Jane's Oceania Home Page Newsletter
Vol. 8, Edition Nos. 9 & 10,
September/October 2007
www.janeresture.com
www.janesoceania.com
www.pacificislandsradio.com

I N   T H I S   I S S U E ____________________________________

Objectives
News and Views
Notice Board
Oceania Resources
Pacific Islands Radio
About Books
Coming Events
Recollections and Memoirs
Feature Web Sites
Oceania Web Sites
Interesting Places
Interesting Links
Letters
It's Time to Chat

T H E  V I E W _________________________________
News and Views from Oceania

Welcome everybody to our Newsletter
for September/October 2007! It is certainly
great to be back in touch with you all again
and, as always, I would very much like to
take this wonderful opportunity to sincerely
wish everybody good health, prosperity,
happiness, peace and harmony.

My heartfelt thanks go to our many
valued members who have taken the
time to write and for sharing so much
with us all. In this respect, your very
kind and motivational thoughts are
greatly appreciated.

Please join with me in extending our
very warm and sincere Oceania/Pacific
Island welcome to all our new members
who have joined us since our last
Newsletter. Welcome on board, please
make yourselves feel at home, sit back,
relax, and may your stay with us be
most enjoyable, mutually beneficial and
rewarding!

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this Newsletter is to
promote worldwide the Pacific Islands
and, in particular, the island people. In
addition, the intention of the Newsletter
is to aid in the preservation of our island
culture, history, genealogy, mythology,
ethnology, anthropology and customs,
including rituals and lifestyles.

In doing this, the Newsletter shares and
makes available a wide selection of rare,
historical and contemporary postcards,
along with extensive picture galleries of the
countries and the people of Oceania. These
are still being extensively upgraded and are
of tremendous interest and value to people
who are interested in the history of
Oceania, as well as to our Oceania/Pacific
Island people who wish to gain a greater
appreciation of their beautiful island heritage.
http://www.janeresture.com/oceania_resources/postcards.htm

In addition, the Newsletter introduces some
of the many lesser known beautiful, important
and very interesting islands and places of the
Pacific/Oceania region.
http://www.janeresture.com/home/index.htm

NEWS AND VIEWS

For many years, researchers and scientists have
speculated that ancient Pacific island voyagers
may have reached the shores of South America.
Indeed, Arthur Grimble (later Sir Arthur Grimble),
in an article in National Geographic Magazine of
January 1943, mentions a tradition among the
Micronesian people of the Gilbert Islands (now
the Republic of Kiribati), that one of their early
adventurers reached the shores of the American
continent, more than 4,500 miles away.

The stories tell of one Raakau, the greatest of
all Gilbertese navigators who reported a land that
stretched along the eastern edge of the ocean, to
northward without end, and to the southward
without end. It was said that this land lies beyond
the farthest eastward islands and it was a wall of
mountains up against the place where the sun rises,
standing over plains full of fertility. There is only
one littoral in the Pacific that can be said to fit
this description, and that is the western coast of
the American continent.

In addition, the late Professor Roland B. Dixon
was convinced that the sweet potato reached
Polynesia from America by the aid of human
hands. He also concluded that the transference
of the plant was carried out by Polynesians who
had reached the Peruvian coast and had taken
the valuable plant back with them to their island
home. The Peruvian coast was specified because,
in the Kechua dialect of north Peru, the name for
the sweet potato is "kumar" and, in the Polynesian
name for the plant, is "kumara".

In this respect, it is most interesting to see that
a paper that recently appeared in the prestigious
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
provides the first hard evidence supporting the
view that Polynesians did, in fact, sail all the
way to the west coast of the American continent,
at least a century before the arrival of Columbus.

The key to this breakthrough was chicken bones
found in Chile which were radiocarbon dated as
approximately 600 years old. DNA testing
revealed that the bones carried a rare mutation
otherwise only found in chickens from Mele
Havea, Tonga, and Fatu-ma-Futi, American
Samoa. This evidence clearly indicates a pattern
of interaction between Polynesians, long
recognized as some of the world's finest sailors
and navigators in times preceding Western
contact, and South Americans. To put it simply,
Polynesians not only made it to America before
Columbus, but they apparently introduced the
chicken to the continent, as well, with these
fowls having a DNA identical to chickens
found in Tonga and Tutuila, Samoa.

Another interesting story relating to Polynesian
voyagers comes from the study of the chemistry
of ancient basalt adzes found in the Tuamotus
in the 1930s. Scientists from the University of
Queensland, in Australia, have definitively
traced one of them to the island of Kahoolawe.
The research, published in  the journal Science,
confirms the view that ancient voyagers came to
Hawaii from what is now French Polynesia, and
then returned.

Indeed, the early legends from Hawaii recount
many voyages to and from Tahiti. In sailing south,
the course was maintained by keeping the North
Star directly astern. When the North Star sank
into the sea, the star Newe was taken as the
southern guide and the constellation of Humu
was overhead. The last voyager mentioned in
Hawaiian traditions was the priest Paao, who
arrived from Ra'iatea in about 1275 A.D.

In any event, it is pleasing to see that the
modern scientific tools of DNA analysis and
chemical testing are confirming so many of
the early oral traditions of Pacific Island
people. They are also confirming the view
that the Polynesians are some of the finest
canoe builders, sailors and navigators that
the world has ever known.

The recent Pacific Islands Forum held in
Tonga proved to be, as expected, concerned
with airing, once again, the recent problems
between the Australian Government and the
Melanesian nations of Papua New Guinea
and the Solomon Islands. Opening the
Forum, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister,
Sir Michael Somare, called on Australia and
New Zealand to show greater "respect for
the sovereignty" of their small island neighbours.
This echoed his complaints about Australian
bullying at last year's Forum in Fiji. Then, as
now, the targets of Australian displeasure
were Papua New Guinea and the Solomon
Islands.

Certainly, relations between Australia and
Papua New Guinea have since soured further.
In the midst of Papua New Guinea's elections
in August, there were calls for Sir Michael
to be charged with assisting the escape from
Papua New Guinea of Julian Moti, a fugitive
lawyer. Mr Moti is wanted in Australia for
alleged sexual offences in Vanuatu a decade
ago. Australian requests for his extradition
have been rebuffed. Mr Moti is now the
Solomon Islands' attorney-general.

Last year, the Forum nations agreed to an
independent review of its peacekeeping
Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon
Islands (RAMSI). The leaders were to
consider this in Tonga. However, Mannaseh
Sogavare, the Solomon Islands' Prime
Minister, disliked the report and boycotted
the Forum. His foreign minister, Patteson
Oti, this month protested before the United
Nations General Assembly about Australia's
"occupation" of his country. The Solomon
Islands government, he said, wants a clear
"exit strategy" and to reclaim "sovereignty".

An intended snub to Fiji's coup leader,
Commodore Frank Bainimarama, when he
made it known he would attend a meeting
of Pacific leaders in Tonga, did not
eventuate.

He was welcomed warmly by Tonga's Prime
Minister, feted rapturously by 900 rain-
drenched schoolgirls, and invited to dine
with Don McKinnon, the Commonwealth's
Secretary-General.

The final day of the Forum was one of the
most interesting, with the Australian
representative not being present in the
centre recently built by China. It was on the
final day that the European Union announced
an aid package worth $440 million, as well
as a $200 million package for Papua New
Guinea.

In another possibly more significant move,
the Government of Venezuela, which had
been granted observer status by the host
nation Tonga, announced an aggressive
diplomatic push into the Pacific based on
cheap fuel for island nations.With oil in
Venezuela presently being available for as
low as nine cents a litre, such a move has
considerable longer term significance for
the people of the Pacific Islands, as well
as impacting on the on-going power plays
between China, Taiwan and Japan for
influence in the Pacific region.

Certainly, one would have to be concerned
about the on-going viability of the Forum.
This is particularly so when many observers
are of the view that the Forum is starting to
splinter along the ethnic lines of Melanesia,
Micronesia and Polynesia. For example, the
larger nations in the south-west Pacific -
Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu and Fiji - have of late strengthened
their own links through the Melanesian
Spearhead Group, which has established a
new Chinese-financed headquarters in Port
Vila, Vanuatu. It will take some dextrous
diplomacy to keep all these far-flung island
states together under antipodean's leadership.

Several recent happenings in Papua New
Guinea have highlighted the extent that
payback, tribal wars and black magic are
still very much part of the fabric of Papua
New Guinea society. In the first of these,
which occurred in the capital Port Moresby,
a magistrate was stoned to death after he
lost control of his car which crashed into
a refugee camp containing refugees from
West Papua. Although none of the
refugees were injured, they rushed him
and stoned him to death after he got out
of his car.

