83 
jGraciosa Bay, Nande, Santa Cruz, BSIP October 17, 1972 
Dr. Richard Lee has told me a great deal about this Eastern District 
of British Solomon Islands Protectorate where he has been the first 
resident physician for over a year. There are some 9,000-10,000 people In 
the district with 3,000 to 4,000 on Santa Cruz Itself and perhaps 1,500 of 
these with easy access to the small hospital and clinic which he runs. The 
Reef Islands have another 3,000 people, with Duff Islands only about 200. 
Tlkopla now has about 3,000 people with only slightly over 1,500 on the 
Island. Many have left to resettle permanently elsewhere and others are 
slowly drifting back. Vanlkoro has only about 200 Inhabitants, Utupua about 
200 and Anuta about 200 ! 
When I last discussed Anuta with Raymond Firth I continued to urge him 
to get someone to do anthropology on Anuta and now I learn that he has an 
American student there: Rick Felnberg, who has been living there since 
February and will stay through the end of the year. He has even made the 
long eight to twelve hour canoe trip to Fataka, the most remote uninhabited 
Island of BSIP, which Is made traditionally once a year supposedly to 
collect birds from this bird sanctuary. There Is no way to land the canoes 
so someone must stay all the time with the canoes while others are on 
shore — a rocky mass rising from the sea. Jean Gulart Is very disappointed 
and upset to learn of Rick Felnberg' s work on Anuta, for he does not want to 
Intrude upon the young student nor ask any genealogical questions that the 
young anthropologist has surely already been asking. We can easily work 
with Rick Felnberg, but that leaves Jean without any role In our Anuta 
studies. He Is right that the appearance of someone like himself on the 
scene may fill the your man with suspicions and jealousies and make life 
harder. 
The Island of Santa Cruz Is called Ndenl on some charts and Ndeno on 
others. Yet Francis Walelnla from Malalta, the District Officer, says It Is 
Nande on Its correct form. The airstrip Is very near to the station. The 
station has been well-built but consists only of a Police Station, 
Government Offices, Hospital, quarters for the six nurses, telegraph 
office, post office, and two trade stores and a government store for their 
supplies, and a couple of "European" residences. 
Dr. Lee tells me that the chiefs of both Anuta and Tlkopla refused free 
rice from the government after the hurricane even though many people were 
short of food. This was to prevent them being charged with a debt of 
gratitude. They do not want to later be charged a Council Tax and have 
refused to take part In Council elections, wanting to keep their old 
traditional system of chiefs. Lee complains that the chiefs fall to get 
people together for medical survey, to get children together for medical 
survey or Immunization and that they have failed over many years to provide 
their share of funds for the half built dispensary now already decaying. 
Anuta especially, and Tlkopla as well, are heavily mosquito-infested 
and we will be well advised to bring mosquito nets ashore. On Anuta 
the chiefs have been more cooperative and seem to have more authority 
and desire to cooperate. He also tells me there Is a sign on Tlkopla 
