Jane's Oceania Home Page Newsletter
Vol. 8, Edition Nos. 6, 7 & 8,
June/July/August 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 June/July/August 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 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/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

It is certainly pleasing to see that a record numbers
of humpback whales made their annual migration up
Australia's east coast, including, once again, the rare
white whale Migaloo, a favourite with whale-watchers.
Migaloo, whose Aboriginal name means "white fella",
is believed to be the only completely white humpback
whale in the world.

The 14-metre whale was first spotted off Heron Island,
on Queensland's Central Coast, by resort staff on a
fishing trip when the white whale surfaced just metres
from the boat, and then swam underneath the vessel as
the crew looked on in amazement. Migaloo was later
spotted by researchers off Brisbane's Stradbroke Island
as part of a six week survey at Point Lookout on the
island which counted the number of humpback whales
migrating north to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

The research team has indicated that a large number
of whales have been counted passing Stradbroke
Island each week with an estimate of as many as
10,000 humpbacks migrating north this winter.
For a recent photograph of Migaloo, the rare white
humpback whale, you are invited to visit:
http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_postcards4/index.htm

While on the subject of things from the deep, a
rarely-seen giant squid, Architeuthis, washed up on
the shores of the southern island of Tasmania has been
of great interest to scientists as few are seen dead,
much less alive. The hood of the squid was about two
metres long and the body a couple of metres long,
however, the tentacles had been badly mangled so their
length could not be measured.

This was the first time that a giant squid has washed up
on the beaches of the Tasmanian west coast, although
the giant squid is known to be a food source for sperm
whales, which have frequently stranded on the coast.
Certainly, it is thought that the giant squid and the
sperm whale may be using a network of undersea canyons
that run from the continental shelf down to the abyssal
plain off Tasmania's north-west.

Scientists have speculated that there may be a link to
diet or breeding patterns bringing the squid inshore. In
terms of dietary pattern, giant squids are hunting for
blue grenadier off the Tasmanian west coast where there
are big schools which gather in mid-winter in the deep
waters. However, tightly timed breeding patterns may
also play a part as giant squid, just like their smaller
cousins, breed and then die.

For images of the giant squid Architeuthis, you are
invited to visit:
http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_postcards4/index.htm

Papua New Guinea remains one of the most intriguing
lands on earth, with more than 800 languages spoken
by a population of just six million spread thinly through
rainforests, tropical islands and mist-shrouded mountains.
Indeed, less than a lifetime ago some tribes in this rugged
South Pacific island nation had never had contact with
the outside world.

Sadly, a recent United Nations report said that Papua
New Guinea was facing an AIDS catastrophe, accounting
for 90 per cent of HIV infections in the Oceania region.
Indeed, HIV diagnoses had risen by around 30 per cent a
year since 1997, leaving an estimated 60,000 people living
with the disease in 2005. The report also indicated that
high levels of sexual violence against women and poor
access to sex education had helped the virus ravage
Papua New Guinea's population.

In this ancient society, where so many people still
believe in superstition and witchcraft, the ancient world
of witchcraft has collided brutally with the modern plague
of AIDS. For some people, ancient beliefs have provided
an instant and brutal answer to the bewildering new disease
with sorcery, witchcraft and other supernatural forces. are
widely blamed for causing HIV/AIDS.

The mysterious' deaths of relatively young people, thought
to be deaths from HIV/AIDS, are being blamed on women
practicing witchcraft. Accusations of sorcery have resulted
in torture and murder of innocent women by mobs holding
them responsible for the apparently inexplicable deaths of
young people stricken by the epidemic.

There are reports of women being tortured for days in efforts
to extract confessions, with women being beaten, stabbed,
cut with knives, sexually assaulted, and burnt with hot irons.
It is estimated that there have been 500 such attacks in the
past year alone.

This is certainly a very sad and sorry state of affairs and
every effort should be made to educate the village leaders
and get the message down to the grassroots as to the
causes and the best ways of avoiding the spread of
HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea.

In this respect, it is pleasing to see that the United States
Government has indicated that it will significantly increase
its funding towards work on HIV/AIDS in the new year
and expand to four areas in Papua New Guinea.

The United States ambassador to Papua New Guinea
announced, during U.S. Independence Day celebrations
in Port Moresby that the United States will invest heavily
in the health of Papua New Guinea's people and there
will be an increase in HIV/AIDS funding next year.

From Papua New Guinea also comes news that a rare
species of long-beaked echidna, native to Papua New
Guinea, and long thought to be extinct, has been found
alive by scientists. A recent expedition by British
zoologists to Papua New Guinea uncovered evidence
of the echidna, which has not been seen by scientists
since 1961, and which is named after renowned naturalist,
Sir David Attenborough.

Indeed, people living in the Cyclops Mountains area have
told the scientific team from the Zoological Society of
London that they had seen the spiny creature, which is
related to the platypus. One villager had even eaten one
and described it as "delicious". The scientists also found
burrows and holes in the ground made by the echidnas'
distinctive beaks as they hunted for worms.

The zoologists plan to return to Papua New Guinea to
set up camera traps in the hope of photographing the
creature. The long-beaked echidna was first found in
1961, and the captured specimen sent to the Natural
Museum of Natural History in the Netherlands. An
analysis by leading Australian scientists, Professor
Tim Flannery and Professor Colin Groves, in 1998,
determined that the animal represented a previously
unknown species and was not one of the four species
of echidna known to scientists.

The pristine and ancient rainforests and mountains
of Papua New Guinea have certainly proven to be
a treasure trove of new species of flora and fauna,
many of which have their origins in antiquity and are
not found anywhere else in the world.

A recent report from New Zealand indicating that
Internet-based teaching software is being developed
to try to address a shortage of Maori language teachers
in schools nationwide is certainly a very worthwhile
initiative. The Maori Affairs Minister has indicated that
he wanted more children to learn another language at a
young age and online teaching software was one way
to make sure this happened, given the shortage of
Maori language teachers.

The indications are that, while the software is still
under development, the online facility would be available
to people, wherever they are in the world, within the next
year. Indeed, extensive work had already been done to
build up a corpus, or Maori language database, as a
platform.

One would have to feel that an important project of this
nature would have wider implication for so many countries
around the world where the indigenous language is under
threat.  Already, other Pacific countries, such as Niue,
have already expressed interest in the technology to help
preserve their own language.

In terms of the preservation of indigenous language
it is pleasing to see that for the first time in the
fifty-five year history of the University of Guam, a
Master's thesis written and orally defended in the
Chamorro language was given its nod of approval

by a committee in the Micronesian Studies program

of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

Peter R. Onedera's thesis, "Egge' gi i Kestumbren
CHamoru" (Theater in a Chamorro Sense) explores
the history of theatre on Guam, attitudes, language
use, cultural issues and myths, and its future within
and among the Chamoru speaking community. His
thesis will be housed in the Robert F. Kennedy
Library as well as in the Micronesian Area Research
Center.

Hailed as a first for the University of Guam and in
the region of Micronesia, the thesis will now become
a benchmark for future academic, scholarly and
creative literary works to be written in an indigenous
language.

For additional information, contact:
Dr. Mary Spencer
Acting Coordinator, Graduate School and Research
University of Guam
mspencer@uog9.uog.edu
Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
1-671-735-2850

It is now 70 years since aviation pioneers Amelia
Earhart and Fred Noonan took off on July 2, 1937
from Lae, New Guinea, heading for Howland Island,
a tiny speck of coral in the mid-Pacific. The United
States Coast Guard Cutter, Itasca, lying off Howland,
received messages from them--but couldn't establish
two-way communication or a radio direction-finding
fix. Earhart and Noonan couldn't see the island, or
communicate with Itasca. The messages ended, and
they were never heard from, or seen again.

The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery
(TIGHAR) is leading the search for Amelia Earhart with
Senior Archaeologist Dr.Tom King who kindly made
available the following brief report on his recent trip
to beautiful Nikumaroro in the Phoenix Islands, Republic
of Kiribati.