In a separate happening, two men have
been sentenced to death after pleading guilty
to wilfully murdering a woman accused of
witchcraft by beheading her with a bush knife.
The court was told the men entered the woman's
house, blindfolded her and tied her hands before
chopping her head off for allegedly practising
sorcery and causing the deaths of their fathers.
The two men were ordered to be hanged by
the neck until dead despite the fact that a de
facto moratorium on the death penalty is in place
in Papua New Guinea with a proposal to abolish
it presently being before cabinet.

With so much of the old world created by Pacific
island ancestors having passed away, and with so
much of the regalia and symbols of their spiritualism,
along with the bones of their ancestors, being
scattered among museums around the world, it is
most pleasing to see that several more museums
have agreed to return the remains of Aboriginal
and Pacific Island people to their rightful homes.

From France, the mummified head of a Maori
warrior given to the Rouen museum in 1875 will
be returned to New Zealand at the request of
Te Papa, the National Museum of New Zealand.
The heads of Maori warriors, particularly
tattooed heads, were popular collector's items
in the late 19th-century Europe. The Rouen
Mayor said that the Maori head was being
returned to underscore 'the respect that we
owe to people who are refusing to allow their
culture and identity to die'.

In addition, the National Museums Liverpool has
agreed to unconditionally return Aboriginal remains,
including a skull, to Australia, following a request
from the Australian Government in January 2006.
One of the remains was collected from Darnley
Island in the Torres Strait by explorers on the
voyage of the Rattlesnake in 1849, while another
is believed to have originated in North Queensland,
and was given to the museum in 1981 by London's
Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, which
bought it in 1933. A skull, believed to be of mixed
Australian and European ancestry, was bought in
1948 from a Liverpool man, William Broad, who
visited Australia from 1902-04, and published
works on Australian skeletal remains.

Certainly, repatriation of human remains and
cultural items to their countries of origin is a
complex, emotive and sensitive issue. In a general
sense, however, in terms of the human remains, it
is important that they be returned to their rightful
home so that the spirits of our ancestors will
finally be able to rest in peace.

Scientists have expressed concern that sea  ice
over the Arctic has shrunk to its smallest known
area, shattering a record set in 2005 and continuing
a trend spurred by human-caused global warming.
Indeed, compared with 2005, there had been a
decrease of more than 1 million square kilometres,
more than double the decline between 2002 and
2005.

Melting sea ice, unlike the melting glaciers of
Greenland and Antarctica, does not contribute
to the global sea level rise, however, without the
bright white of sea ice to reflect the sun's rays,
the earth loses what some climate scientists call
its air-conditioner. The less ice there is, the more
dark water there is to absorb the warming solar
radiation. The Arctic ice cap covers just three
per cent of the total surface of the Earth, but
reflects 80 per cent of the solar energy that
penetrates the planet's atmosphere.

The decrease in Arctic sea ice was forecast in
models used by the United Nations Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate Change, which
has said with 90 per cent probability that
global warming exists and that human activities
contribute to it. Interestingly, a British explorer
who was the first man to reach the North Pole
solo has announced plans to lead an expedition
to measure the thickness of the Arctic ice caps.
The expedition intends to obtain key evidence
on the impact of climate change on the Artic
ice cap which, it is believed, may well disappear
completely in the lifetime of many people.
Indeed, the latest estimates for how long it will
take for the Arctic ice cap to melt range from
16 to 100 years. Certainly, the melting of the
ice cap will have global repercussions. It is
accelerating and is irreversible.

Greenland, which is presently a colony of
Denmark, has internal self-government with
Denmark being responsible for foreign policy.
Greenland, with a population of 56,000 people,
scattered over an area almost the size of Europe,
depends heavily on a subsidy from Denmark for
survival. Certainly, the prospect that mineral
companies will create sufficient wealth for a
break from colonial rule, is now very evident in
Greenland, one of the few countries that may
benefit from global warming.

Sadly, one of the first casualties of global
warming in the Pacific region will be the people
of the Carteret Islands, a horseshoe scattering
of atolls in eastern-most Papua New Guinea.
For 20 years, the 2,000 islanders living there
have fought a losing battle against the ocean,
building sea walls and trying to plant mangroves.
Each year, the waves surge in higher, destroying
vegetable gardens, washing away homes and
contaminating fresh water supplies.

The Carteret islanders are destined to become
some of the world's first climate change refugees.
Their islands are becoming uninhabitable, and
may soon disappear below the waves. A decision
has been made to move the islanders to the larger
nearby Bougainville Island, a four-hour boat ride
to the southwest with ten families at a time being
moved.

Many of us are familiar with the life and times
of the early wanderers, beachcombers and
traders, etc. of the Pacific Islands. One of the
many interesting characters who made the
Pacific Islands their home in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries was George Egerton
Leigh Westbrook.

For many of us who are interested in the
Pacific region, much of what we know about
George Westbrook, comes from Julian Dana's
book "Gods Who Die", The Story of Samoa's
Greatest Adventurer. George Westbrook
dedicated the book to:

'MY COMRADES, THE FORGOTTEN
WANDERERS. ... THOSE NAMELESS
ONES WHO SLEEP IN UNKNOWN
GRAVES ON LONELY ATOLLS IN
THE SOUTH SEAS.'

The book draws very heavily on the manuscripts
of George Westbrook's best friend, my dear
great grandfather, Alfred Restieaux. Discussed
in the book are the many people and happenings
in the Pacific at that time. However, very little
is revealed about the private life of George
Westbrook.

Consequently, I was very pleased and most
interested to recently have, in my possession,
a very beautiful, and in excellent condition,
family photograph of George Westbrook and
his six grown-up handsome children, three
sons and three daughters.

I would certainly look forward to hearing
from any of George Westbrook's descendants
who may like to share with me more on the
life of this remarkable man who did so much
to preserve the cultural heritage of the people
of Samoa, as well as Pacific Island people in
general.

For the wonderful people of the Marshall
Islands, particularly those living overseas,
as well as those many friends of the Marshall
Islands, it is certainly pleasing to see that
the Marshall Islands Journal', the longest
continuously publishing weekly paper in the
Micronesian area, founded in February 13,
1970, as well as the only independent
newspaper in the Republic of the Marshall
Islands, now has a website:
www.marshallislandsjournal.com.

Finally, for all of you, our loyal subscribers
and listeners to Pacific Islands Radio, I
would like to include an extract from the
September/October 2007 edition of our
Pacific Islands Radio (Island Music)
Newsletter which may be of some interest
to you. Thank you.

"In this edition of our Pacific Islands Radio
Newsletter, it is my great pleasure to be able
to talk a little further about the incredible
music of West Papua (formally Irian Jaya) and,
in particular, the music of Black Paradise, as
well as the music from Biak, one quite small
yet very beautiful island off the coast of West
Papua.

Ignored for centuries, the Melanesian island
of New Guinea (now West Papua - formerly
Irian Jaya - and Papua New Guinea) was like
a lost world, where stone age tribes once
practised cannibalism and where plant life is
found like nothing else on earth. It is a very
old civilisation with carbon dating of remnants
found on camp sites suggesting human
habitation for at least the last 40,000 years.

Indeed, West Papua is a land like no other.
Located on the western rim of the Pacific,
bordering independent Papua New Guinea,
West Papua is merely swimming and walking
distance from Boigu and Saibai islands, the
northern extent of Australia's boundary. It is
a wild and rugged country. It is also a place
where it is possible to stand on the summit
of a 5000m peak, surrounded by ice and snow
and look down on alpine valleys across to an
endless expanse of tropical rainforests and
island studded equatorial waters glistening
in the sun far below. A land that is home to
ancient cultures, including the oldest,
continually cultivating society in existence
and around 300 distinct indigenous groups,
each with their own language.

The traditional music of West Papua has its
origins in the complex and beautiful culture of
the Melanesian people of West Papua. Indeed,
culture is the glue that binds together the local
spirit and identity of each and every indigenous
group in West Papua. However, the oral traditions
of West Papuans have come under considerable
pressure and changed form as a result of the
growing influence of Christianity, the encroachment
of global culture, as well as Indonesian military
repression.

Music driven by global influences and the growing
commercialisation of indigenous music has severed
West Papuans' connections with their traditions and
roots. This resulted in an urgent need for organised
efforts to find forms of traditional Papuan music
which can retain the values, colour and identity of
each of the different indigenous groups from which
the music is derived. In this way, music and songs
will continue to be the substance that binds
indigenous groups together, as well as enabling
freedom of expression.

BLACK PARADISE

My humble comments on the above News and
Views were recognised by West Papuan artists
such as Arnold Ap and Eddie Mofu who formed
the cultural music group, Mambesak, to revitalise
traditional West Papuan dance, music and song.
Mambesak provided a certain colour, form and
inspiration for the birth of music and dance
groups throughout Papua, actively promoting
and strengthening West Papuan identity.

