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Jane's Oceania Home Page Newsletter Vol. 5, Edition No.2, May 2004 http://www.janeresture.com/ I N T H I S I S S U E ___________________________________________ Objectives News and Views Pacific Islands Radio Special Notice About Books Coming Events Recollections and Memoirs Special Links Oceania Web Sites Interesting Places Interesting Links Letters It's Time to Chat T H E VIEW ____________________________________________________ News and Views from Oceania Greetings and welcome everybody to our Newsletter for May 2004! I hope that this edition finds you all in good health with improved prosperity, peace and happiness. It is simply wonderful to be back in touch again and please join me in welcoming our many new members to our Oceania Club. It is my hope that our Newsletter continue to reach out to the many good people who have a genuine love and interest in the Pacific Islands. I cannot thank these wonderful people enough for their continual support and encouragement - they are greatly appreciated. By way of introduction, and in response to a number of requests, I am including a little information about the author of this Newsletter. I am a Pacific Islander, being born on Hull Island (Orona) in the Phoenix Group, Republic of Kiribati and was raised in accordance with the complex customs and rituals of island people. I was fortunate enouch to have travelled extensively throughout the Pacific region before attending Immaculate Heart College, Taborio, Tarawa, Kiribati. It was at this college that I received a thorough educational grounding before completing my secondary and tertiary studies in Sydney and Canberra, Australia, on scholarships, on behalf of Kiribati (including Banaba), Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands governments. My secondary studies were undertaken and completed at St. Scholastica's College, Glebe Point, Sydney, Australia. This was followed by my tertiary studies which were also undertaken in Australia. This Newsletter was introduced in conjunction with Jane's Oceania Web sites in order to allow visitors and readers to be presented with current news and information from the perspective of an island person. It is something about which I am very passionate as I believe that these things can only be presented and understood in the correct perspective if the underlying island social structure and cultures are taken into consideration. At present, I am living on the Gold Coast, Australia, overlooking the great and vast Pacific Ocean which has greatly inspired me to share with everybody my appreciation of the enchanting and beautiful Pacific Islands. Thank you. For further information, you are welcome to visit my short personal Web site which has been developed in conjunction with my Oceania Web sites: http://www.janeresture.com/jane/index.htm OBJECTIVES The objective of this Newsletter is to promote the Pacific Islands and, in particular, the island people worldwide. In addition, the intention of the Newsletter is to aid in the preservation of our island culture, history, genealogy, mythology, ethnology, customs, 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 which have undergone extensive upgrading along with the introduction of some of the many less known beautiful and interesting islands of the Pacific. http://www.janeresture.com/home/index.htm http://www.janeresture.com/oceania_resources/postcards.htm The News and Views presented in this Newsletter comprise some of the many interesting happenings in Oceania over the last few weeks since our last Newsletter. In this respect, the many diverse cultures of each of the Pacific Islands are considered within the context of these happenings. It has always been my belief that it is very important for us all to consider the cultural content of the news and, for this reason, links to relevant Web sites are often included in the News and Views in order to allow the reader to gain a more complete perspective. http://www.janeresture.com/index.htm NEWS AND VIEWS That a passenger carrying a pistol was allowed to walk through a security check at Port Moresby Airport suggests that security may be very lax as a gateway to Oceania. Australia has provided for high technology screening devices to Papua New Guinea and is spending millions of dollars to upgrade airport security for its Pacific neighbours. An Australian aid delegation has been touring the South Pacific to see which other airports need security upgrades. This is to ensure that nations in the area which are departure points for aircraft coming into Australia have adequate security measures in place. