FIJI
BUSINESS PROSPECTS GOOD PUSHING AHEAD RAPIDLY. INTERVIEW WITH MR. G. M. HEMMINGS. Mr. G. M. Hemmings, a visitor from Fiji, who owns large tracts of land there and is a very successful planter, was interviewed last evening by a representative of the “Tribune.” Mr. Hemmings is the guest of Mr. Maurice Chambers at “Orden,” Havelock North. Fiji, Mr. Hemmings indicated, is pushing ahead rapidly. There have been the occasional slumps common to all industries in recent years, but the main trade of Fiji, which is sugar, continues to increase rapidly. INDIAN ELEMENT. The native population has been more or less stationary for a long time, but there has been of recent years a considerable increase in Indian immigration. While a great number of the Indians go back home each year, their total in Fiji remains practically unaffected because they so rapidly increase among themselves. There are between 60,000 and 70.000 Indians in Fiji. The unrest amongst the Indian population seems to be a thing of the past; they are settling down, and looking more and more upon Fiji as their home. INDUSTRIES. Sugar, said Mr. Hemmings, will probably its pre-war output very shortly. The output of copra, in which Mr. Hemmings is personally interested, is increasing all the time. One of the new interests is butter, which is of excellent quality and fetches a good price. Dairy-farming in Fiji would seem to have come to stay. Another new departure is the canning of pineapples, successful experiments having been made by a Canadian fruit-canning company and the Fiji Government in this diretion. STEAMSHIP SERVICE. There is a splendid service steamships from all countries to Fiji. The Union Company’s boats connect up with Vancouver. There is a regular American mail service between ’Frisco and Sydney, which calls at Suva. The Federal line runs a direct service from London, while the Messagerie Maritime a French line, connects the islands with Marseilles. Tn addition, regular lines of cargo boats call for produce. PROSPECTS. The outlook in the immediate future, concluded Mr. Hemmings, is very good indeed. The biggest handicap is due to frequent hurricanes, hut after all, these are no worse than Jack Frost. Labour conditions are satisfactory, and all the industries seem to be adequately staffed for the work on hand. Mr. Hemmings has large interests in the island of Nai Taupa. His visit to this country is to be a brief one, its chief purpose being to convey his children home to Fiji from Woodford House, where they are being educated.
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Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 1 December 1927, Page 3
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420FIJI Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 1 December 1927, Page 3
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