However, Arnold Ap and Eddie Mofu's
popularity and the conscious pride in being
Papuan, Mambesak's music engendered,
brought them to the attention of the Indonesian
military who accused them of being separatists -
consequently, sadly and finally they were
murdered.

Twenty years after the killing of Arnold Ap,
music is still a potent source of cultural
resistance in West Papua. Just before he was
murdered by Kopassus, Indonesia's notorious
special forces, renowned West Papuan musician
and anthropologist, as well as the leader of the
cultural music group, Mambesak, wrote his last
song: 'The Mystery of Life'.

Sitting beside an old portable tape recorder
in his prison cell, guitar in hand, Ap lovingly
recorded: 'The Mystery of Life'. In the closing
words of the song, Ap sang: "The only thing I
desire and am waiting for, is nothing else but
freedom". Like his music and life, the moving
words came from the heart, and gave voice to
a desire that was at once personal and political
and, in particular, to his situation, but something
shared by all his fellow West Papuans.

Then Ap wrapped the cassette up, stuffed it
into an envelope, with words of consolation,
and sent it to his wife who had fled to a
refugee camp in Papua New Guinea. Together,
with fellow musician Eddie Mofu, Arnold Ap was
languishing in jail, suspected by the Indonesian
military of having sympathy with the West
Papuan resistance movement, the OPM. West
Papua had been occupied by the Indonesian
military since the early 1960s, and the movement
for self-determination had taken root deep in
the hearts of West Papuans. In a place where
contested identities have become a site of
struggle; music, song and dance became
weapons.The real crime of Mofu and Ap was
singing and dancing the traditional songs of their
people, thus promoting pride in Papuan culture.

Each song is infused with this pride in being
West Papuan. To see it, you almost need to
get inside the song itself. And to do that is to
begin to understand something of West Papua.
Through song, culture was uplifted, and people's
lives dignified. Lyrics and tunes celebrate the
mystery and natural beauty of West Papua,
retell traditional legends, impart knowledge
and wisdom, lament, laugh, rage, speak about
the ordinariness of daily life, and the struggles
and joys of relationships. They function as the
glue that invokes soul, animates spirit, and
reinforces identity through the medium of oral
traditions.

In West Papua, music is everywhere. In so
many ways, it represents the irrepressible
desire for life. Every evening, as the sun
goes down and the jungle erupts in a cacophony
of insects backed up by a syncopating base
line of frogs; and every morning, when the air
is still, one can hear the sound of music.Songs
of struggle, haunting laments, musical delights
in the natural beauty of the land of their
ancestors, and sultry love songs puncture the
tropical heat. Ukulele, guitar, snakeskin drums,
and the distinct four-part soaring harmonies
of the Melanesian Pacific work their way
inwards, shaping identity, weaving stories,
and strengthening the courage of a people
determined to be free.

One Mambesak song: "Awin Sup Ine",
proudly featured on our flagship station,
Pacific Islands Radio, and beautifully sung
in the enchanting Biak language, is translated
as follows: "At twilight, the rays of the sun
paint beautiful skyscapes, stirring the eye
and heart..."At these times, the lyrics
continue: ... "one cannot help but recall
sweet moments from the past and feel again
the bonds of love that bind one to the land".

Other songs sound clear warning bells,
and evoke strong emotions. Many songs
also have sophisticated double meanings.
One such featured song: "Nit Pughuluok En",
crafted by Dani songman and widely respected
elder, Chief Yafet Yelamaken, tells of the
departure of a friend: "Who knows when you
will be coming back", the song goes: "My only
hope is to pray that we shall meet again. Travel
safely". However, the friend, as Chief Yelamaken's
daughter explains, can also be read as the
Indonesian Government, who, it is hoped, will
ultimately will leave West Papua. Tragically,
Chief Yelamaken died in a spate of fatal
poisonings that felled many West Papuan cultural
and civil society leaders. Although, it has never
been proven, many West Papuans feel certain it
was a political assassination organised by the
Indonesian military.

MUSIC OF BIAK

This most interesting album features the music of
one small island, Biak, that lies just off the
northern coast of West Papua, Indonesia's easternmost
province. Biak has a long history of encounters with
outsiders from Europe and other parts of Indonesia -
a history that continues to unfold as Biak has become
one of the main ports of entry by air to Indonesia for
travelers from North America.

The album focuses on three genres: two contemporary
types of song are contrasted with the older wor, a genre
that is "in decline" but is still remembered by many. The
two newer genres, yospan and church songs, which have
largely replaced wor at celebrations, display considerable
foreign influence.

Certainly, the three genres have contrasting sounds.
Most of the album is devoted to wor. Seventeen of
the 72 tracks exemplify this genre. Divided into dance,
non-dance, and narrative categories, they supply a
richer representation of this genre than most listeners
will probably want or need. Characterized by choral
singing (almost exclusively male on these tracks) and
drumming, the differences between one track and the
next are not consequential for the uninitiated ear. But
the wealth of contextual information, provided for
these songs, enables one to appreciate some of their
significance.

The men form into two opposing choruses that
compete for attention  - one group "beginning their
verse before the [other] singers are finished, and the
[other] singers retaliating to 'steal back' the song".
Within each group, singers also strive to stand out.

The four examples of church songs offer a stunning
contrast to the wor: sung in five part harmony by
female choirs, these performances are evidence of
the deep influence of Christianity and the long reach
of European missionary and colonial power. Sonically
beautiful, these tracks closely resemble Christian
choral singing from various areas of Africa and other
parts of the world.

Yospan, represented by a medley of four songs in
the final track on this album, is a recent dance
genre, created from two other types of dance, one
fast and one slow. The fascinating history of this
hybrid involves government policy, imitations of
Dutch warplanes, and various other seemingly
incongruent elements.

On Biak, dance remains the centrepiece of celebrations.
It is accompanied by an ensemble of guitars, homemade
ukuleles and drums, and a giant bass guitar, the strings
of which are beaten with a stick. This is an amateur form
of expression that is open to all members of Biak society.
Indeed, wor and yospan are based on the same resilient
principles. In a conventional framework of words (wor)
or motions (yospan) both present the foreign as a startling
source of inspiration to be mobilized and circulated locally.
In addition, both genres embody the aesthetic of surprise.

Pacific Islands Radio is very pleased to be able to feature
on the playlist on our Flagship station, the incredible music
of Black Paradise, along with a selection of Music of Biak.
This latter selection (Music of Biak) includes two church
songs and two party hymns. The church songs and party
hymns represent the range of Christian themes addressed
in Biak hymns.

FEATURE ARTIST

VANESSA QUAI

Congratulations must go to Vanessa Quai from
the Republic of Vanuatu on being awarded the
National Honorary Medals: 'Vanuatu National
Medal of Merit' and the 'Vanuatu Silver Jubilee
Medal'. The awards were for her role as an
ambassador for the Republic of Vanuatu,
including her work for charitable organisations,
hospitals, the churches, and much more.

It is perhaps most fitting that these important
awards should be presented on the occasion
of Vanessa achieving her First Musical Decade
(1997-2007). Vanessa turned 19 years of age
this year, last July 2007, and has celebrated
10 exciting and productive years of her music
career which started on the 17th September
1997 when she was only nine years of age.

During Vanessa's outstanding ten-year career,
she has won 5 International singing competitions
held in Australia, the Middle East and in Europe.
Indeed, her music has certainly impacted greatly
on thousands of young people in the Pacific
region and worldwide.

Our flagship, Pacific Islands Radio, has been
very proud to have featured, over the past few
years, the beautiful gospel and enchanting
traditional island music of Vanessa Quai. No
doubt, many of you, our loyal listeners, would
be very familiar with Vanessa's distinctive and
most compelling music.

On behalf of Pacific Islands Radio, we would
like to extend our warmest, loving and very
sincere Congratulations to Vanessa. We would
also like to wish her every happiness and
continued success with many blessings in the
future.

You are all cordially invited to view a beautiful
photograph of Vanessa receiving her important
awards, as mentioned above, at the following
URLs:
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/profiles/vanessa_quai/index.htm"
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
NOTICE BOARD

Australian Leadership Awards Fellowships

The Australian Leadership Awards (ALA) aim
to develop leadership, build partnerships and
linkages with the Asia-Pacific. They are
intended for those who are already leaders or
have the potential to assume leadership roles
that can influence social and economic policy
reform and development outcomes, both in
their own countries and in the Asia-Pacific
region.

The Australian Leadership Awards program
comprises of Scholarships and Fellowships.
ALA Fellowships are  intended for short term
study, research and professional attachment
programs in Australia delivered by Australian
organisations.

