ISLE OF REST

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 52, Issue 3295, 2 August 1943, Page 7

ISLE OF REST

FOR AUSTRALIAN TROOPS EXCELLENT USE BY ARMY TWO DAYS’ SPELL FOR MEN Romantic coral islands, complete with all the conventional trappings . of waving palms, blue lagoons and dazzling beaches, have apparently little to do with the war against Japan, but in New Guinea such an island has been put to excellent use by the Australian Army authorities and is playing an important, part in keeping men of the forces healthy. Under the coconut palms a unit rest camp has been established to enable slightly injured or tired men to recuperate or to regain some of the sleep lost during long periods of shift work. In the months it has been in New Guinea the unit concerned has established a splendid record for hard and ceaseless work in conditions far from ideal, and men. after spending long, arduous hours of heavy labour, began to feel the effects of such work in tropic climate. So the rest camp was built. The men usually spend two days on the island, and most of them regard it as not long enough. Except Dorothy Lamour “I’d like a w’eek here,” one soldier said as he left. “You know, this island has got everything except Dorothy Lamour.” Theoretically, the island is a place where soldiers can laze about and do nothing, but in practice they spend practically,the whole day roaming the beaches or coral reefs, ; swimming, fishing or collecting shells and coral. You reach the island by a lugger manned by natives, and as romantic as anything ever described by Ballantyne or Conrad. Covered with low, wind-swept trees and coconut palms, the island is bor--1 dered with beaches of white coral ( sand, and the sand runs down through ) glass-clear water to coral gardens I alive with brilliant fish. Seawards a > coral reef is pounded by surf. To com- > plete the picture-book effect, native ) lakatois drift across the water, their ) sails contrasting with the black backcloth of mountains on the riiainland. > It is all very theatrical. j Punctuality For Meals > At the camp there is only one rule i —punctuality for meals. After a late ) breakfast the men are free to do as > they, please. At low tide most popuj lar spot is the coral reef, which holds > endless fascination for shell collectors. > There are hundreds of varieties, the ) most prized being beautifully spotted I giant cowries, pearl shells and cat‘s- [ eyes. Cat’s-eyes, which are eagerly ! sought by Americans, are the “safety i door” of a species of sea slug that I lives in a snail-like shell. As soon as ! the shell is touched the slug with- [ draws into the shell and pulls his 1 “door” closed, leaving a cat’s eye ! glaring balefully at the intruder. Hun- ! dreds of cat’s-eyes are collected every ; day, and saved as souvenirs, sold, or J made into jewellery.

Coral proves a disappointment to the newcomer. Under water it has shadings of every conceivable pastel colour, but there is a catch to it. When taken from the water it first reeks to high heaven, and then turns a drab muddy colour that disheartens even the most enthusiastic souvenir hunter. After it dies and has been bleached in the sun, it becomes dazzlingly white, but few have the patience or foresight to put it through the bleaching process, and the track back to the camp is littered with hundreds of bits of jettisoned coral. The beaches, too, are a shell collector’s paradise, and contain every variety and shade of shell. Keen Appetites The camp is run by members of the unit, who keep the tents in order, clean the camp and provide meals. The meals are one of the delights of the place. Keen appetites and months of living on canned food make a meal of fresh fish or roast goat the answer to a gourmet’s dream. The life is that of a beachcomber of popular fiction, with all modern conveniences, even a refrigerator. When all the souvenirs collected there eventually arrive back in Australia many a wife will have to listen to endless tales of the delights of a tropic isle, and will inwardly curse the day her husband ever began to collect shells, coral and cat’s-eyes. There will be only one way out of such a situation —a return visit to the island to collect more souvenirs.—Axel Olsen, Melbourne Argus war correspondent.