your whisky in comfort and admire the beautiful harbour view or wander over to the main building for drinks in the lounge before dinner. One such hotel, The Tropique, has dance floor-cum-beergarden extending from the dining room over the water’s edge; the whole set-up, fringed with palms and ferns, is aglow at night with concealed electric bulbs. With accommodation about 200 f., meals and drinks extra, it brings this kind of existence to roughly 500 f. (NZ £2/10/-) a day —more, or less, depending on the individual.

Undoubtedly it’s cheaper and lots more fun to hire your own cottage away from hotels and town life, stock the larder and cellar, catch your own fish, go swimming off the private beach usually adjacent to each cottage, and, in your own manner, return some of the overwhelming hospitality that’s bound to come your way.

You’ll also save on laundry. Two shirts a day at 20 f. (NZ 2/-) a shirt is costly.

SOUVENIRS in Papeete are in a class on their t>wh. In contrast to other islands much of the original native craftsmanship is being encouraged and preserved. You may choose from beads to fruit bowls, straw hats to lamp shades —the latter made from mother-of-pearl shell, translucent and etched in beautiful designs. Prices? Exorbitant!

The one stable commodity, copra, which sent all other prices soaring, is now having the reverse effect and prices are gradually falling in some lines. High post-war price received for copra filled (Continued Next Page) Vairao wharf, built by the late Zane Grey, near his Tahiti headquarters.

One of the bungalows of Hotel Tropique.

Chinese street vendors sell fruit, pastry, drinks outside entertainment places.

most pockets to overflowing; goods were scarce, prices rose. Now, with goods arriving to fulfil backlog orders, the price of copra has fallen and there is insufficient shipping to clear it from the sheds.

When placing overseas’ orders, traders first had to lodge the equivalent purchasing price in francs with the local bank before they were granted any foreign currency. There is now little money to pay the high customs duties demanded for goods on the wharf; and still less money forthcoming from goods— that is, copra—that can’t be sold. So the bond stores, even with new sheds in course of construction, are crammed with thousands of items in order of chaos.

Business wiseheads say this “etat d’affaires” will cause low-priced clearing of stock goods. Time alone will tell.

Although one must visit outlying islands to come across the pure Tahitian strain in any large numbers these days, the part-European or Chinese-Tahitian is often more lovely than her pure blooded sisters. She dresses tastefully in colourful blouses and white skirt, or a full length sarong-draped frock of bright floral pattern doing ample justice to her slender figure. Necklines are noticeably low. Sleek black hair is left long and flowing over nut-brown shoulders with, always, a flower behind her ear.

Her upright carriage and graceful bearing are shown to advantage in evening dress, for the many balls which are held are virtually fashion parades, women from all walks of life displaying the latest styles.

The real attractiveness of most Tahitians lies in their obvious enjoyment of life, their friendliness and courtesy. For example, on arrival you may be fortunate and meet M. Neagle, whose charm and fluency with English are a credit to the smart police uniform he wears. Haying your papers inspected, finger-prints taken, movements checked, become pleasant experiences by way of change.

There is other beauty in Tahiti—that of wealth. Luxurious homes and cars belonging to retired French and Americans, meet the eye at every turn. Graceful yachts from all over the world neatly line up against Papeete’s grassy waterfront. You’ll admire this wealth and beauty, and give thanks that Tahiti, which saw few troops in wartime, is still comparatively unspoiled. Then you’ll happen to wander through the Chinese slums; or compare the poor treatment of the islands’ lepers with that of Makogai patients. Or you’ll listen to a resident of Arue district, which is almost a suburb of Papeete, complain bitterly about the lack of a water supply: perhaps you’ll wonder at the absence of tourist facilities.

And then you’ll realise that possibly a lot of Tahiti’s wealth has been directed into the wrong channels.

My conclusions? As to these, in the same way that during my recent visit to these isles, I started my journey feeling annoyed, was agreeably surprised upon arrival, found myself becoming critical again—the only thing about which I'm really sure is that I’d like to return someday to find out whether I like the place! And to repay, in small measure, the hospitality of the Costers, the James-Halls, the Bambndges and others who gave me so much assistance during a far too short stay.

And IS Tahiti a disappointment? I think not.

Dr K. H. Black, who is now on his way back to Fiji from the United Kingdom, completed the examinations for the Diploma of Health at Edinburgh University while on leave and was passed out top of his class.

Tropicilities EIGHT months ago- a Fijian farmer in the Waidina area discovered a fourlegged chick among a newly-hatched clutch. With others, the chick was acquired by Mr. L. C. Bean, who now has a fully-grown healthy Rhode Island cross rooster with twice the normal allowance of legs.

The bird, as tame as a family cat, walks on two legs and keeps the others, which are fully developed, tucked up at its sides.

On August 25, Mr. Bean brought the rooster to Suva where it stopped pedestrian traffic in the streets, visited a photographer and was interviewed by the press.—S (It was later acquired by a NZ sideshow.) * » • THE Agricultural and Horticultural Society of Norfolk Island has been resurrected.

I have visions of carrying off first prize in the Edible Roots Section with my fivefeet long carrot.

It is simple; Simply grow the vegetable at the bottom of a chimney or a length of pipe. Shut off from the sun and water lavishly. When firmly established, allow the sun to trickle through at the top end of the pipe (or chimney). The result will be a carrot measuring from five to six feet from tip of root to extreme end of the foliage!—V.W.

SOME years ago an American, Edward Faulkner, attacked the use of the plough in agriculture by writing a book which he called “Ploughman’s Folly.” This book provoked great interest in agricultural circles and can almost be said to have caused an agricultural revolution.

It was left to Mr. Norman Carew. of Lautoka, Fiji, to answer Edward Faulkner, which he has now done in a book called “Ploughman’s Wisdom”. It will be published in London this month, by Faber and Faber.

Mr. Carew is Field Superintendent, Lautoka District, for the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. He has been with the CSR for 27 years and has not been content only to let others plough, but has conducted many experiments himself.

In a foreword, Dr. S. Graham Brade- Birks, of the S-E Agricultural College, Wye, Kent, says that although the plough is one of the most ancient of implements, no one now seems to know just why we continue to use it. Mr.

Carew, in his book tells us why we do— and why we should keep on doing so.

NEWCASTLE (NSW) Methodists observed August 12 as “Fuzzy Wuzzy Day”. Buttons were sold in the streets and donations sought to the fund for rehabilitating Methodist work in Papua-New Guinea. * * * ACCORDING to “Whites Aviation” (NZ), Lae, New Guinea, ranks fifth in the total aircraft handled by Australia’s 16 main airports.

Essendon, Melbourne’s principal airport, handles more traffic than any other airport in the British Commonwealth.

During 1948 arrivals and departures numbered 156,856.

THE balance of nature: In recent times, the skins of leopards have come much into demand, for costume and decorative and ceremonial purposes. As a result, the leopard popuation of Central Africa has decreased markedly. The leopards, under normal conditions, preyed upon the baboons, with the result that the baboon population was kept within check. Now, the baboons have increased beyond all measure —they are reported to be moving around in packs of at least 200. Following on that there is an outcry from areas in the Gambia —at least one quarter of the Gambia’s food crops are being eaten out by the baboons. Administration officials in Central Africa are urgently seeking some effective method of baboon control. * * * “\\I UY do 80 man y people spell coco- Vf nut with an ‘a’?” asks a correspondent.

We often have asked the same DESPITE the Royal signature and austere mien, this is not King James VI and I, but Captain Jimmy Richmond, who runs the copra schooner, Miena, through the Solomons.

Jimmy R. flew during the war as a Navigation Instructor, and later trained the motor-boat crews for the R.A.A.F.

He is now talking of selling his ship and retiring to his family in Sydney. Although a genuine Ancient Mariner. I show him here in the more intellectual role of mathematician and philosopher, sharing these abilities with a love of literature and living, as did the old Persian poet, Omar Khayyam—BßETT HILDER. 54

September, 1949’ Pacific Islands Monthly

The Mangaia Week MONDAY: No mon’, no fun.

TUESDAY: Very little to chew.

WEDNESDAY: Wondering when there will be something!

THURSDAY: Thirsty—no rain for months. Tanks empty.

FRIDAY: Bad reef, no fish to fry.

SATURDAY and SUNDAY—Just like Monday.

Puzzle — Find the Pacific Paradise!—ETl. question. The answer was supplied the other day by an overseas magazine. Our old friend, the late Dr. Johnson—plus a careless man in a printing-office—is to blame.

When Dr. Johnson was compiling his dictionary, he had an article on the coconut, which he spelled correctly. But (according to Dr. Johnson, later, in his own defence) the compositor set it “cocoanut”, and the proof-reader passed it. As a result of this century-old error, there still are many people who confuse the product of the cacao tree (which somehow became “cocoa”), with the product of the coco-palm. * * ♦ AFTER having lived in the South Sea Islands for the last three years, Captain H. E. R. Wilson, who is 69, has these faults to find with them: — Fiji: “It rained there 90 per cent, of the time.”

Tahiti: “Too expensive. The cost of living—just food and accommodation—is from £3 to £4 a day.

Samoa: “Too many New Zealand regulations. You have to get a doctor’s certificate to get any alcoholic spirit at all —even beer.”

The island of Tobago, 20 miles from Trinidad, West Indies, is Captain Wilson’s idea of an ideal place.

“It has beautiful weather, wonderful hunting, fishing, and swimming, beer without doctors’ certificates, and the best rum in the world,” he said. He told the newspapers in Brisbane, in August, that he was leaving as a passenger, in the “Pioneer Glen,” en route to Tobago. ♦ ♦ * THE terns are arriving back on Norfolk Island after their annual migration to Japan. These dainty little birds are part of the Island’s summer scenery.

Maybe it isn’t coincidence, but latest addition to our family is a large, black and glossy tom-cat, who strolled out of the lantana recently and established himself with the lordly air and confidence of a wartime black marketeer —V.W. * * ♦ THERE was a jolly get-together of New Guinea folk over in London Town recently, when old days and old ways were lived over again, as the cups clattered and the glasses clinked. In the party were Mrs. Muriel Costelloe, June Ewen, Mrs. Phillpott, Mrs. Baden Jones and Mr. Bob Clark. The two lastnamed ladies arrived back in Australia by the “Orion” early in September. Another old Rabaulite in England these days is Mrs. Taffy Webb. Her Commander husband is back on the bridge again and, as a result, as happy as a sandboy. He is Master of “River Glenelg,” and is in Sydney occasionally.—GT.

Dominie in Difficulties

By Old Charlie

TEACHING in the Cannibal Isles is something quite out of the ordinarv but nevertheless, it is not without its attractions.

Quite apart from the usual idiosyncracies of the pupils there are a number of things to occupy one's mind; at least I have found this so. School is held In a bure, or native house, in this case a circular building about 24 feet across and fe . e f t hl £h at its conical top.

Thatched with makita and reeds it is degrees cooler than any European-sfviP house. With wooden floor and Fow balusclass 0 -room° Und ’ 18 a m ° St comfort able Unfortunately we are not the only occupants. The centre pole which, native fashion, does not reach the top is cauaht by a; cross girder some six feet up and provides an excellent winter home for thousands of large, yellow hornets which cluster around it in a seething mass Despite the assurance that “they won’t hurt you at this time of the year” I keen a wary eye on the intruders, being from time to time reminded of their presence by the arrival on my head of a pair locked in mortal combat. These hornets mlnu ?„ 1 t er ’f 1 t£ S - Sanitary ' habltS ’ t 0 remind one of their presence.

Sometimes a heavy blow on the head or shoulders signals the sudden descent of a gheko lizard who has decided to seek terra firma. And, while on the subject of lizards, I should mention that, seated on the balustrades, are sundry cats of all ages, colours and sexes and sizes, who find lizards a useful article of diet and prefer the class-room for their meal. Being of sportive nature they do not hurry over it and the victims’ sufferings are often ended by the intervention of one or other of the children ejecting the feline in question. H Then again there are the toads, of the giant species—but incidentally, the smallest giants I’ve ever seen—who feel that they, too, are interested in the curriculum and hop unafraid across the floor to gaze fixedly at the blackboard. They too, are not without hope of an extra meal’ m the shape of the hornets that drop to the floor.

A TALK on the law of gravity is pointedly illustrated by the dull thud of a coconut dropping to earth or the swish of falling palm branches. To both these sounds, disconcerting at first, one becomes accustomed, though the noise of a large nut hurtling down the slope (did I mention that we are situated on a slight eminence?) or even rolling into the bure, is somewhat startling.

Then there is a dog, an intelligent Alsatian, allergic to strangers both human and canine. Should the former appear, a rescue is the order of the day and lessons are temporarily suspended. Should the intruder fall into the latter category, however, then it is yoicks and tally-ho, with the protesting yelps fading away Into the distance and the elated heroine coming back with a look of smug complacency that, at times, is almost unbearable.

We are in view of the main traffic route and so can enliven our day by the antics of the passers-by—bullock teams, small children and hard-working (sic) Indians.

One must overlook the small birds which swoop in and out of the class room to alight on a chair-back or cross-beams, while their larger and more frivolous cousins, the noisy Mynahs, chatter and gossip the livelong day.

Daily there are the mosquitos which are not the most attractive room-mates Unless one wishes to be eaten alive then recourse must be had to some repellent usually so evil-smelling that everyone becomes mutually repellant.

Perhaps, however, the most disconcerting thing is the sudden look of intelligence that appears on the faces of the pupils. The momentary satisfaction at the thought that some bon mot of yours has penetrated, is rudely dispelled by the cry of, “There’s the Tui Bua!” and you realise that the class has caught the distant sound of the monthly steamer chugchugging up the river—an event, naturally, of extreme importance.

However, with these things with which to contend, who will dare to say that life here is not far more pleasant than in more distant and civilised climes? At least we have no strikes, blackouts and “commos.” Sa moce.

Beloved Isles of Viti

By Harold Chambers

O, Viti! string of gems most rare On the Pacific bosom set, Isles of enchantment passing fair, Thy spell one never can forget.

The queenly palms that grace thy strand, The green seas rolling leisurely, Beauty ineffable and grand, Oft in the dreams of night I see.

With peaks that pierce the cloud-flecked sky, Uprising from the turquoise seas, Thy storied Isles green-mantled lie Panned by the scented tropic breeze— Stories of poignancy and pain, Of human flotsam from afar.

Of gentle brown-folk, warriors slain, Of love and laughter, hate and war.

Serenely basking in the Main, In timeless somnolence, they lie; Anon, lashed by a hurricane Are battered ’neath a sullen sky.

Across the reefs the ebb-tides creep.

And turning tides flow in again With rhythmic hiss and murmur deep.

Like slumbering giants of the Main.

The brooding calm of tropic noon, The opalescent sunset skies.

The molten silver of the moon That gleaming on the palm fronds lies And, on her lone nocturnal beat.

A shimmering path flings o’er the sea, Whereon, perchance, the tripping feet Of tropic sea-sprites dance with glee.

Thy children of euphonious tongue, Light-hearted live and leisurely, Carefree, their native Isles among, Endowed by Nature lavishly.

Ah! ne’er a day but longings rise For thee, O Viti! In my dreams I live again ’neath thy blue skies Among thy Isles and hills and streams.

Dr. P. W. J. Searle and Dr. F. R. T.

Hollins have resigned from the Medical Department, Fiji. Dr. Searle will be leaving the Colony in September and Dr. Hollins in December. 55 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

tunity came later. The beaches on our picnic island were of the purest white sand and proved ideal for bathing—a risk which some took despite a rather uneasy feeling in the belly.

In under a week officers and men ate their way through no less than six Tongan feasts, each accompanied by native dancing, and great hilarity during the return trip in the copra barges.

An enchanting aspect of our stay was the way in which dancers with bands, were thoughtfully sent off to the shin in the evenings to entertain those who had to remain onboard. The race meetings were a great surprise and thoroughly enjoyed. Anything that went wrong, or that was not according to the rules, was treated as a huge joke. At the second meeting the ship put up some performers, many of whom came to grief in the usual way or by getting carried off the course and into the jungle, all hugely to the delight of the natives.

A certain amount of trade by barter was done, for, though copra sales have rendered most of the Islanders well off, there is little on which they can spend their money. Clothes are in short supply and such things as shirts and shorts were greatly appreciated and brought showers of gifts in return. Strictly speaking, one does not barter in Tonga. The Islanders have a far better system. The would-be barterer “gives” his New Zealand friend a present and the latter should then “give” a present in return. There is no haggling and the whole affair is carried out in a convivial atmosphere.

It was with genuine regret that we weighed our anchor and steamed slowly down harbour and away from charming Vavau.

The overnight trip to Nukualofa took us past Falcon Island which has the disturbing habit, of disappearing from time to time. It is rumoured that this hide and seek is not at all popular with the Prime Minister of Tonga, for every time it re-appears, he has to take a sea trip in order, to plant the Tongan flag firmly on top!

In Nukualofa, picnics were again arranged for all, but even the most ardent gluttons were now thinking ahead to home and leave; so a few, I regret to say, rather floundered in.the fodder. Anyway in my own case, indigestion inculcated by endless feasts, was beginning to rear its ugly head.

A few visited one of the largest aerodromes in the Pacific, sixteen milesi from the town. During the war it was extensively used by the Americans for whom it was built by the New Zealand Public Works Department.

The Yankee influence is noticeable in Tongatabu. In this case the natives were not removed to another island and our allies have left their mark in more ways than one.

We “did” the sights, including the great blow holes on the weather coast of the island which provide an imposing, if rather damp, spectacle. Here the Pacific rollers strike the coial shelf with a violence which sends tons of water and spume hundreds of feet into the air.

It was unfortunate that Queen Salote should be sick and away in the country for a rest, but we were honoured by both Prince Tungi and Prince Tui’pelahaki who came onboard.

A church bazaar, held in the grounds of the British Residency, provided an excellent opportunity for all hands to arm themselves with native baskets and mats, perhaps in an effort to forestall brickbats from their wives when the stories about the hula dancing come out! Fruit, particularly bananas, were another popular peace offering, though the most effective of all were probably nylon and silk stockings picked up, at a price, in Suva.

On a calm Sunday evening we nosed our way through hidden reefs to the open sea, the Islands astern but not forgotten.

We look forward to visiting many more next year.

When a Fijian constable was searching a Chinese house at Suva for opium, he found none, but in a suitcase discovered 178 United States dollars. At the inevitable court sequel the Chinese said the dollars had been given to him by <us father so that he could take them to China for a family distribution Consequently, he maintained, his father was the offender as he could not disobey his father by complying with the law and offering the dollars to the Financial Secretary or to a bank. Unsympathetic towards this example of filial piety, the magistrate imposed a fine of £2O and ordered the dollars to be handed over to the Financial Secretary in exchange for the currency of Fiji.

After being missing for more than 6C years, a carpenter’s claw hammer has been found during repairs to a Suva (Fiji) house owned by Mr. J.

Several years ago the late Mr. Gavir Lawrie, formerly a PWD employee ir charge of the Suva water-mains, tolc Mr. Suklal’s father that he had.left th< hammer in the ceiling when the house was being built.

MR. BLONK By Rosa Moore IT is May and the candle trees are in bloom. Their spikes of puffed yellow blossoms stand sharply up, like tapers lit for a banquet. All along the grass plains of Guadalcanal the air is stiff with heat. Sometimes a distant grass fire springs ud as you watch, the smoke billowing up to the scalding blue of the sky, the fire launching itself hungrily over the brittle grass until it rolls back and dies against a patch of lush green valley jungle.

At night the dry and dusty toads come out to sigh over the sparse dew. They sit three feet apart on the clover lawn, intent on catching their supper. All except Mr. Blonk.

Mr. Blonk enterprisingly hops up the ten steps of the front circular stairway at 7 o’clock each night. Plop, plop, plop, up he comes, sits for a while like an antediluvian clubman on the topmost step and stares blankly, unemotionally into space; then he turns and hops ponderously across the floor and under the white canvas easy chair, where he goes into a trance of introspection.

But not for long. A silver moth, giddy from tapdancing round the light and sidestepping the circle of ghecko outfielders, flips to the mat for a rest. Out and in snaps Mr. Blonk’s pink measuring-tape of a tongue and the silver moth is gone. A skip—and Mr. Blonk collects a flying ant from the crossbar of the chair; a hop— and he’s off the mat and has absorbed a horrid green beetle from the plywood floor, leaving a damp little patch from his efficient little tongue.

Then Mr. Blonk spots a grandma moth, all done up in a loose grey shawl, tottering about by the table. He tiptoes with portly roll nearer and nearer to grandma, stopping to glare now and then, while his toes twitch with expectation. Look out, grandma, here comes Mr. B.! Too late, grandma and her shawl have been whipped inside Mr. Blonk, who does not even pay her the compliment of looking gratified.

But all that skitters is not moth, Mr.

Blonk. I toss down a segment of toast: Mr Blonk catches it. He catches, willynilly, four other bits. Then I try beans.

Mr. Blonk cannot stop himself; he scoops up eight pieces of bean. He looks at the ninth and doesn’t budge and (do I imagine it?) a slightly testy look passes over his prehistoric features. He turns back to the moth department but he seems a little preoccupied.

Soon his efforts languish. With a brooding, inward look, Mr. Blonk lumbers towards the exit, arid as he pauses on the top step he is like an overfed clubman hoping the hall porter will have a digestive tablet handy.

I suffer qualms over Mr. Blonk’s early departure and the possible battle going on in Mr. Blonk’s inside over toast (hard) and beans (tough). Flop, flop, flop, he goes down the steps and disappears into the night. Whether he suffers pangs or whether he boasts to the ground-level toads still glumly catching their supper on the lawn I cannot say. But the next night Mr. Blonk does not make his entry until the table has been cleared and we are deep in our copies of six-monthsold magazines.

Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Seton, well-known residents of the British Solomon Islands, paid a brief visit to Sydney in September, and are to return by Qantas plane on the 17th to their plantation home at Lutee, on Choiseul, about 220 miles from Honiara. Mr. Seton rendered notable service as a Coast-watcher during the Pacific war and was decorated.