ALA Fellowships complement the longer term
ALA Scholarships which provide opportunities
to senior officials and mid-career professional
who cannot leave their positions for extended
periods.

Fellows are leaders or mid-career professionals
from the Asia-Pacific region who have the
potential to assume leadership roles that can
influence social and economic policy reform
and development outcomes, both in their own
countries and in the region.

Applications relating to the priority regional
themes of international trade, pandemics,
security and climate change (including clean
energy) are encouraged. It should be mentioned
that Round 2 is now closed with Round 3
opening in November 2007.

Intending Fellows should, in the first instance,
contact:

Jack Frawley:
j.frawley@mary.acu.edu.au

and, if interested, complete the required
application forms that will be made
available by Jack Frawley. Thank you.

KIRIBATI - QUALIFIED SECONDARY
SCHOOL TEACHERS REQUIRED

In 2008 the Catholic Education Office,
Tarawa, Kiribati, Central Pacific, has
vacancies for persons qualified to teach:
In three rural senior secondary schools:
English, Maths, History, Geography,
Science and Accounting.

In two schools on urban Tarawa:
qualified volunteers are required to
teach English, Maths, History,
Geography, Science, Accounting,
Economics, Home Economics,
Industrial Arts and Biology.

St. Joseph's College, Tabwiroa,
Abaiang, and Immaculate Heart
College, Taborio, Tarawa, require
History teachers for Forms 4, 5
and 6.

Experienced teachers preferred.
Volunteers allowance will be paid.

For further information please contact:
Sr Margaret Sullivan or
Sr Tiura Kaiuea at:
E-mail: dot.ceo@tskl.net.ki
Telephone: +686 21169 or Fax: +686 21677

Web Sites and Links:
http://www.janesoceania.com/kiribati_schools/index.htm
http://www.janeresture.com/kirihome/index.htm

OCEANIA RESOURCES

JANE RESTURE'S OCEANIA PAGE

Jane Resture's Oceania Page was developed
to present and highlight an extended range
of material in conjunction with Jane's Oceania
Home Page. In doing this, it will allow the
visitor to readily access information about
the Pacific Islands.
http://www.janesoceania.com/index.html

JANE'S OCEANIA TRAVEL PAGE

Jane's Oceania Travel Page exists to
provide the traveller with information
to assist in the preparation of a travel
agenda. The information on these pages
is complemented by links to the various
travel authorities throughout Melanesia,
Micronesia and Polynesia as well as
other Pacific Islands. These authorities
will be able to make available more
detailed information as well as arranging
accommodation and attending to the
other needs of the traveller.

Throughout Oceania, there is a vast and
comprehensive variety of attractions and
interesting places to visit and see. From
the ancient mountains of Papua New
Guinea to the coral atolls of Tuvalu and
Kiribati to the modern cities of Hawaii,
please settle back and enjoy an armchair
traveller's visit to the exotic, enchanting,
mysterious and beautiful Pacific Islands.
http://www.janesoceania.com/tourism/index.htm

OCEANIA RESOURCES PAGE

This Web site draws together a wide range
of Oceania material in order to allow
visitors to access this information from
a common source. This information includes
an extensive range of Oceania mythology,
ethnology, tribal art, tattoos, postcards
and picture galleries, as well as links to
the home pages of the countries of Oceania,
Pacific Islands Radio Stations Web sites
and to other Oceania Web sites.
http://www.janeresture.com/oceania_resources/index.htm

OCEANIA GENEALOGY

This Web site contains a short list of reference
material that may be useful for people wishing
to trace their genealogy, particularly if they are
descendants of the early traders of Oceania.
http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_genealogy/index.htm

PACIFIC ISLANDS RADIO STATIONS

Pacific Islands Radio Newsletter is being
sent out monthly on the alternate fortnight to
Jane's Oceania Home Page Newsletter. In this
respect, I would like to take this opportunity
of thanking the many people who have
subscribed to this free Newsletter.

The Jane's Pacific Islands Radio Newsletter
discusses in more detail the exciting changes
that are taking place in Internet Radio along
with details of the operations of the four
Internet Pacific Islands Radio Stations. Also
included are Feature Artists, additions to
the Playlists, along with other technical and
programming changes. The Internet Radio
Revolution is very exciting and you are most
welcome to enjoy being part of these changes
by becoming a valued member of our free Jane's
Pacific Islands Radio Newsletter (Island Music).

MICRONESIA MUSIC ANTHOLOGY

For more information about the Micronesia
Music Anthology, you are invited to visit the
following Web site:
http://www.janesoceania.com/micronesia_music_anthology/index.htm

GOSPEL MUSIC

Pacific Islands Radio is very pleased to be
able to share that a collection of some of
the most exciting and absorbing gospel music
from the Pacific Islands is a regular feature
on Pacific Islands Radio.

With an extended running time of one hour,
the gospel collection is available each Sunday
from 12 noon to 1 pm Australian eastern
standard time, and features the music of a
number of talented artists.

Please consult the Broadcast Schedule
regarding the broadcast times for the
Gospel Music collection in your part of
the world.

MELANESIAN MUSIC

Pacific Islands Radio is very pleased to
be able to advise that Pacific Islands
Radio 28K is now referred to as
RADIO MELANESIA, highlighting the
vibrant and exciting music of Melanesia,
such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu,
Solomon Islands and New Caledonia,
along with a selection of music from
Polynesia and Micronesia.

PACIFIC ISLANDS RADIO
MUSIC SUPPLIERS

The following are some of the main
specialist suppliers of our music from
the Pacific Islands, who are highly
recommended by Pacific Islands Radio.

KINGMUSIC - AUCKLAND,
NEW ZEALAND

Kingmusic offers a wide selection of Pacific
Island music which is available on the Internet.
http://www.kingmusic.co.nz/

ISLANDMELODY.COM

Pacific Islands Radio recommends
Islandmelody.com for a selection of traditional
and contemporary music with an emphasis on
Micronesian music.
http://www.islandmelody.com

BWANARAOI MUSIC SHOP -
TARAWA, REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI

For the beautiful music of Kiribati along with
the enchanting music of other Pacific Islands,
you are invited to contact the following
exclusive distributor:
E-mail: angirota@tskl.net.ki

Our four Pacific Islands Radio Stations play the
enchanting music of the Pacific Islands 24 hours
daily.
www.pacificislandsradio.com
http://www.janeresture.com/radio/index.htm

Pacific Music Radio 32 kbps (mp3PRO)
http://www.live365.com/stations/drjaneresture
Pacific Islands Radio
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeresture
Radio Melanesia
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeres
Micronesia Music Radio
http://www.live365.com/stations/jane_resture

ABOUT BOOKS

TOKELAU
People, Atolls and History
By Peter McQuarrie
New Zealand, 2007

Talofa Everybody!

For those interested in learning a little more
about Tokelau, New Zealand's only South Pacific
island territory, Peter McQuarrie's excellent book:

TOKELAU
People, Atolls & History

provides a detailed and concise history and outline
of Tokelau, as well as the people of Tokelau.

Material covered includes the colonial history,
Peruvian slave trading, New Zealand administration
and the RNZAF, the Second World War,
Development and Aid Projects, modern Tokelau,
as well as Tokelauan culture and the flora and
fauna of the islands, and much more.

The book is written for Tokelauans and the many
friends of Tokelau who would like to know a little
more about the beautiful islands and people of
Tokelau. The book would also be of great value
to those people with a wider interest in the history
of the Pacific Islands as it discusses the historical
connections between Tokelau and the former
British Colony of The Gilbert & Ellice Islands
(now the Republic of Kiribati and Tuvalu), of
which Tokelau was once a part.

This excellent publication can be purchased
for NZD$35.95 directly from:
Peter McQuarrie
petermcq@clear.net.nz

Thank you everybody for your continued
interest in the beautiful islands of Tokelau.
There is no doubt that Peter McQuarrie's
book about Tokelau will considerably
enhance our knowledge and understanding
of this fascinating part of the vast Pacific.
Jane's Tokelau Home Page:
http://www.janeresture.com/tokelau_islands/index.htm
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
With regard to all books mentioned
in this Newsletter, my review copies are
kindly made available by Gray Direct
Booksellers who have quite a large
collection of contemporary, as well as
rare books on Oceania along with other
countries and their people, etc. Gray
Direct Booksellers can be contacted on:
wrgray@bigpond.net.au at URL:
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/StoreFrontDisplay?cid=24018

In addition, please contact me should you
require any further information on any of
the books mentioned in this Newsletter.
I would like to mention also that we have
our own Oceania Books Web Forum
linked from www.janeresture.com or
http://pub49.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=4145645411&cpv=1
You are most welcome to use this Forum to
discuss any books in which you are interested
as well as those books that perhaps you may
wish to buy/sell or even swap amongst each
other.