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the Pacific Islands Forum which met in Auckland during the first week of April 2004 placed a strong emphasis on regional cooperation, including anti-terrorism and tran- national crime initiatives. This is in response to a report prepared on the operations of the secretariat by a group of Pacific elder statesmen. While there is general acknowledgment on the need for greater emphasis on anti-terrorism, the wider question of regional cooperation is still in doubt. Certainly, it makes great economic sense for island states to combine in many of their high cost areas. This is unlikely to be achieved as a result of the fiercely independent nature of Pacific Island nations. A recent report highlights the need and the importance of protecting coral reefs on the basis that these generate millions of dollars for the economies of island nations each year. In Hawaii, for example, a similar report states that coral reefs generate almost 364 million dollars each year in net business revenues that are directly and indirectly attributed to activities on the coral reefs. The bulk of this comes from the reefs' recreational value from snorkelling and diving activities which contributes to 304 million dollars each year. The Hawaiian study also showed that healthy coral reefs generate an added value of 40 million dollars to homes, as well as occupancy and room rates of hotels. Fisheries contribute an annual added value of 2.5 million dollars. Of ongoing concern across the world's oceans is the impact of large commercial fishing boats which haul aboard huge nets and sixty mile (97 kilometer) lines teeming with unwanted catch sometimes referred to as bycatch, bykill or dirty fishing. One reporter suggested that shrimp trawlers off the eastern coast of Florida may take up to ten pounds of bycatch for each pound of shrimp. In the main, this bycatch is a mixture of young or low value fish, seabirds, marine mammals and sea turtles which are often considered worthless and are tossed overboard. Growing scientific evidence shows that some marine species are threatened with extinction, and others will be, unless fishing practices and regulations are changed. Certainly, we need to come to grips with the bycatch issue and the answer may well have to be determined on a fishery by fishery basis. This will require leadership at the highest possible level before some of our important marine species disappear altogether. In this respect, it is rather disappointing that the United States has now reopened Hawaii's longline shortfish fishery after a three-year closure. One reason for this is that shortfish long lines snare turtles at a rate ten times that of tuna long lines posing a threat to turtle species in the Pacific region. One turtle under threat is the Pacific leather back which is the largest turtle in the world and can weigh more than a ton and span nine feet. The Pacific leather back can descend to over 3,000 feet and is one of the few species that can dine on jelly fish. It dates back a hundred million years to the time of the dinosaurs but could be wiped out by humans within ten years. Two years ago, the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum accepted a policy on the need for caring for the Pacific Ocean. To date, they have not said how these fine words will be put into action. This is particularly important as the Pacific Ocean is our biggest asset comprising 32 million square kilometers. It is used and abused by fishermen, carriers of toxic cargo, nuclear weapon testers and people who dump sewerage, garbage, oil, chemicals and plastic bags in it. The health of the Pacific Ocean is extremely important and affects the existence of everything living in it, including half the world's tuna supply and also the existence of the life forms, animals, vegetables and humans that live on the islands surrounded by it. Indeed, Pacific Islanders are also despoilers, guilty of agricultural construction and other activities that cause pollution of the ocean. The Pacific Ocean affects the weather, regionally and globally. Rainfall, drought, hurricanes and temperature are all resultant from the moods of the vast Pacific Ocean. Huge though it is, the Pacific is under stress bringing with it the fact that the existence of all that live in or by the ocean are also under stress. Certainly, the need to keep the Pacific clean is of paramount importance. In this case clean means free of the deliberate dumping of fuel, chemicals and other pollutants from ships, aircrafts and industrial runoff. It also means free of overfishing and protection for reef and coastal areas threatened by agricultural, engineering, construction and recreational activity. The prospect of an unhealthy Pacific Ocean has serious global implications. The possibility of Nauru's looming bankruptcy becomes more evident with the relevation that Nauru has been given three weeks to repay more than US $200 million dollars to a United States creditor. This creditor has already put moves in place to take control of Nauru's key remaining assets in Australia. These are Nauru House in Melbourne and the Mecure Hotel in Sydney. The Australian Government has indicated that it will stand by Nauru during this time of financial crisis. Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, has said that Australia will not increase its financial contribution to the island but will put officials in place to help the country manage its affairs. For more information on the Republic of Nauru, you are welcome to visit: http://www.janeresture.com/nauru_home/index.htm Finally, a timely warming by the UNAIDS Executive Director that the Pacific Islands face the possibility of a rapidly expanding HIV epidemic cannot be ignored. For more information, please visit the following Web site: http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_hiv/index.htm PACIFIC ISLANDS RADIO STATIONS It is very pleasing to be able to advise and to share with you all that, as a result of the support from all our loyal listeners, Pacific Islands Radio 33K now has listeners in almost 200 countries and has now received a much wider recognition having been chosen by Live365.com as the best of the Live365 International/World Stations for 2004. Live365.com is the world's largest and premier Internet Radio network which has kindly promoted our Pacific Islands Radio 33K as the best in Tropical Sounds advising worldwide listeners to "Soak in the enchanting sounds of the sun-drenched Pacific Islands". In this respect, I would very much like to thank one and all for making this very pleasing result possible. I cannot thank everybody enough for this. Please let me say also that, in many ways, we should perhaps strive to make the most of this opportunity afforded to us by this recognition to continue to promote our Pacific Island music and our talented Pacific Island artists to a worldwide audience. At the same time, the Playlists have now been greatly extended to include a wider range of artists and music, much of which has been requested by our listeners. Let us all hope that this pleasing growth continues to enhance our Pacific Island music worldwide. Thank you. Pacific Islands Radio is very proud and pleased, in response to a number of requests worldwide, to be able to present the remarkable talent of Vanessa Quai, an incredible teenage talent from Vanuatu. Her CD "Pacifika" is highly recommended. http://www.live365.com/stations/janeresture?play As usual, Pacific Islands Radio is always keen to promote our talented island musicians worldwide in order to satisfy the continuing demand for our beautiful and distinctive Pacific Island music! In this respect, should you know of any island artists and musicians whose talents you would like to see promoted, please contact me on: jane@pacificislandsradio.com Our three 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 Islands Radio 33K http://www.live365.com/stations/237745 Pacific Islands Radio 28K http://www.live365.com/stations/241915 Micronesia Music Radio 33K http://www.live365.com/stations/295997 SPECIAL NOTICE KIRIBATI - QUALIFIED SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS REQUIRED SCIENCE TEACHERS ARE PARTICULARLY REQUIRED WITH AN EMPHASIS ON QUALIFICATIONS TO TEACH PHYSICS The Catholic Education Office, Tarawa, Kiribati, Central Pacific, has vacancies for persons qualified to teach English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Accounting and Computing in Years 9-12. Experienced teachers preferred. Volunteers allowance will be paid with preference given to applicants from Eastern Australia and Fiji. For further information please contact Sister Margaret Sullivan: E-mail: dot.ceo@tskl.net.ki Telephone: +686-21169 or Facsimile: +686-21677 Web Site and Links: http://www.janesoceania.com/kiribati_schools/index.htm http://www.janeresture.com/kirihome/index.htm http://www.janeresture.com/ (see Kiribati Schools) VANUATU - SPECIAL RELEASE - 6 APRIL 2004 RICHARD SKEWES MARKETS IRIRIKI ISLAND RESORT Vanuatu's prestigious Iririki Island Resort has appointed Richard Skewes' Precise Travel Marketing its Australian Sales Representative. He joins the Resort at a time of strong growth for the premier child-free property in Port Vila Harbour, with all 70 bungalows recently refurbished, a new conference and meeting facility opened last year, and the commencement of work last month on forty-six luxury apartments whose owners will be able to lease-back to the Resort for holidaymaker use. Richard Skewes has been associated with the South Pacific for the past fifteen years and as well as Iririki Island Resort currently markets others in New Caledonia, the Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga, and represents Niue Tourism in Australia. He has won Talpacific's South Pacific Showcase Representative of the Year Award for the past four years, and Best Presenter Award for five consecutive years. For information about Iririki Island Resort, Richard Skewes can be contacted on (03) 9818 1858, fax (03) 9818 1851 or email: Richard@iririki.com Media Enquiries: iri348 Richard Skewes (03) 9818 1858 David Ellis (02) 9580 3406 For more information about Iririki Island Resort, you are invited to visit the following