Modern Transport For Moresby

The Papua-New Guinea Administration’s new bus in Port Moresby, the subject of some controversy.

Formerly run by a private owner for natives, it now is providing fast and comfortable transport for Europeans. What is more, it provides all this FREE. 56

The Navy Shows The Flag

(Continued from Page 51)

September, 1&4 5 - Pacific Islands Monthl

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Mr. J. Maynard Hedstrom, son of Sir Maynard Hedstrom, of Suva, and general manager of Morris Hedstrom Ltd., arrived in Australia, with Mrs. Hedstrom and their small family, in August, on an overdue holiday. They propose to spend a few leisurely weeks on a holiday tour in the Eastern States.

Norfolk Is. Notes

By Vernon Wheatley

VISITOR: Mr. L. A. Knox, architect on the staff of the Department of Works and Housing. Mr. Knox recently spent a fortnight on Norfolk inspecting the work done on three of the ten houses to be erected for the staff of the Department of Civil Aviation.

They should be good houses—if cost is any indication. It is understood that they will cost about £3,000 each; and will have only malthoid roofs.

PROJECTS: In the distant future, work will start on the airport terminal building and the hotel. If costs of the staff houses are an indication, these buildings will run into astronomical figures. Work on the aerodrome apron and taxi-way is well under way.

LINK WITH THE PAST: Recently, Mr, Hugo Quintal died. Uncle Hugo, as he was affectionately known to hundreds ol residents, was approaching his 93rd birthday. He was the first child born on the Island after the Pitcairners settled here He died peacefully, after his customary evening’s stroll, and the large crowd (the largest seen in years) which attended hh funeral indicated the esteem in whicl he was held.

COMMERCE: The repaired butter factory will soon be in operation, it i understood. With NZ butter on sale a 4/7 per lb. (1/6 per lb., or l/4i wholesal in NZ), the re-opening of the factor; will be a very welcome relief, althougl the product will cost 2/9 per lb.

PRICES: It is reported that an In spector of the Commonwealth Price Branch will make an official visit to th Island.

Imports And Exports: It J

cheaper to import a suite of furniture b air than to have it sent over by se* according to one resident who has worke it out, considering all angles. It is als payable to export eggs by air. Quantity are going to Fiji.

WELCOME: Mr. and Mrs. Mayo (re cently married on the Island) are hei to live. They have purchased a proper! at Duncome Bay. Mr. Mayo former] resided in Nigeria, while Mrs. Mayo can from NZ. Other new arrivals are M and Mrs. Oliver who will take over tr management of Hopkins, Ltd., from tr Fred Halls. . , WHALING; The season has official opened, but at the time of writing, r catch had been made. This new mdusti deserves success. By calling it new , leave myself open to criticism. Actuall whaling has been going on for yea here, but the present Company is t first to attempt to bring it into the u dustry class”.

Soil Erosion in Fiji Hard Task Set Agricultural Dep[?] SUVA, Aug. 19.

For years Fiji’s Agriculture Depai ment has been battling to carry o a campaign, practical as wen educational, against soil ® ro , sl °?- ki , indications are that it 18 P^ some headway against states of ml ranging from indifference to (in the ca of many Indians), active opposition.

The annual report of the District Co missioner Western (Mr. C. «-• Nott) states that in the Sigatoka ar five farmers promptly P lQ ughed out t contours which departmental officers h carefully prepared. Later, however fc of the five asked for their farms to recontoured. This was duly done.

Pacific Islands Monthi

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Growing Hold Of Indians On Fiji’S Economic Life

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, Aug. 19.

INTERESTING facts on the growing influence of Indians in Fiji economy emerged from the annual report of the District Commissioner Southern (Mr.

J. Judd), issued recently.

“The Indian colonists are now found actively engaged in practically every avenue of employment in Fiji,” states the report. “They are in agriculture in all its branches, in the building industry (both as contractors and as skilled workmen), in commerce, in engineering and, by no means least, in public transport, which virtually is their monopoly.

“They fill places in the professions of dentistry, medicine and law.”

The report also points out that Indian farmers, particularly in the sugarcane industry, have combined in unions “for the purpose of improving their position in any negotiations wth the CSR Company, and for political ends.”

SUBSTANTIAL increases in the production of rice by Fijian farmers are commented upon in the annual report which draws attention to the handicaps under which Fijian growers are working.

Even the more ambitious are greatly hampered by the shortage of capital and equipment. “In far too many cases Fijian rice-farmers have to hire bullocks and ploughs from Indians, often at exorbitant rates, and the expense of getting produce to market in commercial vehicles is very noticeable. Until the Fijians can equip themselves, not only with beasts and implements, but also with means of transport, they will continue to lose far too large a percentage of their profit to the middleman.”

OFFICIAL figures of liquor permits in foj-ce in Fiji at the end of 1948 show that of 7,526 permits issued 5,272 were held b# Indians and 2,254 by Fijians. Bottle liquor permits were held by 2,839 Indians and only 379 Fijians.

Mr. H. G. Boys-Smith, DSO, DSC, Marine Superintendent for the Western Pacific High Commission, is absent from Fiji on furlough, and Captain G. J.

Webster is acting as marine superintendent. 59 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER. 1949

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Telephone; Cables & Radios: Vo 104 Gabriel Achun. Rabaul W. Samoan Finances Still Sound Despite Sliding Cocoa Prices From Our Own Correspondent APIA, August 2.

IN a radio address over the Western Samoan Broadcasting Station, 2AP, on July 16, 1949, the High Commissioner, Mr. G. R. Powles, reviewed the work of the Legislative Assembly at its last session which began on June 20. This was the Samoan “budget session , and estimates of the Government for the current financial year were debated and considered. Session lasted a fortnight, and estimates were approved without any important variations.

The Secretary-Treasurer of the Samoan Government gave the Assembly a complete picture of the financial position of the Territory, pointing out that finances were sound as the Government had been able to accumulate a large amount in various reserve funds; and that, though the Government revenue in the coming year was expected to be less than last year, sufficient funds were available to carry out very important works for the welfare of the Samoan people.

Figures of estimated expenditure were given as follows; Education, £198,000; Public Works, £196,000; Health, £155,000; Postal, Radio and Broadcasting, £38,000; Samoan Affairs, £28,000; Police and Prisons, £25,000; Treasury and Customs, £24,000; Secretariat and Legislative Assembly, £21,000; High Commissioner and Government House, £7,000; Lands and Surveys, £6,000; Justice, £5,000. Total expenditure is estimated at over £700,000.

When speaking over 2AP, Mr. Powles stated that about £170,000, or nearly one quarter of the total expenditure, is provided by subsidies and grants from New Zealand, an evidence of the readiness and willingness of New Zealand to extend a helping hand to the Territory.

An amount of £120,000 will be taken out of reserve funds, and the balance will come from estimated revenue for the coming year.

Although £120,000 is drawn from General Reserve fund, £50,000 remain in the insurance fund, £25,000 in the Reserve Fund for the Vaisigano Bridge and several other minor funds. Few countries, said Mr. Powles, were in so satisfactory a position, but care must be exercised in the future.

The High Commissioner outlined important new works which the Assembly authorised the Government to carry out.

For the Education Department extensions will be made to the school buildings at Malifa and Leifiifi in Apia; improvements to Avele School and rebuilding of the Vaipouli (Savaii) School. It was suggested that the New Zealand subsidy should be utilised to build the new Samoa College and a new Intermediate School at Malifa (Apia).

Under the heading of Health, it was agreed to proceed with the enlargement of the Apia Hospital (half the expenditure would be a New Zealand subsidy).

Subsidies also are to be paid to districts for the erection of various district hospital buildings.

Under the heading of Public Works the necessary money for the completion of the Hydro Electric Scheme was voted.

After much discussion it was decided to carry out substantial improvements to the existing roads to avoid excessive expenditure on maintenance work, this work to include the trans-island road in Upolu, and the road on the South Coast of Upolu as well as several Savaii roads.

The road wotrk is subsidised by New Zealand to the extent of £25,000.

The proposed abolition of Empire trade preference was discussed by the Assembly.

At present the duty on goods from British countries is 17§ per cent, while goods from other countries are subject to 25 per cent. duty. It has been suggested that as Samoa is under United Nations Trusteeship there should be no different rates of duty applying to different groups of nations.' Others take the view that a preferential tariff on British goods is desirable because of Samoa’s 9 years copra contract with the United Kingdom. This matter has been discussed in the Trusteeship Council in New York and the New Zealand Government has taken the attitude that it is a matter for Samoa to make her own decision in the matter. No agreement was reached in Assembly, but it was resolved to set up a special committee to examine the position and report to the Legislative Assembly at a later sitting.

AT the suggestion of the Fono of Faipule (the Samoan parliament), the Assembly authorised the Government to prepare plans for a new building at Mulinu’u for the Fono of Faipule and the Legislative Assembly, and for the enlargement of the Malae at Mulinu’u for important public functions.

In view of the great popularity of broadcasting in Western Samoa, the Assembly recommended that arrangements be made for broadcasting of the proceedings of th'e Assembly. This has been acted upon and the next meeting of the Assembly, in September, will be broadcast, enabling all people in the Territory to listen to the debates, the subjects discussed and the decisions reached. 60

September, 194 9 - Pacific Islands Monthly

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Conditions In Micronesia

Americans Tackling Administration Problems THE United States, in a report on the Marshall, Caroline, and Mariana Islands submitted to the United Nations Trusteeship Council, stated that native living standards in the islands are lower under American administration than they were under Japanese control.

The report says American control began with the handicap of the chaotic aftermath of the war in the Pacific, but the administering authority believed the programme would in succeeding years equal and surpass the conditions under the Japanese.

The assault and occupation of the islands destroyed large areas of breadfruit and coconut trees, which were the major source of food and building materials for the natives. Wartime deaths, suffering, and privation had lowered the morale, health, and initiative of the island people, but already the conditions have greatly improved.

The people now are healthier, the children receive free elementary education, adults are encouraged to take part in municipal affairs, and their confidence and self-respect are returning.

Dr. L. G. M. Baas Becking, Deputy Chairman of the South Pacific Commission Research Council, has accepted an invitation to be Chairman of the Committee on Botanical Stations, International Union of Biological Sciences. The International Union sponsors the International Congress of Biological Sciences, the next session of which will be held at Stockholm in 1950. This will be the first Congress since that held in Amsterdam in 1935.

SDA Mission Party Making Long Tour SUVA, Aug. 19.

THE “Viking Ahoy,” the vessel bought last year by the Seventh Day Adventist Mission from Captain H. M.

Frewen, left Suva on August 17 for Tonga, Niue and the Cook and Society Groups. Samoa will be visited on the return voyage.

The president of the Central Polynesian Union Mission, together with Messrs. C. Howse and A. Bussau, is making a tour in the interests of the mission.

Several weeks will be spent at conferences in the Cook and Society Groups, and the party expects to be away from Suva for about two months.

Mr. C. Stinson is navigator of the “Viking Ahoy,” and Pastor W. G. Ferris and Mr. Edwards, who will be picked up in Tonga, have also had considerable sailing experience. 61 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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More Round-World Yachts

Call At Fiji

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, August 8.

American yacht, “Seven Seas II,” from Los Angeles, left Suva on August 6, for the New Hebrides and Solomons in continuation of its roundthe-world cruise. Mr. W. Murnan (owner), was joined by Mr. J. Rolley, who first visited Fiji in the Danish yacht “Nordkaparen” last year. He recently returned to Suva from New Zealand.

The 38 ft. Bermuda-rigged sloop "Trade Winds,” arrived at Lautoka from New Zealand by way of Papeete, Pago Pago, and Apia, on August 5. The sloop left Auckland on April 28. It was intended to sail from Apia to Suva, but storms took the vessel 200 miles offcourse to the west and calls were made at the Wallis Group and Futuna.

Two New Zealanders, Messrs. Michael Georgetti (owner and skipper) and Jim Baker, are on board. They are heading for England by way of the Islands, Australia, the Indian Ocean, and Cape Town.

Stories In Plants

Hawaiian Botanist’s Book THE pineapple and the bread-fruit are found all over the islands of Hawaii.

But they are not indigenous. Therefore, how did they get there? They seem to have been there before Europeans settled in, at the beginning of last century.

That is only one of scores of intriguing problems discussed in “Plants of Hawaii National Park”, by Otto Degener, of Honolulu; who is famous throughout the South Seas as a botanist. He has spent a good deal of time in Fiji and Samoa.

In spite of its unimaginative name and unattractive cover, this book is written by a man who really can make nature study as fascinating and interesting as is should be; and the compilation, while no doubt of value to the scientist, is readable from cover to cover by the nonscientist.

The section on coconut palms, for example, does full justice to the world’s most interesting tree. The author describes not only the innumerable uses of the coconut palm, but also its origin.

He rejects the theory that it came from Africa and Madagascar, via the Orientfollowing, it would seem, the track of the supposed Polynesian migrations.

There is also the fascinating story of the taro (or kalo, or dalo) that root which is a staple foodstuff throughout Oceania, and which appears to have originated in the East Indies, and been distributed all over the Pacific Islands by the wandering Polynesians. Incidentally, Mr.

Degener, in his study of Hawaiian plants, finds plenty of evidence that the Polynesians reached Hawaii via Tahiti.

Do you know why the taro is so free from injury by insects and herbivorous animals? If not, put your tongue against the cut stem of an old-type taro that has not yet been boiled. The new-style taro, introduced from Japan in recent years, has not got that natural protection, and can be eaten raw.

Mr. Degener, in this copiously illustrated book of 300 pages, deals also with birds, insects, native customs—with everything, in fact, that makes the Islands interesting to the visitor from the temperate zones. But, written so carefully and authoritatively, it is of interest also to the salted dweller in the Islands: the old-timer, no matter how long he has been in Oceania, can always learn something new about plants, insects, birds and native customs.

The index of plant and bird names should be most valuable, because so much of what is found in Hawaii is found also in other Pacific Islands.

The book was printed and published in United States, and copies are not available in Sterling areas. Copies may be obtained, for 2h dollars, from the author, Mr. Otto Degener, Waialua, Oahu, Hawaii. t Mr. H. D. Kelly has been promoted from assistant manager to general manager of Misima Goldmine, Ltd., Eastern Papua, and Mr. P. R. Osborne, who has been acting as general manager since the mine reopened, will resume charge of the metallurgical operations.

The Directors have expressed appreciation of the “great job” done by Mr.

Osborne in getting the mine back into production, after the four years shutdown following the Jap invasion. 62 . „ pacific islands monthly SEPTEMBER, 194 S

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RECOMMENDATIONS

For Fiji’S

Dairy Industry

SUVA. July 10.

THE dairying industry in Fiji consists mainly of one large company operating its own farms and factory, and fewer than 40 farmers supplying another factory.

For this reason Mr. E. B. Rice, the Queensland Government expert brought to Fiji to investigate the Colony’s dairying industry and to submit recommendations for increased efficiency, has declined to support the producers’ request for a committee to be set up to fix the prices of butter in Fiji. He says that in the circumstances the producers could always make any representations to the Government through their existing organisation.

Eleven recommendations in Mr. Rice’s report are summarised as follows: (1) Overseas work on the crossing of Zebu with European breeds of cattle to introduce a factor of resistance to high temperatures should be watched: but the use of Zebu crossbreeds for dairying purposes in Fiji is not recommended at the present time, particularly as there is no milking strain of Zebu in the Colony, (2) Work should be undertaken and given high priority on the selection of legumes to be grown in association with grasses for the improvement of pastures. (3) Trials should be undertaken on the regular mowing of pastures to assist in pasture improvement. (4) Trials should be undertaken on the supplementary feeding of forage crops. (5) Farmers should take care to provide good night grazing for their cows. (6) Dairy farmers supplying the Rewa factory should institute a scheme of regular herd recording. (7) The Department of Agriculture should undertake a survey of wastage in dairy herds to determine the reason for such wastage. (8) Both fanners and department should pay special attention to improvements in calf-rearing practice. 09) Owing to the variation in standards of hygiene on dairy farms, farmers and the department should endeavour to raise the standard of routine maintenance of buildings, the repair of bails where necessary and the concreting or gravelling of bail surrounds. (10) Farmers should economise in labour costs by the wider adoption of milking machines. (11) Farmers should engage more widely in the production of by-products of dairying, as the net incomes of farmers who so engage are found to be markedly above the average.

Western Samoa Trade In

1948 FURTHER details of trade in Western Samoa in 1948 have been released.

Exports amounted to £1,108,258, of vhich £597,185 went to the United Kingiom, £255,550 to New Zealand, £167,067 ■o USA, £51,638 to Canada and £34,511 to Australia.

Imports amounted to £761,146 of which ; 301,544 came from New Zealand, -180,368 from USA, £154,749 from Aus- -ralia, £146,733 from the United Kinglorn, £68,874 from Canada, £32,261 from ndia and £31,339 from Fiji.

Exports of cocoabeans in 1948 were ,630 tons valued at £369,492. Exports of *Pra amounted to 14,178 tons while 9,507 cases of bananas were exported to *ew Zealand.

Drift To Suva Again

CONDEMNED From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, Aug. 19.

THE process of commercial and industrial expansion in Fiji, which tends to be centered on Suva, is constantly increasing the demand for Fijian workers, and the number of Fijians concentrated at Suva is a matter for constant concern, states the annual report of the District Commissioner, Southern (Mr. J.

Judd), “If taken to its logical conclusion,” the report continues, “it will largely reduce the Fijian population to a floating labour force, dependent for its prosperity and the means of its livelihood on economic forces outside this Colony. If these fail, the previously abandoned communal life will not be there to fall back upon; neither will it be easily regenerated”.

The Rev. Father O. Shelley, of the Society of the Divine Word, has been appointed to the Roman Catholic mission fields of New Guinea. He has been professor of mathematics at St, Vincent’s Mission Seminary, Marburg, Queensland, for the last five years. 63 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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A Bank Slip

AND A

Sequel In Court

SUVA, July 10.

A “courtroom drama” that illustrated several of the curious ’ features of life in Fiji cropped up in the Suva Magistrate’s Court on July 8.

The central figure was Gurdar Singh, described as an illiterate Indian cultivator from Tavua, who had come to Suva on July 7 to board the ship, “Orna,” en route to India.

On his arrival, Gurdar Singh went straight from the bus to a bank, to get a draft for £275. At the bank doorway he met a helpful but previously unknown Indian named Sadhu (alias Sharma).

Accepting Sadhu’s offer of help, Gurdar Singh handed over his passport and money. After the usual formalities, during which Gurdar Singh affixed his thumbprint to a paper, Sadhu received a bank slip which he placed in the passport, and returned both to the owner.

Outside the bank Gurdar Singh met an Indian friend to whom he showed the bank slip. It was for only £175. And the helper named Sadhu had disappeared.

The matter was reported to the police, who, after an extensive search, found Sadhu during the evening. After denying all knowledge of the transaction, the man offered to write a cheque for the £lOO as he “did not want any trouble.”

Bank officials revealed to the police that Sadhu had paid £lOO into his previously modest account.

In court next morning Sadhu was sentenced to six months’ hard labour. He gave notice of intention to appeal against the sentence.

Suva's Electricity Absorbed in General Scheme Town Council Sells Undertaking SUVA, Aug. 19.

AFTER several months of negotiations the Suva Town Council has agreed to sell Suva’s electricity undertaking to the Colonial Development Corporation, or to some public utility company to be set up in connection with the Navua hydro-electricity scheme. The price has yet to be negotiated, but it is believed to be about £150,000.

The Suva Council will continue the management of Suva’s electricity supply until the hydro-electric scheme is in operation, probably about 1955.

Indian Independence

Day In Fiji

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, Aug. 21.

INDIAN Independence Day (August 15) was celebrated by Indians in Fiji with the customary political demonstrations, ceremonial hoisting of Indian flags and speech-making.

At one small Viti Levu centre a Government official, after congratulating the organisers on a spectacular display, expressed a mild hope that Fiji s 75th Cession Day in October might produce somewhat similar enthusiasm.

The Fiji Muslim community, which since the establishment of Pakistan has shown an increasing tendency to resent being called “Indian”, commemorated Pakistan Day much more quietly on August 14. 64

September, 1.4.-Pacific Islands Monthly

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ACHIEVEMENTS

In Papua N. Guinea

Letter to the Editor AN article appeared in your July issue under the heading, “Invaluable Equipment Lost in New Guinea.” It was a report of statements made in the Federal Parliament.

This article, whilst containing some vestige of truth, is nevertheless a gross mis-statement of the true position.

The supposed Labour Senator has been very much misinformed, or else his informant has some personal axe to grind.

The whole article, can and no doubt will, be shot full of holes. I, myself, will endeavour to refute any suggestion of incompetence or inefficiency on behalf of the Postal and Telephone staff, and leave other points to more competent critics.

The Civil Administration took over Postal and Telephone services late in 1945, and out of chaos a small band of technicians and Post officials did a mansize job in getting the service going at all. The technicians in the main were fully trained PMG personnel, with many years’ experience in Australia, and the equipment they used was, as stated, salvaged from the bush, or where left by the Army, and without exception was in a deplorable condition.

The telephone services have been maintained and improved, despite the fact that very little if any assistance has come from Australia in the form of men or material. For four years we have been unable to procure any telephone material whatsoever; and the wages paid to technical personnel are not sufficient to attract anyone from Australia, other than those of high ideals who place country first. Amongst these are men from Ballarat, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane. Some have returned to Australia owing to frustration: but some still remain, and I can assure you these remaining men rank high in the estimation of the PMG’s Department. Australia.

In Port Moresby there are a PMG engineer, three PMG technicians, one PMG line inspector, and several PMG linesmen; and many other PMG men are distributed throughout the Territory, doing a really miraculous job.

If the Senator would direct his energies into obtaining for us some supplies and help, I am sure he would be doing his country a better service than that which will result from such an article, riddled with so many untruths, and completely at variance with facts.

