ISLAND NEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 188, 11 August 1925, Page 14

ISLAND NEWS.

OUR FIJI LETTER

A FATAL ACCIDENT

I (From Our Own Correspondent.) i SUVA, August 6. A Raid accident ocrurred last week at the Flagstaff near Suva, when a little ! boy, four years old, was drowned in a ' waterhole. He strolled off by himself, and when his mother, who is a blind | native of Guadalcanal", called him and , could get no answer, she could not get , any assistance for some time, so that when some girls went looking in the : hole and found the body, life had fled. Levuana Campaign. The attempt by the Fiji Government !to find a parasito for the dreaded de- | stroyer of the coconut palm, the I Levuana moth, is being followed with i keen interest throughout the Pacific. It i will therefore be interesting to know • that the steamer Clan Matheson brought jto Suva on Monday a consignment of | parasites, including some tachnids, | many of which, unfortunately, died on ! the voyage from the Straits Settlement, and a supply of clerids, the latter arriving in good condition. The clerid is a predacious beetle, which cats up fully 50 per cent of the braehitonae, a moth closely related to the Levuana. It is found in the Malay Archipelago. These ! parasites will be carefully cultivated, and I when a sufficient supply has been prepared, they will be distributed throughout the infected areas. Governor Leaves Colony. His Excellency the Governor, who is also the High Commissioner of the Western Pacific, left Suva on Monday by H.M.s Laburnum for Tonga, where there are several matters that require his attention. He expects to return to Fiji in about three weeks' time. Tn the meantime Mr. D. R. Stewart, ActingColonial Secretary, will act as Governor's Deputy. Fiji Pineapples. Yet another step forward has been made regarding thee establishment of the pineapple canning industry in Fijji. Last week Dr. Tothill (acting Superintendent of Agriculture) and Sir Maynard Hedstrom, member of the Pine- • apple Committee, went to Viti Levu Bay, and inspected the chief trial plot of pines, on a site which lies on the bay frontage. The plot is of 25 acres, with some IS acres planted, and the balance being got ready. The fruit was gTowing splendidly, but it was roecognised that the site did not afford a fair average example of suitable land for modern cultivation, i.e., with tractors on a large scale, such as would bo necessary should the Canadian people take up the scheme as hoped for. So the deputation selected another 10 acres on Tova ; Estate, and some two mile's from the shore, where the land is undulating and free from scrub. From this site one can see over 10,000 acres of splendid land, all available for cultivation with- '■ out any clearing or extra initial cost. '• This will be used as "the selling sample," when the representatives come from Canada to decide whether the work , will be gone on with. The site is an ideal one. If it be found that the experiment has been successful a company will be formed and the factory will be built on the site of the main plantation, as the most economic conditions will be adopted. On Tova, with a limited railway, some 20,000 acres can be worked at the minimum cost and with easy access to shipping. It looks well on paper. ' Fiji Boxing. The Town Hall in Suva was well filled on Saturday night, when the local • Athletic Club staged a series of boxing ! displays, chiefly between tho men of j H.M.b. Laburnum and some local lads. Valentine, who has had several local j victories, was able to beat his opponent rather easily, but Bentley. who is a very game boxer, although not with much experience, was defeated on points by Bowden, of the warship. The bouts • between natives created great fun. and provided several new styles of up-to-date boxing. ' Samoan Administration. Sir George Richardson is showing marked ability in the management and I development of Western Samoa. His latest effort is one which is evidence of a shrewd study of the native character and native disposition. He has attacked the old lazy habit of tho native of only growing sufficient produce and foodstuffs to supply his own i house, without any regard for the de- ; velopment of his country by export. How to make a native work has been a pro- ! blem which has baffled many administrators in many lands. Sir George has, however, introduced one which has all the attraction of novelty, and which promises a considerable success. The official party carried a cinema, and the display of the pictures was greatly appreciated by all. It was also possible for Dr. i Ritchie to illustrate the horrors of hookworm and the value of the medical treatment for same. This will greatly assist the next hookworm campaign. I Then the Administrator had a very perI eonal and appealing address printed and widely circulated. He, also addressed the gatherings when possible personally. He emphasised what he called "five j points of the Star of Samoa." This term has caught on, and the whole colony.is talking of them. They are: (1) Be true to God; (2) loyal to the King; (3) love, live, and work to improve their country; (4) be kind and good to one : another; (5) educate their minds and take care of their bodies. There it is, a very sermon in a nutshell. He vividly ehowed them the various stages of their I country's development, viz.: (1) The lava stage; (2) coming- of the first i Samoa; (3) arrival of first whalers and 'missionaries; (4) the Germans; (5) the Great War; (6) a vision of the future Samoa — schools everywhere (including technical and agricultural), villages tidy and clean, proper water supply, electric light, plantations up-to-date and we'l cutivated, churches spotless, fautasis ami launches in good order, money in the savings banks. Those are all things which appeal to the native. As this sernion in a nutshell (so easily memorised) followed the strong appeal to the faipulea to produce not only sufficient for private needs, but for export, the principle has been driven home by showing all the benefits which will accrue from following the advice of the Administration. The whole organisation has j evidences of careful study and sound lines of reasoning, and one feels that I here is something tangible in the way of j native administration which has not ! yet been given a trial elsewhere, and J which has within its compass many proi inises of a big success.. Here in Fiji people are eagerly watching the outcome of Sir George's experiment, and it is generally felt that ,he i> going along i .sound ' lints whigh should materially j benaiit Samoa and its people.' ■•'