Planted Rice In 100deg.

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30960, 17 January 1966, Page 1

Planted Rice In 100deg.

(N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND, Jan. 16.

Bronzed and fit after spending a month planting rice under the hot Fijian sun as part of the Freedom from Hunger Campaign, 30 university students arrived back in Auckland today.

The leader of the party, Mr Alistair Taylor, president of the New Zealand University Students’ Association, said the group had planted in nee six acres of land in Suva. “The planting was done under the auspices of the J. P. Bayly Clinic at Suva as part of its programme for helping the poor people of Fiji. It will provide both food and a source of employment for the people assisted by the clinic both now and In the future.”

Mr Taylor said the value of the crop was about £l2OO. The visit of the students had

been organised by the Freedom From Hunger Campaign as the first stage of its youth appeal, Operation 21. Miss Colleen Crampton, a 20-year-old arts student at Auckland University, said the first few days had been hard going. The temperatures at first had been around 100 degrees and the humidity about 90 per cent. Later the drought broke and the weather became cooler.

“After we got used to the heat we all really enjoyed ourselves,” Miss Crampton said. “We had a bit of trouble planting the rice in straight rows like the

Fijians but otherwise we got on wonderfully.” Another 15 university students left today for Samoa under a similar scheme. This group’s main task will be to help to replenish the banana crop. Several agricultural students in the party will work with the Department of Agriculture of Western Samoa in fighting the bunchy crop banana disease.

Others will assist the Department of Statistics in preparing the third statistics bulletin of Western Samoa and the remainder of the group will assist in training teachers.