Evening star., 1943-05-16
The Pocific's Fur-FIung
Bottle Front
BIZ Frederic J. HdSktn.


of the New Hebrides Islands. where is
located the advanced naval and air base
of the Allies. the tropic war really begins
in the South Pacific. Here, the farthest
point south where japanese bombs have
fallen soldiers, sailors, marines and air.
men are called upon to pit their full re-
sistance against enervating heat and hui
midity, to combat malaria, blackwater
fever amoebic dysentery, hookworm and
dengue. New Caledonia, where thou
sands of fighting men have sweated off
the surplus weight they put on aboard
transports, seems cool and civilized by
comparison.
In the New Hebrides members Of the
armed forces become acquainted with
the strange tropic flora and fauna, the
exotic butterflies fluttering their 4-inch
wings, the spiders and other strange
crawling creatures which no one seems
able to identify. Newcomers drink them
selves sick on coconut milk and MUNICH
the white kernel, then return to camp
to find for dessert sweet sprinkled with
desiccated coconut sent from the States.
The coconut, incidentally, is the first
hazard the rookie soldier encounters.
Coconut plantations make ideal camp
sites, for they are clear of underground
and provide excellent shelter. The tall,
straight trunks of the palms rise high
overhead until their sweeping fronds in
termingle. The Gothic-like arches OF the
groves swing grandly away into the dis
tance until the whole camp appears set
in a vast cathedral But the coconut
plantations have not been able to har-
vest and here lies the hazard
Untouched since the war began the
palms are shedding their nuts. And
coconut dropped from height Of so feet
can brain a man. A dull thud and an
occasional sharper note as nut hits q
tin roof are constant warnings either
to wear helmet or walk with one eye
cooked aloft.
The New Hebrides are some 1,100 miles
east Of Australia on the sea route to San
Francisco, and 300 miles northeast of the
French colony of New Caledonia Es-
piritu Santo, generally known and writ
ten Santo, is the largest OF the 80 islands
that form a double chain stretching for
Equator. Santo is rs miles long and As
miles wide and contains a volcano which
erupts so many times each day and night
that it is called 'the great lighthouse
of the southern isles
Santo was discovered in 1906 by the
Spanish explorer de Quiros who under
the impression that he had found the
long sought Southern continent, named
it Terra Australis del Espiritu Santo"
He founded settlement which he desig-
mated Vera Cruz, but because of disease
and trouble with the natives it was aban-
doned.
One hundred and sixty years later the
French navigator BougainvilIe proved de
Qulros wrong when he sailed between
Santo and the adjoining island of Male
kula. Then in 1774 that thorough and
dauntless navigator, Capt James Cook,
cleared up all mysteries when he discov-
cred and charted the greater part OF tho
group.
Until local government was established
white pirates and reckless traders of the
Pacific preyed on the New Hebrtdes and
their inhabitants. Sandalwood gatherers
and whalers debauched the natives and
ravaged the islands with vice and dis
ease. Then the blackbirders or slave
traders came and thousands of natives
were transported as slaves to plantations
OF Queensland Today the native popu-
lation Of the islands is only 10000, which
is but fraction of the original total.
In the middle of the last century Brit
lsh and French began to settle on the is
lands as planters and traders. ANY tropic
plant will flourish and also many fruits
and vegetables from temperate chmes.
The largest pineapples and oranges
known are grown there
These British and French planters
brought the law with them A Joint
British French Naval Commission was
established in 1887, and this led to that
| unique experiment in government, the
New Hebrides Condominium. From 1907
| until the present war; France and Brit
ain carried out joint government control
OF the New HebrideS, and administered
the law for British, French and natives
alike in joint court consisting OF British
| and French judges and neutral presi-
dent.
| But this is the brief history Of the New
Hebrides up to December T. 194l, when
the japanese struck at Pearl Harbor.
Then came the swift and terrifying
march of events. Malaga was overrun,
| Singapore fell, then Java. Australia her.
self was threatened, and the New Heb
rides out on her flank became OF vital
strategic Importance. United States
forces were dispatched to the islands to
help build up last line Of defense for
the avenues of communication between
the United States New Zealand and Aus
tralia. Out Of the jungle airfields were
carved, and on shores were built landing
piers. Month by month the concentra-
ton Of shipping grew greater. Warships
transports and supply ships called at
Santo, all part Of the great armada
that is being built up at widely separated
points in the Pacific Today Santo and
the waters about it and the skies above
it swarm with activity
Allied air strength in this area is
formidable. The great bomber strips
carved out of the jungle are lined with
bays, in which giant Flying Fortresses
and Liberators stand like prehistoric
monsters peering through the tropic
vegetation. Coral, packed hard, is prov
addition, the Allies are using steel Ms
ting which insures a frst-class all
weather surface.