ABSTRACT
These islands of the South Seas, of all the islands of the world, possess the most romantic image. To the urbanized populations of Europe and North America they have an attraction made up of more than a physical beauty compounded of palm trees, coral sand, white surf and blue seas for many islands can boast as much. Few can, however, conjure up such images of the unspoilt life, of peaceful undisturbed remoteness, of mankind at ease with itself and nature, of life as it once was and, perhaps, still ought to be. Yet these islands are not the fictitious lands of some romantic tale but the homes of peoples with their distinctive
cultures and traditions, people who are kindly, courteous and hospitable but people who are of today with today's problems, hopes and aspirations. They are not the inhabitants of some open-air museum simply to be looked at.