A Training School was established for the training of natives in telephone technical work; but, unfortunately, this School was established bv men unacquainted with the native mind and habits, with the result that, despite the most strenuous efforts of men who followed on, the training scheme is just a shadow of what it set out to be. The scheme is most laudable—and I am sure will ultimately reach fruition, but only through a combination of technical ability with anthropological or local knowledge.

In conclusion, let me once again state that if the Senator could give us material, we, even though 80 per cent, understaffed could, and would, stifle all criticism I am, etc., PMG TECHNICIAN.

Pt. Moresby, 8/9/49.

Mr. D. McMillan, of Overseas Telecommunications, returned to Rabaul, New Guinea, in August, to resume duties as Officer-in-Charge of that station.

During his leave in Australia he underwent an operation on his eyes.

Noumea has a new suburban cinema.

It is the Cine Tropic, opened by M.

Auguste Mercier in the Valle des Colons, the suburb leading to Magenta airfield. 65 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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No Preference For

Part-Europeans In

Fijian Land Leases

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, August 8.

THE Legislative Council of Fiji had no power to direct the Native Lands Commission to give preferential treatment in any claim for the leasing of land made before the Commission This was a point emphasised during a debate on a motion by Mr. F. G. Archibald which, in effect, asked for special treatment of part-Europeans by reason of the fact that they are also part-Fijians.

After stating the problems that face the part-European people, Mr Archibald said he was content to withdraw the motion as the debate had served to disclose a difficult question.

The Governor (Sir Brian Freeston) said that the Government had every sympathy with the part-European, who had “a foot in both camps.” Within the legal structure, he added, the Government would do all it could to help.

A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. R. T.

Collings, of Gunanur Plantation. Kokopo, New Guinea at Namanula Hospital, Rabaul, on August 2, 1949.

Lack Of Amenities In Papua-New Guinea

Canberra Blamed For Waste and Muddle and Bad Condition of Ports INFORMATION from various sources indicates that rehabilitation and progress in the Australian Pacific Territories of Papua and New Guinea are still being retarded by muddling and waste, for which the Australian Socialist Government and Canberra control seem primarily to blame.

The following is from a well-known commercial man who paid a business visit to Papua and New Guinea in August;— “I have had occasion recently to visit most of the Territories in the South Pacific. In Fiji, Samoa and places eastward I find travelling conditions normal, except that all means of transport and accommodation are still seriously overcrowded.

But Administration, trade and transport seem to have settled down again, after the war, to a normal existence.

“My last visit was to Papua and New Guinea, countries which I had not previously seen. I was appalled by the lack there of ordinary amenities and amazed to discover that so little has yet been done to make good the destruction caused by the war. It is four years since hostilities ceased and I had assumed that in that time something like normal conditions would have been restored.

“There are two modern hotels in Port Moresby, in which conditions are reasonably good; but the demand for accommodation seems far in excess of supply and travellers are jammed together in a way that makes for great discomfort.

I am told that the prewar European population of Port Moresby has more than quadrupled, as the result of the town being made the headquarters of the double Administration and the headquarters, also, of the big oil search. But the authorities have failed in a remarkable way to provide anything suitable in the way of office accommodation for all these people. The wharves are falling down and there is nothing like sufficient houses for the people quartered there. One would have expected far more to have been done since 1945.

“In Lae and Rabaul, hotel conditions are simply terrible. The people running the hotels do their best under the conditions Imposed upon them—but they cannot be expected to provide decent accommodation when they are forced to use buildings of purely temporary construction or native material. The failure to provide decent hotels in Lae and Rabaul apparently is due to the failure of the Government to assist private enterprise in any way in getting hotel sites, building materials and anything else.

“I never in my life saw anything like the fire risk in Rabaul, where countless thousands of pounds’ worth of goods are stored in all sorts of ways into flimsy shacks of a purely temporary character.

There is this tremendous demand in the Territory for goods, which the merchants —both European and Chinese —have tried to meet: but there is apparently no cooperaion from the Government in making building material and facilities available so that suitable stores can be erected.

“In fact, I got the impression all through both Territories that the Government is deliberately withholding reasonable assistance from private enterprise in this matter of building and rehabilitation, simply because the Government is Socialistic and hates private enterprise.

“It was surprising to find that so little had been done to restore the amenities of life in Papua and New Guinea. I understand that, before the war, life in these Territories was reasonably comfortable, and they were generally self-supporting.

To-day, the Government is said to be 66

September, 194 Ff-Pacific Islands Monthly

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Matson Building, 215 Market Street, Agencies Throughout the World. spending millions of pounds in the Territories with a view to native betterment; and, compared with 1949, there is also large additional revenue from the expenditure on oil search and from the much higher price of copra. Yet so little has been done to provide the Territories with reasonable public works and private amenities.”

New System Op Prices Control

From a resident of Port Moresby:— “We have a new Prices Controller now and he appears to be a very busy man. He is introducing in Papua and New Guinea a price-fixing organisation that Canberra apparently expects will do something to reduce the cost of living here.

“We certainly hope that he will be successful.

“He has had a go at the high price of bread. Bread was certainly at a very high level. He has reduced the retail price by a small amount—with the result that one Port Moresby bakery has promptly closed down, with the intimation that it cannot continue to employ European operators and make a profit under the conditions imposed by officialdom —namely, very high cost of material, etc., and a fixed retail price. We now are dependent upon one bakery only—which presumably is more cheaply run because a proportion of natives are employed.

“The official is now reported to be having a crack at the Port Moresby hotel tariffs—which do not seem to be very high, compared with Sydney and Brisbane rates. However, there has been some readjustment and we understand that the war is still going on between the hotel-owners and officialdom.

“I do not think that this heavy-footed method is going to accomplish much in the way of reducing the cost of living here. Prices here really are appalling— but it is not due to the greediness of local traders, but to the enormous cost of everything which has to be brought into this country by air or sea. In other words, if the Government wants to give us real relief it should look to the conditions which it itself has created, as between Australia and the Territories, and not to local trading conditions.”

Questions About Works And

HOUSING Report of an interview with a man who has known the Territories well for 25 years and who has just arrived in Australia:— “I think that, of all the scandalous evidence of maladministration in New Guinea, the prize must be awarded to the Australian Department of Works and Housing.

“In every Islands port visited by the ship on which I travelled, they told me funny stories about the muddle and waste of the teams planted in the different places by Works and Housing.

“Take Samarai, for example. For nine months they have had a Works and Housing team, averaging 10 men, in Samarai. They have had material lying there for a similar period. Yet, believe it or not, nothing worth mentioning has been done in Samarai in the way of either Works or Housing. Samarai was destroyed during the war. They still are without a wharf; and I could not find evidence that even one European bungalow had been built in the place, “There have been teams of Works and Housing men in Lae for a long time, and it is at least 12 months since a supply of steel piles was delivered there. Yet practically nothing has been done to provide Lae with wharfage accommodation.

Furthermore, the port of Lae seems now to be run by European and native wharf labourers who have fanciful ideas about the rates and privileges of workers.

“The experience of the Burns Philp liner, “Bulolo,” at Lae, very recently, is worth quoting. She had 400 tons of cargo 67 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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kemarere street, rabaul and many passengers for Lae. She arrived on a Thursday morning and she should have been out of the place within 24 hours. But on Saturday morning the barges still had not completed unloading and they knocked off on Saturday afternoon and Sunday because, presumably, the week-end is sacred in this workers’ paradise.

“So Captain Rothery, unable to get any guarantee of when his ship would be unloaded, sailed off to Dreger Harbour (Finschhafen) and other ports, and was obliged to call at Lae on his return trip in order to complete discharging. -That is typical. There is not only the enormous cost of discharging by barge, because the Government has failed to supply a suitable wharf; but there is also a further heavy cost of lazy and inefficient labour. The Territories’ people pay for that. , . _ “There are similar conditions in Port Moresby and Rabaul. The Port Moresby wharf is literally falling down and is really dangerous. At Rabaul. they still have only a pontoon wharf, which is costly and unsatisfactory.

“Canberra must have spent millions on these Works and Housing teams. I am told that the men get not less than £l5 per week each—and heaven alone knows what they do for it. They told me in Lae that there were now 60 men there, but no one could say what they were doing.

“High officials of the Administration are quite aware of these unsatisfactory conditions, but they have no authority whatever over Works and Housing. Works and Housing in Papua and New Guinea is directly under the control of the Brisbane office of this Federal Department, and the Administrator at Port Moresby seems to have no authority at all in relation thereto. Administration officials, time and again, have tried to get some sort of control over this farcical set-up, and get some substantial advance made in regard to port conditions, but the control is still held jealously by Canberra.

High officials of Works and Housing come and go in the Territories, countermanding each other’s orders and fighting between themselves. It is an incredible situation, and has to be seen to be believed.

“High and responsible officials have said to me very urgently that if there is need anywhere for a Royal Commission of Inquiry, there is need for one into the operations of Works and Housing in Papua and New Guinea during the past two years.” (Territories Minister Ward stated in Canberra on August 10 that wharves costing £636,000 would be built in Papua and New Guinea “to replace wartime structures which could not be economically repaired.”)

Conference In Port Moresby

•TT is reported in Sydney, that recently 1 there have been urgent conferences in Port Moresby between the Administration, and the shipping interests, in relation to the conditions in the different Territories ports. •It is understood that the shipping companies concerned have made the strongest possible protests to the Administration against the conditions they are forced to put up with in practically all the principal ports—conditions which add seriously to the cost of all transport and of all goods entering the Territories.

The Administration promised that immediate steps would be taken to alleviate some of the worst conditions complained of but little appears to have been done, yet.

It is reported, unofficially, that Canberra has decided to abandon the plan of carrying out important Public Works in the Territories by Works and Housing and that such works will be carried out by private contractors.

Three Killed On A ‘Joyous’

RIDE PAPEETE, August 9.

AT 2 a.m. on Sunday, August 7, a taxi, No. 1428, was carrying homewards to Papeete three revellers, Messrs.

Albert Cowan, Camille Marcantoni and Tuanaa Tuare, who had spent a joyous evening at the cabaret, “Lido.”

M. Cowan took the wheel bv force. He had just induced a native woman, on her way to early morning market, to join them in the car.

By the bridge of Hamuta, the vehicle, which was travelling fast, left the highway and crashed into an electric light pole, knocking it down, and then careering on into a cement post, ending up almost a complete wreck, with the front wheels of the car whirling in the air.

The noise, and cries from the imprisoned passengers, quickly brought aid.

After much trouble, the victims were released, and two were found to be dead— M. Cowan and the unfortunate wayside native woman, Madame Teata Tamatoa a Tuino. M. Tuanaa Tuare later died without regaining consciousness. The chauffeur, Temarii Nadeaud, and Marcantoni, were gravely hurt taut are now out of danger.

A court inquiry is proceeding. Although such accidents are rare in Tahiti, this incident is a warning to all who will drive while inebriated.

In Honiara, BSI on July 12 Miss Mavis Kathleen Wood was married to Mr. J.

Parry, of Yandina, Russell Islands. The ceremony was performed by the acting Resident Commissioner (Mr. J. D. A.

Germond) and the bride was attended by Mrs. W. Gorrie who was herself married only two months ago. 68

September. 194 P Pacific Islands Monthly

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AFRICA

And Ground Nuts

From a Special Correspondent riOUTH AFRICA is a wonderul country, 3 but lam afraid there are many “buts.” If you are interested in conlitions here, I recommend two books— ‘The Beloved Country,” by Allan Baton, ind “Kaffirs are Lively,” by Oliver talker.

Inter-racial feeling is rampant and fear .unrecognised as such) of the natives is iniversal.

Smuts, in his own country, is not the lopular hero that he is when out of it. le is an Empire Statesman of the first rater, but this carries no weight in his >wn country.

I did not see the Rhodesias—only the lastern district of Southern Rhodesia. :hat is a lovely country.

One heard a good deal of talk about he two Rhodesias joining with Nyassamd to form a Dominion. Doubtless, that ventually will take place, but there are ome difficulties yet to be surmounted. )ne is that the native policies of the hree areas differ fundamentally, and anther is that Southern Rhodesia, being he wealthiest of the three, is a little shy f accepting the responsibility of carryig the baby.

Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika should >mbine and form another Dominion. Let s hope they will. Tanganyika is to the Dre at present—but do not take too much otice of what you hear concerning the Iround Nut Scheme. There is much lore to it than that. (The Ground Nut Scheme, to which our Direspondent refers, is of direct interest ) the Pacific Islands. The British plan ) produce almost incalculable quantities f peanuts in East Africa was formulated ) take care of a world shortage of vegeible oils—a shortage that has kept the rice of copra very high since the end I World War 11. Some students of the orld’s vegetable oil situation expect the rice of copra to fall steadily, as the East frican ground-nuts come to market, ut information from many sources inicates that the African ground-nut pronction scheme is suffering all the usual labilities of Socialistic planning— tuddle and delay in implementation, and lormous costs, making the ultimate prouct of little economic use. The British ocialist Government already has spent lany millions of pounds on the African round Nut Scheme, but even its best iends have not yet been able to acclaim s success. In theory it was a good plan -and it might have proved so in pracce had it not had placed upon it the ight of Socialistic operation. The copra 'oducers of the Pacific need not begin to orry, just yet.) Mr, A. Wilson, the Administrator of Nor- >lk Island, with Mrs. Wilson, recently ft the island for NSW and Victoria on inual leave.

Commander William Burrows, lately of iji, went on to London recently from 3Uth Africa and Rhodesia, where he >ent several months. He has lost the ?ht of one eye, and he went to London 1 obtain expert opinion about the condign of his other eye. Expert opinion, )wever, was reassuring. Commander arrows is at present engaged in writing book connected with the experiences of s YF y iHteresting life; but indications ’e that he will soon return to Fiji. 69 AOIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY-SEPTEMBER. 1949

Census No. of Mixed Per cent, of Mixed Bloods in Total Island Group Date Bloods Pop.

Cook Is 1945 1.910 14.0 Niue 1945 211 4.9 Tonga 1938 477 1.4 W. Samoa ... . 1947 . 5,134 7.1 Am. Samoa .. 1938 1,303 10.1 Fiji 1946 6,142 2.3 Gilbert & Ell. . . 1947 523 1.5

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Mixed Blood In Polynesia

Examination of Some Unusual Social Problems This article, by Ernest Beaglehole, of Victoria University College, was published in the last issue of “The Journal of the Polynesian Society,” of Wellington, NZ.

OVER the past century and a half race- * mixture has been faMv continuous in the Polynesian islands of the Pacific From the time of their discovery most islands have carried a numerically small alien population which has mixed with the island population.

A characteristic frontier society during this period, the alien elements were initially European men —runaway sailors, beachcombers, traders. Only the missionaries brought their wives. The other Europeans mated freely with the hospitable Polynesian islanders.

Later intrusive elements were Asiatics, Indians, a few Negroes and a few Japanese. With the exception of the Indians, these later-comers also mixed with the indigenous inhabitants.

The position to-day, therefore, is that the population of Polynesia consists of an unknown number of pure-blood Polynesians and an equally unknown number of mixed-bloods. Keesing is of the opinion that at least one-ninth to onetenth of those who claim pure Polynesian ancestry to-day are of mixed heredity, and of those who claim to be nonnatives, a proportion certainly are of mixed blood.

The number of mixed-bloods in Polynesia is difficult to calculate with any accuracy, for two reasons. One is the fact that, over a century and a half of contact, distant intermarriages of several generations ago may well have been forgotten, or the intermixture of European blood may have come from passing liaisons which were forgotten as readily and as easily as they were formed. No shame has been involved, merely the forgetfulness of an easy-going people, with no handeddown European surname to keep memories alive.

The second reason is that Pacific census statistics more often than not classify according to legal and social concepts rather than follow biological classifications of the population. Hence the position in Samoa, where many without European blood are legally classified as Europeans.

A sufficiently accurate summary of the claimed number of mixed bloods in sample Polynesian population is given in the following table: — Reliable statistics for the French Establishment are not available owing to changes made by the French from time to time in their census enumerations.

For south and west Polynesia, however, the range of mixed bloods in the general population is from 1.4 to 14 per cent.

But, as already indicated, these percentages undoubtedly underestimate the actual amount of race mixing, even though the range of percentages probably gives a rough idea of the relative amounts of intermixing in the populations concerned. In many island groups in addition to those noted in the table, the number of mixed bloods have been materially increased by war-time garrisons of armed forces. A recent estimate, for example, indicates that in Aitutaki, Lower Cook Group, about 70 of a total of some 800 children under the age of five years are of recent mixed American-Aitutaki descent. 70

September, 19 4? Pacific Islands Monthly

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PROMPT ATTENTION— PROMPT DELIVERY—GUARANTEED QUALITY STOCK Apart from special war-time circumstances and with the exception of areas where separate mixed blood groups exist, there has always been a tendency for the mixed blood to marry back into the indigenous population. Thus there is a tendency in many islands for the mixedblood to be absorbed biologically and socially into the dominant native population. leaving behind only Polynesian variants of European names as evidence of previous European contact.

By the time European mixture has been diluted to a thirty-second or a sixtyfourth, as must be the case many times over in the Cook Islands, for instance, the influence of European heredity must be negligible biologically, and survive socially only in some vague family tradition or cherished inconsequential family heirloom.

THE biological position in Polynesia may now be summarised briefly. A large but unknown proportion of the oopulation of most Polynesian islands is of mixed European and/or Asiatic and Polynesian stocks. In many cases, the ilien blood has been absorbed comnletely oy the dominant Polynesian strains.

The Polynesian was a mixed-blood vhen he entered the Pacific: and the century or more that have passed since liscovery and contact with western Eurooean culture have merely continued a orocess of race mixing that has always nade Polynesia one of the oldest mixing jowls of the world.

If attention is now focussed on the social and economic status of the Polynesian mixed-blood, there appears to ;xist two rather sharply differentiated ittitudes to this status, probably stemning ultimately from historical influences mplicit in the type of European and the ype of settlements that were characeristic of different island groups. In the last and south Pacific, French or British nave established a status of tolerance and icceptance for the mixed-blood.

In the west, notably in Samoa, German nfluence (and then a continuance of German tradition by New Zealand) set ip a marginal mixed-blood community übject to various social disadvantages, nd giving rise to-day to difficult probems of adjustment among the members )f this part-Samoa group. It may be rarth while analysing briefly the diferences in this respect between east and zest Polynesia in order to set the social iroblem of the Polynesian mixed-blood a its proper perspective.

French Oceania ns an example of the widest tolerance being granted to offspring of inter-racial matings.

It has always been French colonial policy to avoid setting up a separate socially underprivileged class and to endeavour by every means to absorb mixed bloods into already existing social groups.

Thus the 1931 census of French Settlements makes it possible to classify the population into four racial groups: whites (French and Europeans), Oceanians (French citizens and French subjects), Asiatics (Syrians, Chinese, Japanese), and Others (Foreign Oceanians and floating native population). No mixed-bloods thus appear in the census classifications and to all intents and purposes there is social and economic equality for all the population groups under French oceanic jurisdiction.

In the Cook Islands there is similar social and economic equality. Although the 1945 Population Census continues the New Zealand practice of reporting the numbers of full-blood and native-Europeans under the three classifications of full-native, three-quarter native and halfnative, the figures must be accepted with such serious reservations that it is doubtful whether they have even a rough approximate value.

In any case, there is no mixed-blood problem in the Cook Islands. The Cook Islanders are singularly unconscious of race distinction. All natives, whatever their ancestry, are immediately absorbed into native life and participate equally in the values of native society.

There is a small population of 180 Europeans in all the Cook Islands—no more than one per cent, of the total population.

The Europeans comprise planters, traders, administrative officials and missionaries, their wives and children. Over 68 ner cent, were residents of more than five years’ standing, 50 per cent, of ten years or over, and 29 per cent, had exceeded twenty years of island residence. Thus, apart from a small minority who live for short periods in the Cook Islands the majority live there for substantial periods

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THE position in Western Samoa is very different from the tolerant eastern Pacific. Much of this difference must be due to the fact that German, British and, under Mandate, New Zealand administration has, unlike the French, introduced into Samoa the racial consciousness and prejudice of Anglo- Saxon colonial society.

Successive censuses have set up statistical and social distinctions which have resulted, in Samoa, in the development of a segregated social group, known officially as Europeans of part-Samoan ancestry. Some 93 per cent, of this group consist of local-born part-Samoans, mixed-bloods who would have disappeared into the native societies of French Oceania or the Cook Islands, but who remain in Samoa an artificial group creating strain and tension in the whole of Samoan society.

Two points about this part-Samoan group are important to notice. First, the group is increasing very rapidly, and the majority being at the pre-productive age level, a further rapid increase can be confidently expected. The second point is that the definition of a part-Samoan has passed far beyond the simplicities of racial ancestry and is now purely a concept with a complicated legal definition, which refers operationally to legal rights and limitations in regard to such matters as land-holding, schooling, court procedures.

The part-Samoan thus suffers from a number of serious disadvantages, and in return he is privileged to enjoy the doubtful value of being a European, but a European with a big difference, a second-rate European in other words, who enjoys less favourable wages and other conditions of employment than personnel recruited from New Zealand.

That the distinctions which define this part-Samoan group are to-day purely arbitrary and technical is shown by the manner in which European status may be acquired. Europeans of part-Samoan ancestry are defined as (a) the legitimate descendants in the male line of Europeans; (b) persons with not more than 50 per cent. Samoan blood who petition the Court for European status; (c) persons not of Samoan status whose male ancestors have not more than 75 pr cent, of Polynesian blood.

Out of these technicalities, the situation arises where a person may be denied European status because his father was a full Samoan, but granted this status if his father were a full Chinese or Melanesian labourer.

