17 May 1974

Kolo Ridge

Honiara

B.S.I.P.

17 May 1974

Dear Mum & Dad,

Just a short note to say hello to catch today’s plane. I haven’t written since receiving one letter from Mum & one from Dad. It is wonderful to hear that by now you are probably home Dad, you sure have had a rough time. It was also great to receive your letter as it seems such a long time since the last one. I still imagine that it will take a long time for you to pick up fully.

Life here is as busy as ever. We have received a shipment of Mazdas (23 vehicles) & that has generated a lot of extra work. We are still getting work done around the house & at the moment we are having an elevated roofed walkway built from the back door across to the new laundry & garage.

Everyone is well. We did have a bit of a scare with Shane this week, he had a very high temperature & we took him to the hospital. It turned out to be an infection of some sort in his throat but with a mixture from the chemist he is ok now. Darren started pre-school a couple of weeks ago 2 mornings a week. He loves it & doesn't want to come home. Andy seems to love it too as it gives her a bit of a break. Something about Darren I have been meaning to tell you, (it is pretty old now) was that we took him to the club’s children’s Christmas party (fancy dress) & out of about 50 kids he won the boys section dressed as a swag-man complete with corks dangling from his hat.

The Mazda is a very nice car & is built to cruise at high speeds. I know it will do over 100 mph (I haven’t tried it) but I’m not sure exactly how fast it will go.

Anyway we are still here & enjoying ourselves.

Love from all of us, Greg

18 April 1974

Kolo Ridge

Honiara

B.S.I.P.

18 April 1974

Dear Mum & Dad,

Well I hope that this time Dad is feeling much better & heading for home soon. Andy & the children arrived home safe & well last Saturday & I was very pleased to see them. I am glad they were able to make it to Warrnambool, even only for a short visit. No doubt she was able to fill you in a bit on our movements & new life here. We have had our house full of workmen for the past fortnight putting in the solar hot water system, pelmets over the windows & now a new laundry. The other morning as I left for work we had 2 plumbers, 3 builders, our house girl & garden boy all wandering about. I had the feeling we were the town’s biggest employer. At the moment we can’t even have a shower (hot or cold) because the shower has been pulled out. However by the weekend we should be all go again with HOT water. I managed to get the Triumph registered today & brought it home tonight so we are now a 2 car family & Andy can suit her self a bit.

There was a large crowd of people down from Nauru over the Easter weekend on the pretext of playing sport (that’s what they told their wives). They all seemed to be enjoying themselves & it was good to see some familiar faces.

While I think of it, we had a rather severe earth tremor while Andy was away. It really shook the house & I just stood there debating whether or not to run outside. Anyway everything survived ok. We have a lot more “weather” here, overcast days, quite a bit of rain & some wind.

My job is still an uphill battle at the moment & not likely to even out for quite a long time. There is no doubt that I am learning something new each day with all the international wheeling & dealing.

I really can’t think of anything else to tell you, there are a lot of things to write about really, just general things but I will save that up for later. Again, I hope you are improving Dad & not forgetting Mum, I hope you are are ok too!

Love from all of us, Greg

4 April 1974

Kolo Ridge

Honiara

British Solomon Islands Protectorate

4 April 1974

Dear Mum & Dad,

The mails to & from here are very erratic & in fact it is very easy to feel quite isolated from Australia. It is strange that Nauru is 800 miles further north but apparently in greater contact with Australia & far more Australian in its way of life. To be honest I have been relying largely on Andy’s trip down to re-establish the communication link. Andy rang me yesterday & I was very surprised to hear of Dad’s 2^nd operation. Andy also mentioned Mum’s letter which as yet I haven’t received. It is very frustrating sitting up here in the “dark”. I sincerely hope that Dad is on the improve & out of hospital as soon as possible.

Presumably Andy will fill you in on our doings since we left Nauru. As you know I am up here by myself. It really is lonely without the family & I will be glad when they are back. Still, Andy was so disappointed when Barbara & Peter decided to get married while we were supposed to still be in Nauru & now she has the opportunity to be there. Also Shane is to be christened on the Sunday following the wedding in the same church we were married in.

As far as my new job is concerned I have never had so much work in all my life. At the moment I am working 10 hours a day & weekends. It certainly is a change from Nauru. However the interest is there & the company operates internationally with contacts in Manilla, Hong Kong, Seattle & of course, Tokyo. Quite a lot of the accounting involves importing & exporting which is an area I haven’t had much to do with before. The manager is a pom & only been here 2 weeks longer than me. The only other European was a mechanic who finished after 10 years with the company last week. We have recruited another mechanic from NSW who is due here in 2 weeks. Between the manager & myself everyday is a new experience, still we have something in common & so far we are getting on extremely well. Last weekend was the end of our financial year (31 March) so stocktaking & all the other horrors of an end of year are with us.