"We had two major goals on the island. One was to
look at a portion of the old colonial village (1938-1963)
where we'd found plane parts in the past, and where the
village carpenter shop stood before it blew away in a
storm in about 1990. The other was to give serious
attention to the "Seven Site" at the other end of the

island, which we think is where a partial human skeleton

was found in 1940 along with a sextant box, a Benedictine

bottle, a woman's shoe, and other interesting artifacts; we

think this may have been Amelia Earhart's skeleton. Our

physical anthropologist, Kar Burns, was also to carry out

a taphonomic experiment - putting out the remains of a pig
and seeing how fast and in what directions the coconut
crabs and strawberry hermit crabs took its parts away.
Biologist/forester Josh Gillespie was to identify key tree
species to allow construction of a general vegetation map.

Finally, we wanted to do some detailed topographic mapping
of the reef where we think Earhart landed her Lockheed
Electra, to permit detailed hindcasting of tidal conditions
there at the time she would have landed. Remarkably enough,
we got all these things done.

We flew to Nadi in Fiji and from the nearby port of Lautoka
embarked on the motor-sailor 'Nai'a' for the five-day trip
to Niku. We were 16 in all - the basic TIGHAR team, a
videographer, and the representative of the government of
Kiribati. The trip was uneventful but for various cases of
seasickness; the weather was good but the swells were

pretty high. We landed as usual in the ship's inflatables, going
ashore every morning and returning to the ship in the evening.
Gary Quigg took charge of work in the village, while I ran the
Seven Site project. As it turned out, members of the ship's
crew  helped a lot on both projects; they said they were
bored aboard, as it were, and wanted some shore time.

The village work involved clearing largish areas of coconut
deadfall, metal detecting, mapping and excavating test units.
Suffice it to say that Gary's crew were able to define and
pretty definitively survey the carpenter's shop and the debris
field created downwind when it blew away, and they collected
a number of bronze bushings and other parts that just might
have been salvaged from an airplane.

At the Seven Site, we first had to clear a lot of scaevola,
a nasty shrub, in a way that wouldn't mess up the site
surface.

We accomplished this using a lot less of the traditional
tools (bush knives and chainsaws), in favor of long-handled
pneumatic loppers powered by dive tanks; they worked
remarkably well.

We then undertook a variety of excavations, metal detecting,
and surface scanning for teeth and bones using a solar-powered
daylight ultraviolet scanner designed by team member John Clauss.

We also did kite aerial photography (KAP) to help document
the site in its environment, and used a rather over-elaborate
robotic total station to update and correct the site map prepared
in 2001.

The UV scanner worked but didn't get us any teeth or bones.
The total station was a pain in the behind but gave us what
we needed, and the KAP worked great. As did our state-of-

the-art PVC sifting screens, donated by Focus Design of Costa
Mesa, CA. We excavated several fire features that will help us
(we hope) figure out what sort of person was camping at the
site - lots of fish, bird, and turtle bone for dietary analysis. And
we found some things - a zipper, a snap perhaps from an article
of clothing, part of a small pocket knife, a piece of beveled glass
that may be from a small mirror - that aren't easily associated
with use of the site by Gilbertese colonists and U.S. Coast
Guardsmen, the two groups known to have been there at various
times.One of the fire features, too, contained the broken and
mostly melted remains of two bottles, one of them apparently
a heavy brown bottle similar to Benedictine. Lots of analysis to
be done there, too.

And the crabs duly carried away bones, posing for time-lapse
photography, while the total station made it possible to
obtain detailed elevation and topographic data on the reef.

So as usual, we didn't exactly find what we went out looking
for, but we did find other stuff, and we actually did pretty
much everything we planned to do.We then sailed uneventfully
to Apia, Samoa, flew to Nadi, and then flew back to the States.
Good weather the whole time (130 degrees f. recorded on the
Seven Site, but a pleasant breeze) and it was great to have one
more visit to the island.

Reports, of course, will be forthcoming; our faithful sponsor
Fedex has recently delivered the artifacts and level bags for
analysis".

Our very sincere gratitude goes to Tom for his continuous
support and for making available the above very important,
interesting and informative report about his recent trip to
the beautiful atoll of Nikumaroro (Gardner Island), Phoenix
Group, Republic of Kiribati, at:
http://www.janeresture.com/kiribati_phoenix_group/gardner.htm
along with the report (also above) that Tom kindly shared with
us about the Chamorro indigenous language. Tom, we thank you
so much indeed!

Much more information is available on TIGHAR's
website, www.tighar.org.For a precis of the
archaeology of the Nikumaroro Hypothesis, see
http://archaeology.about.com/od/pacificislands/a/king_ae.htm
To purchase Amelia Earhart's Shoes
(Updated Paperback Edition, 2004, AltaMira Press),
visit www.altamirapress.com
To purchase Ric Gillespie's Finding Amelia (Naval
Institute Press, 2006), visit
http://www.usni.org/webstore/shopexd.asp?id=49533

A report prepared by the United States Government
Accountability Office has indicated that, from 1987
through to 2003, the United States provided under a
Compact of Free Association; approximately $579
million of economic assistance to the Republic of the
Marshall Islands. In 2003, the U.S. Government
approved an amended compact with the Republic
of the Marshall Islands that provides an additional
20 years of assistance, totalling about $1.5 billion
from 2004 through to 2023.

The amended compact with the Republic of the
Marshall Islands identifies the additional 20 years
of grant assistance as intended to assist the Republic
of the Marshall Islands Government in its efforts to
promote the economic advancement and budgetary
self-reliance of its people. The assistance is provided
in the form of annually decreasing grants that prioritize
health and education, paired with annually increasing
contributions to trust funds intended as a source of
revenue for the country after the grants end in 2023.

The report also indicated that the Republic of the
Marshall Islands has limited prospects for achieving
its long-term development objectives and has not
enacted policy reforms needed to enable economic
growth. The RMI depends on public sector spending
of foreign assistance rather than on private sector or
remittance income; public sector expenditure accounts
for more than half of its gross domestic product (GDP).
The RMI Government budget largely depends on foreign
assistance and, despite annual decrements in compact
funding to support budgetary expenditures, is
characterized by a growing wage bill.

Meanwhile, the two private sector industries identified
as having growth potential--fisheries and tourism--face
significant barriers to expansion because of the RMI's
remote geographic locations, inadequate infrastructure,
and poor business environment. In addition, RMI
emigrants lack marketable skills that are needed for
increased revenue from remittances. Moreover, progress
in implementing key policy reforms necessary to improve
the private sector environment has been slow. Foreign
investment regulations remain burdensome, and the
Republic of the Marshall Islands Government's
involvement in commercial activities continues to
hinder private sector development.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands trust fund may
not provide sustainable income for the country after
compact grants end; potential sources for supplementing
trust fund income have limitations; and the trust fund
committee has experienced management challenges.

Market volatility and the choice of investment strategy
could cause the RMI trust fund balance to vary widely,
and there is increasing probability that, in some years,
the trust fund will not reach the maximum disbursement
level allowed--an amount equal to the inflation-adjusted
compact grants in 2023--or be able to disburse any
income.

In addition, a recent World Bank Report on Opportunities
to Improve Social Services in the Marshall Islands has
indicated that the Republic of the Marshall Islands is one
of the most generously funded countries in the Pacific yet
outcomes in health, education and social protection have
been disappointing. With funding from the United States
accounting for 80% of the country's budget, observer
inside and outside of the Republic of the Marshall Islands
have identified the dependency relationship as a problem.

One significant aspect identified by the World bank
Report was that social issues related to urbanisation
have taken on a tragic character, as unemployment

and inactivity have soared and socially destructive
behaviours have increased, some to alarming levels.

The relationship between the United States and the
Republic of the Marshall Islands has not been a
particularly fruitful one leaving with us an island
republic which has been described by many as a cultural,
social and environmental wilderness. Indeed, some of
the beautiful islands of the region are nothing more than
radioactive garbage dumps. One would have to suspect
that, for the Republic of the Marshall Islands to have a
meaningful future, then they would have to firstly reclaim
their cultural and spiritual values as a rock upon which
they can build a meaningful future.