It is estimated that about 15 per cent, of the “Europeans” in the territory possess not even the slightest trace of European or white ancestry in their racial make-up. Because of the sense of social superiority implicit in being a European many part-Samoans prefer European to Samoan status. Thus, up to March Sl. 1947 541 part-Samoans have petitioned for and been granted European status while only 27 with European status have petitioned to become Samoans, and of these three subsequently repetitioned to become Europeans.

These figures suggest that whatever the discrimination implicit J n _ traded as a European of part-Samoan ancestry many more mixed-bloods prefer Status than that 9 f being a Samoan.

Racial discrimination is, therefore a part of nresent-day Samoan society, with skin colom 5 influencing the kind and amount of schooling and hospital attention a person receives.

This discrimination, this “ranking source of deep-seated irritation, requires careful analysis with a. view to its. elimination unless the strain and tension of a conflict of interests are going to continue to upset the harmony of Samoan social and political life.

TTnrrmeans of part-Samoan descent have contributed greatly in the past and continue to d 0 so to-day, to the economic and social leadership of the Territory^ b?o e odf h live h bar d ely m above a subsistence 72 SEPTEMBER, 1949-PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHL

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To draw these part-Samoans into the great society that is modem Samoa, to utilise their skills and their capacities for leadership, and at the same time not antagonise the pure Samoan population will require, during the next decades, statesmanship of high order. But the task is worth trying, if for no other reason than that at present Samoa stands out as an unfortunate exception to a more humane, wiser, general Polynesian pattern of behaviour towards the mixed-blood.

IT is curious that the one island group in Polynesia where the mixed-blood is a social problem and where personality integration for the mixed-blood should be so difficult to achieve is Samoa.

Hawaii and New Zealand, the far north and far south of Polynesia, have presented few social problems for the mixedblood. East and south-east. French Oceania and the Cook Islands have absorbed those of mixed alien blood both biologically and socially.

The west alone stands out. Why, it is hard to say. Frontier life, large seaports are found elsewhere in Polynesia. Is the problem, therefore, a heritage from German tradition and were consuls, German business men, administrators, and sons af missionaries so ashamed of association with Samoans that they unconsciously quietened their guilt by segregating the mixed blood? Some psychological explanation is probably the correct one because neither purely social nor economic factors are sufficiently unique for Samoa o make socio-economic explanations completely plausible.

Some authorities are of the opinion that the basic prejudice against mixed-bloods in Samoa arises primarily from the So v* 16 ™ fri V 0 * true t ? at Ipl ?^ n ohnn l } r nj>i§ a S. (^^r.c : Spe 'o! C <- R ' S t?°w , oL^ But * is ftj®9 highly probable, m Keesing notes, that mucil of thls discrimination is simply a reflection on the part of the Samoan of attitudes and opinions about the mixedblood which the Samoan has acquired from the white officials, Before the German administration of Samoa, little, if any stigma was attached to the mixed-blood. His problems, therefore, are to-day typically those of a 73

Aoi F Tc Islands Monthly— September, 1949

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Western Papua Notes From Our Own Correspondent DARU, August 20.

THREE European carpenters from the Department of Works & Housing are now busily engaged on construction of the two pre-fabricated houses landed some months ago. One of these is for the Doctor the other for the District Labour Officer. Progress of construction has been notable, and the writer has seen local natives watching with evident interest, and possibly some amazement, the speed with which the buildings go up.

Ambitious Merchant

In a local store the other day the following conversation took place between the storekeeper and a local native.

Storekeeper: “Yes, what you want?”

LN: “You want buy tie?”

Storekeeper: “How much?”

LN: “One pound ten. This is a good one. I get him from Mr. So and So’s store in Port Moresby.”

Storekeeper: “No, thanks, too dear.”

Local native departs, still holding crumpled tie in his hand.

This happened after the visit of Judge Gore, on Supreme Court Circuit, and possibly the native had noticed that ties were more in evidence than usual and thought they were worth something.

Court Procedure

At the Supreme Court sittings, presided over by Judge Gore, one of the cases, a charge of murder, was interesting, insofar as the body was not found.

A native from Lake Murray was charged with the murder of a young native girl, aged seven years, and he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to seven years, with hard labour.

In these cases it is noteworthy that Court procedure is different from the form usually known in Australia. Here, the Judge is, to all intents and purposes, Prosecutor, Judge and Defence, rolled into one. This system has been followed for many years in this Territory.

VISITORS Mr. Lyall Lush, artist and publisher, of Adelaide, was a guest recently of the Unevangelised Fields Mission at Wasua.

Mr. Lush was investigating the possibility of publishing books suitable for native school children. Some of his drawings of natives and river scenery were outstanding.

Mrs. E. Standen, of the Bamu River Mission, visited Port Moresby recently and, whilst there, gave a talk over 9PA on Mission work in the Bamu River area.

Mrs. N. Zammit, of Cairns, accompanied by her two children, has just completed a visit to her parents’ home at Daru.

She returned via Thursday Island on Mr.

T. Holland’s vessel, the Pauline.

Mr. H. P. Beach has completed his fiftieth anniversary since first coming to this Division. He is at present the BNG Trading Co.’s manager on Daru.

A son was born in Port Moresby, Papua, recently to Mr. and Mrs. T. Rosser.

Tarawa Memorial

22 Victims of Atrocity Commemorated A PERMANENT memorial has been erected on Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands to commemorate the 17 New Zealanders and five other Europeans who were murdered by Japanese on October 15, 1942. The New Zealanders were serving in the group as soldiers and radio operators in a coast-watching detachment.

Officers and men of the NZ frigate Taupo, which returned to Auckland on August 8, after visiting the Gilbert Group, said a temporary memorial erected by the Americans from the trunks of coconut palms had now been replaced by a permanent concrete structure. It was most appropriately designed and merged harmoniously into its surrounding of coral and palms. The names of the men killed in the massacre were perpetuated on a plaque designed in the form of a book of honour.

Tarawa itself has not recovered from the ravages it suffered during the heavy fighting of the Pacific war. The atolls on which there was battle have had to be replanted with young coconut trees and the beaches and reefs are still littered with the abandoned wreckage of barges, landing craft and small ships of many kinds. The land, too, is dotted with the remnants of huge dumps of rusted vehicles, aeroplane engines, army huts and military stores. Once worth millions of pounds, they are now reduced to the value of junk.—New Zealand Herald. 74

September, 194 9’— Pacific Islands Monthly

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Cable Address : Telephone : Postal Address: ‘Steamships,” Port Moresby Moresby, 476 Port Moresby, Papua 75 OIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

GODEFFROY His Influence on Early Events In S. Pacific THE colonies which Germany possessed in the Pacific before World War I. and which, as former Mandates, are now Trusteeship Territories administered by various nations, formed only a part of the commercial sphere of influence German enterprise had created during the last half of last century and the first decade of this, in the far islands of the South Seas.

Without the backing of their Government and the protection of its flag, German merchants had gone overseas and laid the foundations of a commercial empire stretching from the coasts of China to the South American continent.

The pioneers of this enterprise were Hamburg merchants, and prominent among them were the Godeffroy family.

The Godeffroys were Huguenots, driven from France after the abolition of the Edict of Nantes, and migrating via Holland to Hamburg. Here, by industry and enterprise, they soon advanced into the first ranks of the commercial oligarchy of the important city. Frederick the Great of Prussia acknowledged the valuable services of the Godeffroys to trade and industry, in Prussia, after the Seven Years’ War. They made the linen of Silesia, the most important product of the European market.

During the textile Napoleonic era the Godeffroys, in spite of their French origin, proved themselves as German patriots, and contributed large sums for the equipment of the Hamburg military forces.

Thirty years later, when war with Denmark threatened and Hamburg Port was blockaded, they bore the cost of equipping warships.

AT that time, the peak of Godeffroy prosperity seemed to have been reached. They had branches in Havana and South America, and the fleet of ships under the Godeffroy house flag was considerable.

Then, in the year 1857, Johann Cesar Godeffroy took over the management and a new spirit at once manifested itself in the firm’s policy. From the West Coast of South America, from Valparaiso, Godeffroy’s ships emerged into the mysterious island world of the South Seas, full of riches but full also of dangers and unknown risks, and awaiting exploration and exploitation. Slavers and blackbirders from Peru and Chile had brought thousands of natives from the South Sea Islands to South America to perish there miserably in the mines. Adventurous whalers had returned from their travels with exciting tales of pearl and tortoise shell islands.

Unshelm, manager for Godeffroy at Valparaiso, resolved on the exploration of the mysterious islands, which had become the grave of so many audacious seafarers. From Magellan to Captain Cook, Portuguese, Spanish and British seaheroes had been murdered by the cannibals of the South Seas. Woe to the crew of the ship which happened to be struck by one of the deadly hurricanes of that region! Whoever managed to escape from shipwreck became a victim of the poisoned spears of the cannibals.

But behind all the tales of dangers and privations, of burning heat and tormenting thirst, of the terrors of the hurricanes and the atrocities of the cannibals, there remained a picture of happy and carefree islands with smiling, good-natured inhabitants, flower-girded girls who welcomed the strangers with winning friendliness. Many a stranded sailor had won the love of a dusky princess and, with her, a kingdom.

After several exploratory trips undertaken by Unshelm in secrecy, he became convinced that trade in the South Sea would be far more profitable than coastal trade in South America. With iron energy, he established everywhere in the islands new trading stations, and Hamburg schooners, under the houseflag of the Godeffroys, in increasing numbers appeared in all parts of the South Seas.

They brought pearls from the atolls, trepang to China and coconut oil to Hamburg.

Parseeing Unshelm had selected Samoa as headquarters for his widespread activities. Samoa, populated by an intelligent race, had been converted to Christianity by British and French missionaries. Here Unshelm leased land from the natives and started large plantations.

The coconut tree is the lifeblood of the South Seas. It grows in the poorest soil and supplies the natives with much of their needs. The fibre gives him ropes and mats. The nut supplies him with cooling drink and with food. The shell provides dishes and cups.

Unshelm suffered the fate of so many great seafarers. On an inspection trip his ship was struck by a hurricane and sank with all the crew.

UNSHELM’S successor, Theodor Weber, had arrived in Samoa at the age of 18 years, and he continued Unshelm s work with renewed energy. Dramatic struggles with the natives on distant islands—where he recruited the labourers for his plantations—fights with pirates— of whom he cleaned the South Seas — marked the road of the young Hamburg merchant, who was predestined to play an important political role. First Consul of the Free City of Hamburg, later Consul of the North German Federation and still later of the German Empire he concluded the treaties with the Chiefs in the South Sea Islands, which prepared the way for a German Colonial Empire in the Pacific Ocean.

The time had not come yet for German colonies. The Fiji Islands, Tonga and Samoa asked the North German Federation and. later, the German Empire foi a German Protectorate; but the idea ot colonial acquisitions then found no support in the German Fatherland.

However, the British anticipated the danger that threatened from the fastgrowing German commercial interests, in a Blue Book published in 1872, the then Prime Minister of New Zealand. Sir Julius Vogel, discussed the German danger in the South Seas. The many ‘factories of Godeffroy in the South Seas were enumerated, and he said that they represented a bridge across the whole of the Pacific Ocean, from the coast of Chile to India. Over one hundred ships under tne Godeffroy houseflag were counted by the New Zealander. He said England should hurry, else the black, white and red flag would soon wave over every South Sea island.

JOHANN CESAR GODEFFROY did not limit his activities to the South Seas.

He spent immense sums on the development of the Ruhr coal mining industry, to compete against English coal.

He also invested heavily in railway construction, which only much later became profitable.

As a result of this over-extension, the firm found itself in grave financial difficulties and. in spite of all the efforts of friends and members of the family, it was liquidated. Berlin bankers then took action to save the South Seas enterprise and formed the Deutsche Handels & Plantagen Gesellschaft der Suedsee-Inseln. the famous “long handle” firm.

The foundation for the German colonies in the South Seas thus had been laid long before Bismarck, in 1884, decided to take over Protectorates for the German Empire. The 30-years period of the German colonies in the South Seas will always be closely connected with the name of Johann Cesar Godeffroy, whose ships explored and opened up the island world of the South Seas.—A. M. GURAU.

Footnote: Although the Godeffroy family had so great an influence on the early South Pacific, the only Godeffroy who ever came to the South Seas was August, a younger brother of Johann Cesar. He was a kind of wandering black sheep of the family. He married in Sydney in 1881 and died in Capetown in 1900. (See articles in PIM of November. 1948, and March, 1949.) Fiji Does Not Want A Change Reports on Liquor Bill, Constitution Inconclusive SUVA, August 8.

TWO reports of Select Committees which were tabled at this month’s session of the Legislative Council of Fiji, seem likely to remain in that indefinite state.

The report of the committee of unofficial members set up to investigate possible changes into the Colony’s constitution revealed, as most observers expected, an entanglement of conflicting views.

The report makes one thing clear, however—a new constitution is of little interest to anybody in the Colony, outside minority political groups.

In such a matter the Fijians obviously hold the key position and the limited number of Fijians who responded to the Committee’s well-publicised appeals for expressions of opinion were mainly against any change in the constitution.

Both inside and outside the committee, the Hindu-Muslim political feud was once again brought to light; the Muslims, in the face of Hindu opposition, firmly demanding separate representation.

In the end, the committee produced a report in which the only important recommendation was that all the five European and five Indian unofficial members should be elected (at present two of each group are nominated); and that the five Fijian members should be elected by the Great Council of Chiefs without reference to the Governor This report, however, was virtually nullified by no fewer than three minority reports from the chairman (Mr. A. A. Hagg) and Hindu and Muslim representatives.

EVEN greater confusion is disclosed by the report of the committee on the controversial Liquor Bill. It states that it was found impossible to reach unanimity on any of the questions considered. , ~ . , .

Two minority reports are attached to the majority report, which suggests a liquor permit system for all races as a means of avoiding the lifting of all restrictions on the Indians while retaining them for the Fijians (as proposed in the Bill) and at the same time meeting the Indian political demand for equalitj with the Europeans.

Mrs. E. W. Maclean, formerly of New Guinea, who has been living for some time in Sydney, left by the Bulolo for Rabaul, en route to Sohano, Buka Passage. She will make her future home with her son, Mr. Colin Maclean now ADO at Sohano. 76

September. 134? Pacific Islands Mont H I. I

One Of The World’S

Wonder-Sights

Miles of MOW ICE See New Zealand's

Franz Josef-Glacier

From the Air !

NOWHERE else in the world can you see an eight-mile long river of ice framed in an evergreen setting of sub-tropical forest. Franz Josef is one of the scenic wonders of the world. Why not take the holiday you’ve promised yourself . . . relax in comfort, in scenic surroundings? Travel in comfort too, by N.A.C. aircraft that land you fresh and unweary two hundred yards from th“ hotel door. mmm

Hotel Accommodation

Comfortable accommodation and attentive service is provided by the Government Tourist Department's Hotel at the foot of the Glacier.

-At Your Service

New Zealand National Airways Corporation provides a network of air services throughout the Dominion and the South-west Pacific. General Agents in the Dominion for British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines and Trans-Australia Airlines. Booking Agents for Tasman Empire Airways, Qantas Empire Airways, the 8.0.A.C. and other overseas airlines.

Offices and Agents throughout New Zealand and the South-west Pacific 37 77 AOIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLIT SEPTEMBER, 1949

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Showing The Flag In The Atolls

The Navy's Miscellaneous Jobs THE New Zealand frigate, Taupo, had 1 some interesting experiences amrnig . a O S nnn° Paci ? c ’ in the course of an 8,000 miles cruise in June and July. The warship returned to Auckland in August. The New W Zealand eS HSaId r ° m an artlcle m the New Herald.

Nothing impressed the ship’s company more than the signs of a simple and still-Victorian loyalty which they saw on isolated and rarely-visited ;slands - Dozens of native huts on palm-fringed itolls along the equator were adorned vith tattered but still prized photographs .f the Royal Family. Faded Union JadS -not always the right way up-flew iravely from poles and palms, hundreds )f questions were asked about the King md Queen and gifts of a New Zealand ;nsign to each community drew more gratitude than parcels of sweets and o°d.

The simplicity of island life was well llustrated at Nui a reef-encircled island a the Ellice Group, a few miles south f the equator. The atoll’s best orators welcomed the ship, loyalty was extolled nd a mountain of fruit and handicrafts fas offered as a gift to the sailors aiL io tne sailors.

Then an elder presented the island’s ne plea. “A few of us old ones have sen a movie but none of the young eople or children has any idea of the ehghts of the screen ” he said. “How id it would be if they were to grow £r P r h mo P vie 6 and affable to'pal a the story to their children.”

That night 150 people from the little community got their movies. A fireworks display and some gunfire were added for extra measure. moUGHEST of many tough landings A through reefs and surf faced the Taupo’s men at Nuilakita, a midget island also in the Ellice Group.

A heavy sea was pounding on the reef when the frigate made a cautious approach at dawn and, while Commander Bourke investigated an uncharted ledge J 8 a ai J. cllo £ age ’ a canoe headed * ron } the be ach through the towering breakers. A second canoe, which also Ta P dlv°d~d he WaS back, badly damaged. . Tbe first canoe brought the native wireless operator and meteorological re- Pfter to the ship He told a sad story of radio equipment that had been out of a ction for two months and Lieutenant Gr. Carr and a petty-officer radio the journey ashore * VvJLi ■ ~ t SS ugh f the + ■ 6 P arty , was landed, but a furdamaged* bevond 6 'use** 1 thC Can ° 6 b6ing .. . . 9^ er then had to be found of getting the men back to the ship but, reconnoitring the landing in a 16 ft skiff, Commander Bourke found that the only passage through the reef was a small tapering channel. It was barely 12 ft wide and subject to continuous and heavy breakers. y thr? haTa/d tow* a° f eXy'floa! as near as possible to the reef! anchor aVe“hSe way hawser could then be set up to number of passengers ancTgifts^of 1 muchneeded stores were landed for the podulation of 11 males, seven females and nine children u In return for the first flmir hr^cri sweets and tobacco they had m Tri months or even years, the natives insisted on showing their gratitude with eggs, coconuts and the scrawniest chickens mos t of the sailors had ever seen, TJERE at Nuilakita there was only one A request from islanders who were seeing their first British ship since 1937.

It was that the sailors, with traditional versatility, should stalk and kill one of the atoll ’= ei « ht wild which had repeatedly eluded capture. It was wanted for a King’s birthday feast The Navy agreed but the cows' it seemed, had their spies That Tf’ternoon no trace of them could be found At Tarawa, scene of some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific war, the Tauoo carried out a survey of channels and anchorages in the maze of coral reefs, T . Hal , f -way between Fiji and Ocean Island, a search was also made for ? atches of submerged land which had been reported by passing ships. Evidence was obtained of a chain of shallows with a least depth of 15 fathoms. ■ r ' ■ mu r JE!?^em C nniP? vcrnment has agreed to of Tahitf of ,o whiS r t2nnnnn°win h h Col °u y ol Tahiti of which $200,000 will be availhf Siadl 79 OIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1940

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Dollars Are Troubling W. Samoa Now From Our Own Correspondent APIA, Aug. 1.

JS indicated elsewhere in this issue, Western Samoa, too, is now facing the “dollar problem.” Hitherto the Territory was a substantial dollarearner, with its cocoa, which was sold to the United States, and, as its dollar requirements were comparatively small, no great restrictions were placed on the importation of dollar country goods.

However, the price of cocoa has now dropped and the whole Empire dollar position has worsened. New Zealand therefore wants Western Samoa to come into line and, with this in view, the Finance Committee of the Western Samoan Legislative Assembly, in mid- July, had discussions with the HZ High Commissioner, Mr. G. R. Powles, the Fautua, and the Secretary- Treasurer of Western Samoa, Mr. J.

B. Wright. They did not seem to make any more headway with the solution of the 'problem than have the more sophisticated politicians and theorists on the other side of the world.

THE High Commissioner outlined the dollar problem which confronted members of those countries (not confined to British Commonwealth countries) which were members of the Central Dollar Pool of the Sterling area. He said that Western Samoa now had a nine-year contract for its output of copra with the British Ministry of Food and its exports of cocoa to America were not sufficient to pay for the present volume of imports from that country. It was apparent that more control over the expenditure of dollar funds was essential.

He said that he had interviewed representatives of the local Chamber of Commerce who had expressed their willingness to co-operate in control which would result in a reduction of dollar expenditure. On the whole, both the merchants of Western Samoa and the Government felt that a monetary rather than a commodity control would have the desired effect without calling for a great increase in staffs.

The Hon. Tofa, chairman of the Finance Committee, said that as a basii for any decision in the matter, accurate statistics were needed to show Westerr Samoa’s needs from the dollar area anc the amount of dollars available for expenditure. He asked whether Samos actually was a member of the Centra Dollar Pool, or if it was not simply i case of Samoa being in a position U spend the dollars earned by exports to America. On being assured that th Territory was a member of the Pool h spoke of current rumours of a devalu ation of the British pound. He though New Zealand might, in such a case, tak similar action in respect of the Nei Zealand £ to which the Samoan £ wa tied. He thought the Samoan £ shout be made independent of the New Zealan £ and that it should be a matter fo Samoa to decide what would be best, t given circumstances, rather than follow New Zealand automatically.

The High Commissioner said that th value of a country’s currency depende on its financial stability and Samoa corn decide what value the Samoan £ was t bear in relation to £ sterling. To de predate it would not necessarily be bad thing for the country.

The Secretary-Treasurer agreed wit the Hon. Tofa that expert advice t sought and stated that the question c the effect of a currency change on tt Samoan economy should be treated £ a separate problem.

Mr. Powles reminded the Comnntw that in making the Samoan £ mdeper dent, they would have to consider *>&<*** for the currency and the general questic of financial links with New Zeal£ m through the Bank of New Zealand ar the Post Office Savings Bank.

On this note the conference ended. . was agreed to seek further expert advij on the question of separation of tl currencies and also the views of tl New Zealand Government. 80

September, 194 E-P A C I F I C Islands Monxhi

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Mr. Ward Is Politically Unhappy SOME Australian newspapers are speculating about the political future of Mr. E. J. Ward, known to residents of Papua and New Guinea as Australian Minister for the Territories.

