ISLAND COLONY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23061, 11 June 1938, Page 17

ISLAND COLONY

GROUPS IN PACIFIC OFFICIALS' IN LONELY POSTS VALUE OF RADIO SERVICE Administrative life in one of the most scattered of th« British colonies was described by Mr. J. C. Barley, Resident Commissioner of the Ellice and Gilbert Islands, when he reached Auckland yesterday on the Mariposa, en route to Sydney and England. The territory for which Mr. Barley is responsible covers a very large part of the central ■ Pacific and includes Ocean Island, Fanning Island, Washington Island, Christmas Island and the Phoenix Islands, in addition to the Gilbert and Ellice Groups.-

Modern communications have to some extent removed the former difficulties in the administration of the territory, which possesses a population of about 33,000 natives. An auxiliary motor-yacht of 150 tons is used by Mr. Barley in periodical visits to each of the settlements and two-way radio apparatus is installed at the headquarters at Ocean Island and at the other five administrative stations. Oare of the Natives . "The primary task of the administration is to care for the native population," Mr. Barley said. "In addition to the maintenance of law and order, many social services are performed, and a fairly large medical staff has its headquarters at Tarawa Island, in the Gilbert Group. There are three fulltime European doctors, in addition to two others who are employed parttime and a number of native medical practitioners. The administrative officers are also responsible far the administration of justice, but crimes above a certain degre© of gravity can be dealt with only by a judicial commissioner."

In the more remote islands the administrative officer may be the sole European among thousands of natives, his one link with civilisation being the radio service, but on Ocean Island there is a European population of about 140. The bulk of these people are employed by the British Phosphate Commission. The preservation of health was one of the principal tasks of the administration, Mr. Barley explained, and, al-. though the groups were not in the malarial zone, there were several diseases which were prevalent throughout the colony. Although ho official survey bad been carried out, there appeared to be a fairly high percentage of tuberculosis among the natives. Sole European Among 4500 Natives Another passenger on the Mariposa was Mr. D. G. Kennedy, who works under the direction of the Resident Commissioner as administrative officer of the Ellice Group. At the settlement of Funafuti he is the sole European among 4500 natives who live in the surrounding islands and atolls, and, although he has occupied the post for 15 years, he dismissed the question of isolation with the observation that "it did get a bit lonely sometimes." For Jklr. Kennedy the radio forms an all-important link with the outside world, and, apart from its official use, it enables him to keep in touch with current world events. Small copra steamers with no scheduled itinerary are the sole : means of bringing mail and it is not infrequent that letters are received only four times a year. Mr. and Mrs. Barley and Mr. Kennedy are proceeding to Australia, where they will join a snip for England on extended leave.