Pacific Islands Monthly - 15 December 1938

SPACE pressure compels us to hold over, until next issue, details of books published by Angus & Rob ertson, Ltd., of Sydney. They are:—♦ “Collected Essays of Walter Mur doch”. 8 6—a delightful volume by Aus tralia’s most distinguished writer — “shafts of wisdom, pointed by wit and feathered by fun”.

“The Bone is Pointed”, 6/ a really intriguing murder mystery, woven against a background of inland Australia, by the clever hand of Arthur W. Upheld.

“Free and Easy Land”. 10 6, by Frank Clune. As one reads this bright, amus ing book, one realises that Queensland is Australia’s most colourful State, with patches of fascinating romance in its history.

“Titans of the Barrier Reef”, 8/6, by Norman Caldwell. A series of adven tures, vividly told, vith sharks, devil-fish, groper and other monsters of tropical waters.

“Idle Hour", After 35,000

Miles, Wrecked in Harbour

THE 32-ft. ketch “Idle Hours”, was wrecked in Long Island Sound (At lantic coast of the United States) on the night of September 21. She will be remembered in many parts of the Pacific as the little boat which the American University student, Dwight Long, sailed from Seattle across the Pacific Ocean in 1935-36; thence to Auckland, Sydney, Papua, East Indies.

Colombo, Suez Canal, Gibraltar, Lon-

don, and then across the Atlantic, home.

Dwight Long, writing from New York, sends the attached photograph to the editor, and says: “My boat was wreck ed here in the worst hurricane that had struck New England and vicinity since 1815. I had completed 35,000 miles, and was safe in harbour and then to be wrecked!

“Curiously' enough, I was down at Radio City, describing over the air a former hurricane I had experienced, when my boat broke away from its moor ings. and was pounded against a sea wall. smashing in ten ribs and 18 planks”.

Mr. Long does not say whether the vessel is capable of repair. The photo graph suggests that repair is possible.

We should not be surprised to see the indomitable young American back in the Pacific again, with his famous “Idle Hour”.

The “Idle Hour”, where she was thrown against a sea-wall and smashed, by a hurricane.

Nauru

Bad Drought On

Water Supplies from Condensation

From a Special Correspondent

Nauru, Nov. 14.

THE island of Nauru is in a bad way at present owing to the prolonged drought—the worst since 1916.

Practically no rain has fallen for a year, and coconut palms and vegetation generally, including even the hardy to mano trees which cover the island, are dying. Europeans are receiving ration supplies of condensed water. The little golf course, usually an oasis of green, is practically too dry and dusty to allow of play.

Dairy Cattle

Herd to Establish Industry in Central N. Guinea

From a Special Correspondent

W Tm Cairns, Nov. 13.

HEN the “Macdhui” left Cairns to day for New Guinea, she carried Mr. Jack Toogood, and 15 head of pure-bred Illawarra dairy cows. He is taking this stock to Lae, New Guinea and there, at the mouth of the Mark ham Valley (gateway of the great cen tral tablelands) he will establish a dairy farm and stock-recruiting station.

This may prove to be one of the im portant steps in Australia’s development of New Guinea, and it is hoped that this enterprising man will receive at least a little encouragement from Ra baul and Canberra.

Mr. Toogood had resided for many years in the Ingham district, Queens land, and has been handling stock all his life. He can deal with all stock ailments and his presence in New Guinea should be of value from a veter inary science point of view.

He has also taken back with him plants and seeds of the best pasture grasses, which comprise collections from Argentine, South Africa and Queensland and he feels sure that all of these grasses will do well in New Guinea, and should improve the milking qualities of his dairy herd.

Mr. Toogood, for the past three years, has been in New Guinea, contracting and recruiting, and he considers that the upper reaches of the Markham Valley will, in the near future, be settled; and with his farm at Lae, he will be able to supply cattle and stud pigs to other set tlers who come in to make a start.

He speaks in optimistic terms of the future of New Guinea as a cattle dairy ing and pig-raising country.

Who was it said that the man that made two blades of grass grow, where one grew before, was worth all the poli ticians put together?

Sawmill Established

LAE, Nov. 25.

HE road up the Markham Valley from Lae is being steadily improved, and an increasing amount of good land is being made accessible.

Messrs. Hoile Brothers, of Wau, have started the erection of a sawmill, near the Markham River, between 8 and 10 miles from Lae. There is good timber thereabouts. They are making a road, to connect with the new Markham Road.

Death Of “Granny" Clunn

Samarai, Dec. 2.

MRS. E. CLUNN died on December 1, aged 77.