Mr. Ward spent all 1948 and a good part of 1949 fighting a series of charges made against him in connection with New Guinea timber leases. He emerged from lengthy court and Royal Commission inquiries with his political reputation unscathed.

But, during that period, he seemed to ose his position in the Parliamentary Labour Party as runner-up to the Deputy Prime Minister. It is said that Dr. Evatt no longer fears him.

Then came the coal strike, and Mr.

IJhifley’s shadow-sparring with the Comnunists, in the course of which he emfioyed the troops, Mr. Ward got offlide in this—he criticised the Prime Minister. There is a rebellion within the 3 arty, but he did steer clear of that.

There is a very strong anti-Chifley jabour group now in East Sydney—Mr.

Vard’s electorate. There are also, there, l large number of staunch friends of rock Garden, who went to gaol after naking various timber-lease charges igainst Mr. Ward—which the judge reected.

There has been juggling with electoral )oundaries. East Sydney has lost a lice of its Labour voters. Even in the Id days, East Sydney was not always jabour. “Dicky” Orchard held it for mg years, as a non-Labour seat; and fr. Ward lost it once to a doughty ghter named Clasby. Mr. Clasby died three weeks after his victory, and Mr Ward returned on the by-election.

Watch the East Sydney figures on election night (December 10). They may be interesting.

Dr. K. J. Gilchrist, Surgeon Specialist with the Medical Department, Fiji, has accepted a transfer to Nigeria as Surgeon Specialist. Dr. Gilchrist was in Australia in September, Mr. J. G. Garnett, who recently returned to Fiji after leave, after being seconded to the British Service in Tonga for U years, is now on the staff of the Public Relations Office.

Mr. J. W. Gittins, Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Fiji, has been appointed District Commissioner. Southern, to replace Mr. G. K. Roth, who is ill. Mr.

Gittins will continue his duties as Registrar of Co-operatives but will have assistance. 81 AOIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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September. 194 P-Pacific Islands Monthl

United States Tackles Health Problems With Realism OVER a year ago the United States announced an ambitious lealth programme for the »0,000 natives in their Pacific rrust Territory of Mariana, Caroline and Marshall slands. Since then, as these (ictures show, Uncle Sam, hrough the US Navy, has een translating promises ino accomplished fact.

First step is to carry out complete health check of le inhabitants who live on le Territory’s 100 small slands, scattered over two lilion square miles of ocean, he small cargo vessel, USS /hidbey, was fitted up as floating medical centre, >mplete with doctors, densts and medical orderlies id technicians, and began taking her rounds of the lands just over 12 months ;o.

One of Whidbey’s most imirtant jobs is to locate ses of leprosy and transit sufferers to Tinian, lere a new Leper Colony -s been set up under young ivy doctor, Lieutenant J. . Millar. As far as the )ers are concerned, this ten constitutes a rescue as ;quently they have been andoned on small islets by fir families who fear the lease. In their new village Tinian, they live in small )ups in well-ventilated uses, enjoy balanced diet 3 have the benefit of the est drugs for leprosy atment. rhe second arm of the Uth service is the setting up of subpensaries on all inhabited islands, ese are manned by native health-aides o are trained in first-aid and the atment of minor ailments. Navy doc- 3 v1 Elands at regular inter - S ‘ more advanced treatment called for, patients are taken to .net dispensaries which are staffed medical and dental officers; or, if essary, to the Memorial Hospital at am. (Guam is a separate US terri- 7 and not part of the trusteeship), ventually, the health aides now servant the sub-dispensaries are to be re- ’ed by native men and women who e received professional training in dental and nursing practice, h this in view schools have been set at Guam to train the islanders in medical arts, A four-year course is red. Students are chosen on the s of intelligence, leadership, characand good health. Those who qualify . Perform the duties of their proions with the least possible superhe United States pays for training living expenses of the students. After pleting their studies, students are d to serve as paid employees of Civil Administration for a specified od. In most cases they will be ased to islands of their origin, ; Sydney early September, Mr. Gerald nee, of New Ireland, was married to 5 Margaret Murphy, of Sydney. The >le will make their home on a D.iaul id plantation (Djaul is off New Ire- ) and will leave Australia on the •ber Bulolo.

Samoan Boxers In Australia

THESE three Samoan boxers (from left to right, Tamasi Kilipati, Samu Kilipati and Talusaga Kilipati) are all members of a well-known Samoan family, and they come from the village of Saluafata. They were successful boxers in their own country; then, in 1945, they went to New Zealand, where they spent three years; and, in recent months, they have been wandering about Australia, attending shows and fetes, and giving boxing displays under the direction of a boxing entrepreneur.

Boxing Muddle In Fiji

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, August 28.

Dissatisfaction at the lack of effective organisation of boxing in Fiji (professional boxing—the amateur sport is virtually non-existent, despite a wealth of splendid material) is steadily mounting.

Nominally the Boxing and Wrestling Association of Fiji is in control, but except for a handful of enthusiasts, who do their best without backing, the Association is moribund.

An entirely new amateur body should be formed, composed of practical enthusiasts who are interested in sport as spprt, first, and as a commercial enterprise second. Such a body would have a hard struggle to get established on a financial footing unless its backers were prepared to support it as a valuable community service. With the profit motive eliminated, boxing could at least be developed for its own sake, while professional boxing could continue to flourish profitably without harming anyone.

Photographs show (top left): Yap Islanders visit their local dispensary to get nenicillin treat ment for Yaws; (top right): Travelling dentist, Dr. Aaron A. Jaffe, prepares to pull an aching too hon Ailinglapalap atoll—an Army veteran employed by the Navy, he wears in his hair a flower lei given him by his Patient . At lower left, Lieutenant Jack Millar, Navy doctor in charge of the new leper colony on Tinian, chats with a patient. Lieut. Millar has his wife an baby daughter with him on the island. The leper colony is shown, lower right. It was set up on Tinian Island one year ago. Patients live in individual cabins. There is accommodation for 100 in the colony. —Photo by US Information Service. 83 CIFIC ISLANDS MONTH LY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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'Order Of The Crown

OF TONGA’ [?]tory of a Now Defunct Decoration By F. T. Goedicke-van Asten WONDER how many people of this generation have heard the story of the short-lived, now defunct, decora- >n called “The Order of the Crown of mga.” I have written the following tide from notes made in my diary at e time.

On March 3, 1913, I received orders jm the Premier of Tonga to look after e Works Department, while the forem of Works was absent at Niufoo. I ls also told to go with carpenters and her labourers to the Island of otutabu, to erect two large cement iter cisterns and four large Tonga uses, as the Government had decided establish a Leper Station on the island d had voted £lOO for the upkeep.

When I heard the amount, I smiled, had been on Molokai, while residing the Hawaiian Islands, and I had seen 5 leper establishment there—a hospital, ctors’ and nurses’ quarters, a church, kehouse, laundry, workshop, and many ler buildings. I knew that thousands pounds would be needed to keep this per Station going. [ remembered that when Queen Emma, Hawaii, founded the Queen Emma ispital, she ipstituted an Hawaiian der, “the Order of Kamehameha I”, d the fees connected with the Order nt towards the upkeep of the hospital. : thought it would be a good idea if ng George Tubou II would institute a Tonga Decoration. On April 6, 1013, 1 proposed it to the King, and my proposal was at once accepted, and the “Order of the Crown of Tonga” was founded.

There were four classes: Knight Grand Commander, Grand Commander, Commander, and Officer. The Motto was “God and Tonga are my Inheritance”, and the ribbon was red and white. H.

M. George Tabou II was Patron, Captain Fein (partner in the firm Grunner & Rossin, of Hamburg) was Royal Commissioner, and F. T. Goedicke was Chancellor and Registrar.

The first shipment of the Order, four of each kind, arrived in Nukualofa on August 16, 1914. They were beauties, 15 carat gold, a real triumph of the goldsmith’s craft.

On August 17, the King invited the Chief Justice (Mr. Skeen) and Rev. M.

Watkins, to the Palace; and he asked Mr. Watkins, as his Chaplain, to decorate him with ttie Insignia of Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Tonga. This was done.

The next day, the King decorated Queen Pakipo with the Order of Grand Commander, and I, as Chancellor, received the Order of Commander.

On August 28, 1914, HMS Philomel arrived at Nukualofa, with the news that Britain had declared war on Germany.

The King thereupon decided not to invest anybody with the Order until the end of the war. King George Tabou II died before the end of the war, and with him died “The Order of the Crown of Tonga”.

Of the three who were invested, King George and Queen Pakido are dead; and I have sent my medal to my son’s wife in Auckland. She sometimes wears it on a gold chain, around her neck.

I do not know what became of the other 15 Medals.

On that day when the Orders arrived at Nukualofa there arrived, also, through the influence of Captain Fein (who was Consul for Morocco and Vice-Consul for Italy), from the Sultan of Morocco, a beautiful eight-pointed gold Star, and an elaborate, decorated Diploma, written in Arabic appointing HM George Tubou II a Commander of the Star of Morocco; and, from the King of Italy, a gold and green-enamelled Cross, in the shape of a Maltese Cross, and a plain white Diploma written in Latin, appointing HM George Tubou II a Chevalier of the Peace Order, founded, I think, by Prince Orlof.

Mr. Goedicke-van Asten, wearing the Medal of Commander of the Order of the Crown of Tonga. 85

Oific Islands Monthly September, 19 4 §

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Heirs Of Jonas

M. COE Memories of Queen Emma THERE is a reflection of the colourful days of last century in an officiallooking document issued recently by the Public Trust Office of New Zealand.

It ties in with one of the famous romances of the Central Pacific. It is a financial statement, showing how the conscientious Public Trustee disposed of £360, which was owed to the heirs of Jonas M. Coe, of Samoa.

It appears that between 1940 and 1946 the Administration of Western Samoa acquired 11 pieces of land from the estate of the late Mr. Coe. The Public Trustee charged £9 for handling the matter; and it then sought the heirs of Mr. Coe, and distributed £351 among them. Some of them got a one-sev6ntysecond share, amounting to £4/17/6.

Jonas M. Coe was an American; and, when about 23 or 24 years of age, he arrived in Western Samoa, about 1846, as a Commercial Agent of the United States. He left his mark in Samoa.

He married a well-born Samoan woman, Joana (or Lokor) about 1847: and, between that date and 1863, they had eight children. Two of them died young, and five of the remaining six became wellknown residents of New Guinea while it was still a German colony. One of the daughters was Emma Eliza, a woman of unusual personality and character. She married an English schooner captain named Forsayth, and bore him one son, J. M. C. Forsayth, about 1870. She then ran away from Forsayth, lived for a time with her brother William in Savaii, and then went off across the western Pacific with an Australian trading schooner captain named Farrell. They settled in the Duke of York islands, at Mioko, between 1870 and 1880, and all their trading and planting ventures prospered. Emma was joined there by her mother, her brothers, Henry, William and John; and by h6r sister, Phoebe.

Farrell returned to Australia and died there, leaving his New Guinea property to Emma. Emma established herself at Ralum (New Britain) as a trader and planter, and became very rich and influential. She was closely associated with the highest officials of the German administration.

William Coe was a fine type of man, and well-educated, but he did not remain very long in New Guinea. He distinguished himself during the “Calliope” hurricane in Apia in 1888 by saving many American sailors from drowning, and was rewarded with an American decoration and (some time after 1898) a high position.

After that, he was a hemp-grower in the Philippines.

John Coe lost his life in the Pead Islands in 1890; but Henry (who, as a lad, had been a cabin-boy in the service of the notorious Captain Bully Hayes and subsequently became a wanderer in the Pacific) lived for many years in New Ireland and New Britain.

At the turn of the century, “Queen”

Emma had become famous in the Southwest Pacific for her success, her riches and her hospitality. She was joined in New Britain by her son, J. M. C. Porsayth, who also became a successful merchant, and who ultimately retired, with a fortune, from New Guinea to Sydney, where he and his family became socially prominent.

Mrs. Emma Porsayth ultimately married a German officer, Captain Paul Kolbe, and they sold out their interests to the German New Guinea Company for a huge sum. Captain and Mrs. Kolbe died in Monte Carlo in 1912, within a few hours of each other, in circumstances said to have been “mysterious.”

The first wife of Jonas Coe was still a striking woman when she joined her daughter Emma in New Britain in the ’eighties. She was held in high regard there, and was a notable character; she died at the age of 93. Jonas Coe had another family of at least six children by Elizabeth, also a Samoan. Some of them joined Emma in New Guinea, but the majority remained in Samoa.

Jonas Coe died in Apia in 1891, at the age of 69, and was the owner of considerable property. It was the distribution of some of this property that brought about the Public Trustee’s financial statement, referred to above. This is how the Public Trustee divided it up:— One-Twelfth Share (£29/5/-).

Phoebe Parkinson. (Queen Emma’s youngest sister. She married a Danish surveyor who went out to Samoa to the service of the Godeffroy firm, in the ’seventies. She died in New Ireland on May 28, 1944, during the Japanese invasion.) Mary Allen; Lausa Malcolm; Nellie A.

L. Davidson; Robert J. Coe; Grace Schmidt; J. M. Forsyth (son of Queen Emma, who died in Sydney a few years ago).

One Twenty-fourth Share (£l4/12/6).

Emma Hoedfel; Maria Bayerlein; Katie Rasmussen.

One Thirty-sixth Share (£9/15/-).

Edith Kaumann-Juker; Caroline Schultz; Emma Kappel. (These are the three daughters of William Coe, all wellknown in New Ireland. Mrs. Kaumann- Juker and Mrs. Schultze died in New Ireland during the Jap occupation.) One Forty-eighth Share (£7/6/3).

Allice Doelinger; Maria Macco; Gustav Horgren; Fritz and O. Schaumkel; Elsa and Adolf Pelman; T. F. Miller.

One Seventy-second Share (£4/17/6).

Max, G., Effie and Lucy Penn. 86

September, 194 S Pacific Islands Monthly

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Telegrams and Cables: •‘GILBEYS,” Sydney. 87 IFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER. 1949

Our Hands Make Good Arms

For your Fishing and Shooting Wants Consult Us.

Lithgow .22 Cal. Repeating Rifles .... £ll 14 01 Post Lithgow .22 Cal. Single Shot 5 1 3f Extra.

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The essential link Today, great aircraft link Australia and New Zealand with the rest of the world.

Similarly, the Bank of New South Wales — oldest, yet most modern bank in the South- West Pacific provides the essential financial link facilitating trade and travel between Australia and New Zealand and countries overseas.

The "Wales” complete banking service is available through a network of over 800 oranches and agencies in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua and New Guinea, linked with two branches in London and over 7,000 oversea agents and correspondents.

W hey ever you go Consult and use BANK OF

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incorporated in New South Wales with limited liability The retiring Anglican Bishop of Carpehtaria, the Rt. Rev. S. H. Davis, said in Brisbane recently, that Queensland’s Education Department should take over teaching of Torres Strait islanders from the Native Affairs Department, and that the franchise should be granted to the Islanders. Torres Strait Islanders are obliged to pay Federal income tax but were denied a vote.

Many Yachts At Papeete

PAPEETE. July 16.

BEARING the name*. “Tiare” (the love flower of Tahiti), Eugene Overton’s beautiful yacht cast anchor in Papeete Lagoon on July 14, in time to be present at the opening celebrations of the French national holiday.

Mr. Overton is an old time visitor to Tahiti, where he has numerous friends.

He arrived here previously in the yacht, “Dwyn Wenn,” in 1926, and again in 1937. During his present visit, he was entertained at dinner by His Excellency the Governor and Madame Anziani. Mrs.

Overton and Dr. Ben Bryant accompany Mr. Overton.

After remaining in Papeete for the fete, and making various trips around Tahiti, the yacht will sail for Honolulu about August 14, on her way back to Los Angeles. Mr. Overton is a successful California lawyer.

Yachts From Africa, Panama

OTHER yachts here for the Fete Include the “Cariad”, flying the South African flag. She is 103 feet long, and, despite her 53 years, she sailed from Cape Town to Tahiti without mishap. The captain, Mr. A. W. Flitton, carried eight young men as crew. They had just finished their studies and were making a world tour to broaden their education. , . „ An old, but trim craft, was the “Winds Will”, bearing the flag of the Yacht Club of Panama, and expertly navigated by an American couple, Mr. and Mrs.

Kim Powell, with an 18-months-old baby enrolled as crew member.

There were also the “Escapade”, and the “Te Whaka Pono”, visiting these waters to enjoy the Tahiti fete, anc South Sea enchantment.

Mr. T. H. Manning, of the Fiji Posts and Telegraphs Department has been transferred to the Solomon Islands as Postmaster at the Capital, Honiara.

"The inaugural meeting of the Ladies Auxiliary to the RSSAILA, Rabau Branch, New Guinea, was very successfu when held on the afternoon of August 8 in the European school. Officers appointed were president, Mrs. F. A Rhoades; vice-president Mrs. J. Clymo secretary, Miss F. Fitzgibbons; treasurer Mrs. R. Whippey. Committee, Mesdames P. Chapman, D. McEvoy, J. Gilmore, M Munro, and B. Bruce. They will wort towards raising funds for the rebuilding of the proposed new* club house Rabaul.

The American yacht “Tiare,” as she lay at Papeete on July 14, bedecked with flags in honour of France’s national day. 88 SEPTEMBER, 1949 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY

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"Smithy" Memorial for Suva FOLLOWING a proposal by the Australian Air Force Association that a memorial to the late Sir Charles Kingsford Smith be erected in Suva’s \lbert Park, a committee has been set up n Fiji to consider the matter.

In 1928 and before the present Governnent buildings were built in Albert Park, Cingsford Smith landed his famous southern Cross there on the first historic rans-Pacific flight. A design for a lemorial has been prepared by Miss Mary Sdwards, the Australian artist, who has isited Fiji on a number of occasions.

Captain J, Mullins is president of the l iji committee that has been set up to onsider the matter.

The Pacific Islands Society

CHE Pacific Islands Society of Sydney completed another successful year and held its annual general meeting n August 24.

Eleven meetings, with a satisfactory verage attendance of 73, were held uring the year and, in addition, there as a garden party in October and a cockiil party last Christmas.

Membership showed a marked increase id Society finances improved conderably.

The following office-bearers were elected •r the ensuing year: President, Major C Swinbourne, OBE (Mil.); vice-presi- ;nts, Dr. George Mackaness. OBE, MA. r. Aubrey Halloran, BA, LLB.: hon. cretary, Mr. C. Price Conigrave; asst, cretary, Mr. Lionel Haynes: councillors, rs. M. S. Williamson, Mrs. R, W. G osset, Mrs. Jean Croft, Miss Doris ;ters, Mr. A. E. Sturt, Mr. H. Sabben.

BE, Mr. N. B. Casey, MBE.

Mr. R. H. Clark will be honorary audir.

After the business of the meeting was mpleted, Mr Howard Riley, as guest eaker, told those present of a recent ;it to Thursday Island, New Guinea d the Solomons.

The next meeting will be held on Sepnber 28. On October 26, Mrs. H. E. mde will address the Society on Pitcairn and and her own experiences thereon.

That Bracing Sea Air!

IHE salt sea air in Fiji waters apparently produces sailors with gargantuan appetites (or hollow s). This is the new scale of food to be lied weekly to each crew member on er-island boats (practically all of them ; native Fijians):— Bread, 10 lb. (or biscuits, 6 lb.); fresh at (no bone), 4 lb.; split peas, i lb.; tive vegetables, 14 lb.; green vege- >les, 1| lb.; fruit (such as pawpaw), lb.; lemons, seven only; coconuts, seven y.

Jnpolished rice or rolled oats. 2 lb.; irps for thickening, 4 oz.; tea, 4 oz.; unjetened condensed milk. 16 oz.: dripig, I lb.; cheese, 2 oz.; jam. 14 oz.; :ar, 2 lb.; onions, 8 oz.; sufficient salt, >per and curry without waste, lesidents of Papua-New Guinea who given to muttering about new-fangled as for native labourers’ diet, please e. ►r. H. S. Evans, who retired two years » from service with the Medical Detment, Fiji, is expected to return to Colony in November in order to take duties of Medical Officer and District icer, Rotuma. 89 101 F I C ISLANDS MONTHLY SEP, TEMBER, 1949

RMS “Aorangrl”

Honolulu Aug. 4 sa Oct. 27 Dec. 29 Ma-r. 2 May 4 Suva Aug. 13 ” Nov. 5 Jan. 7. 1950 Mar. 11 May 13 Auckland Aug. 16-18 J Nov. 8-10 Jan. 10-12 Mar. 14-16 y arr Aue 22 Nov. 14 Jan. 16 Mar. 20 May zz S£SU jgjU. f 3. g-a ji « “ SL iiL Sk. £&.

Subject to Alterations Without Notice.

Shipping And Plane Services

Ship Services

THE following sea and air services are running to schedules in the Pacific.

Not all of the regular services which were suspended, owing to war conditions. have been restored; but preparations are under way for their early reintroduction. As they become available they will be announced here.

Australia-—North America THE regular passenger Trans-Pacific liners, withdrawn during the war, have not been restored.

Canadian-Pacific liner “Aorangi” (Sydney- Auckland - Suva - Honolulu - Vancouver) resumed running in August, 1948. A sister liner is expected soon. See time-table in following column.

Matson liners “Monterey” and “Mariposa” are not now expected back in the Pacific service.

Matson ship “Marine Phoenix,” carrying passengers, ran on a regular schedule—San Francisco-Honolulu-Suva-Auckland-Sydney; but was withdrawn in August, 1948.