COMING EVENTS

SAVUSAVU SOUTH PACIFIC
MUSIC FESTIVAL 2007

The fourth Savusavu South Pacific Music Festival
will be held on the 22-25 November 2007. It will
feature musical and cultural events showcasing some
of the region's best musical and dance performers.

The culturally-rich music festival was created for
three reasons:

1) to celebrate and showcase the South Pacific
Islands music and other performing arts, featuring
Fiji as a central gathering place for the event;
2) to increase business to area resorts, local towns
and indigenous operators; and
3) to bring additional interest and awareness to the
Northern Islands and, in particular, to promote
Savusavu as a destination.
http://www.fijiresort.com/SavusavuMusicFest06.shtml
and the following:
http://myfijiguide.com/activities--attractions/calendar-of-events/savusavu-south-pacific-music-festival-2007.aspx
http://www.fijievents.com/index.cfm/event/4th-world-music-festival-2007-savusavu.html

MARQUESAS ARTS FESTIVAL

The seventh Marquesas Arts Festival will
take place on the island of Ua Pou (north
of the Archipelago) from 17th December
2007 to the 20th December 2007. The
festival will feature delegations from other
Pacific Islands such as Hawaii, New
Zealand, Easter Island, New Caledonia
and Wallis and Futuna who will join an
estimated 2,000 Marquesans coming
from all the islands of the Archipelago
for the celebrations.

The Marquesas Arts Festival was born
twenty years ago on the island of Ua
Pou with the main goal of the festival
being to keep alive the traditional arts
of the Marquesan people.

Indeed, the Arts Festival, which takes
place every four years, has its traditional
roots in Marquesan history. Before the
arrival of European discoverers, similar
gatherings were organized to celebrate
events such as a good harvest, a marriage,
a birth or in memory of an important tribal
priest. Around 5,000 visitors from Tahiti
and from abroad are expected to attend
the event.

You are all invited to come along and
join in the celebrations - Enjoy!!

MICRONESIA COMING EVENTS

3 Nov Independence
(Federated States of Micronesia) Day
8 Nov* Pohnpei Constitution Day
11 Nov Veterans of Foreign War Day
(Pohnpei)
15 Nov* Kosrae State Fair
29 Nov Thanksgiving
(Kosrae and Chuuk)
24 Dec* Yap Constitution Day

PACIFIKA POLYNESIAN FESTIVAL
Auckland, New Zealand
1st March 2008 - 31st March 2008

A feast for the senses, Pasifika Festival reproduces
the sensation of wandering among Pacific Island
villages, close to the heart of Auckland. In an
extensive park and Lakeland site, musicians and
artists give an insight into the traditions of the
islands with performances such as Niuean dance,
Cook Island drums, Samoan Siva, Tongan war chants,
Fijian love songs and many more examples of Pacific
Island heritage. Over 200,000 people and hundreds
of performers attend this popular one day festival,
where the performances are spread over many
acres and cross the spectrum of film screenings,
poetry readings, opera, serious jazz and soul funk
bands.

Pasifika hosts over 350 stalls selling a variety
of products from fresh coconuts and tapa cloths
to hats, music and ice cream. As a warm-up to the
main event, an opening night music concert is
given on the Friday evening

2008 PAN-PACIFIC FESTIVAL
Matsuri in Hawaii - 6th-8th June 2008

Matsuri in Hawaii began in 1980 as a cultural
exchange between Japan and Hawaii. Matsuri
creators realized that the number of people
travelling from Japan to Hawaii was increasing
dramatically, and they wanted to ensure that the
increased interaction between these two cultures
would be both enjoyable and educational. Thus,
Pan-Pacific Festival/Matsuri in Hawaii was
born.

In Hawaii, this special event is called The
Pan-Pacific Festival and in Japan they call
the event Matsuri in Hawaii. They envisioned
Matsuri as a means to enrich the lives of both
participating artists and guest audiences, while
providing Hawaii residents with a rewarding
and participatory exposure to traditional
Japanese culture.

Matsuri in Hawaii was originally intended as a
cultural bridge: visiting participants from Japan
would be able to enjoy the familiarity of Japanese
music, crafts, traditions, and foods, while Hawaii
residents and other visitors would gain a deeper
appreciation of Japanese sensibilities and cultural
heritage.

By highlighting traditional folk music and age-old
arts and crafts and bringing internationally respected
performers to Hawaii, Matsuri has served Japan as
a sort of cultural goodwill ambassador, introducing
both Hawaii people and its many visitors to the
richness of Japanese culture. Still, the most popular
activities have been those that invited participation,
such as the street party, parade, bon dance and
gateball competition.

THE 10TH FESTIVAL OF PACIFIC ARTS
American Samoa
20th July to 2nd August 2008

The idea of a Festival of Pacific Arts was
conceived by the Conference of the South
Pacific Commission (now the Pacific Community)
in an attempt to combat the erosion of traditional
customary practices. Since 1972, delegations from
27 Pacific Island Countries and Territories have
come together to share and exchange their cultures
at each Festival of Pacific Arts.

In 1977, at the 3rd meeting of the South Pacific
Festival Council (now the Council of Pacific Arts),
the Council determined that the Festival's major
theme should continue to be traditional song and
dance, and that participating countries and territories
should be free to include other activities depending
on the resources available to them.

The 27 participating Pacific Island Countries and
Territories include: American Samoa, Australia,
Cook Islands, Easter Island, Federated States of
Micronesia, Fiji Islands, French Polynesia, Guam,
Hawaii, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New
Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island,
Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New
Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands,
Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and
Futuna.

The festival exhibits include: Contemporary Arts,
Traditional Arts, Culinary Arts, Film-making,
Literary Arts, Natural history, Navigation and
Canoeing, Performing Arts, Symposiums,
Traditional Architecture, Traditional healing
Crafts, Traditional Skills and games and Visual
Arts.
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
"Coming Events" outlines some of the
many happenings on our calendar
throughout the year, hence the inclusion
in our Jane's Oceania Home Page
Newsletter.

As valued members of our Newsletter,
you are invited to recommend appropriate
and happy events, etc. that you feel should
be shared with all our members who, I am
sure, would greatly appreciate your kind
gesture in sharing this information with us.
Thank you so much!
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
RECOLLECTIONS AND MEMOIRS

REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI
CANTON ISLAND - AERIAL
CROSSROADS OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
By Carl Oates

Canton Island, Aerial Crossroads of the South
Pacific, by Carl Oates, is an excellent publication
about an island in the mid-Pacific which was once
an important staging point for aircraft crossing the
Pacific region. This book is a comprehensive
record of the events that shaped the recent history
of Canton Island and is a worthy tribute to the
remarkable career of the author, Carl Oates.
http://www.janesoceania.com/canton_book/index.htm

For further information please contact Carolyn Oates,
daughter of Carl Oates, at::
sunflowermaiden@peoplepc.com as per her kind
e-mail below:

Hello Jane,
It's been a while since we corresponded. My
Mother and I are grateful to you for continuing
the web page promoting my Dad's book. Carl
passed away on July 6th. He was 88 years old
and he had a full, rich life of service.
My Mother will be coming to live with me now.
We were wondering if you can continue the web
page as we are still trying to get Dad's book out
into the world. If you can continue to keep the
page going, the new e-mail address to put for
information about the book is
sunflowermaiden@peoplepc.com.