Web site: http://www.janeresture.com/vanucom/index.htm ABOUT BOOKS RUST IN PEACE by Bruce Adams, Published by Antipodean Publishers, Sydney, Australia, 1975 Photographer and writer, Bruce Adams, revisits the South Pacific battlegrounds of New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati). His probing camera captures the relics of war as they were left behind by the invading armies. Highly recommended reading for all those people interested in this period of the history of Oceania. Please contact me should you like 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 VANUATU ROUND ISLAND RELAY Two Australian teams signed up for this year's Vanuatu Round Island Relay are looking for more serious-fitness or simply-fun participants to join them for the 140km event on July 24th - and admit they've an ulterior motive. The two 10-person teams already signed are both from the same personal training company in Sydney - one is a serious-run team and the other going just for the fun of it, and will probably walk or trot most of the course. "As well as taking part, we raise money in Australia to assist local Vanuatu schools and rural health centres," said organiser of the two teams, Heidi Dening. "So the more teams we have, the more help we can give to Vanuatu. "Last year we gave $800s worth of numeracy and literary resources and sporting equipment to village schools, and took 130kg of pre-loved books with us for rural primary schools. and one of our runners gave $1000 to a local village clinic for the third year, and they've now named a ward after him. "We want to take more resources and books again this year, and we're also hoping to raise enough money to allow us to sponsor a team from a remote island group in Vanuatu who would normally have no hope of taking part." The 140km course comprises 10 sections ranging from 11.7kms to 16kms up or down hill, and along roads made of crushed coral through coconut plantations, rural villages and mountain rainforest. Local villages vie with each other to see who can deck-out their centres with the best floral displays. Cash prizes of up to 200,000vt (approx: AU$2700) and trophies will be awarded to winning teams. There are seven categories: Open Male, Open Female, Mixed, Senior Schools and Colleges, Corporate, Masters (40+) and Military/Services. The current record stands at 8hrs 26min 23secs set in 1990 by a Vanuatu team. The relay celebrates Vanuatu's independence in 1980. For more details phone Heidi Dening at Jump Start Personal Training on (02) 9904 1201, Paul McCoy (0011) (679) 993 6477 or email info@vanuaturelay.com Media Enquiries: vto012 Linda Kalpoi 0011 (678) 22515 David Ellis (02) 9580 3406 THE 9TH FESTIVAL OF PACIFIC ARTS - REPUBLIC OF PALAU - 22ND-31ST JULY, 2004 The Festival of Pacific Arts brings people of the Pacific together in a welcoming and social gathering to exchange cultures for mutual understanding and appreciation of the different cultures of Pacific Island people. Further information can be obtained from the following Web site: http://www.festival-pacific-arts.org/ RECOLLECTIONS AND MEMOIRS HAWAII - IMPRESSIONS OF A MINISTER OF RELIGION, 1851 The following impressions provide a valuable insight into the attitudes and beliefs of the early missionaries in Oceania and in Hawaii. They also provide a valuable record of Hawaiian life as it existed in the early part of the 19th century. http://www.janesoceania.com/hawaii_1851/index.htm TONGA - RECOLLECTIONS OF ELINOR MORDAUNT We are moving very slowly - for now the starboard engine is also out of gear and the wind light - among the Vavou (now Vava'u) Islands of the Tongan group: islands entirely different to anything I have yet seen in the Pacific, with cliffs from two to four hundred feet in height, splashed with bright red soil, and tufted with trees wherever they can find a foot-hole; many of these islands, so straight up and down, so small and symmetrical that they look like cakes freshly turned out of a tin. http://www.janesoceania.com/tonga_mordaunt/index.htm SPECIAL LINKS: 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 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 FEATURE WEBSITES POLYNESIA ETHNOLOGY The high volcanic islands of French Polynesia had been indicated as being the base for the development of Polynesian social structure, its art and its customs. For the precise date of their first arrival no reliable evidence is available, and if a guess is ventured it could fall equally appropriately on the century of Roman withdrawal from Britain or that of the Saxon invasion. http://www.janeresture.com/oceania_ethnology/polynesia.htm PINGALAP STORY - THE WONDERS OF PINGALAP George Westbrook was one of the early traders in the Pacific Islands. His recollections of his experiences on Pingalap were published in Julian Dana's book Gods Who Die by The Macmillan Company in 1935. http://www.janesoceania.com/pingalap_story/index.htm OCEANIA WEB SITES WORLD WAR II - NANUMEA, TUVALU