NEW CALEDONIA

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 April 1943, Page 5

NEW CALEDONIA

NO MALARIA ON ISLAND

NOUMEA, April 3

Tucked away in secluded valleys, dispersed on rolling plains, hidden by the tangled scrub of a hundred foothills, New Zealanders of the Pacific Force are now settling down, to life in New Calepodia. It is a way of life strange to them all. The place is as different from Fiji or other Pacific isles as it is from New Zealand, but with characteristic adaptability the troops have set themselves with fair success to making it as comfortable as possible. Camp life for the New Zealanders has proved in some ways better than they expected, and in other ways worse. In certain places they were at first able to sleep at nights without mosquito nets. Since then, however, the rainy season has brought with it a plague of the pests, and long trousers are usually worn immediately after sunset. There is no malaria on the island, although the mosquitoes are of a type which could carry infection.

Rations are nearly all American and are canned. They include sausages of--many shapes and sizes, and fruit and vegetables’in great variety. Fresh New Zealand butter, occasionally potatoes and mutton are welcome additions to the menu. Canteen supplies were -meagre at first, but- are now coming to hand more freely. They include soaps, razor blades, a little writing material, tooth brushes and paste, sometimes chocolate, -and all smokers’ requirement except pipes. Stocks are chiefly from : ’New Zealand, but at times American cigarettes and some toilet needs can be bought: There is a regular free issue of New Zealand cigarettes and tobacco, and also of American candy, but soft drinks and ice cream are still in the “coming” stage. Very popular with most of’the

men is.the bottle of beer, which can be bought every day while, supplies