only the great acting ability we had seen in the sacred dramas, but also an inventiveness in free movement that was extremely difficult technically, as well as being full of artistry. In the case of Gilligan, a dancer of the Wagaitch Tribe, Northern Territory, there were vertical spins in the air landing on one knee, or again great leaps ending in a Hindu sitting posture. From this he would leap straight up in the air without help from his hands. Some of the men were truly gifted comedians. Their psychological insight into the foibles of mankind was given such apt dance expression that we laughed till the tears came to our eyes. The women of Arnhem Land have their Djarada dancing. It is linked with melodious or plaintive songs to the accompaniment of small resonant hardwood sticks or a boomerang beaten on the earth by the leading song woman. These are not the shy maidenly dances the men see in the camp each night when everyone gathers round the fires for communal singing and dancing. The Djarada are a kind of love-potion magic. They include the fast whirling of each dancer in place like a gay planet, or a stylised imitation of crows in flight as the girls dash headlong round and round the secret Djarada grounds. No man dares to cross this dancing ground. Its magic would kill him—nor would he look at the dancing even from afar. Yet the men have their own Djarada love songs. If one judges a people by the beauty of their artistic conceptions and expressions then the aborigines are not so primitive after all. They are a gentle contemplative people of real dignity in their traditional way of life. Self discipline was one of the chief goals of adult manhood. Strong tradition, as well as inclination has kept them living as nomadic tribes. The aboriginal point of view is diametrically opposed to that of agricultural peoples. Tillers of the soil value conservation of food which leads to the gathering of wealth and to the mode of living in fixed communities which are stabilised by buildings for homes and for storage purposes. The gathering of wealth leads in many instances to a people's love of war games. This is not a part of aboriginal culture. To an aborigine, the land, its animals, and vegetation, is his “other self” so it is unthinkable to make war to increase land-ownership. Being entirely human the aborigines do have arguments, usually over a woman. This can lead to small scale spear fighting but it is as foreign to these people to fight over land as to till it. Instead, they perform each sacred ceremony exactly as did the First Creative Ancestor. The last tones of the droning didjeridu fade, the chanting ceases, the dancers have exerted their energies in perfect belief that the ritual was correctly accomplished, therefore there will be food for all across the land. The Spirit of Life has once again been released to bring kangaroos, wild berries, goannas, fish, birds, honey ants, yams and all necessities upon the land in abundance. Next Issue: New Guinea and New Zealand

Midshipmen… Each year the Royal New Zealand Navy selects a number of young New Zealanders for training as officer cadets. CADET-MIDSHIPMEN: Open to boys aged between 14½ and 15½ on 1st January of the year in which they apply. Qualifications: Applicants must pass a Naval medical test and compete in an educational examination which has the same syllabus as School Certificate and includes mathematics. Successful candidates enter the Royal Australian Naval College in January of the year following acceptance. After 3 years there they sail for the United Kingdom for further training and courses for Lieutenant. Applications close: 1st July each year.

SPECIAL ENTRY: Open to boys who are between 17 years 3 months and 18 years 7 months on the date applications close. For the November Entry only the upper age limited is 18 years 6 months. Qualifications: After a Naval medical test applicants sit a competitive examination with a syllabus of University Entrance standard and including mathematics and physics. If successful they enter the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, England, and spend approximately 3 years in the United Kingdom undergoing special training at sea and ashore. Applications close three times a year for Special Entry Scheme—on 1st April, August, November. Full details and application forms for both methods of entry may be obtained from Naval Recruiting Officers at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.