The following are part of a rare collection of World War II images of Nanumea, Tuvalu. What makes these forty-four photographs so interesting and valuable is that the names of the Tuvaluan people have been inserted on the back of each photograph. The full collection of photographs was rescued by a concerned United States citizen who kindly made them available to be shared and enjoyed by everybody. Further parts of the collection will be made available on this Web site shortly. http://www.janesoceania.com/tuvalu_ww2a/index.htm OCEANIA - PREHISTORIC ARCHITECTURE Like giant footsteps across the islands of Oceania, our prehistoric forefathers left behind some very imposing architectural creations to mark their passing. From the most western islands of Micronesia, throughout Melanesia and the far-flung islands of Polynesia through to distant Easter Island there remain vast monuments to the passing of prehistoric man. http://www.janeresture.com/oceania_arch/index.htm ANCIENT TONGA AND THE LOST CITY OF MU'A Recent findings by archaeologists have suggested that evidence exists of a greater population throughout the Pacific region that was more consistent with the estimates put forward by Cook and Durville and much larger than that recorded by the later European presence in Oceania. This Web site looks at one of the remainders of an earlier civilisation - Ancient Tonga and the Lost City of Mu'a. http://www.janeresture.com/tonga_mua/index.htm THE STORY OF THE MORNING STAR This Web site is the first of two Web sites dealing with the missionary vessel the Morning Star. Perhaps it may be more appropriate to refer to them as vessels as in the end there were three of them all bearing the same name. This site covers the period from 1819 to 1861 when the first Morning Star was utilised to establish a mission station on Abaiang. The information has been based on the records of Reverend Hiram Bingham and Jane Warren and as such the narrative occasionally changes to the first person. Their records are a useful window through which one can view life in Oceania during this period. http://www.janeresture.com/morningstar/index.html TUVALU - THE CYCLE OF LIFE From the early months of pregnancy certain tapu are placed on the expectant mother (faele). She is prohibited from eating raw fish which, it is said, can spoil her breast milk or delay the normal healing process of her body. She may not chew split pandanus fruit - in case she has twins, or a child with a hare lip. Nor may she cut her food with a sharp-edged instrument, again in case the child be born with a hare lip, or some other deformities. She must also refrain from eating hot food, or eating while walking, lest the child become a beggar. Nor is sex permitted during pregnancy, for fear of causing abortion. http://www.janeresture.com/tu8/cycle_of_life.htm SAMOA MARRIAGES Usually, marriage contracts are not entered into until the parties have reached maturity. Young women of rank are very well trained to serve in all village affairs. They are guarded and chaperoned by elderly women of the chief's house. The custom has evidently done much for the preservation of chastity among the unmarried women. http://www.janesoceania.com/samoa_marriage/index.htm OCEANIA - THE SINKING OF THE TAHITI The following are extremely rare and graphic images of the sinking of the British steamer Tahiti en route from Wellington to Rarotonga in 1930. On the 18th August, 1930, the British steamer Tahiti en route from Wellington, New Zealand, to Rarotonga, Cook Islands, was abandoned at 2.28 a.m. some 460 miles from Rarotonga. She sank at 4.42 p.m. the same day. The passengers and crew were transferred to the steamer Ventura which, together with the Norwegian steamer Penybryn, was standing by to render assistance. http://www.janeresture.com/oceania_tahiti_sinking/index.htm HAWAII VINTAGE POSTCARDS 14 The latest edition to the extensive Hawaii Vintage Postcards collection featuring some rare and beautiful vintage postcards from the beautiful Polynesian nation of Hawaii. http://www.janesoceania.com/hawaii_vintage_postcards4/index.htm HAWAII VINTAGE POSTCARDS http://www.janesoceania.com/hawaii_vintage/index.htm PAPUA NEW GUINEA POSTCARDS 1 The images on this Web site were taken in 1928 in some remote pockets of Papua New Guinea which had not then been influenced by western civilization. The images reflects a society that had not changed for thousands of years. http://www.janesoceania.com/png_postcards/index1.htm GUAM PICTURES 3 An interesting collection of contemporary and historical pictures from Guam. http://www.janesoceania.com/guam_pictures/index2.htm HAWAII GIRLS PICTURE GALLERY A collection of images highlighting the beauty of the Hawaiian girls. http://www.janesoceania.com/hawaii_girls/index.htm http://www.janeresture.com/hawaii/postcards.htm INTERESTING PLACES PAPUA NEW GUINEA - NUKUMANU ISLANDS Located in the path of the Polynesian migration to Oceania some 5,000 years ago, the Nukumanu