A report entitled "Little Children Are Sacred", detailing
horrific social problems in remote  indigenous settlements
in the Northern Territory of Australia, has prompted firm
and decisive action by the Australian Government. The
report highlighted how people with too much time on their
hands often turn to substance abuse and domestic violence
and exposed chronic sexual abuse in remote communities.
Irrespective of race or location, these problems are
generally seen as a function of the a welfare poison that
manifests itself in extreme anti-social behaviour.

Restoring civil society will take years rather than
months, but a serious start has already been made.Police

have moved in to stop the booze, drugs, pornography

and associated violence and child abuse. At this time,
assessment teams have started to visit remote townships.
Health teams have been seeking a detailed personal and
family history, conducting standard physical examination
and taking blood tests. Health checks are being made
available to all children in remote townships and have
been generally welcomed as an important part of

creating safer, healthier communities.

It is perhaps not difficult to understand why there is
Aboriginal mistrust over the Australian Government's
emergency response plan for remote Northern Territory
communities. After all, it was this Government that
opposed the 1985 transfer of Uluru to Aboriginal
ownership and control. It certainly didn't much like the
1996 Wik decision of the High Court and it has never
been a great fan of native title and, in addition, it
has had enormous difficulty lifting much of a finger with
regard to numerous calls for a formal reconciliation
with the Aboriginal people.

Also contributing to the mistrust is the compulsory
acquisition of five-year leases over between 50 and
80 communities for which the Government will be
required to pay compensation. The reason the
Government is keen to get its hands on the land, says
the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, is that "we need to
be able to ensure that people are living in hygienic
conditions. We need to have control over the homes,
the condition they are in, who is in them and what is
occurring in them."

These historic changes for Northern Territory Aborigines
have been passed into law by the Parliament, ushering in
and formalising a new wave of intervention in indigenous
communities. The laws include the controversial
Commonwealth takeover of indigenous township leases,
removal of the Aboriginal land permits system, quarantining
of welfare payments for neglectful parents and bans on
alcohol and pornography. The Australian Government's
radical intervention into Northern Territory Aboriginal
communities has been estimated to cost more than half a
billion dollars in the first year.

For too long people have been afraid to address the
grave social problems highlighted by the "Little Children
are Sacred" report for fear of being called racist. Even
the report, which so graphically described the rampant
sexual violence in the Territory, shrinks from recommending
more police and truancy officers. It did, however, act as
the catalyst for Government intervention which previously
would certainly have been rejected as racist.

While there is still much uncertainty about the final
consequences of global warming, a series of new studies
indicate that the planet is warming much more quickly
than experts had predicted. Indeed, the indications are
that climate change has the potential to do massive
damage to life on earth as we know it.

The studies are indicating that the ice is melting and our
seas are rising much more quickly than anticipated. For
example, the computer models anticipated a loss of ice
of 2.5 per cent a decade, but the actual loss was 7.8 per
cent a decade - three times greater. The extent of summer
ice melting is 30 years ahead of where the models predict.
Certainly, at this rate, the "permanent" north polar ice cap
may disappear entirely in our lifetimes.

This has been confirmed by other reports, one of which
has indicated that the sea is likely to rise higher than
most previous forecasts - to between 50 centimetres and
1.4 metres by 2100 (and then continuing from there).

In addition, Science Express, the online edition of
Science, reported last month that the world's several
hundred thousand glaciers and small ice caps are thinning
more quickly than people realised. Indeed, to highlight the
fact that glaciers are sensitive to climate change and have
been receding since the start of the industrial age, hundreds
of people posed naked on Switzerland's shrinking Aletsch
glacier as part of a Greenpeace campaign to raise awareness
of global warming. The environmental group, Greenpeace,
which organised the shoot, said that the aim was to "establish
a symbolic relationship between the vulnerability of the melting
glacier and the human body".

The Aletsch glacier descends around the south side of the
Jungfrau mountain in the Upper Rhone Valley. Alpine glaciers
have lost about one-third of their length and half their volume
over the past 150 years. The Aletsch ice mass has retreated
by 115 metres in the last two years alone.

A spokesman for Greenpeace has also indicated that if
global warming continues unabated, most glaciers will
disappear from the earth by 2080. This project has certainly
given the problem plenty of exposure, along with perhaps a
few Goosebumps!

Finally, for all our subscribers and listeners to
Pacific Islands Radio, I would like to include an
extract from the June/July/August 2007 edition
of our Pacific Islands Radio (Island Music)
Newsletter which discusses a number of significant
changes impacting upon the provision of services
and the listening enjoyment of our many valued
listeners and subscribers worldwide.

"In this edition of our Janes Pacific Islands
Radio Newsletter, I would like to share
with you some thoughts on the traditional
and modern music, as well as dance forms
of New Caledonia. As you well know, New
Caledonia is a multi-cultural society, the
original inhabitants are Melanesians with
links to Papuans and Australian Aborigines,
and they often refer to themselves as
'Ti-Va-Ouere', or 'Brothers of the Earth'.

There are an estimated 27 Kanak languages
coexisting in New Caledonia. However, after
being actively discouraged - or at least ignored -
by the French, there is no single unifying
Kanak language. The clan, not the individual,
was the most important element of traditional
Kanak culture, and la coûtume, a code
encompassing rites, rituals and social interaction
between the clans, is the essential component
of Kanak identity today. It also maintains a
crucial link with the individual's ancestors.

The later inhabitants are often referred to as
'Caldoches', or 'White New Caledonians', are
mostly descended from French convicts and

have forged their own culture, more akin to that

of rural Australians or rural Americans than the
metropolitan French.

As mentioned above, the indigenous Melanesian
inhabitants of New Caledonia are the Kanak
(formerly also 'Canaque'), and comprise 45% of
the total population of New. Caledonia. The word
is derived from kanaka maoli, a Hawaiian word
which was, at one time, applied indiscriminately by
European explorers, traders and missionaries in the
region to any non-European Pacific islander. Prior
to European contact, there was no unified state in
New Caledonia, and no single self-appellation used
to refer to its inhabitants.

Other words have been coined from Kanak in the
past few generations: Kanaky is an ethno-political
name for the island or the entire territory. Kanéka
is a musical genre associated with the Kanak,
stylistically a form of reggae with added flutes,
percussion and harmonies. Kaneka often has
political lyrics and is sung in Drehu, Paici or
other Melanesian languages, or in French. Kanakas
were Pacific islanders (not just Melanesians) who
were abducted to Australia, Chile or Canada to
perform forced labour during the 19th century.

The German racial epithet Kanake (now applied
to all non-whites, or even southern Europeans, but
originally to Oceanians) also derives from the name.

For the Melanesian people of New Caledonia,
music-making was an important element of
traditional ceremonies such as initiation,
courting or the end of mourning, and always
accompanied dance and song. Sometimes instruments
were played simply for the clan's entertainment.

Above all, however, Kanak music is vocal. There
are no Kanak words for music or musical instrument.
Rather their terminology is more appropriately
translated as 'sound-producing' instruments, the
classing example being the conch shell, which,
when blown, represents the call of the chief or
the voice of an ancestor. Many instruments were
made for a specific occasion, and include rhythm
instruments and bamboo flutes.

Other traditional instruments used in ancient
Kanak culture were:

Jews-harp (wadohnu in the Nengone language
where it originated): Made from a dried piece of
coconut palm leaf held between the teeth and an
attached segment of soft nerve leaf. When the
harp is struck, the musician's mouth acts as an
amplifying chamber, producing a soft, low sound.

Coconut-leaf whizzer (maguk-in Pije): A piece
of coconut leaf attached to a string and twirled,
producing a noise like a humming bee.

Oboe: Made from hollow grass stems or bamboo.

End-blown flute: Made from a 50cm-long hollowed
pawpaw leaf stem. The pitch varies depending on
the position of the lips and how forcefully the
air is blown through the flute.

Bamboo stamping tubes: Struck vertically against
the ground and played at main events.

Percussion instruments: These included hitting
sticks, palm sheaths that were strummed to hit,
and clappers made from a hard bark filled with
dried grass and soft niaouli bark, tied together
and hit against each other.

