PROSPEROUS NAURU

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 429, 13 January 1933, Page 7

PROSPEROUS NAURU

NATIVES ON ISLAND LEAD | A LIFE OF GREAT LUXURY ! C00LIES D0 WORK The typical coral island of fiction, 1 with its coral reef, lazy surf, waving palm trees, luxuriant vegetation, and ( , crystal clear lagoon — Ahat is Nauru, | a small island 26 miles south of the . Equator, whither Commander R. S. Garsia has sailed to take up the position of Administrator. Nauru, together with Ocean Is- . land nearby, is held by Australia un- , der a niandate froni the League of j Nations, and it is a very valuable j niandate, for on this small speck of j an island — it is only eight miles in j circumference — are huge deposits of , phosphates, and 42 per cent. of them i belong to Australia. | It is estimated that there are nearly 100,000,000 tons of phosphate on Nauru and Ocean Island. One ton of phosphate, when treated with acid, yields two tons of fertiliser, so it is seen that Australia is certain of steady supplies of fertiliser for many years. Nauru is really the peak of some huge submarine mountain, beeause the ocean drops away sharply just outside the reef, and it is impossible for ships to drop anchor anywhere near the island. For many years ships were forced to tie up to huge buoys to load, but recently a tremendous cantilever crane has been erected, and ships can load in less than half the time it used to take them. Riding around in motor cars, and smoking big cigars, the natives on this island live a life of luxury, and it is beneath their dignity to work for their living. When the Island was taken over by the British Phosphate Commission it was decided that a royalty of £40 an acre — an enormous sum for natives — would be paid to the inhabitants for every acre of ground 'that was used in the extraction of phosphates. AU work on the island is done by Chinese coolies, who are brought from Hongkong and have to return after a certain period. Although being very close to the equator, Nauru has a very healthy climate, and sickness is rare, except that dread disease leprosy. Medical science is still puzzled about the j spread of leprosy on this island, after ! the war. The natives who were of fine physique, were suddenly stricken down, and hundreds died. For the purposes of administration, Nauru is divided into districts under 14 native chiefs, who rule their followers under instructions from the Administrator, whom they met once a month, to diseuss various problems.