Since arriving here our biggest shock has been the cost of imported food. It is very much dearer than Nauru prices. The only offsetting factor is the very low cost of fresh fruit & vegetables available daily from the market. It doesn't seem to matter what it is, it is always 10 cents a bunch. Local beef is very cheap. So far we haven’t been tempted to buy anything other than the essentials which is a change from Nauru where everything is a tempting bargain. I was shocked to find that the Triumph car that we bought just before leaving Nauru would cost $120 to import to the Solomons. Still it is now paid & the old girl is in the Solomon Motors workshop getting a complete tune up. So far they are doing a good job & it sounds very good. It still has to have a roadworthy from the PWD.

Our “2^nd car” is a result of a bit of weakness on my part. When we first arrived, Solomon Motors had a Mazda RX4 coupe on the floor for about $3,350. It was the last one, the next shipment due in May with an average of $200 increase in price. My contract includes the right to purchase a Mazda at cost plus 10%. Anyway it boiled down that I could buy the Mazda by financing it & the interest would cut out the increase in cost & discount. The same car in Australia costs approximately $4,200 so that in 15 months when we can take it back to Australia duty free we should be able to retrieve most of our purchase price.

We had a couple of pleasant surprises since we arrived plus a bit of bad news. The pleasant surprises first. After being here a day, a girl came & asked Andy if we wanted a house girl. We put her on 5 days a week & after mentioning it to the manager he said to put her on the company payroll as all the other house boys & girls were on. That put us $25 a month in credit. She has turned out really well & does all the housework. We also have a boy who does the yard 2 ½ days a week. He is on $1 a day but we pay for him ourselves.

The other good news is that I am getting all my petrol on the company which is just as well because it is 64 cents a gallon here. Over a month it is a considerable saving.

For our first weekend here the company put us up in the Mendana Hotel which is quite luxurious however on our first trip up to the house we got a terrible shock to discover there are only cold water taps! Not a hot water service in sight. Apparently it is quite the accepted thing here. We are still without hot water but by next week we should have a 40 gallon solar system. I am a real coward for cold showers but fast becoming an expert on staying clean without getting too wet.

Anyway, so far the credits exceed the debits. It rains a lot but I like to see a bit of moisture after thirsty Nauru.

I am going to send this down to Melbourne on Air Nauru, through the local agent to the Melbourne Nauru office for a friend of mine to post it locally so it should reach you in a reasonable time. Let’s hope you are feeling a bit better Dad.

All the best & even though I am so far away I am thinking of you,

Love Greg

7 March 1974

Government Settlement

Republic Of Nauru

Central Pacific

7 March 1974

Dear Mum & Dad,

The mails to here have been a bit disrupted, mainly because of a special maintenance check on Air Nauru which had the plane sitting in Melbourne for a week. By now I presume Dad has had his operation. Andy & I were both thinking of you on Wednesday Dad & I hope that all is well. Distance at times like this is very frustrating & unfortunately an offer of “is there anything we can do” is useless. Keeping up the Chamber job would be a worry but Mum mentioned that she & Bruce were doing that.

We have changed our plans slightly. I saw the Chief Secretary last week & we now leave 2 weeks earlier than originally planned. That is the 15^th March & not the 29^th. I was really pleased with the decision because it now means that Andy & the kids can come down to Honiara with me & stay for 2 weeks & then continue to Melbourne. Andy will then have her own ideas on the place & the house etc. & know what she is coming back to. We should also be able to get the place reasonably organised during the 2 weeks. I think that it will keep Darren a bit more in prospective as well.

Our packing is as good as finished with only a few odd bits & pieces left. If anything is damaged in transit it won’t be our fault. We have new pine crates, lined with sisal craft & sealed with packing tape & before they leave they are to be banded with steel banding.

I know it is only a page but I want it to get in Friday’s mail.

Love to all & once again, I hope you are on the improve Dad,

Greg

PS. Bruce rang Thursday night to report on the success of Dad’s operation. He mentioned the further tests for which we all have our figures crossed.

21 February 1974

Government Settlement

Republic Of Nauru

Central Pacific

21 February 1974

Dear Mum & Dad,

Speaking of letter, I haven’t seen one from your end since I was down in Warnambool. This is just a note to catch the Friday plane. We haven’t got any transport now as I have sold the car & bike. I probably mentioned that I has intended to keep the Falcon & take it to Honiara. I had it in the garage getting some rust cut taken out & the Nauruan who was going to do the job asked if it was for sale. I put a price of $1,300 on it which is $200 more than I paid for it. He was very happy & so was I. My plans now are to buy a 1966 Triumph sports car for $450, & buy a cheap sedan for about $600 in Honiara. The Republic will pay freight on one vehicle to Honiara & the duty payable will be very little. That’s getting 2 cars for the price of one which will make life a lot easier for the family. The house down there is a good 4 miles from the shops & my work & I think particularly with the way it rains in Honiara that a car for me to go to work would be better than a bike. The Triumph is a really nice little machine, red with a beige interior, push button radio, with a soft vinyl top & also a hard fibre glass top. There is very little rust in it but the duco is not much chop & a respray would make the world of difference. The Chief Accountant has had it for about 3 months with no problems & provided he can pick up a Toyota from a shipment due on Saturday I will probably buy it from him. Anyway my business deals seem to be on the improve & with the free freight down to Honiara & a respray I am sure I could sell it for a profit.