Rattles: Worn around the legs and made from
coconut leaves, shells and certain fruits. Conch
or Triton's shell: used like a trumpet on special
occasions and played by a special appointee.

The Kanaks have developed dance into a high art
form. The traditional pilou dance tells the stories of
births, marriages, cyclones or preparations for battle,
although colonial authorities banned pilous in 1951
for the high-energy and trance-like state they induced
in the dancers.

Most contemporary Kanak music is labelled 'Kaneka',
a musical concept that incorporated both current
techniques and Kanak heritage that blended modern
instruments with ancestral harmonies and rhythms, and
married traditional stories and legends with lyrics that
call for an end to repression. Most songs are sung in
Kanak languages. Sadly, much of the traditional music
of New Caledonia has been forgotten, and there is only
a limited number of musical expressions from which the
young musicians can take their ideas. The most evident
link between kaneka and their grandfathers' music is
the use of traditional percussion instruments.

However, how percussion instruments accompany
traditional singing and how they accompany kaneka
music can show important differences. Perhaps the
typical Melanesian element in kaneka lies not in
the music itself but in the way the musicians treat
kaneka as a cultural and political movement.

Immensely popular with young people throughout
the country, Kaneka's chief exponents are bands
such as Mexem (from Lifou), Gurejele (Mare) and
Vamaley (Voh). A contemporary Kanak group that's
big with teenagers is OK! Ryos, a young trio from
Mare headed by Edouard Wamejo.The most well-
known modern record label on New Caledonia is
Alain Lecante's Mangrove Studios, which distributes
much of the Kaneka music.

In order to listen to some of the above contemporary
music, you are invited to Jane Resture's Pacific
Islands Radio at: Pacific Islands Radio -
www.pacificislandsradio.com and click on
Jane Resture's flagship station at the following URL:
Pacific Islands Radio
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeresture

On a final note, I would like to mention that Pacific
Islands Radio has always been very proud to feature
the music of Australian Aboriginal group Yothu Yindi,
whose song 'Treaty', a plea for understanding between
black and white Australia, became an International
hit.

Indeed, it was sixteen years ago that lead singer,
Mandawuy Yunupingu, sang his way into the heart of
the nation with this Anthem of his people and, in
1993, he was named Australian of the Year.

Sadly, last  January 2007, a now very frail Yunupingu
entered a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre. The
man, so many thought of as an inspiration to us all, is
now fighting for his life. Winning the battle for sobriety
is just one of Yunupingu's health challenges. He is also
diabetic and will soon have dialysis treatment for renal
failure. He is a long way from the optimistic voice that
spoke from his warrior's heart, a heart that carried the
hopes of so many Australians, black and white.

The story of Yunupingu is intrinsically tied to the
struggle of his people and his family name is synonymous
with the struggle for Aboriginal land rights.

Yunupingu is well aware that, with substance abuse and
diabetes-related illness killing so many of his people,
this is one battle that he cannot afford to lose - not only
for himself and his family, but also for those who have
been inspired by him and, in particular, through his music.

If I may, I would like to humbly ask you all to join with
me in extending to this most remarkable man, Mandawuy
Yunupingu, our warmest wishes, along with our loving
thoughts and prayers.

Mandawuy, along with his artistic and talented band,
Yothu Yindi, have certainly provided the inspiration
for a splendid-shared understanding and vision between
indigenous and non-indigenous people, both in Australia
and worldwide.

For a little more information on Australian Aboriginal music
and Mandawuy Yunupingu, you are invited to visit:
http://www.janesoceania.com/australian_aboriginal_music/index1.htm

FEATURE ARTIST

PAUL TAYLOR

Paul Taylor is an acclaimed storyteller and didgeridoo
player who has collaborated with Don Spencer, one
of Australia's most recognized children's performers,
to produce a most interesting album entitled 'Cooee'.

The word 'Cooee' describes a shout used in the Australian
outback mainly to attract attention, find missing people, or
indicate one's own location. When done correctly - loudly
and shrilly - a call of "cooee" can carry over a considerable
distance. Historically, the call began as an Indigenous
Australian custom borrowed from the Aboriginal Dharuk
people, the original inhabitants of the Sydney area, and has
now become widely used in Australia. From the word 'cooee'
an expression "within a cooee of" has developed. It means
"not far from", and its use seems to be mainly confined to
Australia and New Zealand.

As the title of the album suggests, Cooee, Taylor's fourth
album, has a rich and diverse Australian content and
includes songs from the indigenous Australian people
featuring traditional instruments such as the didgeridoo or
yidaki, an ancient Aboriginal musical instrument from the
tropical north of Australia. It is generally a branch of a
tree eaten out by termites.

The album also features the sounds of the Australian bush
along with colonial songs such as Botany Bay and The
Dying Stockman. This album is recommended for those
people who would like a greater understanding of
Australia's musical heritage.

For those people who are interested in traditional Australian
Aboriginal music, it is perhaps worth looking out for an album
entitled 'Bushfire: Traditional Aboriginal Music'.'Bushfire' was
recorded in the Kimberley's in Australia and features some of
the finest musicians of the region. There are two styles of
songs on the album, 'Wongga' and 'Djunba', which are traditional
styles that have been in existence for thousands of years. Each
of the songs have their own stories to tell, from daily happenings
to legends that have been passed down through many generations.
This album is highly recommended for lovers of traditional music."
*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
NOTICE BOARD

KIRIBATI - QUALIFIED SECONDARY
SCHOOL TEACHERS REQUIRED

In 2007 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

THE DIARY OF JOSEPH SAMS

Edited by Simon Braydon & Robert Songhurst
Her Majesty's Stationery Office
London, 1982

On 21 September 1874, Joseph Sams, a
nineteen-year-old Londoner, embarked at
Gravesend on the 'Northumberland' as an
emigrant bound for Australia. Hardly anything
is known of Joseph Sams before his embarkation
and the last glimpse we have of him is as he steps
out into 'the great and prosperous city of Melbourne'.

LIFE AND ADVENTURES, 1776-1801
JOHN NICOL, MARINER

Edited and Introduced by Tim Flannery
(Australian of the Year - 2007)
Text Publishing, Melbourne, Australia, 1997

In the late eighteenth century, Nicol circled the globe
twice. He partied with African slaves in the West Indies.
He was on the first ship into Hawaii after the murder of
Cook. He went to China. In 1790 he visited Port
Jackson as the steward on board the 'Lady Juliana' with
its cargo of female convicts.

Here is a plain and enchanting voice that history might
easily have forgotten. Caught up in momentous events,
Nicol describes the world from below decks. After falling
in love with a young convict named Sarah Whitlam on the
'Lady Juliana', he tells the moving story of their affair,
of the birth of their son at sea and how they came to be
separated forever.
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
With regard to the above books, my
review copies are kindly made available
by Gray Direct Booksellers who have
quite a huge collection of contemporary, as
well as very rare books on Oceania. 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

HAWAI'I PACIFIC ISLANDS
KAVA FESTIVAL

~ I Maluhia ka Honua ~
(So that the world may be at peace)

Saturday, October 6, 2007
University of Hawaii, Manoa main
campus, on McCarthy Mall Honolulu,
Hawai`i, 9:00am-5:30pm
Free Admission
Parking on street or on campus ($3)

Aloha!

The Kava Festival, also known in Hawai'i
as the 'Awa Festival, features many aspects
of  'awa as central to culture for Hawai'i
and the Pacific Islands.

Live local music from Hawai'i's hottest music
groups, educational and cultural booths, 'awa
sampling, 'awa plants, food booths, kava
serving implements from Bishop Museum's
Pan-Pacific collection, and Hawai'i's 'awa
serving bars and cafes will be serving the
public with educational presentations also
available.

At the conclusion of the festival we will
also host a scientific conference the next
day.

