NIUAFU ERUPTION
“TIN CAN MAIL” ISLAND
SYDNEY, Nov. 21. Several volcanoes on Niuafu Island, home of the “tin can mail,” have been in violent eruption. Thousands of New Zealand and Australian philatelists have sent envelopes to this island in the Tongan group for stamping and return. It was occasionally visited before the war by the liner Monowai. Letters were thrown overboard in a sealed kerosene tin and picked up by a canoe. Months later they returned with “tin can” stamps affixed.
The British Consul in the Tonga group (Mr. C. W. Johnston) has reported that, while there is no loss of life during the eruption, damage to food crops was heavy. One main eruption occurred with three subsidiary ones. Masses of molten lava were thrown 200 feet in the air.
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Greymouth Evening Star, 22 November 1943, Page 4
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130NIUAFU ERUPTION Greymouth Evening Star, 22 November 1943, Page 4
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