Thank you again for helping us promote the book.
Blessings,
Carolyn Oates
+   +   +
Memories of Canton Island, 1971-1972 Part II
Email:
sagecorp@lava.net

Message:
On Sundays, we scuba dived in the paradise-on-
earth lagoon or went deep sea fishing on the back
of our crash boat, which was about a sixty footer
which ferried supplies between Canton, Phoenix,
Enderbury and Hull, some of the other atolls in
the group which had guys on TDY to track incoming
shots, which happened about once every three months.
Here's a somewhat funny thing-- I was just Googling
other info on Canton Island before I came upon this
site, and one of them said "Canton became a
completely uninhabited desert island after 1968 when
the Americans abandoned it following the end of the
Mercury and Gemini Space Programs, and it was not
inhabited again until it became part of the Republic of
Kiribati..." Huh? Uninhabited? Hmmm. I guess we
weren't there from 1969 through 1974. Must've been
all that secrecy stuff. Well folks, rumors of Canton
being uninhabited when we were there have been
greatly exaggerated.
Anyway, Canton Island does hold the distinction of
having the shortest mailing address I've ever held. If
you wanted to drop me a line, all you had to do was
write "Sage 96401" on the envelope, mail it, and it
got to the Quonset hut where the post office was located.
Quite an interesting year. Friends of mine on the island
I remember like Staff Sergeant Joel Hudspeth, Sergeant
Dick Fitzer, "Captain Jack" the Fire Chief, Scotty
Gallagher in Maintenance, "Lulu" the transvestite Samoan
Bartender, Jim Banks the Base Exchange Manager,
Mike Kiefer, Paul Balbas, Dana Eng, Jim Jones... they
all shared memories of SAMTEC OL-1 in the early
1970's with me. Canton Island: Latitude 02°46' South,
Longitude 171°42' West. Just go forty four thousand
blocks southwest of Vandenberg, hang a left a tad
before the International Date Line, and then slow down
after you bump over the Equator. It's kinda shaped like
a parallelogram. You can't miss it. Look for all the
uninhabited signs. Bill Sage Honolulu August, 2007
(808) 226-1444

ABOUT THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

The steep flanks of the mountainous interior
of Guadalcanal Island rose to our left. The dark
forest which clothed the hills was dotted with
light-green patches, which were farms. Many
Americans had died there on Bloody Ridge,
holding out against a Japanese army determined
to remove them and advance into the Pacific. In
early August 1942 the Americans captured
Henderson Field, built by the Japanese as their
springboard to Fiji and Samoa
http://www.janesoceania.com/about_solomonislands/index.htm

FEATURE WEB SITES

AMELIA EARHART
The Last Flight

Few women have captured the imagination of
the American public as Amelia Earhart did.
None have held on to it longer. More than half
a century has passed since her disappearance in
the South Pacific in July 1937, and each
succeeding year brings forth new books on her
and her probable fate. The speculation - or, for
the true believer, the facts - about the dangerous
last flight in her Lockheed Electra cover an
extraordinary range. Some make dramatic
claims that she was on a "cold-war reconnaissance"
mission analogous to that of Gary Powers, another
pilot in a later Lockheed. Others, less romantic,
believe simply that she had attempted more than
she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, were capable
of achieving.
http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_amelia_earhart/index.htm

THE TOKELAU ISLANDS

This Web site is intended to provide a brief outline
of the recent history as well as the geography of the
Tokelau Islands. Swains Island has been included
as it is geographically, if not politically, part of the
Tokelau Group.

Also, please refer to our ABOUT BOOKS (above)
in this September/October edition of our Newsletter,
for further information about the Tokelau Islands in
Peter McQuarrie's excellent book: TOKELAU -
People, Atolls and History.
http://www.janeresture.com/tokelau_islands/index.htm

OCEANIA MYTHOLOGY - AUSTRALIA

The indigenous aboriginal people of Australia first
occupied this country over 50,000 years ago.
Their tribal groupings, scattered across this
vast continent, include the  Patjantatjara, Wotjobaluk,
Wikmunkan, Warramanga, Murinbata, Aranda, Mara,
Kurnai, and Walbiri. Some examples of the rich
tapestry of their tribal art, mythologies and legends are
reproduced below on this Web site.
http://www.janesoceania.com/oceaniamyths_australia/index.htm

CANTON ISLAND, REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI
LIVING ON CANTON ISLAND

A review of the history of Canton Island reveals
that man in positions of responsibility make continuing
efforts to record and understand the equatorial climate.
Three hundred years of surface ship crossings of the
Equator had yielded little information about the
atmosphere above the ocean. In the aeronautical era,
there were at first upper air soundings, recording winds
aloft by tracking drifting balloons in their ascent, this
together with the recording of surface temperature and
cloud types in the sky coverage.Rainfall amounts and
dates were carefully noted.

The colonists did this work between 1936 and 1940
until the newly-established Pan American seaplane
base took over this effort.During the War, military
meteorologists methodically supervised this climate
recording. During these years, radios were added
and went aloft with the free flight of the balloon.
By this method temperatures and atmospheric pressure
variations at attitudes were added and recorded.
http://www.janesoceania.com/kiribati_canton/index.htm

OCEANIA WEB SITES

JAPAN AND FRIENDS DAY
Gold Coast, Australia, 29th September 2007

The Japan and Friends Day held at the Gold
Coast Arts Centre, Australia, on the 29th
September, 2007, provided a marvellous
opportunity for so many of us to experience
the art and culture of Japan as well as Korea,
the Philippines and Indonesia.

The event included stage shows featuring
cultural and traditional dance, singing, musical
instruments and marshal arts demonstrations,
along with numerous food stalls and bazaars,
making available a tempting range of Asian
foods, drinks and other traditional items.

It is my great pleasure to be able to share
with you some of the images of the beautiful
cultural stage shows involving singing and
dance, etc.
http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_goldcoast1/main.htm

PARADISE DREAMING
THE HISTORY AND THE SPIRIT OF
THE GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA

Kaiala (Pronounced Kye Arla) is the Gold
Coast Aboriginal greeting or welcome meaning
"Good Wishes". The full translation is -
Yinkaiala Baugal - "Wishing good things and
the very best for you". Iluka is also an
Aboriginal word meaning 'near the sea'. It
was used by Aborigines in the days when
they enjoyed the attractions of the Australian
coastline in all its isolated splendour... It
signified a good place, rich in food and
enjoyment... It's a past that begins in the
Dreamtime. The Dreamtime of the Aborigine.
The Dreamtime of Paradise!
http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_goldcoast_history/main.htm

HAWAII AND THE POLYNESIANS
The Last Visit Of Captain James Cook
To Hawaii

The Polynesians are those people who some two
or three thousand years ago spread to all the islands
of the Pacific through the great triangle that reaches
from Hawaii to new Zealand to Easter Island. That
was their great cultural triumph. They had mastered
the immense ocean. They had discovered all the
islands of the Pacific and then in turn were
discovered by European explorers from the
sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries of the Christian
era.
http://www.janesoceania.com/hawaii_visit1/index.htm

EASTER ISLAND (RAPA NUI)

How Pacific Islanders arrived at Easter Island
(Rapa Nui), one of the world's most remote
inhabited islands, is no less an enigma than
how their descendants could design and sculpt
hundreds of colossal moai from hard volcanic
tuff, transport these tall and heavy statues great
distances from quarry to coast and erect them
on great stone ahu (platforms).
http://www.janesoceania.com/easter_island_rapanui/index.htm

SOLOMON ISLANDS - THE MALAITA
MASSACRE - STEPS TO PACIFICATION

Malaita was Bell's world, and he threw himself
into it with a zeal unmatched by his contemporaries.
But there was still an outside world, in Tulagi and
Sydney. There were still fellow Europeans,
missionaries and planters, on 'his' island. There
was still a planter community pressing for more
labour, still recruits, still a Resident commissioner
and a hierarchy of colonial control.
http://www.janesoceania.com/solomons_westwind2/index.htm

REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI
Christmas Island Bombers
Vickers Valiant bomber
MIGHTY VALIANT ON THE MOVE
18 August 2005

This Web site contains information on the only
surviving example of a Vickers Valiant bomber
which took part in the nuclear testing at Christmas
Island, Line Islands, Republic of Kiribati. It also
gives a little information on Air Formation Signals,
including the role they played in the Christmas
Island Bomb Tests (Operation Grapple).
http://www.janesoceania.com/christmas_bombers/index.htm

BOUGAINVILLE - HISTORY

The first humans to set foot on Bougainville-Buka,
some 28,000 years ago, came from the northwest -
either directly, from south-eastern New Ireland or,
more probably, by stages from there via the Feni
and Nissan Islands. The present open-sea
distances between New Ireland and Buka, via Feni
and Nissan, are no wider than 72 kilometres. Their
coasts may have been even closer during the
Pleistocene period, when the sea level throughout
this area had been lowered appreciably as a result
of the impounding of much of the earth's waters in
vast continental ice sheets. But even 72-kilometre
stretches of ocean were well within the seafaring
range of these pioneers: their canoes were certainly
seaworthy enough, and the inter-island distances
were within visibility range.
http://www.janesoceania.com/bougainville_history/index.htm

BOUGAINVILLE - CONTACTS WITH
EUROPEANS - THE GERMAN ERA

German merchants and shipping firms began to
move into the Pacific in the 1850s, intent upon
building up a trade empire to equal or surpass
Britain's. Their first South Seas base was
established at Apia, Samoa, in 1856. Within a
few years they had extended their trading activities,
including shore-based stores, to the Marshalls, the
Gilberts (Kiribati), the Ellice (Tuvalu), Tonga and
Fiji.
About 1870 their agents became the first traders
to brave the frontier hardships of New Britain,
thereby becoming the forerunners of German
sovereignty there. For a number of years after
that the Germans' commercial operations were
carried on without government backing; even
the unification of Germany did not immediately
change that, Bismarck having been initially
opposed to colonials. In time, however, German
merchants and patriots had their way, and the
government adopted a policy in favour of empire
and world-girdling naval powers, in deliberate
competition with Britain.
http://www.janesoceania.com/bougainville_history1/index.htm