She came to Papua 40 years ago, and became one of the best known and most highly respected women in the Terri tory. Miners and traders calling at Sa marai, coasting skippers, and homesick young clerks and store hands, all made a point of going to see “Granny Clunn”; and all were sure of a welcome—and of a frank encouragement or straight spoken rebuke, according to their des erts.

Practical, capable, generously hospit able, and deeply understanding of hu man difficulties and human frailties, Mrs. Clunn was almost the last repres entative of the fine type of pioneer wo men.

Advertisements & other items, p. 6 (1 item)

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Pacific Islands Monthl y—t) ecember I§, 1938

Copra's Rival

Huge Ships Out After Whale Oil

ALL the nations are sending larger and more efficient fleets of whale-catch ers and floating factories to the Antarctic this year, and it is likely that the catch of whale oil—which has a de pressing effect on the copra market will be larger than ever. Japan and Ger many set the pace in this industry, and Britain. U.S.A., and the Scandinavian countries have followed.

International agreements, to limit the whale catch and save the whales from extermination have gone by the board.

The “Unitas”, a 21.846 ton German whale factory ship, which left Southamp ton early in November for Capetown, on her way to ninety days’ whale hunting through the Antarctic, is the biggest cargo vessel in the world, and has a bigger draught than any ship afloat.

Having taken on 38.000 tons of fuel oil, the ship had a sailing draught of nearly 40 ft., which is more than 3 ft. in ex cess of the 81,000 tons liner “Queen Mary”. . , This season a new catch-finding ap paratus is to be tried. When a whale is killed by the chasers it is pumped up with air from compressed air cylinders to make the carcase float and left to be picked up by the factory ship. It is then “flagged” to facilitate “spotting", but automatic radio beacons, which emit signals at intervals, are also attached to the carcases, so that they may be picked up even under conditions of bad visibility.

The “Unitas” will work in conjunc tion with a fleet of ten chasers in the region of the Great Barrier. She has a crew of 306. and with the men on the chasers, there is a total of 470.

A New Fish

In Recently Discovered Lake in Central Papua

From Our Own Correspondent.

Pt. Moresby, Dec. 2.

THE newly-discovered Lake Kutubu, on the south-western edge of the uncon trolled area, in Central Papua, is not only a very beautiful sheet of water, but is also achieving fame as the home of fish hitherto unknown.

The fish, though small and bony, are an important item in the diet of the lake-dwellers.

Mr. C. T. J. Adamson who, with Mr.

Ivan Champion, is stationed at the lake, sent specimens of two varieties of the fish to the British Museum, for identi fication. He has received a report that one variety is entirely unknown to sci ence, and that “Adamsonii” has been de cided upon as its baptismal name. The other specimen has not yet been iden tified with any known species, and is expected to prove another new discov ery.

Late Jock Hides

Son Born Posthumously

Mrs. Marguerite Hides, Widow

of the late Mr. Jack Hides, of Papua (who died a few months ago) gave birth to a son on November 24. He has been named John Fairfax Hides.

The young explorer thus is survived by two children —a daughter, who was born when he was away on his famous Tarifuroro patrol, in 1935, and a son, born posthumously.

International Tennis In Samoa

THE Western Samoa tennis team won the Ernest Reid Memorial Trophy, and the Inter-Island Tennis Champion ship, 1938.

Teams from American Samoa and Western Samoa met at Pago Pago on October 21-23, to play in the tournament.

The trophy was presented by Mr. G. H. C. Reid and family, of Pago Pago, in memory of their son, Ernest J. E. Reid.

In the photograph, left to right, are: Sitting—C. Helles coe (captain). W. M. Jones, Standing—R. E. Hendriksen, G.

F. Betham.

The American team includ ed; P Reid. E. Meredith. S.

Scanlon, J. Johnson, Ropati.

During the tournament, mem bers of the Australian Davis Cup team, who were passing through Pago Pago on S.S.

“Monterey”, on their return to Australia from U.S.A. parti cipated in some delightful ex hibition matches, and were given a rousing reception by a most appreciative audience. The rival inter-island captains, Hel lescoe and Reid, also tried con clusions with the doughty Australians.

TOP ROW.—Father Lepping (left) and Father Breton, of the Marist Mission, sailed from Sydney for Kieta, Solomon Islands, by the last “Malaita”. Father Lepping arrived re cently from Philadelphia, U.S.A., and this is his first term in the Islands. Father Breton, who has been in B.S.I. for more than 12 years, has just completed furlough in Sydney.