~ I Maluhia ka Honua ~
(So that the world may be at peace).
Mahalo

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

8 Sep* Kosrae Liberation Day
11 Sep* Pohnpei Liberation Day
23 Sep* Chuuk Liberation Day
1 Oct* Chuuk Constitution Day
24 Oct United Nations Day
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
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
"Coming Events" outlines some of the
many happenings on our calendar
throughout the year, hence the inclusion
in our monthly 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.
I am sure that our members would greatly
appreciate your kind gesture in sharing this
information with us. Thank you so much!
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
RECOLLECTIONS AND MEMOIRS

NEW ZEALAND - ROTORUA VISIT

Red roofs and white verandahs; straight sandy
streets of immense width, planted with green
trees, and spindling away into unnaturally bright
blue distances; omnibuses phaetons, motor-cars,
and four-in-hands passing at long intervals towards
the shining lakes that lie beside the town; puffs of
white steam rising up among green gardens and
open fields; a ring of amethyst-coloured hills
surrounding the whole bright scene, bathed in such
a white, pure, crystalline sun as never shines on misty
England. That is Rotorua, a half-day's journey from
Auckland, and the centre of the wonderful geyser
region of New Zealand.
http://www.janesoceania.com/newzealand_visit/index1.htm

SAMOA - EARLY RECOLLECTIONS

The travels of William Shaw have been published
in 1851 in his book 'Golden Dreams and Waking
Realities'. This Web site concerns his visit to
Samoa and his observations of Samoa and the Samoan
people at that time. These observations provide quite
a fascinating glimpse of Samoa and the many authentic
things Samoan that have now passed into history.
http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_shaw1/index.htm

Dear Jane,
For 35 years I was a teacher with the Victorian
Education Department. One of the highlights of
my career was my secondment on loan to the
British Phosphate Commission as Head Teacher
of the Ocean island Staff School in 1972. We
have so many happy memories of our two and a
half years spent on Banaba. I have now retired
and live in Victoria.

I was recently checking Kiribati on the Internet
when I came across your very interesting web
page. Some of the information contained there led
me to check the diary I had kept while on the island.
I discovered that on 29/7/73 the Staff School was
invited to participate in a school sports day with the
government primary school. In the program for that
day I was listed with the headmaster Mr S F Resture
as a recorder of results.Mr S.F. Resture was listed
as field marshal for the day. Other teachers listed
included Miss V Peletti, Mrs K Moresi, Miss T
Matata and Mr N.Katarake. I happen to have
some super 8 movie of that sports day.

As I type this email I have a much treasured turtle
shell hanging on the wall above me. That shell was
presented to me in recognition of the voluntary work
I did to help students and teachers at the government
school during my lunch hour. I have often wondered
what might have become of David Abitiai, Tinea
Biribo, Laumua Leupepa and Rine Teaotai (daughter
of District Officer Ata Teaotai) - students at the
Staff School whose names readily come to mind. I
noted in my diary on 2.11.73 that Rine was one of six
children from Ocean Island who passed the entrance
exam for secondary school in Tarawa. My diary
records so many happy events from my time on
Banaba.

I also have a copy of the 1946 report by H E
Manning on the occupation of Ocean Island and
the 1945 interrogations of Morning Star (a native
of Abaiang), Nabetari and Kabunare.
Kind regards
Garry Robbins

Comment by Jane Resture re above e-mail:

S.F. Resture is my dear uncle, Seluka Fred Resture
who is one of the grandchildren of Alfred Restieaux,
and is the first cousin of my dear father, Robert F
Resture (Restieaux).
P.S. All Restieaux(s) aka Resture(s) outside France
are related and are descendants of Andre Restieaux.

FEATURE WEB SITES

OCEANIA BOMB TESTS
Maralinga, Australia

On 3 January 1985, Australia created a new landmark
in her relations with her former colonial masters and
a legal precedent in the history of the Commonwealth.
The Australian Royal Commission which had been
established to investigate the conduct of the British
atomic bomb test series in Australia opened its
hearings in London. British Government employees,
scientists and servicemen were to be cross-examined
in their own country during a judicial inquiry instigated
by another government....
http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_bombs1/index.htm

Christmas Island, Republic of Kiribati, Malden Island,
and Return to Maralinga, Australia

By moving ground zero to Christmas Island itself,
however, many more men were immediately put at risk.
The decision was bred from the same scientific confidence
and political expediency which produced the idea that tests
should take place over mainland Britain. It was a confidence,
indeed arrogance, which may have been badly misplaced.
http://www.janesoceania.com/christmas_about/index.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/christmas_about1/index.htm

THE HISTORY OF THE 'MORNING STAR'

---At 10 o'clock A.M. on the second day of
December, 1856, the Morning Star left the wharf
at Boston. A few friends were present, and, after
uniting in prayer, the last farewells were said; then
the ropes were cast off, and, with her sails all spread,
and her colors flying, the little vessel took her course
down the harbor with a fair wind. The numerous islands
in the bay were soon left behind. At 3 o'clock the pilot
was discharged, and the voyage of twelve thousand
miles was begun.
http://www.janeresture.com/morningstar_history/index.html

OCEANIA WEB SITES

ABOUT WILLIAM HENRY (BULLY) HAYES

William Henry Hayes was born in 1829 at Cleveland,
Ohio, a thriving port on Lake Erie. As a youth he learnt
fresh-water seamanship on the Great Lakes and in river
barges. His father, Henry Hayes, it is said, was a bargee.
Some say his father kept a liquor saloon. The name Hayes,
common in Ireland, suggests Irish ancestry. Young Hayes
worked for his father until he was eighteen years of age.
He had little school education, but learnt to read and write
and reckon - though not to spell words conventionally.
William Henry developed into a powerfully built man, six
feet tall, weighing over two hundred pounds in his prime,
with piercing blue eyes, reddish-brown hair and beard, a
pleasant baritone singing voice, and charming gentlemanly
manners.

The reputation of William Henry Hayes was known
around the Pacific Ocean from the 1850s to the 1870s
as "Bully" Hayes, the notorious American sea-captain!
Indeed, much of what we know about "Bully" Hayes,
comes from the manuscript of my dear great grandfather,
Alfred Restieaux. Alfred Restieaux, like many other
traders in Oceania at this time, was a contemporary
of "Bully" Hayes. As a trader in the South Sea islands,
Alfred travelled with "Bully" Hayes frequently, mainly
on the "Leonora".
http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_bully_hayes/index.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_bully_hayes1/index.htm

THE STORY OF BLACKBIRDING IN OCEANIA -
AND "BULLY" HAYES

The story of blackbirding in the South Seas did not begin
with Bully Hayes and his mates. It appears to have started
with the arrival in Sydney of the yacht Wanderer from
Plymouth on 11th July 1842. Waiting to welcome the
Wanderer were four smaller vessels comprising a fleet of
five, commanded by Captain William Boyd. This remarkable
villain was born in Wigtonshire Scotland, in 1796, and carried
on business as a stockbroker in London until 1840. He then
floated the "Royal Bank of Australia" by selling debentures to
the public for 340,000 pounds. Portion of this sum was spent
in purchasing the Wanderer, together with the steamers
Seahorse, Juno, and two smaller ships. After his arrival on the
Wanderer, Boyd set up his office in Sydney, and was soon
ready to start whaling, land-grabbing, and importing black
labour.
http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_blackbirding/index.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_blackbirding1/index.htm

TAHITI - HISTORY ASPECTS 1
The Original Tahitian: Ancestral Traits B.C.

Life in Tahiti in the mid-eighteenth century was never the
unsophisticated paradise of man and nature that it became
in romantic European eyes after the raptures of Bougainville.
It was instead a far more developed and mature civilization
that it has ever been given credit for being. The illusion of
primitive, uncorrupted Eden was understandably appealing
to disenchanted Europeans in the throes of the Seven Years'
War, the conflict that Churchill later called the "real first world
war", when England was throwing France out of America and
the struggles in Europe were sowing the seeds of the two great
revolutions, American then French, to be followed by the
disastrous Napoleonic wars. But Tahitian were not the children
their "discoverers so condescendingly characterized them -
and as we still are wont to do even after two hundred years.
http://www.janesoceania.com/tahiti_history1/index.htm

TAHITI - FIRST ENCOUNTER:
The Explorers - 1767...