BOUGAINVILLE - MANDATE TERRITORY

As World War I drew to a close, Australia was
faced with the question of what to do with
German New Guinea, or rather, how to ensure
the continuance of Australia's control there. It
was officially recognized that the act of military
occupation did not legally constitute the
establishment of sovereignty, but it was widely
assumed, and publicly demanded, that the colony
would remain in Australian hands for both military
and economic reasons. In Australia a few voices
were raised against outright annexation, holding
that it would be a betrayal of the Allied commitment
to 'no territorial gains'. A few others spoke up for
the principle of 'self determination', implying that the
colony's native populace should be consulted in
the matter - an unrealistic proposal, to say the least!
But when the Prime Minister, William Hughes, left
for the peace conference in Paris, even most of the
Opposition in the Australian parliament supported
his wish to convert the de facto military control into
outright sovereignty.
http://www.janesoceania.com/bougainville_history2/index.htm

TAHITI - TAHITI POSSESSING

There is a ceremony performed nowadays
at Tahiti each year in the Bastille Day holidays.
At the marae Aahu Rahu, reconstructed for
tourists and 'folkloric' celebrations, the 'King'
and 'Queen' of Tahiti are invested with a
maro ura, a wrap or girdle of red feathers.
It is a symbol, like a crown and sceptre, of
their sovereignty for the time of the celebrations.
Thousands are there to see the ceremony.

The royal couple 'fly' on the shoulders of
attendants, as the high chiefs of old 'flew',
lest their sacred feet touch the ground.
'Priests' are there, flecked out in fantasies
and improvisations of what priests used to
wear. Sacrificial offerings of food and cloth
are made. All process to the sacred stones
before the altar for the investment. It is a
carnival of monarchy in republican days. it
is not peculiar for that, of course. If downs
might be kings in the topsy-turvy world of
carnival, then native citizens might well be
kings in republics on holiday remembering
the overthrow of stranger monarchies ten
thousand miles away.
http://www.janesoceania.com/tahiti_possessing/index.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/tahiti_possessing1/index.htm

HAWAII VINTAGE POSTCARDS 23
http://www.janesoceania.com/hawaii_vintage_postcards10/index1.htm

HAWAII HULA POSTCARDS 19 & 20
The following hula images comprise a rare
collection of historical images showing some
of the many fascinating aspects of Hawaii
and the beautiful Hawaiian hula.
http://www.janesoceania.com/hawaii_hula15/index2.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/hawaii_hula16/index2.htm

FIJI POSTCARDS 33, 34, 35 & 36
The following are a collection of rare, historical
postcards from Fiji. They depict Fiji as it existed
almost 100 years ago, and include images of the
Fijian people and their lifestyle at this time
http://www.janesoceania.com/fiji_postcards23/index2.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/fiji_postcards24/index2.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/fiji_postcards25/index2.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/fiji_postcards26/index2.htm

NEW ZEALAND POSTCARDS 21, 22 & 23
Historical postcards from beautiful
New Zealand!
http://www.janesoceania.com/newzealand_postcards17/index2.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/newzealand_postcards18/index2.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/newzealand_postcards19/index2.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/newzealand_postcards20/index2.htm

TAHITI POSTCARDS 31 & 32
The following are a collection of historical and
contemporary postcards from Tahiti, which
highlight the unique and lasting beauty of
Tahiti.
http://www.janesoceania.com/tahiti_postcards31/index.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/tahiti_postcards32/index.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/tahiti_postcards33/index.htm

POLYNESIAN GIRLS 7
Some of the postcards of beautiful ladies from
Polynesia!
http://www.janesoceania.com/polynesian_girls3/index2.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/polynesian_girls4/index2.htm

SAMOA POSTCARDS 28 & 29
A collection of interesting postcards from Samoa
showing the beautiful scenery and people of Samoa.
http://www.janesoceania.com/samoa_postcards18/index4.htm
http://www.janesocania.com/samoa_postcards19/index4.htm

PAPUA NEW GUINEA POSTCARDS 12,13, 14 & 15
The following are a collection of historical and interesting
postcards of Papua New Guinea
http://www.janesoceania.com/png_postcards11/index1.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/png_postcards12/index1.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/png_postcards13/index1.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/png_postcards14/index1.htm

PAPUA (IRIAN JAYA) POSTCARDS 1
Rare and interesting traditional postcards from
Papua.
http://www.janesoceania.com/papua_postcards1/index.htm

GUAM HISTORICAL POSTCARDS 21 & 22
The following are a further collection of interesting
historical images from Guam.
http://www.janesoceania.com/guam_historical17/index1.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/guam_historical18/index1.htm

AUSTRALIA - ABORIGINAL AND AUSTRALIA
POSTCARDS 26, 27, 28, 29 & 30
Rare and interesting Aboriginal and Australian historical
postcards.
http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_postcards26/index1.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_postcards27/index1.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_postcards28/index1.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_postcards29/index1.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_postcards30/index1.htm

TONGA POSTCARDS 2
Rare and interesting historical and
contemporary postcards from beautiful
Tonga!
http://www.janesoceania.com/tonga_postcards2/index.htm

INTERESTING PLACES

PUKAPUKA ISLAND,
COOK ISLANDS

Pukapuka (Danger Islands) consists of a group
of three small islets, connected by reefs, of which
Pukapuka, northernmost, is located 652 nautical
miles south of the equator. They are about 715
miles from Rarotonga, Cook islands, 360 miles
from Pago Pago; and 45 miles N.W. by N. from
Nassau Island.
http://www.janeresture.com/pukapuka/index.htm

LORD HOWE ISLAND

This island is an extinct volcano 11 kilometres
long and less than 3 kilometres across at its
widest point. At the southern end it possesses
two towering, often cloud-capped mountains,
Mt. Gower and Mt. Lidgbird which rise 875
metres out of the ocean and stand like guardians
protecting the delicate beauty of the sub-tropical
island below.
http://www.janeresture.com/lord_howe/index.htm

INTERESTING LINKS

BAMAGA, NORTH QUEENSLAND

Bamaga (and Seisia)
The most northerly town in Australia
Located 61 km north of the Jardine River
and 983 km north of Cairns, Bamaga is the
most northern township, in Queensland. It is
an isolated settlement of some 2000 people,
most of whom are Torres Strait Islanders.
Facilities are limited and supplies are either
shipped or flown in.
http://walkabout.com.au/locations/QLDBamaga.shtml

SAMOA - SOME LEGENDS OF SAMOA
Legend of Princess Nafanua

Nafanua, of royal ancestry, who was buried
among the chiefs and chiefesses of Pulotu
(according to legend), arose from the dead
and offered her life for her people. By fighting
"with courtesy" for the great and honourable
 cause of freedom she loved, she was greatly
loved by many. In respecting the right of others,
and for her sincere wish to give freedom to the
distressed, she won a glorious victory which is
a living chapter in the history of Samoa.
http://www.janesoceania.com/samoa_legends/index.htm

LETTERS

The following are extracts from a few of
the many most interesting and often touching
letters that I have received since our last
Newsletter. I would very much like to share
some of them with you as I find these letters
to be most gratifying and motivating.

Please join me in thanking these wonderful
people for sharing their kind thoughts with
us.

Should you like to get in touch with any of
the writers of the letters below, please do
not hesitate to send me an e-mail and I will
arrange a contact. Certainly, many of our
members and the writers of these wonderful
letters have been in mutually beneficial contact
with each other. Indeed, it is one of the aims
of making these letters available to our members
so that people can share their common interests
in the Pacific Islands.

As an aid to appreciating these letters, I have
also included, in conjunction with some of the
letters, the relevant Web sites to which these
letters relate.
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Jane,
Just thought I'd drop you a line to let you know
how much I've enjoyed your web site. It's always
been a dream of mine to visit some of the islands.
Maybe someday I will. Thank you and keep up
the good work! Kindest regards ...
www.janeresture.com
www.janesoceania.com

Hello Jane,
What an interesting article on Hawaii there is on
your latest  website. I am very interested in Hawaiian
history and all things Hawaiian including Hula. I have
many cds on Hawaiian music and on  Hawaiian Hula
chants.

And a dvd on Elvis Presley in the film Blue Hawaii
filmed on the Big  Island and on Maui I believe? I
am very interested in the Hula too and its history etc.

