MQ 44
Government Settlement
Republic Of Nauru
Central Pacific
24 July 1973
Dear Mum & Dad,
We both seem to be neglecting our correspondence but I suppose you have a better excuse than me. It is quite a while since I last wrote & it seems that quite a lot has happened. Darren’s birthday party was a great success with 20 kids & nearly as many adults. As it turned out, the afternoon arranged for the party was designated a half day holiday (not really on our behalf), so that most of the parents turned up as well & quite a few cans etc. were cracked for the occasion. Darren was actually quite well trained at blowing out the candles & when the time arrived he impressed every one with candle blowing out. We set the trestle up along the front veranda with streamers & balloons strung up all over the place.
We had 4 couples back after tea to see the 5 movies I took on the Japan trip which turned out well thank goodness.
I have uncovered Nauru’s own “Watergate” affair by putting the finger on the Secretary for Works for un-documented private sales from the store. He is now trying to implicate various Ministers including the Acting President & the further he goes in trying to clear himself the more he seems to get himself & others involved. I must admit I was pretty nervous about issuing the first report & it took me a week to decide the best course of action & proper wording of the various reports including one to the Chief Secretary. It is now unfolding very satisfactorily & I can still smile.
The Director Of Audit arrived last weekend & we are now in the process of setting up a new department. It is like Christmas shopping ordering new chairs, desks, filing cabinets, an IBM typewriter, adding machines, calculators & a new Toyota. The bloke’s name is Pat Gleeson & after some early misgivings he seems a decent sort of a fellow. He was previously in a small accounting practice in Queensland. We had him to tea on Saturday night. His wife & son are still in Brisbane until the end of the school year. We have provided for 3 trips to Melbourne & 1 to Tokyo in the budget as we are now to take over the audit of all of the Republic’s locations. Unfortunately the London & San Francisco offices are not really big enough to warrant a visit at this stage. Our first trip to Melbourne will probably be in the next 4 weeks. A rough plan is to go down on the Friday plane & return on the following Sunday week. Pat hopes to get off at Brisbane on the Friday & fly to Melbourne on an early Monday flight & spend the weekend with his family. The Audit Department seems to be a pretty good department to be in!
I’m not sure whether the weather in Australia is extra cold this year or maybe it because we are in perpetual summer. From the few papers we get it does sound really cold though. Up here it hasn't rained since I was away in Japan when apparently they had some pretty heavy rain. Water is now being shipped to the island & we regularly have to order it. The novelty of going to the beach & sitting in the water as warm as a bath hasn't worn off yet. Did I mention that occasionally at about 4 in the morning we actually pull up a blanket? It’s that damned cold breeze from the fan that does it. Never mind, I’m just stirring, keep your chins up, summer is coming!
Andy is going well & Darren, apart from a recent black eye is also well. Hope you are all fit & well.
Love from all of us,
Greg
PS. Thanks for the birthday cheques on behalf of Darren & Andy. With Darren’s we bought him an outfit of clothes, mainly because he got so many toys for his birthday. With Andy’s we used that to have a dinner out at the hotel. It was very enjoyable with no dishes afterwards.
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