PACIFIC CRUISE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 151, 30 June 1939, Page 6

PACIFIC CRUISE

LIFE IN NOUMEA WANGANUI YOUTHS IN YACHT SEAWARD Two Wanganui youths, Colin Roh. bins and Patrick Chaldecott, are members of the crew of the ketchrigged yacht Seaward, which made a fast run of nine days from Russell i n Noumea. A letter describing the tri-, and life on the island has been received by his parents. “We did not call at Norfolk Island because of unfavourable winds and the poor anchorages at the Island,” stale? the letter. “It has been a wonderful trip with good weather for most of the time. One day we struck a storm and hove to, tossing up and down a" day and moving backward instead o( forward.” Mr. Robbins stated that he and Pat Chaldecott had been seas!-, for most of the trip and' had eaten little after leaving Russell and. naturally, were pleased to step on to land at Noumea. “Since we have been been here, we have lived on oranges bananas and mandarins.” he states, “Noumea is a mixture of all nation.. French, Javanese, Chinese, Arabs, and Kanakas, and the people seem to dress in anything from a pair of pyjamas to a towel. The natives are very friendly and will help us with the boat a' any time. Last night we were invited to a dinner by some French sailors. Everyone was a ‘good comrade.' ‘The French and the English very good friends. The Germans very bad.’ Cheap Fruit “The oranges here are from three to four inches in diameter and sell ai approximately two for a penny and the mandarins are about three inches in diameter, too. Nobody here seems to have the energy to plant anything or do anything and the natives do all the labouring work. Apparent!' the oranges come from the back country where they grow wild because I have noticed very few in the town “The houses are all shuttered and are right on the street and have tin gardens or yards. There is a bar m cafe at every second shop, and the French people spend most, of the time talking over glasses of wine. Th? heat here is just right, not, too hot ot too cold, but I suppose that it becomes hot in the summer. The hotel dinner costs about Is 6d and six or seven courses are served, all brought in separately. The same knife and fork however, is used for each course. Early Morning Market “The marget in Noumea opens at ( a.m. in the square of the town. The shops close between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and everyone goes to sleep. The goods are nearly all Japanese and terrible rubbish. As the shopkeepers make no attempt, to display their wares, a visitor does not know what the shops sell until he enters them The grocery shops have crabs tied up bv the pincers, but still alive, and all kinds of vile smelling cheese. The bread is baked in long crust) loave.--and wholemeal bread is unknown. A. most every shop has a bar attached and these are open on Sundays and nearly all night. “Most of the French people wear sandals, white trousers and openneck shirts, but the natives wear ever) manner and colour of dress under the sun.” states the letter. “Imagine a native as black as pitch with a striped pair of pyjama trousers and a bright yellow shirt; or a flowery coloured lava lava or towel with pieces of grass hanging over his shoulders and twigs in his hair! There does not seem to be much of a colour bar as everyone seems to be on good terms with the half-castes and natives.' Describing a native dance which they attended, Mr. Robbins states that the dances were mostly tangos and rumbas, and that the people had a craze for the Lambeth Walk. The dance tunes were about three times as fast as they were used to, and they had trouble in keeping time. The crew of the Seaward intend to spend some time in the Loyall) Group before journeying to Australia through the Great Barrier Reef.