Our move arrangements are well under way. We have bought our air tickets, Andy & the kids to fly to Melbourne on Monday 25^th March & me to Honiara on Friday the 29^th. The Republic would only approve sea fares for us to return so I have got them to pay me the equivalent fares in cash so I could make the travelling arrangements myself. It has still worked out ok financially for us. Sea fares are 2 x $160 & 1 x $$80 (Darren). Shane didn’t rate a fare. That is $400. By sending us by sea they are up for 8 days travelling which is about $130. That’s a total of $530. Airfares are Andy $300, Darren $200 & Shane $30 = $530.  My airfare to Honiara will be paid by the company so we are all square.

The method of transport is a real farce. Too many people have tried to explain to the Chief Secretary that the only real cost to the Republic when returning people to Australia is the travelling time, one day by air compared to eight days by sea. Also if a family returns by ship, the Republic has to feed them all for 8 days. The Republic owns the airline & the shipping line so that one Department’s expense for fares is another Department’s income. Most people would prefer to return by air. Anyway, in our case it didn’t matter. I have one win. My contract allows us to take back up to 4 cubic tons on personal effects at the Republic’s expense. The cost of freight on 4 cubic tons is $120. They have agreed to pay me the $120 in cash so that I can make my own arrangements. That is the equivalent of about 7 cubic tons to Honiara.

Andy is really looking forward to her trip to Melbourne & in particular to Barbara & Peter’s wedding which originally she thought she would have no hope of attending. Darren is also looking forward to going to “stralia” because that’s where daddy goes in the plane & also a lot of his playmates who left at the end of last year. Lord knows what impression he has in his mind about this strange place. Just listening to him I think he thinks its in the sky.

We are all well & I hope you are too.

Love from all of us here,

Greg

14 February 1974

Government Settlement

Republic Of Nauru

Central Pacific

14 February 1974

Dear Mum & Dad,

As you can see I arrived home safely on Sunday night. Andy & the kids survived the week quite well although Darren was a bit of trouble & most upset that his daddy had gone to “stralia”. The first thing he said to me was “daddy buy Darren a tractor, yes?” I also bought some Chanel No. 5 perfume for Andy in Noumea which she was tickled pink with.

The trip on the train was uneventful. The young bloke who was in the same compartment was a railway fanatic & recited about every possible fact on trains & V.R. He seemed to know every bridge, signal etc. on the entire journey & kept a log of arrival & departure times at each station along the way. Crazy! We had a good flight yesterday, picked Pat up in Brisbane & at Honiara I saw Ron McGuire & the Treasury Chief Accountant, Ashley Hayes & his family joined the flight. They were returning from leave & had come up from New Zealand via Fiji.

Thursday, lost my biro. It certainly feels like we are leaving now. We have started to pack into crates that we acquired from people who left in December & ordered too many. We have ordered other crates from the Works Department (free of charge). The Chief Secretary knocked me back on my request to travel by air so I have now asked for the equivalent sea fares to be paid in cash so that we can make our own arrangements. As I will only be flying direct to Honiara & claiming sea fares to Australia, plus 8 days paid traveling time, that will subsidise Andy & the kids’ airfares.

No more news that comes to mind. I certainly hope you’re feeling a bit better now Dad & that everyone else is OK.

Love from all of us up here.

Greg

Greg

14 January 1974

Government Settlement

Republic Of Nauru

Central Pacific

14 January 1974

Dear Mum & Dad,

Just a short note to let you know all is well. Sorry I missed your call but at the time I was having a beer at the Treasury Accountant’s house. I have enclosed a cheque for $200 but had to date it 13^th Feb to come from February salary. It sounds like you need it so I hope the forward dating doesn’t mess you up too much. I have made arrangements with the bank to send $150 per month starting March subject to obtaining your bank & account numbers. This is probably preferable to sending cheques through the mail.

We have reconsidered our position here & it looks very likely now that we will see out our term. Main points being the cost of setting up again in Honiara, duty on the car or sell & buy a new one down there & also a substantial rise which is due in either Feb or March.

The family is extremely well. To answer Mum’s question, Shane like Darren takes after Andy but still has his own individual look. He has quite a good head of hair which is dark. He is now recognizing things & smiles & laughs. He is very good for a baby, little trouble.

I think Andy told you that I will be down on the 1^st February.

Thanks for the presents, we saved them up for Christmas day & put them under our tree. I thought I would be down earlier than the 1^st Feb previously & planned to bring you something then.

Happy birthday for the 18^th Mum! Hope you have a happy day.

Love from the Nauru Tuers,

Greg