New Zealand—Fiji— Samoa—Tonga Monthly Service by MV “Matua”

SERVICE CONDUCTED BY UNION SS CO.,

Ltd.—Subject To Alteration Without

NOTICE Auckland Sept. 22 Oct. 25 Nov. 24 Suva Sept. 26-27 Oct. 29-30 Nov. 28-29 Nukualofa Sept. 29-30 Nov. 1-2 Dec. 1-2 Vavau Oct. 1 Nov. 3 Dec. 3 Pago Pago* Oct. 1 Dec. 3 Apia* Oct. 2-4 Nov. 3-5 Dec. 4-6 Suva Oct. 7-8 Nov. 8-9 Dec. 9-10 Auckland Oct. 12 Nov. 13 Dec. 14 * Western Time.

New Zealand—Cook Is.—Niue—Samoa THE motor vessel “Maui Pomare,” owned and operated by the NZ Government, maintains a direct service between Auckland and Rarotonga (Cook islands), with alternative calls at Niue and Apia (Samoa).

New Caledonia THE New Caledonian Government has subsidised and maintained the coastal shipping services. The East Coast, the West Coast, and the Loyalty Islands, under present conditions, receive 10 round trips per annum.

The ships call at the following ports: EAST COAST.—Yate, Ounia, Thio. Nakety Canala, Kouaoua Kua, Moneo, Ponerthouen, Dbarama, Poindlmle, Wagap, Touho, Tipindje, Hienghene, Tao, Oubatch, Pouebo, Balade, Pam.

Arama. and return.

WEST COAST.—Pouembout, Kone, Temala.

Voh. Ouaro Gomen, Koumac. Tangaiou. Tiebaghl, Nehoue, Poume, Baaba, Belep and return.

LOYALTY ISLANDS.—Mare (Tadlne), Lifou (Chepenehe) Ouvea (Pajaoue. St. Joseph) and return.

The steamer “Neo Hebridais” runs regularly between Noumea and Sydney, with occasional trips to the New Hebrides (mostly Aneityumi.

The owners are Societe Maritime et Manlere Hagen, Noumea. Sydney agents: H. C. Sleigh. 254 George Street. Sydney.

Sydney-Popua- New Guinea BURNS, PHILP LINE motor-vessels “Bulolo” and “Malaita” maintain regular services between Sydney and ports in Papua-New Guinea.

“Bulolo” leaves Sydney, northbound, approximately every six weeks; “Malaita” every seven weeks.

“Bulolo” calls at Brisbane, Port Moresby.

Samarai, Lae, Dregarhafen, Rabaul, Samarai, Port Moresby. Brisbane, thence back to Sydney.

The “Malaita’s” schedule varies considerably.

She calls at Port Moresby only occasionally, hut usually calls at Samarai, Lae, Madang.

Manus, Rabaul, Samarai, thence direct to Sydney—ports of call being in that order. Sometimes the order of calls is Samarai, Rabaul. Manus, Madang. Lae, Samarai. Intending passengers should check with Burns, Philp <fe Co., Ltd., Sydney, or Island branches.

Sydney—Norfolk Island- New Hebrides THE SS “Morinda,” Burns, Philp & Co., Ltd., runs at approximately threemonthly intervals from Sydney to Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, and main ports of the New Hebrides, and return.

Air Services

Summary of Pacific Air Services PAPUA AND NEW GUlNEA.—Regular Qantas service from Sydney.

SOLOMON ISLANDS.—Frequent regular flyingboat service from Sydney by Trans Oceanic Airways. Qantas service also from Lae, NG, to Honiara, BSI.

NEW HEBRlDES.—Frequent regular flying-boat service from Sydney by Trans Oceanic Airways. Service from Noumea by French plane runs twice weekly. Qantas plane from Sydney to NH on alternate Tuesdays.

NORFOLK ISLAND—Regular service from NZ by NZ National Airways; from Sydney by Qantas; from Fiji by NZ National Airways.

LORD HOWE ISLAND.—Regular weekly service from Sydney by Qantas and Trans Oceanic Airways.

PUI —Regular services from Australia by Pan American, BCPA and CPA (to Nadi); Auckland by NZ National Airways (to Nadi); from Australia by Qantas (to Laucala Bay, Suva); from Auckland by NZ National Airways (to Laucala Bay, Suva). Irregular calls from Australia to Laucala Bay, Suva, by Trans Oceanic Airways. Regular service from Suva to Labasa by NZ National Airways.

Western Samoa, Cook Islands And

TONGA.—Regular service from Fiji by NZ National Airways.

TAHlTl.—Monthly service from Noumea by TRAPAS plane via Fiji, W. Samoa, Cook Is.

DUTCH NEW GUlNEA—Regular weekly service from Batavia by KLM.

Sydney-NZ-Fijs-Hawaii-Nfrh. America 'X'HE itinerary of the Canadian-Australasian liner “Aorangi” (17,500 tons) is Sydney, Auckland, i- Suva (Fiji), Honolulu (Hawaii), Victoria (Vancouver Island), and Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada), Time-table lor the Pacific section of her run is:— AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND. —Regular service by Tasman Empire Airways.

AUSTRALIA-NORTH AMERICA.—Regular Transpacific services by Pan American Airways, BCPA and CPA.

NZ National Airways South Pacific Services THE Pacific services run by the New Zealand National Airways Corporation are aa follows: AUCKLAND-LAUCALA BAT (SUVA): A “Sunderland” flying-boat leaves Mechanics Bay, Auckland, at 10.30 p.m. each Thursday for Laucala Bay, Suva (arrives 7.10 a.m. the following day), The aircraft departs from Laucala Bay. Suva, on the return journey at 11.30 p.m. each Sunday, and arrives at Mechanics Bay, Auckland, at 8 15 a.m. the following day.

Laucala Bay (Suva)-Labasa (Vanua

LEVU): A “Sunderland” flying-boat operates this service on a charter basis. A return trip is made between Laucala Bay and Labasa each Sunday.

AUCKLAND-NORFOLK ISLAND-FIJI-TONGA- WESTERN SAMOA-COOK ISLANDS: A “Douglas’ airliner leaves Whenuapai, Auckland, or Saturdays at 9 a.m. (September 17, October 1 15, etc.), for Norfolk Is. (arr. 12.55 p.m., dep 2 p.m.), Nadi (arr. 8.40 p.m., dep. 5.40 a.m Monday), Nausori (arr. 6.25 a.m., dep. 7.3( a.m.), Tonga (arr. 10.50 a.m., dep. 11.50 a.m.) *Faleolo, Western Samoa (arr. 4.5 p.m. Sunday dep. 8 a.m. Monday), Aitutaki, Cook Islands (an 1.50 p.m. Monday, dep. 2.50 p.m.), Rarotonga Cook Is. (arr. 4.5 p.m., dep. 8 a.m. Wednesday) The aircraft departs from Rarotonga on th return journey at 8 a.m. on alternate Wednes days (September 21, October 5, 17, etc.) at 8 a.m, for Aitutaki (arr, 9.15 a.m., dep. 10 a.m.) Faleolo, W. Samoa (arr. 3.35 p.m., dep. 8 a.m Thursday), *Tonga (arr. 10.55 a.m. Friday, dep 11.50 a.m.). Nausori (arr. 2.40 p.m., dep. 3.4 p.m.), Nadi (arr. 4.25 p.m., dep. 5 a.m. Satur day), Norfolk Is. (an. 10.55 a.m., dep. 12 noon) Whenuapai, Auckland (arr. 4.50 p.m.). •Crosses International Date Line.

AUCKLAND-NORFOLK ISLAND: A “Douglas airliner leaves Whenuapai, Auckland, every Sun day at 8.15 a.m. for Norfolk Island (arr. 12.1 p.m.), and departs on the return flight at 1.1 p.m., arriving at Whenuapai at 6 p.m.

FARES, single (in NZ currency): Auckland 1 Norfolk, £l2/10/-; to Fiji, £3l; to Tongi £3l; to Samoa, £34; to Aitutaki, £39; to Rare tonga, £39/10/-. Norfolk to Fiji, £l9. Fiji 1 Tonga, £B/15/-; to Samoa, £l3; to Altutak £29/15/-; to Rarotonga, £3l. Samoa to Ran tonga, £l7/15/-; to Aitutaki, £l6/10/-; Suva 1 Labasa, £4/10/-. Return fares, less 10 per cen BOOKING OFFICES: Wellington, Govt. Llf Bldg., Customhouse Quay; Auckland, Airwaj House, Customs St.; Dunedin, 8-10 Mam St.; Christchurch, 104 Gloucester St.; Gi: borne, 74 Peel St.; Palmerston Nortl 107 Broadway Ave.; Hamilton, 8 Alma St Rotorua, Airport Bid., Fenton St.; New PI; mouth, Grand Central Building, Egmont St Hokitika, Southside Airport; Norfolk Is., Bun Philp, Ltd.; Fiji, NAC at Nadi and Suv Burns Philp, Labasa and Lautoka; Tonga, Mi F F. Melhose, Fou-amotu Airfield; W. Samo Burns Philp (SS), Ltd., Apia; Cook Is., Mrs.

McVeagh, Aitutaki, and Mr. J. D. Campbe Rarotonga.

CPA Sydney-Vancouver Service C CANADIAN Pacific Airlines, Ltd., run a trar -4 Pacific service between Sydney and Va couver. For the present there will be o northbound and one southbound trip per foi night. Stops are made at Nadi (Fiji), Cauh Island, Honolulu and San Francisco. The nort bound flight commences from Sydney every altf nate Tuesday.

Pour-engined, pressurised "Canadair” airers are used; 36 passengers can be carried a a crew of six. Flying is done in daylight. Ov( night accommodation is provided at hotels Nadi and Honolulu, which is, of course, coi plimentary.

Pares are (in Australian currency): Sydm Vancouver, £214 single, £385 return; Fi Vancouver, £159 single, £286 return; Sydnf Fiji, £55 single, £99 return.

Bookings may be made at the Union Stes Ship Company of New Zealand, Limited, Sydm or Melbourne: Union Steam Ship Co. of NZ, Lt Fiji; Canadian Pacific Airlines, Vancouver. 90

September. 194<T-P A C I F I C Islands Monthl

£ s. d. £ 8. d.

Sydney-Seattle .. . .. 200 0 0 360 o 0 Sydney-’Prisco . . 200 0 0 360 o o Sydney-Pljl 0 0 99 1 3 Sydney-Honolulu . . 166 17 6 300 6 3 Auckland-Seattle .. 184 1 3 331 5 o Auckland-Honolulu , . .. 150 18 9 271 11 3 Auckland-Pljl .. .. 1 3 70 6 3 PlJl-’Prlsco 0 0 260 18 9 IMPORTERS EXPORTERS ALL CLASSES OF MERCHANDISE PURCHASED FOR ISLAND CLIENTS THROUGHOUT THE SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC.

ISLAND PRODUCE SOLD ON AUSTRALIAN AND OVERSEAS MARKETS ON COMMISSION BASIS.

Robert Gillespie Ptv.Ltd

BANKERS; BANK OF N.S.W.

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PHONES BW 4782-B 1305 sydney-Vancouver BCPA Service BRITISH Commonwealth Pacific Airlines, Ltd., operate a twice weekly trans-Paciflc service rom Sydney to Vancouver, via Fiji, Canton sland, Honolulu and San Francisco; and a reekly service between Auckland and Vancouver, ia the same ports.

Planes leave Sydney every Wednesday and aturday, and Vancouver on the Southbound rip every Monday and Thursday. Every fourth rip from Sydney terminates at San Francisco istead of Vancouver.

Planes Leave Auckland every Tuesday and rrlve in Vancouver the following Wednesday, he Southbound trip to Auckland commences •om Vancouver every alternate Friday. Every ther Friday the service commences at San rancisco.

B.C.P.A. services make regular connections at )th San Francisco and Vancouver for onward image, via either New York or Montreal to le United Kingdom or Europe. The through ,re from Sydney to London is £327/10/- (Ausalian); from Fiji, via New York, £303/8/6; om Fiji, via Montreal, £324/9/- (Australian).

Pares are (in Australian currency): Sydneyin Francisco, £2OO single and £360 return; uckland-Vancouver, £AI9B single; Aucklandadi (Fiji), £A39; Sydney-Nandi, £ASS.

Douglas DC6 aircraft carrying 48 passengers eated) or 37 passengers (in sleepers) and a ew of nine are used on the service. an-American— Trans-Pacific Service > AN-AMERICAN World Airways clippers now provide the following services in the South icific, using DC4 planes, equipped with Sleepettes:— Planes leave Sydney Monday and Friday r San Francisco, via Tontouta (New Calenia), Nadi (Fiji), Canton Island and Honolu.

The return flights are made from San Francisco ery Thursday, via Honolulu, Canton Island, idi and Tontouta; and from Seattle every Monday, via Portland, Honolulu, Canton Island Nadi and Tontouta.

Planes leave Auckland every Wednesday and fly via Nadi, Canton Island and Honolulu to San Francisco. They leave San Francisco for Auckland every Saturday by the same route Fares, in Australian currency, are- (Time-tables and fares subject to alteration without notice.) To convert to FIJI currency, reduce above figures by about 10 per cent.

Free baggage allowance is 30 kilos per person Excess baggage at 1 per cent, of single fare for each kilogram of excess.

Trans-Tasman Service Sydney—Auckland TASMAN Empire Airways, Ltd., operate a flying-boat service between Rose Bay Sydney, and Mechanics Bay. Auckland. Large flying-boats, capable of carrying 30 passenger*, are employed. The trip is comfortable, and takes approximately 8 hours.

Flying-boats now depart Sydney and Auckland six times per week, Monday to Saturday inclusive.

This service will be supplemented by Charter Services operated by DC4 and DC6 aircraft Fares: £35 (A) (£28 NZ currency) single-’ £63 (A) (£50/8/- NZ currency) return.

Bookings may be made at Tasman Empire Airways in Auckland and at Qantas Empire Airways, Carrington Street, Sydney.

Sydney—Queensland— New Guinea QANTAS Empire Airways, Ltd., employing DCS planes, operate a regular service between Sydney, Port Moresby, Lae, Pinschhafen, Madang, Rabaul, Bulolo and Wau, and return via Brisbane, Rockhampton, Townsville and Cairns.

This service is now known as the "Bird ol Paradise” Service. DC3 aircraft, carrying 19 passengers, are usea.

Planes leave Sydney on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 9 a.m.’ and arrive at Lae at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The plane which leaves Sydney on Wednesday and arrives at Lae on Thursday then goes on to Rabaul. It returns on Friday. The plane, which arrives at Lae on Tuesdays, then goes on to Madang, returning to Lae the same day.

The plane, which arrives at Lae at 1 p.m. on Saturdays, flies on to Bulolo and Wau on Saturday afternoons, and returns to Lae.

Planes leave Lae at 5.45 a.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, and arrive in Sydney at 10.15 p.m., accomplishing the Lae-Sydney run in a day.

The return plane from Rabaul leaves at 1.30 p.m. on Fridays.

Bookings may be made at Qantas offices at any of the towns named. At present, berths are available only to passengers holding official permits to visit Papua or New Guinea.

Qantas Subsidiary Services In

Papua-New Guinea-Solomons

Qantas Empire Airways run the following subsidiary services in Papua, New Guinea, and British Solomons:— A Douglas DC3 leaves Lae every Wednesday, Wednesday, and flies to Rabaul, and Kavieng,’ and flies to Rabaul, and Kavieng, and returns to Lae; but every alternate Wednesday the plane goes on from Kavieng to Manus, and returns via Kavieng to Rabaul (overnight) and returns to Lae on the Thursday morning.

Every alternate Monday, a Qantas Catalina flies from Port Moresby, westward to Daru, via Yule Island, Kerema, Kikori, Lake Kutubu and Lake Murray, remaining overnight at Kikori and returning to PM next morning.

Every alternate Wednesday, a Qantas Catalina flies from Port Moresby, eastward to Samarai, via Abau and Milne Bay; and every second trip (that is, every fourth Wednesday) the plane remains overnight at Samarai, and 91 401 F I c ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

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London Offices and Showrooms: SACKVILLE STREET, PICCADILLY, W.l REPRESENTATION: MELBOURNE ; T. H. Bentley, Pty. Ltd., 123-125 William Street, Melbourne, C.

TASMANIA : Mr. H. V. Sellars, 108 a Charles Street, Launceston.

FIJI : Mr. K. Witherington, 2 Burns FhMp Buildings, Suva. 92 September, 194?- pacific islands monthl

Songs of the South Seas!

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Office and Work*: 148-152 Cleveland Street. Sydney. N.S.W.

Telegraphic Address: “Wrlghtmake," Chippendale.

Telephone 136.

Telegrams: “AKUN,” RABAUL.

Alois Akun & Company

Rabaul, Territory Of New Guinea

Also at 180 NATHAN ROAD, KOWLOON, HONG KONG Planters, Shipowners and General Merchants

We Carry Stocks Of:—

(1) Embroidered Silkwear. Carved Camphorwood Boxes. Eastern Fancy goods. (2) The Best of Beers, in different brands — 'Three Horse"—"San Miguel"—"Red Horse"—"Allsopp's". (3) Cotton Piece Goods suitable for trade and issues. (4) Trade goods of all descriptions: Wholesale and Retail.

Prompt attention to all orders Sydney Representatives; NELSON & ROBERTSON PTY., LTD., Electra House, 12 Spring St„ Sydney, N.S.W.

I the following day (Thursday) dies out oVef ie archipelagoes, calls at Esa’ala, Kiriwina, oodlark and Deboyne Lagoon, and returns to H. via Samarai, Milne Bay and Abau, Every alternate Monday, a Qantas Catalina ives Port Moresby for Rabaul, via Moewe Harur. and Talasea (New Britain); next morning ’uesday) it flies to Buka, Kieta and Buin lougainville) and returns to Rabaul; next srning (Wednesday) it flies to Talasea, Moewe irbour and Jacquinot Bay, and returns to ibaul; and next morning (Thursday) it rerns from Rabaul direct to Port Moresby.

Every alternate Monday a Qantas Douglas flies am Lae to Rabaul, and continues on to miara (British Solomon Islands), via Torokina; mains overnight at Honiara; and returns to e the following day (Tuesday), via Torokina d Rabaul.

Sydney-Noumea-Suva 'HE following is the time-table of the Qantas flying-boat:— Sydney dep. 9 p.m. alt. Tues Noumea arr. 7 a.m. alt. Wed.

Noumea dep. 8 a.m. alt. Wed.

Suva arr. 3 p.m. alt. Wed.

Suva dep. 6 a.m. alt. Frid.

Noumea arr. 11 a.m. alt. Frid.

Noumea dep. 12 noon alt. Frid.

Sydney arr. 8 p.m. alt. Frid. n tending passengers may book through ntas offices in Australia. Burns, Phllp (South is) Company, in Suva; and T, Johnston In limea. ’ares: To Noumea, £35 single: £63 return Suva. £52/10/- single; £94/10/- return. foumea-Suva, £l7/10/- single; £3l/10/- re- □. irdney-Lord Howe ls.- Norfolk Is. (ANTAS, Sydney, run a Catalina once weekly from Sydney to Lord Howe Island. Fare, sle, £l2. Return, £2l/12/-. •antas run a land plane alt. Thursdays (rening same day) from Sydney to Norfolk ,nd. Fare, £22 single; £39/12/- return.

For Norfolk Island, see also under NZ ional Airways. For Lord Howe, see also ler TO A.) Sydney-New Hebrides AQANTAS plane leaves Sydney for New Hebrides on alternate Tuesdays. It flies via Noumea and Port Vila to Santo, and returns.

New Caledonia— New Hebrides nnRAPAS (French Air Line) operates a service 1 between Noumea and the New Hebrides The plane leaves Noumea every Tuesday, and flies direct to Vila and Santo, and returns. Return fare for the journey, Noumea-Santo is approximately £42 Australian.

N. Caledonia—Tahiti 'T'RAPAs (Societe Francais de Transports A Aeriens du Pacific Sud-Noumea) runs a monthly service from New Caledonia to Tahiti.

Departing at 8 a.m. from Noumea, every third Thursday, the plane flies via Fiji (Nadi) Western Samoa (Faleolo), Cook Islands (Aitutaki) to Papeete, where it arrives at about 11.40 a.m. two days later. One evening is spent in Nadi and one night in Aitutaki. The plane returns by the same route in the following week.

Pare irom Noumea to Papeete is 16,000 Pacific francs single, and 28,800 return. (160 Pacific francs equal £1 Australian.) While the plane is at Papeete it runs one round trip between Papeete and Bora Bora.

KLM Dutch New Guinea Service K.L.M. Royal Dutch Airlines run a regular weekly service from Batavia to Dutch New (Continued Page 96) 93

Cif I C Islands Monthly— September. 1949

A NEW STAB IN THE PACIFIC..

But With An Old Established I To cater more fully for clients throughout the Pacific and to ensure better service and adequate representation for Australian manufacturers and agents, William E. Reed has established a subsidiary company known as WILLREED AGENCIES PTY. LTD. This new concern, now linked with William E. Reed’s 38 years of Pacific trading history, will function exclusively as a selling organisation. William E. Reed, with augmented staff and facilities, will continue to provide a wholesale buying service for clients in the Pacific. The products listed on these two pages are those for which Willreed Agencies Pty. Ltd. are distributors in the Pacific. Other products will be listed in future issues of “P.1.M.”

NOW with delivery to Island ports .

Trade Boats Especially Designed

And Built For Island Conditions

By special arrangement with Capricorn Charters, with boat-building division at their Gladstone base, we are able to supply (with reasonably early delivery) sturdy craft, designed and constructed for Island conditions.

SPECIAL FEATURE is the standard design 40 ft. trade boat, constructed solidly throughout of high quality Queensland timbers and powered with Lister Marine diesel engine. This roomy craft, ideal for missions, traders, planters, etc., has accommodation for 4 and will carry 10 tons of cargo. A SPLENDID ALL-ROUND WORK BOAT.

Smaller and larger craft 35 ft., 45 ft. and 50 ft. along similar lines can be constructed to order. Economically priced.

' . :v- v This 50 ft. ketch —“Capricorn”—built by Capricorn Charters, and recently delivered to an Island port, is typical of this firm’s excellent workmanship.