BOTTOM ROW. —Mr. and Mrs. G. E. Clift sail ed from Sydney by the “Bulolo" on November 19 for a brief visit to Papua and New Guinea.

Mr. Clift is secretary and a director of Grace Bros. Pty. Ltd., the well-known Sydney retail store.

Help For China

Surprising Sums Sent from Tahiti

From our Own Correspondent.

Papeete, Nov. 24.

THE events in China have had a pro found effect on the Chinese colony in French Oceania.

While the war raged about Shanghai and in the valley of the Yang-tse River, the Chinese at Tahiti concentrated their efforts on the collection of funds to aid the purchase of war material for the armies.

Committees were formed to visit the several islands. Every Chinaman —even to the lone tiller of the soil in the mountain valleys and the trader on the most remote atoll—was rounded up and urged to contribute. A really astonish ing sum was amassed and sent to Hong Kong.

Most of the Chinese in French Oceania came from Canton, and have families and relations who —since the Japanese invasion of South China — are now refugees in Hong Kong and the hinterland beyond Canton.

The loyalty to family, traditional with the Chinese, is amply proven by the gen erous aid now being sent from Tahiti many merchants have despatched a goodly share of their capital funds, and that others have sacrificed their savings of years to relieve the tragedy which has fallen upon these distant relations and friends.

Mrs. Mollie Lett, well-known resident of Port Moresby, Papua, arrived in Syd ney on December 5, to spend a holiday in Australia.

Advertisements & other items, p. 7 (1 item)

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Pacific Islands Monthl y—D ecember 15, 1938

West. Samoan

Election

O. F. Nelson Tops The Poll

Apia, Dec. 1.

AN election for two European mem bers of the Legislative Council, for three years, was held on November 26, and resulted:—

Elected

O. F. Nelson (former leader of the Mau) 332 Dr. C. M. Dawson 270

Not Elected

A. G. Smyth (retiring member) .. 216 A. Stowers (prominent in local Labour Party) 152 E. T. Pleasants (a solicitor in Apia) 135 P. W. Glover (Apia business man) 28 The other retiring Councillor, Mr. I.

H. Carruthers, did not seek re-election.

At the last election, there were 111 on the roll—the voter’s qualification be ing property or income worth £2OO p.a.

This election, there were 705 on the roll, of whom 98 per cent, voted. The N.Z.

Labour Government changed the voting qualification from that stated, to “every European male or female, over 21 years of age, provided he or she is either the legitimate child of a European parent or registered as a European”.

This new rule gave the vote to the large community of European-Samoans, who have European status. Of the 705 on the roll, 194 are Europeans, and 511 are European-Samoans. One-third of all the electors are women.

Loss By Fires In Fiji

AFIRE in an electricity plant, owned by Mr. M. P. Khan, did £1,300 worth of damage at Lautoka, Fiji, on No vember 22.

Early in the morning of October 29, a Pre did £lO,OOO worth of damage at Ba, Fiji. Buildings destroyed were: The Avalon Picture Theatre, a bulk store, a garage with five vehicles, a cordial fac tory, two terraces of shops and tene ment buildings, and a number of out buildings. Messrs. Morris Hedstrom Ltd. owned the cordial factory, bakery, bulk store and garage, and Singh owned the remainder.

Serious Epidemic In New

Britain

PRIVATE letters from Rabaul, dated December, say that there has been a “terrifying death-roll” among New Britain natives, apparently from pneu monia, which is the result either of ne glected measles of pneumonic influenza.

“All over this district”, says one planter, near Rabaul, “the natives have been dying like flies in their villages.

No doctor has been near them —there are not enough to cope with this big epidemic”.

THE Fijian coastal steamer, “Yanawai”, left Suva on November 24, heavily laden, for an unknown destination.

She was an object of curiosity as she waited about, near the harbour en trance, for some hours, before disappear ing into the south-east. It is supposed that her mission is connected with the formal occupation of certain islands by Great Britain.

"Bounty" Men's

Graves

Danger That They May Be Lost

HISTORICAL landmarks of value on Pitcairn Island are in danger of be ing lost.

A year ago, it was noticed that the headstone over the grave of John Adams (the last of the “Bounty” mutineers) had fallen down and was broken. The

stone was repaired with cement, and re-erected; but soon afterwards it fell to pieces again.

The grave of John Adams is the only one of the “Bounty” mutineers’ graves that is definitely known. The approxi mate place of Fletcher Christian’s bur ial is known, but nothing marks the spot.

Head-stone over John Adams’s grave, before it was broken. Standing beside the stone is Ada Christian, a great-great-grand-daughter of John Adams.

Emigration of Tonkinese