Islands were settled by the Polynesians and retained their Polynesian character as part of the Melanesian Archipelago of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Their most recent claim to fame, however, is that they were the last place on the path of Amelia Earhart before she and her co-pilot disappeared forever into the vast Pacific Ocean. http://www.janesoceania.com/png_nukumanu/index.htm EASTER ISLAND This remote eastern outpost of Polynesia is one of the most fascinating of the islands of Oceania. This is not only due to the incredible moai that dot the landscape but also the sophisticated Rongorongo which is the only form of written language of Oceania http://www.janeresture.com/easter_home/index.htm NORFOLK ISLAND Norfolk Island is unique amongst Pacific Islands because of its terrain, history and people. The shoreline is rocky and rugged with ocean rollers pounding the cliffs and its rolling green hills are reminiscent of England. Several sandy beaches offer access to the surf and there is a romantic lagoon with a coral reef that offers excellent diving. http://www.janeresture.com/norfolk/index.htm JARVIS ISLAND Jarvis Island is located a little more than 22 nautical miles south of the equator. It is 400 miles northwest of Starbuck, 373 miles northwest of Malden, 200 miles southwest of Christmas, 260 miles a little west of south from Fanning, 310 miles south and a little east of Washington, and 395 miles south-southeast of Palmyra. http://www.janeresture.com/jarvis/index.htm INTERESTING LINKS GENERAL VIEW OF THE PACIFIC The following are links to sites that we feel contain quality information on the following countries of the Pacific. The information ranges from up-to-date news, history, maps, education along with many other things. http://w3.byuh.edu/library/pacislands/genpacific/Gen.htm LETTERS The following are extracts from a few of the many and most interesting and often touching letters that I have recently received. I would very much like to share them with you as I find many of these letters to be most gratifying and motivating. Please join me in thanking these wonderful people for sharing their 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. ________________ Jane, Just had a chance to hear your station for the first time. Sooooo beautiful. Such sounds. I grew up in Wisconsin but have been to Hawaii about a dozen times and fell in love with Pacific Island music there. I've had the honor of seeing many of the artists perform and meeting a lot of them in person. I'm at work now and it's time to leave to go home but I'll be back to listen. My dream is to someday travel beyond Hawaii to the rest of the Pacific Islands to experience for myself those wonderful, compelling sounds and stirring harmonies first hand. Madison, Wisconsin, USA http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm What a wonderful website! A virtual treasure of information and some of the best photos I have seen in five months of searching for information. Thank you for all the hard work and effort that went into this http://www.janeresture.com/index.htm Hi Jane, I just discovered your broadcast of Pacific Islands Radio.What beautiful music! I live in Tampa, Florida, USA, and appreciate you sharing your music with the world. http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm Thank you for the rare photos of Nanumea. The reason I am so delighted is that one of the pictures, "5th Separate Medical Unit", showed my father, Roy Turney! When I was a kid he had told me of the island Nanumea and Funafuti. He also brought back some memorabilia from those islands. One item was a bracelet, that was fashioned from the aluminum skin of a downed fighter plane. It had elaborate engraving on it. The locals also made rings from a toothbrush handle and a silver dime. He said that they would cut off the toothbrush handle, and with heat, would form it into a ring. They would then hammer a dime into a thin flat shape and cut out little designs that they would inlay into the plastic ring. The ring he brought home for my mother was beautiful. He also said that the locals would offer to get you a coconut and would precisely chop at it with three strokes of their machete and then hand it to you ready to drink. Dad passed away August 21, 2001. He was 91 years old! I miss him terribly, so to accidentally find this picture of him on your website filled my heart with joy!!!! Thank you again Bob Turney Houston, TX P.S. I think I have some pictures of him in that string of islands and would be glad to share if you are interested. I must search for them though. http://www.janesoceania.com/tuvalu_ww2a/index.htm http://www.janeresture.com/tuvalu_ww2images/index.htm Dear Ms Resture, This is to congratulate you on the achievement of your magnificent Oceania website which I discovered just today. I wish I had found it long ago. For most of my life the islands of the Pacific have held a great attraction for me. My wife