Remember —ANY CRAFT GAN BE DELIVERED TO DESTINATION

Robincraft Pressure Jets

Ideal For Any Heating Purpose A Kerosene Pressure Jet Thermal Unit with many uses for Dairies, Hospitals, Homes, Guest Houses, Hotels, Shops, Boat Sheds, etc.

The Robincraft, which is clean, quick and portable, and uses only lighting kerosene, gives instant heat at any time without delay in preparation. The pressure jet throws an intense blue flame against the baffle, the heat being controlled at will by the valve on the storage unit. With a Robincraft you can forget worries about wood, ashes and smoke-discoloured walls. Extremely economical on kerosene. Unit comprises heating unit and flexible copper tube with a H gallon capacity storage container complete with pressure gauge, pump control tap, etc. 94

September, 1949-P A C I F I C Islands Monthl

Famous British Made Film

PROJECTOR Made by The British Thomson- Houston Co. Ltd., England, this is a portable, easily operated, precision-made 16 mm. sound-film projector, giving faultless reproduction of sound and picture. Will give equally good service with silent films. Distinctive features of the B.T.H. Projector are: Easily set up. Film easily threaded. Brilliant Screen Illumination. High Fidelity Sound Reproduction. Easily Maintained. Unit Construction enables easy removal for servicing or replacement. Compact, Conveniently Handled and readily PORTABLE, Our experienced shipping department can attend to supply from Australia by sea or air of all available films on loan or purchase basis. 4 This view of the Projector with the side of the “blimp” case removed, gives an excellent idea of the precision construction of the machine.

Finish is black crackle. m mm ... - - -r*.- , 5 ’8 ■ , * ' The B.T.H. Projector, mounted in “blimp” case, ready for operation.

Use of the case is conducive to silent running. Apertures are conveniently situated to facilitate use of controls.

The Rambler Auto Bike

With a speed of up to 30 m.p.h. and sturdily built throughout, this British-made Rambler Auto Bike is ideal for Island use. A 98 c.c. lightweight motor cycle, and with petrol consumption up to 150 miles per gallon, the Rambler has automatic lubrication, electric head and tail lamps with fly-wheel lighting. Wheels have 26/lf in. heavy gauge chromium-plated rims and the tyre size is 26 in. x 2 in. Frame, with special short wheel base design, is of best quality weldless steel tubing. Carburettor is of the single lever type with air strangler.

Engine is a Villiers De Luxe, bore and stroke, 50 x 50 mm. Two-plate counter-shaft clutch runs in oil bath. Handle bars are chrome-plated, fitted with rubber grips, complete with all controls conveniently placed. Replacement parts, including tyres, readily available.

Send for full details of the products featured on these pages to: WILLREED AGENCIES PTY. LTD. 145 a George Street, Circular Quay, Sydney Cable Address; “REEDAGE” SYDNEY. 95 CIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

We Supply all Types of “CATERPILLAR”

MACHINERY

We Are Distributors In Fiji For

The Caterpillar Tractor Company Caterpillar Diesel Tractors Caterpillar Bulldozers Caterpillar Earth-movers Caterpillar Road Building and Maintenanc A Hyster Crane at Work on Suva Wharves.

Machines

All Made By “Caterpillar

'Hyster" Winches, Logging Arches and Equipment Tracson" Excavators for use with Caterpillar Tractors "Caterpillar" Diesel Marine Engines, 34 to 135 BHP Continuous Rating Stocks of Spare Parts carried in Suva.

Inquiries from anywhere gladly answered Information available about Agricultural Implements to suit Caterpillar Tractors.

W. R. CARPENTER & CO. (Fiji) Ltd.

SUVA FIJI Guinea, via Sourabaya, Makassar and Amboil, on the following schedule: Batavia dep. Sundays at 10.30 a.m.. Biak Island arr. Mondays at 4.40 p.m.; dep. Tuesdays at 6 a.m., Hollandia arr. Tuesdays at 8.10 a.m. On the return journey the aircraft leaves Hollandia at 9 a.m. on Tuesdays; Biak Island arr. 11.10 a.m.. dep. 12.15 p.m. on Tuesdays: and Batavia arr. 6 p.m. on Wednesdays.

The aircraft used are C. 475, a type of DC-3, and the single fares are Batavia-Biak Island £ A 80; Batavia-Hollandia £A9I/15/-; and Biak Island-Hollandia £AII/15/-. Return fares, double single.

TOA Services r pRANS Oceanic Airways run the following A Pacific services:— SYDNEY-LORD HOWE IS.. A regular fortnightly service with large four-engine flying- \Z7f laifiuTS 113 -veg asoy uioaj saeoq return. Free baggage allowance 50 lb. Excess baggage and freight rate 6d. per lb.

SYDNEY-NEW HEBRIDES: A regular monthly service with large four-engine flying-boats from Sydney, via Noumea (overnight stop), to Vila and Espiritu Santo. Fare: Sydney-Vila, £45; Sydney-Santo, £5O; Noumea-Vila, £l2/10/-, Noumea-Santo, £lB/15/-. Freight: Sydney-Vila, 2/- per lb.; Sydney-Santo. 2/3.

SYDNEY-SOLOMON ISLANDS: A regular monthly service from Sydney, via New Caledonia and New Hebrides to Tulagi, Solomon Islands. This service is frequently extended to Lingatou, in the Russell Islands, and calls are sometimes made at Vanikoro, in the Santa Cruz Group. Fares: Sydney-Tulagi, £65. Free baggage allowance, 60 lb.; excess baggage and freight, 3/- per lb.

Papuo-NG Local Services MANDATED Airlines, Ltd., of Lae, New Guinea, and other private operators, run air services between Lae and the New Guinea mainland centres of Wau, Bulolo, Madang, Wewak, Aitape, Mt. Hagen, Plnschhafen, Moresby. Kokoda—in fact anywhere In Papua or New Guinea where there is an air-strip. These planes carry passengers, malls and cargo on regular schedules or charter flights.

Guinea Air Traders Ltd., of Lae. New Guinea, employ six aircraft on local services, and on charter work.

Under arrangement with the Administration, a Qantas plane, carrying Administration personnel and cargo, and mails, flies once each week from Lae to Rabaul, Kavleng ana Manus, and returns 10 Lae by the same route.

Fuss On Makatea

Alleged Overcharge and a Burned Store PAPEETE, July 22. 4 BOUT the middle of July, a report reached Papeete that there had been some sort of uprising among the Cook Islanders (mostly Mangaians and Rarotongans, who are British subjects) who are engaged as labourers on the French phosphate island of Makatea.

The acting British Consul, Mr. George Hunt, hurriedly engaged transport and left for Makatea.

But it was a fuss about nothing. A Cook Islander.

Ta Kavakura, went to the shop of a Chinaman, Ah Siou, to buy a pair of trousers. He claimed that he was grossly overcharged for the article.

The trader denied an overcharge. Ta Kavakura evidently brooded over it; and on Sunday, July 10, when he had partaken freely of strong liquof, he decided bn vengeahce. He went to Ah Siou's store with a bottle of kerosene and some matches, and the store was destroyed by fire. He was promptly arrested.

Mr. Hunt found no disorder. Ta Kavakura was in gaol, and his fellowworkers were grieving over him, but were quite quiet. So Mr. Hunt returned promptly to Tahiti, in time to enjoy the July 14 celebrations; and he brought Ta Kavakura with him, to stand trial for arson.

Rabaul Couple's Fire Loss From Our Own Correspondent RABAUL, August 26. rriHE residence of Mr. ■ and Mrs. A. R. 1 Savage was completely destroyed by fire about 5.30 p.m. on August 24.

All personal effects were lost as the fire gutted the paper walls and ceiling of th( house (whicji was of the temporary con struction used throughout Rabaul) with in a few moments. Mr. Savage is Officer in-Charge of Kurakakual Department o Stock and Fisheries Pig Farm.

The fire starred from the kerosene re frigerator, which had just previously taeei filled by Mr. Savage.

To assist the couple, who have suf fered considerable loss, the Rabau Branch of the RSL has sponsored a relie fund, in conjunction with the newly formed Provisional Church of Englan Council.

This photograph shows the “Ocean Queen,’’ which wa[?] wrecked on Makatea, on her first Pacific voyage, in 1910 [?] 1911. The land in the distance looks just like the entrance t[?] Sydney Harbour; but it is part of the hump-backed phosphat[?] island of Makatea. 96 SEPTEMBER, 1945-PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHL

Legal Notice

IN THE MATTER OF THE RABAUL CLUB.

NOTICE is hereby given that a Petition in nnection with the affairs of the abovenamed le Rabaul Club was presented to the Supreme iurt of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea the Second day of September, 1949, by MES IRWIN CROMIE, a former member jreof asking as follows: That the Club may be declared to have been dissolved on the Twenty-fourth day of January, 1942. or at such other date as the Court may determine.

That directions be given by the Court as to the disposal of the assets of the said Club.

That the Court determine the-persons who are entitled to share in the said assets.

That the said James Irwin Cromie and Basil Fairfax-Ross be appointed Official Liquidators of the said Club to be wound up by the Court pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Ordinance, (Papua Adopted).

That the Petitioner’s costs of and incidental to the Petition may be provided for.

That such further or other order may be made as shall seem meet, he Court directed that the said Petition be rd before the said Court at 9.30 o’clock in forenoon on Tuesday the Eighth day of ember, 1949, at the Supreme Court House t Moresby. ny person desiring to support or oppose the :ing of an Order on the said Petition should ear in person or by his Counsel at the time i for the hearing of the Petition.

ATED the Ninth day of September, 1949 J. IRWIN CROMIE.

Petitioner. • STAMPS {change. —Send yours; receive mine E D irson 1265 No. Harvard Blvd., Los Angeles’

An International Stamp Club—Free Dues MEDICAL JM-TABS— the new effective treatment, ranteed harmless. No tiresome exercises starvation dieting. Follow simple directions reduce up to 7 lb. in a week. Send 20/rocMn ll *°; d S t 0 Australia n Health Services, Castlereagh Street, Sydney.

AGENCIES RT-TIME AGENCY. Good money can b ed by becoming one of our agents for th n,.ff?ff ade t 0„ Measure Suits ’ Suit Lengths Outfitting. Excellent commission, and ever ort given to genuine applicants. Full par irs sent on hearing from you. Why no ‘ now to: The Mail Order Dept., P.O. Bo 111, Bradford, England.

Machinery For

SALE

Second-Hand And

RECONDITIONED : — Ba tteries, Pumps, Winches, Steam and I.C Locomotives. All sizes. hydro electric plants

And Pelton Wheels

to 700 H.P.

Boilers, Compressors, Stone rushers, Logging Winches, etc., etc.

Inquiries Invited. New and Second-hand Machinery,

(Ilham F. Wilson & Son

Engineers, Contractors The Problem Work Specialists Postal Address: P. 0., BOX 078 A.A., G.P.0., MELBOURNE.

Cable and Telegraphic Address: “WTLBORBSON.” MELBOURNE. 3odes: A.B.C. sth Edition. Bentleys.

Made in the Australian Branch Factory of BLUNDELL SPENCE Gr CO., LTD., Hull, B. Gr S. SUPER PREPARED PAINT embodies the knowledge and experience gained from nearly 140 years of Paint manufacture.

Tested and proved for tropical conditions, B. Gr S. PREPARED PAINT is also available in a special Lead-free series for use in volcanic and other sulphurous regions. (Specify B. Gr S.-Series 2301).

Ask for supplies of these and other BLUN- DELL Paints and Enamels from your local Storekeeper, or write for particulars and colour-cards to the \ Agent for Pacific Islands : KERR BROTHERS PTY. LTD.

4 York Street, Sydney

97

?I F I C Islands Monthly September, 1949

Successors to CHAPMAN and SHERACK \ V x V \ \ \ as have pleasure in announcim the appointment pf KERR BROS.

PTY. LTC

Sole Pacific Distributors

BLAXLAND-CHAPMAN Products This appointment will assure for Island Residents and Traders the highly efficient and understanding service for which Messrs. Kerr Bros, have become notable in their fifty years’ experience of Island trading. With the recent acquisition by Blaxland Rae Pty., Ltd., of the long established Chapman and Sherack business, a vastly widened and improved range of produce b comes available to the Islands.

Notable amongst these products a the new HP. Blaxland Pup a 5/7 HP. Blaxland Twin Mari engines and the full range of Bla land-Chapman Marine Engin (from 2 h HP. to 20 HP.) and Bla land-Chapman Wonder Launche also their famous Pumping unit.

Inquiries are Invited from Island Residents. p*n- -ssa fj 4 YORK ST., SYDNE AUSTRALIA Box 3838, G.P.O.

Cables: “CARE,” Sydney. 98

September, 194 9 - Pacific Islands Month

The Pacific Islands Society

(Founded 1937) Visitors from the Pacific Islands to Sydney, or persons interested in Island affairs, are invited to communicate with the Honorary Secretary of the above Society which was formed to constitute a social centre for those interested in the Pacific Islands.

Regular meetings and social gatherings, with lectures, are held at History House. 8 Young Street, Sydney, on the fourth Wednesday of each month, af 8 p.m.

Address for correspondence:—

The Pacific Islands Society

Box 2434. G.P.0., Sydney.

Telegram: CARRLOCK" P.O. Box 2140, Hong Kong CARRLOCK CO. LTD. 2nd Floor, Queen's Bldg., Chafer Road, HONG KONG ; i General Merchants ;; Commission Agents Exporters and Shippers of All Kinds of Merchandise To the Pacific Islands Representatives of Leading Manufacturers in HONG KONG

Inquiries Invited

Rabaul Roundabout

From Our Own Correspondent RABAUL. Sept. 8.

IHE Pidgin English play called “Kussi,” . which was performed during Bishop Scharmach’s Jubilee in July, was ■esented again by the native pupils of e Kinigunan School, Vunapope Mission, 1 August 14 in Rabaul Catholic Church rounds. The audience was very large id included many of the Bulolo pasngers.

The play was written in Pidgin by ither Mayerhafen in 1941 and was first esented just prior to the Japanese ending the war —the audience at that time nsisted mainly of members of the 2 22 ittalion. Only one copy of the play rvived the war.

Dver 120 native players, including an )ino (who played the part of a tholic priest), took part in the latest Dduction which was produced by other Landinger. The story tells of the urn of mission schoolboys to their tive village and the problems they :e when their new learning comes into iflict with the old ideas of their village ers. * BALL was held on the Rabaul Club’§ . Tennis Court on the night of August 6. dthough, for weeks and weeks, resilts of Rabaul had longed and prayed rain, it was not wanted on that ht. However the rain came—only 38 nts, but sufficient to spoil all the cities planned. dl who attended thoroughly enjoyed mselves in spite of it, and the funds now increased by £3O-odd. We apciated an informal visit from the ninistrator, who, at the conclusion of a full day, during an official visit to Rabaul, joined in the fun of the ball in the rain.

THE marriage took_ place on August 20, at the Rabaul Methodist Church at 4.30, of Miss Honour Earls of Sydney (who arrived in last Bulolo), and Mr. John Stroud, who is engaged in divingactivities in Rabaul, * THE Rabaul Swimming Club expects to re-open about the middle of September. A new engine for the pump is expected by Malaita earlier that month.

The pool was severely damaged during the war but a contract has been let to reconstruct the damaged wall; when this work is completed the pool will be 33 i yards long. * A RE-UNION of Middle East veterans (Africa Star holde*s), was held at the residence of Mr. A. J. Corlass.

Rabaul, on August 20. Over 30 attended to spend a happy night. * THE motor vessel, Willowbank, departed Rabaul, September 6, for Madang.

During her stay in Rabaul she loaded 5.700 tons copra, and it is anticipated that she will take on another 1.000 tons in Madang. This represents the largest single shipment of copra taken out of Papua-New Guinea in the post-war period. She is a UK Ministry of Food ship. 6,700 tons of copra is worth nearly £400,000. * THE only passengers to board the ship in Rabaul were Mr. and Mrs. George Orde, on transfer to Madang Native Labour Department. We are told that Mrs. Orde’s menagerie was typical of that of any couple being transferred from one post to another these days. It included a mother dog and five puppies, Mr. C. D.

Bates’ puppy, crates of fowls, and a kitten. * A SERIOUS fire was averted in early September, by the prompt action of the Rabaul Fire Unit, driven by Sub- Inspector J. Palmer, when a grass fire broke out in very close proximity to the Chinese Public School. The school is in the centre of Chinatown. * HMAS AUSTRALIA arrived Rabaul Harbour on September 5, but her cruise, as far as local residents are concerned, is a wash-out. Due to an epidemic of measles on board she is still in quarantine, and therefore just cruised about the harbour and departed for Manus. Many residents lined the foreshore. ♦ COMMENCING on September 5, residents will have a much needed road transport service to Rabaul. A car will depart Kokopo each morning returning each afternoon, Monday to Friday, 99 OIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

AUNT MARY’S

Baking Powder

For the best in delicious baking results A product of TILLOCK AND CO. PTY. LTD. manufaeturor* ol all the famous Aunt Marys Pure Foods and on Saturday will depart as usual in the morning, returning after lunch. * AT the first RSL social to be held in Rabaul since the recent revival of this Sub-branch, Mr. Len Palmer presented his complete recording of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera, Pinafore, that was much appreciated by music-starved Rabaul. Mr. Palmer’s humorous rendition of the story between records made the evening even more successful. We would now like to know when the next play will be presented.

Mr. E. V. Smythe, president of the Subbranch, in thanking Mr. Palmer, said that the RSL aimed by its presence in the community to make life more tolerable for all.

NEW GUINEA WOMEN’S ASSN., MELBOURNE THE New Guinea Women’s Association of Melbourne held its annual meeting on September 3. Owing to the coal-strike and the transport restrictions the meeting had been postponed for several months.

It was decided at the meeting that, as the Scholarship Fund is now wellestablished, members would continue to meet monthly as previously, and work for various other appeals.

Already two children are benefiting from the Scholarship Fund and a further two scholarships will be awarded next year. Conditions of entry and application forms are obtainable from Mrs.

Frank May, Yarra Braes, Eltham, Victoria.

The following office-bearers were reelected for the year, 1949-50: President, Mrs H A. Gregory; Hon. Secretary, Miss Valda Youlden; Hon. Treasurer, Mrs. G.

Walker.

Meetings during the past year have taken the form of social functions and the thanks of the members go to those who have so efficiently acted as hostesses.

Visitors from the New Guinea Territories and from other States are always welcome on the first Saturday in the month at the Business and Professional Women’s Club, Little Collins St., Melbourne.

Rabaul Residents Say Good-bye to Popular Official From Our Own Correspondent RABAUL, Sept. 8.

RESIDENTS of Rabaul, New Guinea, met at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, on September 7, to bid farewell to Mr. C.

D. Bates, District Officer. He has been transferred to Madang, as DO of that district and will depart from Rabaul on September 9 —first going to Port Moresby where he will attend a District Officers’ conference.

Mr. Bates is probably the best known and most respected District Officer that Rabaul has ever had. Before the war, when Rabaul was the capital of the Mandated Territory, the local District Officer was somewhat eclipsed by a galaxy of other officials, including the Administrator. Since the war, Rabaul has been bereft of its past glory and as it was completely devastated between 1942-45, the calibre of its District Officer was of the utmost importance in getting the township and the district back into some sort of order. Mr. Bates brought to the lob the greatest competence and enthusiasm and it is a blow to local residents that he now must go on to another district.

Mr. B. B. Perriman, managing-director of the New Guinea Company Ltd., speaking on behalf of Rabaul residents who had gone along to say goodbye to their popular official, said that he could appreciate the changes made under Mr. Bates’ direction in Rabaul in the past four years as he had returned to the town at the same time, in October, 1945, and at that stage he could not even locate his old home site such had been the complete devastation of once beautiful Rabaul.

Mr. Perriman was supported by Mr. B.

Gaskin who said that Mr. Bates’ sympathetic approach to the problems of residents had won him the many friends he had in New Britain to-dav; and Mr.

E. Hill, of the Rabaul Branch of the Bank of New South Wales.

Presentations were made to Mr. Bates by Mr Perriman, on behalf of citizens of Rabaul: and by Mr. D. McEvoy, on behalf of the Rabaul sub-branch of the RSSAILA.

Fiji’S Pineapple Cup For

Bowls Champion

THE Pineapple Cup is a silver trophj that is much admired and covetec by bowlers in Fiji. It was manufactured by a Sydney firm of silversmiths and presented to the Suva Bowling Clul in 1928 by the Pacific Biscuit Company Suva, to be awarded each year to thi Singles Bowling Champion of the Soutl Seas.

It has been competed for annually sine the year of its inception by members o bowling clubs in Fiji, and has alway created interest amongst the sportii community.

This year the competition was he during the August Bank Holiday weel end with ideal weather conditions nr vailing throughout the three days.

The winner was R. V. Thomas, wi Geo. Williams as runner-up.

The standard of bowling was very hig particularly in the semi-final and fin games. In fact, visitors from Austral and New Zealand remarked that they hi yet to see better play than that se< on the Suva Bowling green on July ; 1949.

Rations For P-Ng Native

EMPLOYEES A NOTICE in the Papua-New Guin Government Gazette, in Augu addressed rather quaintly to “ei ployers of employees,” advises that it now permissible to make a monete allowance in lieu of rations to no indentured labourers. This is permissit however, only if the labourer is willii and if there are facilities availal within three miles where the native c buy food, .. ~ In addition to money or rations, the e: ployer of employees must provide a bla ket (if the altitude is not more than l.( feet, after which the allowance mcreai by about one blanket or woollen shirt : every 1,000 feet above sea level, to th; blankets and two woollen shirts ab( 5,000 feet); bowl, pannikin spoon, a b case, rucksack, valise or kitbag, and t lava-lavas to commence with, thereat one to be issued every month.