Something very strange was brewing in Europe at this time.
For centuries past there had been massive marchings of
peoples in the hemisphere of land, unknown of course to
the people of the ocean. Aryan hordes had poured from
Persia to India between 2000 and 1200 B.C. Later Alexander
had led the Greeks to India through Asia Minor. The Mongol
hordes under Genghis Khan overran China Greatest of all was
the methodical Roman conquest of the Mediterranean basin,
lasting some one thousand years until Attila the Hun and the
Visigoth raiders toppled its tired, degenerate civilization.
Then, after those visit continental upheavals, came the
thousand-year Medieval slumber, during the same years when
the Polynesians were regrouping and evolving themselves in
the hemisphere of water on the western approaches to the
Pacific
http://www.janesoceania.com/tahiti_history2/index.htm

HAWAII - MONARCHY IN HAWAII
Parts 1 and 2

The placation of foreigners in whatever demands they made
was perhaps the major issue confronting every Hawaiian
monarch after the arrival of Captain Cook in 1778. The
encroachment of strangers and the introduction of their ways
forced the native rulers to pay attention to drastic changes
being wrought upon the rich, once splendidly isolated island
kingdom by these ambitious interlopers. Warships of France,
Britain, Russia, and the United States, made frequent
appearances in Hawaiian waters. By their presence Hawaiians
were made patently aware that military power was readily
available to foreigners who wished to press for satisfaction
of their demands.

Two American warships visited Honolulu in 1826 for the
express purpose of bullying chiefs to pay debts incurred
during the most frenzied and exploitive period of the
sandal wood trade. Lord Pauler's forced cession of island
rule to Great Britain in 1843, and Admiral de Tromelin's
attack in 1849 on the Fort of Honolulu to force acceptance
of demands made by an irresponsible French consul are but
two other examples of the extreme readiness of world powers
to intimidate the tiny island kingdom.
http://www.janesoceania.com/hawaii_monarchy/index.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/hawaii_monarchy1/index.htm

HAWAII - ABOUT HAWAII

The answer, of course, is that you still can, and Hawaii does,
but it is nonetheless well named the Aloha State. During three
months of travel throughout the major islands and many of the
smaller ones, I heard that familiar Hawaiian word of both
greeting and farewell, "Aloha," hundreds of times, yet never
without the ring of real warmth. Behind the smile and the aloha,
however, there are many Hawaiis - some of them little-known
to mainland Americans. First of all, there is the Hawaii of pure
geography, a great elongated strand of 132 islands, shoals,
pinnacles, and reefs with a combined area of 6,450 square
miles, roughly equal to that of Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Of the islands only seven are inhabited to any real degree -
Hawaii, the largest, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Oahu, Kauai and
Niihau.
http://www.janesoceania.com/hawaii_abouthawaii/index.htm

NEW ZEALAND - MORE ABOUT NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand is surrounded on all sides by a vast undersea
panorama of submerged ridges and troughs, rises, swells
and plateaus together providing dramatic evidence of the
way the earth's crust in this part of the world has been
compiled into huge folds, rather like a gigantic rumpled
tablecloth. These features are in turn often cleft by deep
submarine trenches and peppered by submarine volcanoes,
all providing a measure of the stresses and strains accompanying
such movements. Although much of this great system of folds is
submerged, a small part of it has been shaped into a group of
mountainous islands known as new Zealand. Movements similar
to those that have shaped the sea floor have also affected the
New Zealand land mass. The evidence for these upheavals is
recorded in the rocks exposed in mountains, rivers and streams
and in sea cliffs around the coasts. The intense folding and
cracking often seen in these rocks suggests that New Zealand
has long been part of one of the earth's "mobile belts" - zones
of weakness in the earth's crust along which breaking occurs.
http://www.janesoceania.com/newzealand_aboutnewzealand/index.htm

FIJI - INDO-FIJIAN HISTORY AND CULTURE

Indo-Fijian culture means more than Indians living in Fiji.
It is a unique blend of beliefs and customs that's developed
over centuries out of remarkable historical circumstances.
Indo-Fijian culture is heavily intertwined with indigenous
Fijian life and culture...
http://www.janesoceania.com/fiji_indo-fijian_history_culture/index.htm

ABOUT PAPUA NEW GUINEA

HISTORY
The history of Papua New Guinea prior to the
arrival of European colonists in the 19th century
is only starting to be pieced together. The task is
daunting. The highly fragmented indigenous cultures
left no written records and the marks they made on
the landscape have almost been completely erased,
their houses, fields and artefacts have been
swallowed by the tropical environment.
http://www.janesoceania.com/png_about/index.htm

SAMOA - MORE ABOUT SAMOA
http://www.janesoceania.com/samoa_aboutsamoa/index.htm

AUSTRALIA POSTCARDS 23 & 24
Interesting contemporary and historical
postcards from beautiful Australia!
http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_postcards23/index1.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_postcards24/index1.htm

TAHITI POSTCARDS 29 & 30
Rare historical postcards from beautiful
Tahiti!
http://www.janesoceania.com/tahiti_postcards29/index.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/tahiti_postcards30/index.htm

NEW ZEALAND HISTORICAL POSTCARDS 20
Historical Maori postcards from beautiful
New Zealand!
http://www.janesoceania.com/newzealand_postcards16/index2.htm

PAPUA NEW GUINEA POSTCARDS 10 & 11
A fascinating collection of very rare historic
postcards depicting the traditional tribal life
of the people of Papua New Guinea.
http://www.janesoceania.com/png_postcards9/index1.htm
http://www.janesoceania.com/png_postcards10/index1.htm

GUAM HISTORICAL POSTCARDS 20
Interesting historical postcards from Guam!
http://www.janesoceania.com/guam_historical16/index1.htm

FIJI HISTORICAL POSTCARDS 1a
The following collection of historical images
of Fiji are a fascinating record of many of
the complex and diversified aspects that go
to make up the Melanesian nation of Fiji.
In particular, it allows one to appreciate
the beauty and the intensity of the cultural
background of the indigenous people of
Fiji.
http://www.janeresture.com/fiji_postcards15/index.htm

SAMOA POSTCARDS 27
Rare and interesting historical postcards
from beautiful Samoa!
http://www.janesoceania.com/samoa_postcards17/index4.htm

OCEANIA POSTCARDS 4
Interesting, rare and unusual postcards
from Oceania!
http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_postcards4/index.htm

SOLOMON ISLANDS POSTCARDS 7
Postcards from the beautiful Solomon
Islands, including historical and
contemporary World War 2 images.
http://www.janesoceania.com/solomon_postcards3/index1.htm

INTERESTING PLACES

KURE ISLAND

Kure, more familiarly known as Ocean Island,
is the northwesternmost island of the Hawaiian
Archipelago. It is 1,200 miles northwestward
of Honolulu and 56 miles west of Midway
Islands.

It is an atoll, circular in outline, the reef
being about 15 miles in circumference or 6 miles
in greatest diameter. There is an opening through
the reef on the southwest side, but only small
craft can enter. Along the south side of the
lagoon are one small island and two sand
banks.
http://www.janeresture.com/kure/index.htm

BIRNIE ISLAND, PHOENIX GROUP,
REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI

Birnie Island is the smallest of the Phoenix Group.
It is located 215 nautical miles south of the equator
near the centre of a circle of five other Phoenix
islands. The island measures less than 3/4 of a mile
 long by 600 yards at its greatest width.
http://www.janeresture.com/kiribati_phoenix_group/birnie.htm

INTERESTING LINKS

PACIFIC ISLANDS BENTHIC HABITAT
MAPPING CENTER (PIBHMC)

Pacific Remote Island Area (PRIA)
The Pacific Remote Island Area (PRIA) includes
seven islands located in the Central Pacific that
are under the jurisdiction of the United States.
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, Johnston Atoll,
Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll (links are to
descriptions on this page) lie between Hawai'i
and American Samoa and are administered as
National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) of the Dept. of the
Interior (DOI). Wake Island, which is located
between the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and
Guam, is an unincorporated territory of the U.S.
that is administered by the DOI and the U.S. Air
Force.

The Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), a
part of NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science
Center funded by NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation
Program, began Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program
(RAMP) surveys in the PRIA in 2002. Since that time
biennial surveys have been conducted at Baker, Howland,
and Jarvis Islands, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, and
Palmyra Atoll, (links are to data set pages) and in early
2006 multibeam surveys were done at these six islands.
Multibeam mapping was conducted by personnel from
PIBHMC and CRED. Surveying was completed in water
depths ranging from 15 to 2500 m at Jarvis, Howland,
and Baker Islands and ~85% completed at Johnston,
Kingman, and Palmyra where some shallow areas
(< 30 m) remain unmapped. CRED RAMP surveys were
first conducted at Wake in 2005 and multibeam mapping
is scheduled there in early 2007.
http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/pibhmc/pibhmc_pria.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 and, indeed, many of
these wonderful letters were written just
before Christmas 2006 and much earlier
this year. 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 the letters, the relevant
Web sites to which these letters relate.
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
Dear Jane, I am a huge fan of your website.
I stroll through it often and sway with the
music. It's hard to imagine that there is so
much beauty in the areas that you feature in
your site. It is also awesome to imagine that
you have so much knowledge about these
beautiful islands and beautiful people and
cultures. I am very envious....ha. I can only
imagine the oasis of information and beautiful
pictures you have in your head from all of
your travels.God bless you and Thank you
for sharing this wonderful information of
yours with us in your website....When I feel
the weight of the world on my shoulders, I
come to Jane`s pages,and I soon forget my
troubles....Again Thank you very much for
your gift to the world, Jane Resture's
Oceanic pages
....Forever grateful.

Hi Jane,
I live in the forests of northern England and tonight
I'm rockin' out to your south pacific radio sounds.

I once had a great time on Rarotonga, I remember
the local bands well...aloha from Andy in Hebden
Bridge , U.K.

Bula Jane!
What an interesting website you have going, your love
for Fiji is  impactful.

I am a novice writer, writing a story on my family of
Fiji (Whippy) and I see that you have some old
postcards and photos, I was hoping you wouldn't mind
if I were to use a few of these pics (historic pics) for
my story. I do realize that a lot that you have are already
made available to the public, but I just thought I would
ask in regard to some of the original photos.

Of course in return I would give reference and credit to
your website, or if you have another preference please
inform me.

I would be most appreciative if you could let me know,
if this is ok with you. Many Thanks

Dear Jane,
My name is Christopher Malden, a direct descendant
of  Lt. Charles Robert Malden who was the nautical
survey officer aboard Byron's ship when Malden Island
was 'discovered'. Of course, the island was known to
Pacific Island people long before. As usual, discovered
means 'became known to Europeans for the first time' !

By a strange co-incidence my wife for thirty years has
just discovered a cousin - Talava Turner, who is over
in Europe right now -  who comes from the island of Niue.
Maybe one of her ancestors worked for the Australian
company on Malden Island exploiting the guano deposits
back in the last century. Even better, maybe one of her
much earlier ancestors was the original discoverer of
Malden Island, long before the Europeans even knew the
Pacific Ocean existed!

Does this connection mean I can become a member of
the Kiribati Republic?

Sorry I can't receive Pacific Islands Radio here, but
I loved reading your web pages and it was this new link
between Europe and the Pacific that prompted me to
get in touch. Best wishes to all Pacific Islanders.
Christopher Malden
(Jane - if this is of interest maybe we could set an
interview by telephone - sorry I don't have voice mail
or video link)

Hi Jane
I am researching tattoo art in the Pacific and NZ
and have found your site fabulous - just wanted
to say thank you. Cheers,  Mary Atkinson

Jane,
I liked your "TUVALU HOME PAGE" As an
older student - I just rec'd my PhD in the area
of climate change (University of Wisconsin -
Madison - United States).
I strongly believe countries like the U.S. should
sharply reduce its GHG emissions and should
have done this many years ago - like 20 to 30
years ago.
I have referenced Tuvalu in a number of presentations
I have made re: global warming and impact on small
island nations. Just thought I would drop you a little
note on this. Someday I would like to visit Tuvalu.
Sincerely

Ms. Resture,
Being a WWII History enthusiast, it was just
a matter of time before I would stumble upon
your great website. I always had an interest in
the Pacific War, mainly the Battle of Tarawa.
Your website really broadened my interest in
the area. There is so much more than the historical
battlefields. The people, music and history of this
area is fascinating. Thank you for the effort. Great
site! I hope to visit the area.
All the best, George Behary
Loxahatchee, Florida

Dear Jane:
I am new to the Woman's Board of Missions
and the newsletter is called the "Morning Star"
and I wondered why it was called that name.
In reading about the history of the Woman's
Board, Opukahai'ia, missionaries to Hawaii,
the Thurston family, etc. I have appreciated
reading your contributions to my understanding
of the Morning Star. Thank you for your Closing
Comments regarding the advent of the missionaries
into Oceania. Yes, let us hope for balance.
Best wishes for your endeavours.

Diane M. Lee
Executive Director
Woman's Board of Missions for the Pacific Islands
1848 Nu'uanu Avenue. Honolulu, HI 96817

Dear Jane,
I am enjoying your website.
My father (now deceased) was present in Oceania
at Guadalcanal in 1942-43. His group moved to
Bougainville, and from there up to Palawan Island,
Philippine Is.

Throughout his life he remembered Oceania as a
beautiful place. I hope to retrace his steps one
day. Your website beckons one to come.

I read Chapter 3 of about The Malaita Massacre,
and regret not being able to read more. It
sounds to be an interesting story. Thank you.
Buzz Wojecki

Dear Dr. Jane Resture;
I have viewed your web site several times.
I want to thank you as an Anglo-Saxon
American for you for you impressive work
to enable the Pacific Island cultures to thrive.

I just retired and moved to Guam to live. I
love it. I have been reading the historical
background of the indigenous  peoples, the
Chamorro. I have an academic education
on the graduate level and hold a Masters
of Sociology with a minor in Anthropology
from NC State University in Raleigh, NC
USA.

I live alone here and I have read much
about the rate of teen (Chamorro) suicide
on these local islands. I lost my only son
to suicide when he was seventeen when
he shot himself. Curt was adopted by
my former wife and I at age three months
from Seoul, Korea.

Curt developed schizo affective disorder
with serious psychotic episodes. We
provided him with the best medical care
money could buy.

So I have a personal interest and an
academic interest in the topic of teen
suicide. I believe that there is a significant
relationship between these Chamorro
teen suicides and acculturation of their
native life. I have asked many teen
Chamorro if they speak the native
language. The overwhelming reply is,
"No I don't but I do understand what
my family is saying." I believe the loss
of the native Chamorro language leads
to cultural frustration and stagnation.
These two elements may lead to the
suicidal ideation's and well known
suicide pacts among the teens. A note
of interest is the method of choice for
suicide is--Hanging.

It is my desire to do a critical case
study on this issue of native language
loss, acculturation leading to teen
suicide on the islands of the Mariana's
archipelago.
Best regards, Sam Garner
Mangilao, Guam

Dear Miss Resture,
My name is Johnny Boata Honda. I was born
and raised in the Solomon Islands until I was 5
years. I am now 22 years olds and live in Santa
Cruz, Ca.  I am writing you in hopes you could
help me find tribal tattoo art work more the
Solomon's or just any information about what
tattoos mean there. Thank you.
PS beautiful websites.

Jane: I found your sites by accident.What
more can one say, it's 2nd to none.
Some of the pictures of soldiers/sailors posing
for the camera, do the ones in the pictures
know about your web site?  Most have
probably passed away, but I'm sure that there
are family around who would love to see, and
read your web site.

I've been interested in the Pacific since I was
a kid in grammar school in the late 1940s thru
middle 1950s. For me, it was reading about
the war against the Japanese, and seeing all
the beautiful islands where war had taken over.

Approximately eighteen years ago I met a
gentleman who was in the service during the
war, and fought on Iwo Jima.  He stated that
WW II veterans were dying off, and that soon
they would be forgotten about. I stated that I
would do something that may help people
remember so they would not be forgotten. I
changed my vehicle license tag to "PELELIU,"
(Palau Islands) so that where ever I drive each
day hundreds of people will see the tag, and if
they don't know the meaning they will look it
up on their computer.