I am interested also on the island of Tahiti, its
culture, history  etc. I also have many cds on Tahitian
music and a dvd of the film "Mutiny on The Bounty",
starring Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard and Tarita
who is Tahitian, a beautiful Tahitian vahine then,
anyway who performs a lovely Tamure (dance) with
a troupe of Tahitian Vahines in the film, and Brushes
Noses with Marlon Brando in one of the scenes.

I read that it was a sign of love and affection to a
 member of the opposite sex. Tarita does it very
nicely too in the film.

There are also some very nice scenes of Taihiti
as it was in the time of the Mutiny in the 17th
or 18th century. I love Tahiti and Hawaii, the
beautiful Hawaiian wahines and the beautiful
Tahitian vahines, the Hula and the Tamure.

I also have a paperback book on the history of
Hawaii and a large book full of photos of beautiful
Tahitian vahines, photographed on location in Tahiti.

In 1958 I was stationed on the island of Kusaei
as a weather observer with the US AIR FORCE.
Some of the fondest memories of my life are those
of Kosrae and the native people, some of whom
became close friends. Would LOVE to communicate
with any of these old friends if they can be found.
Is Kosrae the same island as Kusaei?? I have a web
site with 1958 photos of Kusaei and friends. Anyone
interested? Would greatly appreciate a response.
Bob DAlfonso
www.janeresture.com/hawaii/index.htm

Hello Jane.. Thanks for your excellent page about
Nauru -

My name is Alan Malina - currently working in
Honiara as a building supervisor with Patrick - for
the RAMSI who came here after the tensions...My
contract ends in December this year and I have
applied for a job in Nauru - with a team building a
high school....
I have a 15ft. aluminium boat and 18 horse motor
and was told the sea is always too rough to go
fishing around Nauru - and that it's always windy....
What can you tell me...? I only need one small bay
with some reef....?? Regards, Alan

Alan Malina,
New Works Supervisor,
Patrick Defence Logistics,
Mob. 677 96404
Phone 677 36402.
Email...a.malina@patrick.com.au
Fax.  677 36378

Hi Jane,
Congratulations on your wonderful website. It is
a great resource of wisdom and knowledge. We are
producing a documentary about Polynesian Pop
Culture in America called the DVD OF TIKI
(www.dvdoftiki.com)
Part of our movie covers the real origins of Tiki and
the myth of the South Seas paradise. This movie is
not a big production, more a labour of love. I started
it with my wife in 2004 when we were on a world trip,
mostly in Oceania.

My question is if you could provide larger scans of
some of your vintage images so that I could use them
in the movie. I would be happy to make a donation
towards your website. Thanks a lot ... Germany

Hi Jane!
Great Site!
I saw a story on Yahoo's front page about global
warming...how European winters might all but
disappear in a few more decades. In this article
Tuvalu was referenced. That this island nation might
be being seriously threatened by rising sea levels.
I'd never heard of Tuvalu, so I had to investigate.
I found your site and I have to say thanks, you've
done a wonderful job!
www.janeresture.com/tuvalu2/tuvalu_home_page.htm

Needless to say, I pray the experts are wrong
about the future sea levels.
Thanks again for the informative and creative
site you've published.
www.janesoceania.com

Hi Jane,
Thanks for all your hand work on the website!
I read with interest a section about te taitai
(tattoo) in Kiribati. I grew up in Kiribati but was
never aware of tattoo designs specific to Kiribati.
I would like to see how these look or how they
would look. Are there any photos/pictures/images
of these designs? Any help is appreciated.Thanks
www.janeresture.com/kirihome/index.htm

Dear Jane,
Very nice website about Tarawa
Richard Haas
Sarasota FL
www.janeresture.com/kirihome/index.htm

Dear Jane Resture,
You have a wonderful website.
Are you Tahitian by the way?

I live on Guam. Originally from the U.S but have
been here 29 years,and 2 years in the Philippines
before this.

Hi Jane, Your site is incredible, you are an amazing
person. We are excited to be involved in working
with remote island communities through our NON
Profit Company.

WE want to help preserve island cultures and share
in ideas for people to live in peace and joy. I hope
to be able to visit every island as we continue to
 provide a service for people that wish to be involved
in preserving island cultures etc.
Louis Honeycutt
info@fluidadventures.net
Sailing with a Purpose
http://www.fluidadventures.net

Hi Jane, I recently came upon your website.
In short, I have a collection of dolls from
around the world--one from every country (and
many from some country, when there are many cultures
to be represented.)  I take my collection to area
schools and libraries so that people here (Missouri,
USA) can see the different clothing worn around
the world.  It is a good way for young people to
make that connection (Plus, it's fun for me!)

Why I am writing to you is this: My collection is
complete, except for a few countries in Africa,
and the greater part of Oceania. I have dolls
from Australia, Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, New Zealand,
Samoa, Guam. I would like one from the other
islands represented in that area. I generally do my
shopping on ebay, but have surfed the net looking
for maybe island stores that have online stores as
well. I can't seem to find any. I am essentially
looking for small dolls that represent the different
islands. I didn't know if you knew of anyone
locally who would like the business.Do you know
of anyone with an online shop. I am looking for
anything from keychain size to about 10 inches.

Thanks for your website, also. I have learned
a lot about different cultures around the world,
and yours has been a wealth of information.
Stephanie

Hi Jane,
Wow, I ran across your site and I think it's
fabulous...we are operating a non profit
Company geared to deliver projects mainly to the
South Pacific remote islands. Would love to talk
with you and see how we can work on maybe
linking up our sites, which will give us both
more exposure...

I am currently in Sydney for another 2.5 weeks,
up to Brisbane next weekend before leaving
November 3rd headed to Hawaii to pick up a
sailing yacht headed to the South Pacific islands
again...Would love to hear some thoughts from you...
You have a GREAT site for sure that does all of
the islands a great justice...we are about connecting
people and working in remote communities....
Thank you

Dear Jane
I have recently replaced my aging computer and
amazed at what I can find on my new one..I was
in Christmas Island in the 1950s and still have
wonderful memories of its tranquillity. The tests
around me at the time were something new to me.

However, being a young soldier of nineteen years
of age and tens of thousands of miles from home
it was a perfect place to contemplate my future.
I am nearly seventy years old  (next year) but my
dream has always (as long as I can remember)
wanted to visit Christmas Island and the Gilbertese
Islanders in  modern day circumstances. They
were part of my life and now become part of my
memories. I can only dream now but would
appreciate any email pictures  of "Gods Little
Acres" of  your Heaven at the other side of the
Earth as I have always referred to Christmas
Island.
G.Atkinson (ex sapper Royal Engineers in charge
road building Airport to Port Christmas Island 1958)

Subject: Canton Island
JAN42 Visit by 307th Heavy Bomb Group
424th Squadron
E-mail:
phildad@hiwaay.net
Message:
I was researching my father's (1st LT pilot) WW II
history and came across his visit to Canton Island
in JAN42. He flew with the 307th Heavy Bomb Group,
424th Squadron (B-24s) from Hawaii (Wheeler
Field) to Canton Island (refueling stop by PanAm
and overnight stay) to Funafuti, Tuvalu (formerly
Ellice Islands).
From there they flew a photo-recon and bombing
mission to the Gilbert Islands in preparation for the
follow-on invasion by the US of the Gilbert Islands
several months later. They returned the same way
several days later after the mission. The squadron
was lead by Major Glenn Birchard for the mission.
He eventually became Group Commander as a
Colonel. My father wrote of his visit to the
Canton Island, both times, and his wonder at the
peacefulness and tranquillity of the island even
though WWII was just getting started for the
Americans.

There were no more than 20 people on the island,
primarily PanAM personnel. He and several other
officers toured the island the first night to ensure the
security setup and determine how follow-on troops
via ship from San Francisco would enter the island
and setup an island defense in FEB42.
On their return they stayed there for 2 days, he took
time to fish and scout the island more. He told me
on several occasions how he wished he could have
visited again.

He retired from USAF in 1970 after 30 years service
and he died last OCT06, not having ever returned to
Canton Island. Hopefully one day I'll visit for him.
If anyone remembers their visit or knew my father
please let me know. Thanks, Phil Gwynn Jr

IT'S TIME TO CHAT

Our Chat Room is always available for online
chatting between parties and can be accessed
via Jane's Oceania Home Page:
http://www.janeresture.com or the URLs:
http://pub18.bravenet.com/chat/show.php/1489671900
http://pub32.bravenet.com/chat/show.php/2702076781

COMMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

These are always most welcome and can be
e-mailed to me at: jane@janeresture.com

Thank you so much everybody for being
very important and valuable members of
our Oceania Club.

Let us all hope for continuing greater
peace and harmony, good health,
prosperity and happiness, for everybody!
I wish you all the very best and please
take care!

May our God bless us all and, as usual,
I look forward to the pleasure of your
company next time.

Jane Resture