Lone White Man Ruler of Natives ‘Forgets’ English

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 2, 4 January 1939, Page 3

Lone White Man Ruler of Natives ‘Forgets’ English

SYDNEY. Donald G. Kennedy, New Zealand born administrator of the Ellice Islands, in the South Pacific, is the only white man among 4300 natives. He speaks English so seldom that he finds some difficulty in using it again on returning to civilisation. Mr. Kennedy arrived in Sydney recently on his way to Oxford University to continue his studies of anthropology for a year. “It is n little bewildering to be among so many white people, ” he said, in an interview here. “I find that L talk English with difficulty—especially small talk. It generally takes me about six weeks to become perfectly fluent again. The 4300 natives under my care are scattered over nine islands. There is a mail three times a year, a naval sloop from New Zealand calls once a year, and a Government steamer from Fiji calls occasionally. They are the only occasions on which I can speak English. “The natives have been trained to look after their own affairs under my supervision. For example, there aro native clergymen, native magistrates and lawyers and native schoolteachers. When any matter is beyond their comprehension or jurisdiction, I deal with it direct, but otherwise I merely watch over their work. It is an interesting experiment in native authority and it is working out well.” Mr. Kennedy has been 15 years tn the Ellice Islands. He is going to Oxford on a Carnegie scholarship and when he completes his year of study he will return to his post for another term. A film star was told that she knew nothing of love. “I know all about it,” was the immediate reply. “I was extremely fond of my third husband!”