I'll pass your site on to many, and hopefully,
they will learn about the beautiful islands of
the Pacific.

Again, your sites are 2nd to none.
Joe Feeny

Hello Jane
I am one of the Marines who was stationed at
Apia 1942-1943. Your site brings back pleasant
memories of the beautiful people there.Thank
you for the memories. Oklahoma U.S.A.

Well hi there!
Well first of all I would like to introduce myself.

My name is Rosene, I'm from Nauru but my
mum is from Tuvalu - ( Niutao.)
Well, I was adopted by two Tuvaluan couple
and I'm looking for my sister, Akiloko, who is
a teacher at one of the primary schools at Niutao
Island so what I'm asking from you is just a little
help. Would you please help me to find my sister
Akiloko Silimuna. I'm really desperate now and
I'm doing whatever I can to find her, I've been
searching for my family for so long.

So would you please offer me just a little help to
look for her, could you ask anyone there if they
know this person (Akiloko Silimuna) by that
name. I just want to know her email address or
would you please give my email address to her
and tell her to write as soon as she receives my
address.

But if you don't know her or you can't reach
her just let me know and I'll look for some
other ways.

I'm really looking forward to your reply. I
apologise for any inconvenience.
Lots of thanks,
Rosene Ika (Teabuge).

Hi Jane,
Just saw your great website!
I am writing a story about RLS's meeting with
David Kalakaua in Hawaii, apparently there is
a pic in RLS's study at Vailima, of the two of
them sitting around having a bit of a party.
Do you know of that pic?

Hello Jane,
I wonder, could you give me some direction
for buying a replica moai statue? I'm looking
for one with the size of 2 meters or a little less
( I don't know it in inch or foot... )
Thanks for taking the time :-) Greetings!

Jane, thank you so much for information on
Swains Island and the Tokelau Islands. I'm
Teine Tokelau born in Swains Island and
moved to Texas 30 years ago. Your Web
site is very  informed and appreciate your
time. Need to know more about Swains
Island and who all is living there.
Thanks, Toetu

Hi there Jane
I love your website coverage of Oceania
and in particular Kiribati. I am one of the
`veterans` of the Christmas Island H-bomb
era and have just added a Kiribati page to
my personal website which is at:-
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/tonyandgillcooke/
with Kiribati at:-
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/tonyandgillcooke/kiribati.htm

As you will see I was fortunate enough to
spend three weeks on Malden Island - not
many people out there with that `qualification`!
I would dearly love to go back to both islands
but now pushing 70 years I can`t see it
happening. :-)

Mauri Jane
My name is Raoi Bohnet and I live here in the
United States. Originally from Kiribati, my husband
is from Onotoa. I have resided here for more than
20 years. Love to listen to your Radio Station. Just
want to recommend another new artist, I am sure
you have heard of him, he's half Kiribati and Vanuatu
or Solomon Island, by the name of Brian Tiaki. I feel
that he is going to be a big hit for the Kiribati audience.
His music are a combination of Vanuatu, English and
Kiribati. Great singer yet. Hopefully you can get his
music and start playing it on your station.
Ko bati n rabwa!

Subject:
Canton island hospital commanding officer
E-mail:
melissa.craik@msn.com
Message:
My father arrived on Canton on February 13,
1942. His name was Lieutenant Colonel
Robert S. Hamilton and he was responsible
for the building of a hospital there on Canton.
He and his men built the hospital underneath
the coral. They salvaged old timbers off the
beach from a ship wreck and used those as
the beams for this hospital.

There were several rooms and the floors were
comprised of ground up coral. The men hauled
all the medical supplies which had been brought
over on the ship into this hospital and they set
up shop (so to speak). My father also told me
about running for miles on the beaches and
collecting shells. I have pictures of him and the
other men swimming in the ocean. I wish I knew
more about his story. If anyone remembers my
father, I would love to hear from them.
Information on him: Lieutenant Colonel Robert S.
Hamilton 0381372 Commanding officer of the
26 Station Hospital Arrived February 13, 1942

Subject:
Canton 1972-1975
Email:
arasmardosa@yahoo.com
Message:
I spent one year on Canton as a Weather Radar
Technician at the Air Force Weather station
(OL-1). I had such a great time on Canton, I
took a job working at the Radar sites on Canton
and Enderbury islands just to come back. I stayed
till mid-1975. I still miss the place and the people
I'd met from all over the world there. I have been
posting pictures on Google Earth / Panoramio.com.
Adding more as I find them. They bring back great
memories of a great time in my life!

Hello Jane,
I have a link to your site as I regard it as
the best I have found on the web and would
welcome a reciprocal link from your site to
mine if you consider it appropriate?
Re: What to take for the children
at Fanning Island (Tabuaeran),
Line Islands, Republic of Kiribati
E-mail: Moolaalaa@aol.com

Message:
Hello, I was there in January of this year
(2007). These wonderful people deserve
to have better things for the children's
schools. Books, maps, posters, all school
supplies are in dire need. Sport's equipment
like balls and especially sneakers, all sizes.

Everyone loves music, so non-electric
instruments for the schools would be
wonderful. I am trying to find a safe
reliable way of shipping school supplies
to Fanning Island. Anyone with information
on this, please reply. I would be very
grateful. Even if I never see them again, I
want to do whatever I can for the education
of the children. Thank you. Belle Kurz

Hello Jane,
My husband has been to Wake Island on military
duty in the past and bought t-shirts (they are now
worn out).  I am looking to replace some of his
old shirts as a surprise to him.

Do you know a web site that sells t-shirts from
Wake Island? Thank you, Angela

Hi JaneR & all
I'm Tim from Sth. Aust. Love ur site. Agree with
Sam Garner on the loss of culture.I'm a Euro but
my best mates are/have been Aboriginal descent
who've long lost their link to their culture, and
suffered/died as a result.

But on a lighter note, my father gave me a book
(Massive hard-cover!) the other day-a family
history. As a "mainlander", I never realised
that my family history was from Kangaroo Island.
My great, great, great Grandfather was buried
near Penneshaw K.I. in 1836-4 years before
South Aust. was proclaimed!

He was a sealer and a whaler and luckily my
grandmother Marjorie Clarke(nee Neville) has
extensively explored the family tree. More recently
I have been a woolclasser (Sheep) around Broken
Hill and farm overseer on a variety of properties
throughout central Australia.

During my time around Broken Hill I worked with
many Maori shearers.They are the best people.
During my time picking fruit I worked with many
nationalities but the personal and racial pride
of the Maoris has always impressed me.

When I worked on Kangaroo Island the Maori
boys referred to the mainland as the "North Island",
referring to their/our present position as the 'South
Island'

Anyway, later in life I was in Darwin for 2 years-
riding a quad-bike, picking up rubbish through the
CBD of Darwin (a VERY rewarding job!), and at
Humbert River Station, as an overseer, near VRD-
middle-of-nowhere-for 3 years.-finding myself I
s'pose.

I love the tropics and want to take my daughter,
and maybe my ex (who's a nurse & looking for a
change) to a 'subsistence's style lifestyle for
the sake of agricultural advance, ultimately for
the common good. It's just a pipe-dream but, hey.
Tim

Dear Dr. Resture,
...Our Master Navigator and I were in Japan speaking
at the following venues:

We gave five talks in Japan about traditional Micronesian
seafaring and navigation. We served as a consultant for the
Oceanic Museum and toured the National Museum of
Ethnology. We spoke at the First Annual Boat Culture
Pre-Summit Seminar at the Gulf of Yoshino Marina for the
Sabani (traditional Okinawan sailing boat) Group, Ocean
Culture Seminar at Tokyo University of Marine Science
and Technology, the Tokyo National Star Observatory
and Planetarium, the Marine Culture Forum at the
National Fisheries University in shimonoseki, and the
Osaka Maritime Museum.

We are considering building a large Chamorro (indigenous
people of Mariana Islands) canoe. Early drawings have a
"prong stick" bracing the mast on the windward side very
similar to the canoes in Kiribati. What is the advantage
of this brace? Carolinian canoes do not have these braces.

In a separate e-mail I will send you a drawing of a
Chamorro canoe. Thank you...

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