HERE AND THERE IN MELANESIA.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 25, Issue 12, 1 December 1935, Page 8

HERE AND THERE IN MELANESIA.

(Continued from last month) The month in the south was a busy one. We spent the first week" in making a hurried visit to the "white" stations and to pick up the native clergy Lolowai, Lamalana, Merelava, Merig — we could not land at Gaua to collect Stephen — Vureas, Torgil, Ure-

parapara, the Torres, Motalava, Mota* Vureas a second time, Lakona (round on the far side of Gaua) and so back: to Lolowai. American rather than. Melanesian! On July 2nd we took leave . of Mr. Tempest, going home after 18 years, of devoted service to Melanesia and Melanesians; and of Mr. and MrsCodd, now relieved from Vureas,. going on short furlough before returning to the Solomons. We then settled, down to a quiet day and two days of conference — the first that of the clergy and the second of the brothers. It was a joy to hear of the progress made during the past year, in spite of the difficulties created by Mr. Godfrey's 1 enforced retirement and the temporary breakdown of the engine of the "Patteson" (since thoroughly overhauled and put right by Mr. New'ton,. chief engineer of "S.X.") . At Evensong on July 3rd I instituted. Mr. Teall as Archdeacon of Southern Melanesia. His years of experience in the south and his personal knowledge of most of the native priests and teachers fit him admirably for this post. Mr. Reynolds will later take over the College; Mr. Williams (and an assistant) Vureas School; Miss Muir in now in ; charge of Torgil, assisted by Miss Samuels; Miss Simson going out on leave pending her return to the Solomons. Miss Fagan and Miss Cavers continue at Lamalana, with (probably) Miss Bow--den making a third on Raga — makingthe work at Bwatnapni more permanent. Miss Thompson, who has doneadmirable medical work on Aoba, goesto the Solomons, and I hope in September that Aoba will be , otherwise; provided for. Meanwhile, Mr. Milner joins the staff at Pawa and Mr. Henry Nobbs takes over the running of the "Patteson" and other practical workin the south. ' Space will not allow me to speak indetail of the conferences. The . three days were very valuable to all of us. We then began a more leisurelyvisitation of all the islands. With theArchdeacon on board, and Miss Fagan and Miss Cavers (the latter of whohr attended some 500 patients on our journeyings, giving N.A.B. injectionsto just over half of that number, ban s daging or giving medicines to others )\.

' we made a call at Bwatnapni, where the brothers — under the leadership of Mama Ben Bane— have their headquarters, as well as Mama Mark Zamali, who is in charge of Central Raga. We then passed to Maewo, where I dedicated a very jolly church at Talise and confirmed folk from neighbouring villages. Merelava was our next port of call — a well-run island full of lively people, well shepherded by Harry Vanva, ably seconded by a very capable and wise wife, Fenny, the most capable native woman I have met. Here we had a confirmation of 44 folk and picked up lads and girls for school. A second call at Merig to drop confirmees (fancy travelling 18 miles of open sea— and what seas sometimes! — in canoes to attend your last weeks of preparation for confirmation), and then to Gaua. Here we were fortunately able to get ashore, cheer up some lads who had eaten poisonous fish and thought they were going to die (and bring one away, with us in case he did, but he didn't) , hold a confirmation and bring away Mama Stephen Wetelwe for a walk-about as he had missed the conference. Stephen has done good work on Gaua and round' in the Lakona district, and with Leonard Wjobur (a deacon, trained at Siota) to help him should soon build up a strong and all-inclusive Church on this island. We then spent parts of three days at Vureas. It was great to see everything at Vureas and Torgil looking so clean and to find everyone so cheex-y. The only thing to spoil it all was the realisation that we must soon spend a great deal of money (which we haven't got) on both "big" houses or they'll go over in the next blow, Mr. Codd has carried on at Vureas during Mr. Teall's furlough and, in addition, has done much valuable work in the villages on Vanua-lava; we badly need a full-time native priest for this work. Torgil was saddened at losing Miss Simson, but the school was a joy to see — grounds well cleared, gardens going strong, and 31 happy girls overflowing the available accommodation. As was to be expected; there were confirmations at both schools, as well

as for folk from the neighbouring villages. We left a priest for two days or so at Ureparapara while we went to the Torres. Here in twelve months Adams Towia has worked wonders. The dirty dispirited people of twelve months ago have disappeared. The villages were clean, the folk "hearty"; numbers for Confirmation and Holy Communion; quite good alena (alms) for the year; and a new church in Adams' village capable of seating the whole, increased (thanks to the Government's stopping of recruiting or efforts to do so) population of the Torres. Adams is a funny old thing. (He won't see this, and he couldn't read English if a copy of the Log — if the ' editor publishes this letter — chanced to reach the Torres!) He looks at you very seriously when you are talking to him, with wrinkled forehead and set lips. A few minutes later the penny drops (as it were) and he breaks into a wide smile of understanding and then repeats the very opposite to what you have said. But he's doing his job. He's got his teachers keen, his villages clean, his churches alive, and during the year he has been three times round the Torres in a dinghy in which I wouldn't cross from Tulgai to Bunaha even in fine weather.

(To be continued)