and I have been able to visit the Hawaiian Islands many times on vacation. Although these may not be typical in some respects, a good deal of what you evoke on your web pages can still be experienced there, or so it seems to us. We have often dreamed of spending the remaining 10 or 15 years of our lives in one of these places (Niue, perhaps). Affording this would not be a problem (and we would be happy to bequeath the remains of our wealth to wherever we went) but these days it is ever more difficult to emigrate anywhere and there seem many obstacles in that regard. Not all dreams are easily realized, which is why we call them dreams, I guess. I appreciated your inclusion of how WWII had affected these small nations and the more recent atrocity of nuclear weapons testing in the region. If I may chide you just a bit for an oversight;-) I was forced to search elsewhere for information concerning French testing. In many ways this was the most outrageous of all, especially since France arrogantly resumed these tests in 1985, long after the US and Britain had ceased. It was not until 1995, in face of mounting local and international protest, that France finally stopped this inhuman behaviour. Perhaps you could include reference to the Mururoa Atoll in your next update (why should any of the culprits escape publicity!). Best wishes, and my gratitude once again for the enormous effort of such high quality in putting all of this together. http://www.janesoceania.com/oceania_bombs/index.htm http://www.janeresture.com/christmas_bombs/index.htm Hello Jane Your Website is the best in the world from Polynesia Islands. Please look at our site: Weltreise/Tahiti/Morres, Travelgreetings from Alemania, Germany. http://www.vera-rolf-hehnen.de http://www.janeresture.com/polyhome/index.htm FANTASTIC SITE WHAT IS THE MUSIC ON THE THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC ARTICLE READING THE SAME AND LISTENING TO THE MUSIC IS VERY EMOTIONAL RGDS, DUBLIN, REP. OF IRELAND http://www.janeresture.com/kiribati_ww2/egan11.html I was very proud of reading not so long ago about the discovery of the Islands of Tokelau by a peruvian ( Alvaro de Mendaña ) on C.XV and when I tried to get some more information about this discoveries I found your Home Page ... and now I am really shamed about this horrifying part of our history. I guess not so much people knows anything about it, here in my country ( I am a peruvian, full of shame now ), but I´ll try to pay some of this awful chapter of world history, sending the 6 pages of your detailed account of this mass murder to the main newspapers in my country. I hope you will agree. Yours, Pedro Rodriguez http://www.janeresture.com/tokelau/index.htm Aloha- Your website is just wonderful! Oh, the time you must have spent creating it....but all well worth your effort. I thoroughly enjoyed reading every part of it I could get to. The music is a very nice touch. I have been exploring internet websites for five months now and just came across yours while searching for Air Micronesia in an effort to make some travel plans for my husband. Once I hit your link, I was captured, and interested as I explored your webpages. Again, a wonderful example of what a good site should be. Thank you. My interest in Micronesia is a new school we are helping to start. It will be called HIGH SCHOOL of the PACIFIC and will open this fall in Kona, Hawaii. It is a private school that will recruit students from 12 Pacific Island nations. The first year of the program we will begin in FSM, Palau and the Marshall Islands. Each succeeding year we will expand recruitment and enrollment from the other islands until all are represented. It will start small, but reach over 200 by year five. It is an exciting prospect to part of helping a new school like this start. I do have a question, and something you may be able to assist me with. I found several of your pictures very clear and of interest. Are they pictures you would be willing to share in my efforts to do a brochuere, enrolment folder and advertising for the school? I can list the ones I would be most interested in using if that would help. If they are copywrite photo and/or you do not wish me to use them just let me know. Thank you again for all the very useful information on your website!! Warm regards. http://www.janeresture.com/hawaii/index.htm I "discovered" your website last night through National Geographic. I read about their underwater expedition in the Phoenix Islands and was interested in learning more about this area. Until I read their article I had never heard about the Gilbert or Phoenix Islands. Your site is beginning to educate me about a part of the world I hardly knew existed. I hope to spend time learning about the area and planning a visit within the year. I recently retired as an assistant principal in an elementary school in the USA. I have always lived in Massachusetts and love to travel. My only regret is that I started late in life. I