The monetary allowance in lieu rations “shall not be less than the wee rate assessed from time to time by 1 District Officer.” 100

September. 194 Ff-Pacific Islands Month

■m \ k m t Photo by courtesy Sydney Morning Herald.

For Sale, Charter Or Exchange

The auxiliary ketch, “Darnley,” length 68 ft. ; beam 18 f.t 6 in., draught 7 ft., powered bji 6-cylinder 270 H.P. “Hercules” diesel engine. Speed approx. 9 knots; fuel capacity 4,000 gals.; range 12,000 miles. Full ketch rig. Built 1945. Wooden hull, coppered. Roomy forecastle with 8 bunks; wheelhouse with 2 bunks; well designed and fitted galley, including refrigerator.

Hold capacity approx. 50 tons. Ronaldson Tippett auxiliary lighting plant. The vessel has been recently slipped and the hull, engines, sails, rigging and fittings are in excellent condition.

Purchase price, £AIO,OOO, or alternatively owner will consider charter or exchange for Army Disposals material. Reply K. REYNOLDS, Challis House, Martin Place, Sydney. 101 CIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

PEERMAN Pumpless A modern PEERMAN Pumpless [ Iron makes ironing a pleasure. MADE Burns li hours without attention / at an easily regulated even heat, 4-"..

Discard that old flat iron and AUSTRALIA use an iron that’s as simple and efficient as an electric model, and the same weight too! Beautifully finished it is built to give satisfaction for years.

Trice includes stand and funnel 79/6 in free well packed carton.

Add postage, 3/-, anywhere in Pacific. Insurance 6d., except Solomons.

Consolidated Mail Orders

Halifax Buildings, 26 O'Connell Street, Sydney.

Cables: “Majco,” Sydney.

Bankers: Bank of N.S.W.

A. B. Donald Limited

Rarotonga Cook Islands

Telegraphic Address: “Donald, Rarotonga."

General Merchants (Wholesale & Retail) and Shipowners Importers & Exporters Branches Throughout Cook Islands Fire, Marine & Motor Vehicles Insurance Agents for Yorkshire Insurance Co.

Lloyd’s Agents.

Head Office;— A. B. DONALD, LTD., Auckland.

Agents and Distributors for: ENGLAND.—Austin Cars & Trucks, Pye Radios, Dunlop Rubber Co., Ltd., Vauxhall Cars & Trucks, R. A. Lister & Co., Ltd., Phillips' Cycles, Marples Tools.

U.S.A,—Remington Rand Corp., Radio Corp. of America.

Champion Spark Plug Co., Firestone Tyres, General Steamship Corp.

NEW ZEALAND.—Vacuum Oil Co. Pty., Ltd* Petroleum Products.

AUSTRALlA.—Wunderlich, Ltd., Cement Asbestos Products.

NORWAY.—O. Mustad & Sons, Fish Hooks.

SWEDEN.—B. A. Hjorth & Co., Primus Products.

Associate Houses:— ETABLISSEMENTS DONALD, Tahiti, Papeete, Society Islands.

DOMINION FRUIT CO., Suva, Fiji Islands.

CODES: Bentley's Complete Phrase ACME Sydney Agents : London Agents : San Francisco Agents : BURNS, PHILP & CO., LTD, BURNS, PHILP & CO., LTD. BURNS, PHILP CO. OF SAN FRANCISCO.

Growth Of Southern Pacific

INSURANCE CO.

FIFTEEN years ago, the Southern Pacific Insurance Co., Ltd., was established in Sydney with a very modest capital provided by W. R.

Carpenter & Co., Ltd. It has grown since then, in a remarkable way.

The 14th annual report, just published, shows that the Co., in 1948-9, had a premium income of £301,515, and made a profit of £lo,432—which is more than 16 per cent, on the subscribed capital.

The Co. now has a General Reserve of £62,500 and a Premium Reserve of £66,622 —both used in the business—and it has £24,800 in cash and £166,500 in “Investments” (£101,600 in Commonwealth Loans).

Rehabilitation in NG of Carpenter Interests Social Function Marks End of Difficult Stage From Our Own Correspondent RABAUL, August 30.

THE Directors of the New Guinea Co., Ltd., Rabaul branch, entertained members of the staff and their wives to their first post-war dinner, at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, Rabaul, on August 29. II was a most successful function, Mr. W. H. Carpenter, who was on ar inspection trip to New Guinea, represented Sir Walter Carpenter.

In proposing the toast to Mr. Carpenter, Mr. B. B. Perriman, Managing Director of the New Guinea Company, thanked Directors and staff for their support during the difficult time experienced in reestablishing the business which was completely lost during the war. He said thal progress to date could be credited entirely to the co-operation between Directors and staff.

Mr. Carpenter, in response, said thai next year he hoped to return to Rabau when another similar function could b( held —then he would be celebrating 5( years’ association with Carpenter interests. He congratulated Mr. Perrimai on the work of rehabilitation and said that in selecting him to control the operation! of New Guinea Company Limited in tin Territory, the Directors did so with perfect confidence due to their knowledgi of Mr. Perriman’s administrative Qualities, wide experience and energy. Mr Perriman, this year, will complete 31 years’ service with Carpenter interests, 3i of which have been tropical service. 102 SEPTEMBER, 1949 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHL

Marine Engines

HALVORSEN’S HAVE FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY: “UNDERWOOD” 3 H.P. —2 Cycle—with built in Clutch -Petrol MORRIS “VEDETTE” 4 Cylinder 6/12 H.P. Petrol or Kerosene MORRIS “NAVIGATOR” 4 Cylinder 12/24 H.P. Petrol or Kerosene MORRIS “COMMODORE” 6 Cylinder 20/40 H.P. Petrol or Kerosene CHRYSLER “CROWN” 6 Cylinder 45/102 H.P. Petrol CHRYSLER “ROYAL” 8 Cylinder 55/132 H.P. Petrol Available soon: “LEYLAND” DIESEL MARINE 6 Cylinder 85 H.P.

Further particulars from the distributors : LARS HALVORSEN SONS PTY. LTD.

WATERVIEW ST., RYDE ( 0 ' )- N.S.W.

Telegrams: Halvorscns, Sydney. ’Phone: Ryde 705

• Free Expert Propeller Advice

Fiji’S New Chief Justice

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA. Sept. 3. y|R. J. H. VAUGHAN, MC, Attorney- (l General, Fiji, since 1945, has' been appointed Chief Justice, Fiji, and lief Judicial Commissioner. Western icific High Commission, in succession Sir Claud Seton, who recently retired.

Mr. Vaughan is expected to return to ji late in October after leave spent in reat Britain. He was educated at Eastiume College and Cambridge, served th the Forces from 1914 to 1921 and en became an Assistant District Comissioner in Zanzibar. In 1929 he was lied to the Bar and was appointed a sident magistrate, later becoming ,tomey-General, Zanzibar. He was ansferred to Tanganyika as Solicitormeral in 1936.

Stories Of The Islands

THOMAS IDWAL PARRY, 47, described as a “master mariner, of Sydney,” was committed for sentence in Lunceston on August 23, for false etences. He obtained £7lO, on stories nnected with the Pacific Islands.

He got £BO from Mrs. Kathleen Daymd, of New Guinea, by saying he had [)0 coming from Sydney; £5BO from iwen, a Launceston builder, by saying owned a schooner, with which he was inging war equipment from the Soloms; and £5O from Charles Willes by liming he and friends had found oil New Guinea.

Hail-stones in the T ropics!

APIA, August 2.

DURING the recent cold spell in Western Samoa, a fall of hail was reported from the Falealili district on the South Coast of Upolu, an occurrence which, as far as known, is unprecedented in Samoa.

The hail completely puzzled the inhabitants of the Falealili district.

Fiji Gets A Good Press

IN CANADA SUVA. Sept. 4.

VANCOUVER newspaper articles written by members of the Canadian official party in the pre-inaugural flight of Canadian Pacific Airlines Ltd., indicate that Fiji scored top marks, largely because it was “different” and not subservient to the dictates of tourism.

Jack Webster, in the Vancouver Sun says that compared with “the strike-torn holiday haven of Honolulu and Communist-crippled Australia,” Fiji is peaceful. All the Canadians appear to believe that for Canadians Fiji is a potential South Sea “soft-currency rival to Hawaii.”

Ed. Martin, news-editor of the Vancouver News-Herald, appears to have been pleasurably overwhelmed because “the Fijian porters and others who assisted us were disinclined to take tips for their efforts.”

In a letter to the Mayor of Suva (Mr.

Alport Barker), the president of the Vancouver Board of Trade (Mr. T. Norris), says that the party was impressed by Fiji’s “scenic beauty, sound economy and great kindness.”

Lsi Cattle Transport A

SUCCESS Prom Our Own Correspondent HONIARA, August 8.

THE best weeding gang we’ve ever had,” is how Mr. O. Bergin, manager of the Fairymead Sugar Company’s BSI interests, described a shipment of 400 head of New Zealand cattle which were landed at Yandina (Russell Islands) last week from the New Zealand LST “Rawhiti.”

Only two cows succumbed to the sea trip and one became a casualty after landing, allegedly through a long and misguided drink of salt water. These mishaps were more than balanced by several calves born on the way and on arrival, with plenty more expected.

The cattle lost no time in attacking the plantation undergrowth, which is formidable in areas not yet tackled by hand.

New Guinea Club, Rabaul

REOPENS From Our Own Correspondent RABAUL, August 29.

THE New Guinea Club, Rabaul, will open on September 14, with a social and dance. All old members have been requested to become financial before that date. Town membership fees are £5/5/- and Country membership, £3/3/-.

On the opening night members will be allowed one guest.

The New Guinea Club was probably the Territory’s best known club before the war, but its building was almost wholly demolished during the occupation of Rabaul. The new club building has been reconstructed most attractively from the remains, although it will not be as large as the pre-war Club. 103 ACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949

Plantation FMS June, 1942 £16 0 0 £15 0 0 July, 1942 16 12 6 15 12 6 June, 1944 19 10 0 18 0 0 October, 1944 .... 20 0 0 18 10 0 December, 1945 .. 19 7 6 17 17 6 January, 1946 .... 18 5 6 18 0 0 August, 1946 .. .. 23 10 6 23 5 0 February, 1947 ... 29 15 6 29 10 0 June 9, 1947 .... 36 19 0 36 13 6 December 8, 1947 . 38 5 6 38 0 0 March 15, 1948 .. 46 5 6 46 0 0 January 1, 1949 .. 49 10 6 49 5 0 Hot-air Smoked Jan. 7, 1947 .. . £28 0 0 £27 0 0 June 17, 1947 . ,, £31 2 0 Nov. 23, 1947 . . £35 10 0 April 8, 1948 . . . £40- £45 January 1, 1949:— £47 Pt, Moresby . £48 0 0 7 6 Samaral .. £48 0 0 £47 7 6 Madang . .. £48 0 0 £47 7 6 Rabaul .. £48 0 0 £47 7 6 Kokopo .. £46 17 6 £46 5 0 Kavieng . .. £45 17 6 £45 5 0 Hot-air Dried Smoked January, 1947 . .. £36 10 0 £35 10 0 July. 1947 . .. .. £51 5 0 £50 5 0 April, 1948 . . . .. £61 0 0 £60 0 0 April, 1949 . . . .. £66 0 0 £65 7 6 May, 1949 . . , .. £66 10 0 £65 17 6 London Para.

Smoked Price on— per lb. per lb.

January 6, 1939 . .... 7d 8‘/ad July 7 . .... 7%d .. 8‘/ 4 d January 5, 1940 ., 13d .. 11.6%d July 5 . .... 15d .. 12%d January 3, 1941 . 13d .. 12.47%d June 6 . 16‘/ 2 d .. 13.5%d October 10—Price officially fixed at 13%d Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade: September, 1943 . 1/6% 1/4 1/2 September, 1944 i/6 y 2 1/5 % 1/3% July, 1944 . .. . 1/4% 1/3 % 1/1% No. 1 RSS, loose. 35 V» cents lb. (12.04d.

Aust.

No. 1 RSS, baled, 35 Va cents lb. (12.04d.

Aust.

No. 2 RSS, baled, 33% cents lb. (11.48d.

Aust, No. 3 RSS, baled, 30% cents lb. (10.52d.

Aust, g Aug., 1939.

Aug. 1 Sept.

Emperor Mines .. b9/H bll/6 bll/- Loloma s25/6 S17/3 bl9/- Bulolo G.D bl24/- bllO/- bllOA Enterprise of N.G. b27/6 bl5/- b!2/6 Guinea Gold .. .. bl3/3 blO/3 blO/9 N.G.G., Ltd bl/10 b2/3 b2/5 Placer Development b68/6 bl20/- bl40/- Sandy Creek .. .. bl/5 b3d. b7V 2 d Sunshine Gold . .. b6/5 b9/6 blO/- Cuthbert’s Misima . sl6/6 b9/- s9/3 Mandated Alluvials b3/8 s8d. s8d Oil Search s3/ll b5/ll b7/- Oriomo Oil b5/- b2/7 b3/10 Papuan Apinaipi .. b4/H b4/9 b5/- Buying Sel [lie £ s. d. £ s.

Telegraphic transfer . .. Ill 2 6 113 0 On demand .. Ill 2 6 113 0 London: Buying Bellini £ s. d. £ s.

Telegraphic transfer . 100 7 6 101 10 On demand 99 9 3 101 10 Samoa: — Buying Sellii Dollars Dolla Telegraphic transfer ..

On demand 4.03736 4.07943 3.918 3.921 £ Stg. USA Dollar £ Au Si:: j8.» Sj Group 3 (Pacific) 200 49 ■ 6 189 Purchasers at Full Market Prices on Assay Value of GOLD SILVER PLATINUM And Platinum Group Metals

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Assays of Bullion, Ores, etc.

Analyses of Metals, Minerals, Alloys, etc.

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METALLURGISTS— Our range of precious metal manufactures covers all industries—Gold and Silversmiths, Electrical Trades, Dental Profession, Glass Silverers, Electro-Platers, etc., etc.

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MATTHEY PTY., LTD. 824 George St., Sydney. Works: Snrry Hills and Chippendale, N.S.W.

Official Assayers to the Bank of New South Wales. Gazetted Agents of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, under the Gold Regulations of the National

Islands Produce

(Unless otherwise stated, quotations are in Australian currency) COCOA Cocoa beans imported into Australia from the Pacific Islands come mostly from New Guinea and the New Hebrides and are purchased almost wholly by the Commonwealth Chocolate and Confectionery Manufacturers’ Association. The buying price is based on the ruling rate of Accra beans (produced mainly in the Gold Coast Colony, West Africa). The Gold Coast Cocoa Marketing Board, in Accra, recently announced that, owing to increased world production, the price for the next crop will be lower than that of 1948-49. New prices will be fixed before the new crop is harvested in October, Western Pacific cocoa beans were quoted on the Sydney market in mid-September at:— New Guinea: £l3l per ton.

New Hebrides: £136 per ton.

Western Samoa’s cocoa production normally goes to USA, where its distribution is controlled by the International Control Board. The price in Apia fell early in 1949 to £lOO-£l2O Stg. per ton, f.o.b.

Accra (quotation by Colyer, Watson Pty., Ltd., Sydney): £127/10/- Sterling (equivalent to approximately £l5B/17/6 Aust.), c.i.f., Sydney.

Trochus Shell

Irregular shipments are handled in Sydney by some Pacific Islands trading firms. Recent quotations were: Thursday Island shell, £7O per ton, f.0.b.; New Guinea shell, £64 per ton, c.i.f., Sydney: Solomon Islands shell, £65 per ton, c.i.f., Sydney. Difficult to sell.

COFFEE No coffee trading is permitted in Australia without the consent of the Tea and Coffee Control Board, to which all offers must first be submitted. Nominal quotations as follows: — New Caledonia: Production is being taken by France at considerably higher than normal rates, (equivalent to around £2OO Australian per ton for Arablca and £l6O Aust. for Robusta).

New Guinea and Papua: Nominally £l2O to £l6O per ton (c.i.f,), according to quality.

Java: No exports coming to Australia from Indonesia.

Vanilla Beans

No Pacific Islands supplies available. Production of the main South Seas vanilla-producer, French Oceania, goes to USA.

RICE No free-trading in rice at present. The whole of the Australian rice crop goes to the Government for allocation to countries where rice is a staple of the native peoples. Rice shipped from Sydney to Islands ports is fixed at £45 per ton White and £49 per ton Brown.

Green Snail Shell

Quotations recently on the Sydney market were steady at £72 per ton, c.i.f., for f.a.q. shell.

Pearl Shell

By a contract for the 1949-50 season, made recently with the principal USA Mother of Pearl Shell buyer, Thursday Island shell was fixed at following prices: Grade “AA” to “C,” £A325 per long ton, f.0.b., TI; grade “D,” £A225; grade “E,” £AI2S. This represented a substantial decline compared with last season’s price of £ A4OO for top grades of Torres Strait MOP shell.

Price Of Gold

Fine Standard oz. .. £lO/15/3 oz £9/17/3% (Australian Currency) COPRA Copra Prices During World War II The copra market was controlled by Governments from outbreak of war in 1939 until the end of the war in 1945. Some controls are still being exercised in the post-war period.

Fiji Local Buying Price, in Store, Fiji Currency.

From January 1, 1949, the British Ministry of Food is buying Fiji copra at the above fixed price. For each subsequent year, until the end of 1957, the price will he adjusted by negotiation.

New Hebrides From a maximum of £70/12/6 (Aust.), per ton, in 1948, the price of New Hebrides copra recently firmed to around £58 (Aust.) per ton.

Western Samoa Canadian buyers recently paid £53 (£66 Aust.) per ton in Apia for Samoan copra.

Samoa has a 10 years’ contract agreement with the UK Government, thereby stabilising the industry.

Territory Of Papua-New Guinea

ANGPCB Fixed Price, Delivered to Ship’s Slings: All prices quoted are for copra delivered to ship’s slings, or to the Board’s warehouse.

Official Price for P-NG Copra sold in Sydney: Australia has agreed to sell a proportion of P-NG’s copra production annually to the UK Ministry of Pood, for a period of nine years, at fixed prices. For 1949, the price to the UK will be £4B Stg. per ton, f.0.b., Territory ports; the price for each subsequent year will be adjusted by negotiation. Territories’ planters, during 1949, are receiving £4B Aust. per ton for this copra.

RUBBER Plantation

Papuan Rubber Prices

During World War II, Papua’s rubber pro' duction was controlled by the Australian Govern ment. The fixed prices paid at plantation, pe; lb. (Australian currency) were;— Current Bates After the price control on rubber was lifted most Australian trading firms used th Singapore day-to-day quotations as a basis whei buying Papuan rubber. The Singapore Exchang gives buying prices for four grades and averag rates ruling in August were:—

Quotations For Mining

SHARES FIJI

New Guinea

PAPUA Exchange Rates THE following exchange quotations show tl rates existing in Sydney in September;— FIJI Through Bank of NSW and Bank of Ne Zealand: —Australia on Fiji on basis of £h Fiji: Buying. £Alll/2/6; seUing, £A113. F1J London on basis of £100 London: —

Western Samoa

Through Bank of New Zealand: —Australia < Western Samoa on basis of £100 Samoa: bu; ing, £A123/12/6; selling, £A124/10/9.

Samoa on London, on basis of £100 Samoa on New Zealand, on basis of £1 NZ: —Buying, £100; selling, £100/10/-, Samoa on Fiji, on basis of £100 Samoa: Buying, £111; selling, £110.

Samoa on USA and Canada, on basis of i The Bank of NZ In Apia pays the followl!

Samoan currency prices for overseas notes: NZ notes « for *} Australian notes 15/6 for £ Ai USA notes 4/9 per dollar Fijian notes 17/6 per £P1

Papua-New Guinea

Bank of New South Wales, which h branches in Port Moresby, Lae, and Rami quotes an exchange rate between Australia ai Papua-New Guinea of 10/- per £100.

Similar rates through Commonwealth Bai of Australia (branches at Port Moresby, Le Rabaul and Madang).

French Pacific Colonies

SINCE the end of 1945, the franc, instei of having the same value in all parts the French Empire, has been given differe values in different Colonial Groups. The are three groups. Group 1: France, Nor Africa. West Indies, French Guiana. Group All African Colonies, Madagascar, Reunion, * Pierre Miquelon. Group 3: New Caledon] New Hebrides, French Oceania. The Group franc was devalued in January, 1948. Exchan values, in francs, are (nominal only):— Published by PACTFIO PUBLICATIONS PTY.. LTD.. Union House. 247 George Street. Sydney. ( T^epho n e; BW 5 037 ) printed In Australia by the Sydney and Melbourne Publishing Co. Pty., Ltd., 39 Alberta Street. Sydney. (Telepho

?2 S): St.

Li V r i-L IP G ood company deserves the best, and it is a thoughtful and discerning* host who serves his guests sparkling K.B. Lager. For “K. 8.” adds enjoyment to any gathering, and it’s one drink that’s appreciated by everybody, men and women alike. ®oiip TOOTH’S d 1 LAGER K 8.35. F urn

September, 194 9' Pacific Islands Monthly

Ik MERCHANTS OWNERS & m Capital £1,000,000 ESTABLISHED 1914 i< ★

Copra Merchants & Millers

ASSOCIATED COMPANIES THROUGHOUT THE PACIFIC ISLANDS IN LONDON Buyers and exporters of ail kinds of Islands produce. Copra Merchants and Millers.

Agents for Australian, European and American Manufacturers. Distributors of every description of merchandise.

Thirty years of Pacific Islands development and service.

Regular Cargo

PACIFIC Head W.

Office:

And Passenger Service Between Europe And

Island Ports Was Established By

R. CARPENTER Cr CO. LTD. 16 O'CONNELL STREET, SYDNEY.

Cable Address CAMOHE.

Telephone BW 4421.

Postal Address: P.O. Box No. 168, Sydney.

PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949 PACIFIC ISLANDS MONTHLY SEPTEMBER, 1949