Tuesday, July 29, 1969
Oops....easy does it!
Mr Louis Des Lauriers, a mirror manufacturer from New Zealand tries to lift a 6ft X 4ft mirror - the biggest made in Fiji yet and the first he has made in the Colony. Mr Des Lauriers started Suva Glass and Mirror Company in Laucala Bay Road earlier this month.
Fisher in Fiji
Singer Eddie Fisher arrived in Fiji yesterday for a bit of relaxation after an engagement in Australia. Yesterday he hung a "Do not disturb" sign on his hotel room door at The Fijian and spent a quiet day. He leaves Fiji today. Mr Fisher is on his way home after a series of performances in Sydney.
Entrants for Hibiscus Quest
A total of 11 young beauties so far entered the Miss Hibiscus contest. The first prize is a trip to Singapore with Air-India and $200 spending money from the Hibiscus Association. These girls are four recent entrants in the contest.
Miss Virginia Marion Louise Rounds, aged 18 is sponsored by Williams and Gosling Ltd; Miss Lusiana Marama Vakarewa, aged 21, sponsored Burns Philp (SS) Co.Ltd; Miss Hellen Fua, aged 21 is sponsored by Caines Jannif; Miss Vilisi Ratulala, aged 20 is sponsored by "Combined Banks".
Government help wanted for roadworks
The Suva City Council wants the Government to help with the reconstruction of roads in central Suva.
the Mayor of Suva, Cr LG Usher, said in a statement yesterday that a preliminary estimate out the cost of the reconstruction at between $150,000 and $250,000.
"While we have no firm promises because the exact cost is not yet known, we have good reason to believe that the Government will receive sympathetically a request for financial and technical help," he said.
The Mayor said the long spell of wet weather had emphasised the problem of deterioration of the roads in central Suva and had made the need for reconstruction more urgent. Roads that disinteregrated had been carrying more and more traffic every year.
Second try on banned film
A second bid will be made to screen the controversial film Ulysses in Fiji
A local theatrical agent, Mr James Crawford, has told the Board of Film Control he would like to show the film as a special presentation, at Suva and Lautoka. In December 1967, the film was submitted by the Fiji censors by Damodar Brothers (Films) Ltd but was rejected as being unsuitable for showing in Fiji. The decision was upheld by the Board of Film Control. Ulysses is based on the novel by James Joyce and has aroused controversy because of certain scenes in it and the use of certain words.
Discipline in the school
The Assistant Director of Education, Semesa Sikivou, told more than 30 delegates at the Fiji principals annual conference held at Lautoka that they "all knew that discipline in schools and other education institutions was not as it used to be."
Some said it had deteriorated, some that it had gone from bad to worse, and some that it was non-existent.
"Whatever our individual views may be, we all agree it has changed and it should change, as it is an essential feature of education, in a dynamic society," Semesa said.
He defined school discipline as the control exercised on and by a pupil in order that he might develop his potential to the full for his own and the society's benefit.
Plea on behalf of Fiji culture
Proper provision for the teaching of cultural subjects at primary and secondary levels should be made by schools as soon as possible, Semesa Sikivou said.
He said schools should give the subjects the attention they merited. If it had been done a few years ago, the colony might not have been subjected to "Fijianised versions of Hawaiian songs".
Instead it could reasonably have been expected that some local people could have composed songs suited to Fiji and its way of life.
Semesa said the same could apply to a lesser or greater degree to dancing and to arts and crafts.
"How much more pleasing it would be to develop our own mekes and sell our own handicrafts to tourists, instead of importing them," he said.
"If our cultures are lost, we educators must accept a large share of the blame," he said.
Ra show attracts crowd
One of the largest crowds ever seen at the country centre of Vaileka, Ra crammed Yaratale Park on Saturday for the prizegiving ceremony closing the Ra Agricultural Show.
This year's show was the biggest ever attracting more than 1300 entries in the various categories, including livestock and other exhibits.
Prizes for the best entries
Prizes were awarded to competition winners at the Ra Agricultural Show which closed on Saturday.
They were - Livestock: best heifer, Pauliasi Mulo; steer, Lemeki Sevutia, milking cow, Shiu Prasad, beef bull, Savenaca Yavala; working bullock, Manika; working horse, Bal Krishna, poultry, Mrs Nallamma; best buck, Jacksar Singh.