recently spent a week in the Galapagos as I love the sea and islands. In my next life I will be an oceanographer. You have spent endless hours documenting an area that you love. I look forward to spending time learning from you. Thank you. http://www.janeresture.com/kiribati_phoenix_group/index.htm I have always dreamt of visiting the South Pacific, and now I can. I guess I'd appreciate any pointers and chats. San Diego California http://www.janeresture.com/index.htm Talofa lava Jane, My name is ---- and I just happened to come across your wonderful newsletter. Believe it or not I tried to write a newsletter about 15 years ago here in LA,Ca. I wrote articles on events,etc, then went to a printing place to print it out. It was a lot of work, I have four children and I couldnt keep up.What you have created, is an absolute masterpiece. I enjoy reading your articles about our islands.I love the history and the postcards. Right now Im teaching Polynesian dance classes for the cities of Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach. I refer to your articles for more insight. Keep up the good work!!! Soifua. http://www.janeresture.com/index.htm Hello: I visited fanning Island on the 10th of March, 2004. It was only a stop on a Norwegian Cruise (The Star) vacation. NCL has a doctor that visits the island every week and brings medical supplies and gives his services to the local population. I asked him about their health and he told me that the locals have fairly good health. Their main problem is with diabetes, it looks like that is very common amongst them. I also observed that dental hygiene was very poor. These remarks are only based on the opinion of the doctor I spoke to and myself, just a traveler who fell in love with the smiles of the people of Fanning Island. http://www.janeresture.com/kiribati_line/fanning.htm My father, C.L. Simmons served in USMC and was with the 20 Promarco on Palmyra after Pearl Harbor. He is still alive at 83 and would like to hear of any who was there or had kinfolks who were there. He has some pictures of Marines playing volleyball on Palmyra. http://www.janeresture.com/palmyra/index.htm Dear Jane Resture, I am writing form very afar, from Italy. I read your interesting website and know your great problems for the growing level of the seas. This phenomen, engendring at an increasing rate like a bad loan, is surely grown like a tsunami in the last twenty years, but it had to exist all the same, even if not so overgrowing, in preceeding decades. This is interesting for some atolls I had some notice but that now seem to be disappeared. It is the case of the Maria Theresa reef, some very hundreds of km down Tahiti, that Don Miller (DXpeditioner) said he saw but that now is disappeared from the maps. I saw that in the last National Geographic map of Oceania published in Italian language there is no more Maria Theresa reef, but still exist the Wachusset reef and the Ernest Legouvé reef, both down Tahiti (some very hundreds of km down, as I use to say...). Well, the map says this: the Wachusset reef is <not> up sea level, only ) mt's down sea level, and this is confirmed by other informations, while for the Ernest Legouvé reef the map indicates the <emersion> of the reef. Have you some news about Maria Theresa and Ernest Legouvé reefs? You know, the "Isle Tabor" of Jules Verne's "The Sons of Captain Grant" and of "The Mysterious Isle" is Ernest Legouvé Isle, that he said was a volcano, inabissed then, but <not> totally (and it seems to confirmate National Geo's Map). Have you informations about these mysterious facts? Sure many atolls have submerged in the course of centuries, and perhaps more in the last two centuries, from which a general warming of the whole Earth started. I also saw an image from the Satellite showing a submerging small atoll, submerging happening in <our own> years. But, again, have you news about these two atolls? Thank you very very much for your answer and I pray you'll find many and many people helping Oceania to be saved in some way or another. (Good Luck) http://www.janeresture.com/index.htm _________________________________________________ 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 URL: http://pub32.bravenet.com/chat/show.php?usernum=2702076781&cpv=1 COMMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS These are always most welcome and can be e-mailed to me at: jane@janeresture.com Please let me say that, as usual, it has been such a great pleasure to be able to share this Newsletter with everybody. Let us all hope for continuing greater peace, prosperity and tolerance for the people of Oceania and worldwide. As always, I look forward to your company next month and enjoy the Newsletter! Take care and Best Wishes. May our God bless us all! Jane Resture |
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(E-mail: jane@pacificislandsradio.com -- Rev. 16th December 2007)
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