He Tarawa File (TIGHAR Tracks 13:1) and the Files of the Western Pacific
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by Thomas F. King, Ph. D., SOPA TIGHAR #0281CEB Project Archeologist TIGHAR photo by P. Thrasher he Tarawa File (TIGHAR Tracks 13:1) and and Sir Harry Luke, the Tom King the files of the Western Pacific High Commis- High Commissioner of sion (WPHC) (TIGHAR Tracks 14:2) document the WPHC and Governor of Fiji. On April 5, that the human bones found on Nikumaroro 1941, Dr. Hoodless says: “I will take charge in 1940 were sent to Fiji for analysis, in a box of these bones until it is decided what to do built on Nikumaroro of kanawa wood (Cor- with them.” On April 11 Mr. Vaskess passed dia subchordata). The WPHC files contain the Dr. Hoodless’ offer to Sir Harry, whose re- report of Dr. D.W. Hoodless of the Central sponding note directed him to “request him Medical School (CMS) on his inspection of the (Hoodless) to retain the remains until further bones, including his measurements. Though notice.” On April 12 Mr. Vaskess asked the Dr. Hoodless concluded that the bones were Central Medical Authority to “take action ac- most likely those of a European male, re- cordingly.” After this, the WPHC papers (at analysis of the measurements using modern least, those we’ve found so far) have nothing anthropological procedures suggests that they to say about the bones. may represent a European female of about Needless to say, it would be useful to find Earhart’s height (TIGHAR Tracks 14:2). those bones. We could then (it is to be hoped) The last document we have about the extract DNA that could be compared with that bones is an exchange of notes among Dr. of living Earhart relatives. So on June 26 the Hoodless, WPHC Secretary Henry Vaskess, Fiji Bones Search got underway. ctually, the search had been underway the search at all. By the time we arrived in Fiji, for several months, thanks to the enthusiastic the Museum had already contacted all the ap- cooperation of the Fiji Museum. The Museum propriate government ministries to make ar- is very much TIGHAR’s partner in this proj- rangements, held press briefings, and located ect. Without the support of its Director, Kate and interviewed a number of retired physi- Vusoniwailala, the Director of its Archaeology cians and others associated with the CMS and Department, Tarisi Vundadilo, and the whole its successor, the Fiji School of Medicine (FSM). staff, we would have made little progress in The Museum made its offices available to us, TIGHAR Tracks p. 12 and took care of all ongoing contacts with the bones might have been tucked away in an attic various elements of government with which or basement or closet in one of these build- we worked and will continue to work, for the ings and forgotten, one of our first orders of Bones Search will go on. business was to find and search the buildings Our search focussed on Suva, the capital most closely associated with the Commission of Fiji, on the eastern end of the island of Viti and the Medical School. Another high priority Levu. Suva is a city of about 90,000 (400,000 was to examine the collections of human bones in the metropolitan area), with a rich colonial kept by the FSM Anatomy Department and by architectural tradition—in other words, a LOT the Fiji Museum itself, since it was possible of old buildings dating from the time of the that the Nikumaroro bones might have been WPHC and CMS. Reasoning that the box of absorbed into one of these collections. n the first week, the Search team was made and Elaitia Vakarau are students at the Fiji In- up of forensic osteologist Dr. Karen Burns stitute of Technology, while Steven Brown is and me, so much of our work—besides initial a martial arts instructor (all are now TIGHAR meetings with ministries, members). While Kar measured bones, “the press conferences, and guys” and I searched old buildings. The the like—was focussed old CMS building is now the Dental Clinic on finding and exam- at the Fiji Colonial War Memorial Hospital. ining known collections Completely renovated several times over of bones. Armed with since Hoodless’ time, it still has an attic that Dr. Hoodless’ measure- hadn’t been looked at in years. It turned out Photo courtesy R. Gifford. ments, her calipers, and to be full of stuff—some of it apparently dat- her laptop loaded with ing back to World War II (old field medicine the FORDISC classific- cases and such)—but alas, no kanawa wood Kar Burns. ation program, Kar first box, no bones. Dr. Hoodless’ residence still went through all the un- stands, too; it’s now the office of the Student provenienced (i.e.: unknown origin) bones in Housing housekeeper. It has an attic, too, but the collections of the Museum’s Archaeology it turned out to be empty. Department. No matches. Next she examined About the time we arrived in Fiji, a skeleton the collection of the FSM Anatomy Depart- was found in the rainforest near Navua, west ment (we’d been told that this collection had of Suva. As (probably) the most experienced been “disposed of” when teaching methods forensic osteologist in several hundred if not changed at the School, but it turned out that thousand miles, Kar felt obligated to offer a dedicated Lab Manager, Satya Deo, had assistance to the police in their investigation saved it). Unfortunately, no matches there ei- of the discovery. Besides, it gave us a good ther. Incidentally, the Anatomy Department is opportunity to see how bodies decay in an housed in a modern building that comprises environment not unlike Nikumaroro’s. She ex- the “nerve center” of the FSM and that is amined the bones at the Hospital, and then we named “Hoodless House” in honor of the doc- trekked out to the discovery site and recovered tor himself, renowned as one of the founders more bones. The skeleton turned out to most of western Pacific medical practice. likely be that of a tourist who had gone miss- Early on, three young men generously ing back in April, leaving a suicide note. The volunteered their time to assist us. Faiz Ali interesting thing from our point of view was Volume 15 p. 13 that the body had become completely skele- of them chewed by animals, and a number of tonized, the bones more or less scattered, some them missing, in a mere three months. n July 5, Kar departed for Nikumaroro ing there but collapsed cardboard boxes and aboard Nai’a, and Education Director Barbara old tires. Norris arrived. About this time we had a bit of An interview with Sir Leonard Usher, who a flap over the fact that the government had had been with the government since 1930, declined to allow us to search the President’s gave us valuable information about Fiji during mansion, where Sir Harry had had his of- World War II, and especially about Vaskess. fices and residence. This Examining the WPHC file, Sir Leonard said not altogether surprising that its organization—elaborately annotated decision (what would the and cross-referenced—was “pure Vaskess.” U.S. do with a Fijian re- He described Vaskess as a “prince of bureau- quest to search the White crats,” who made sure that records were kept House?) was picked up by in good order—suggesting that if government the media, which caused had done anything with the bones on Vaskess’ TIGHAR photo by P. Thrasher some disquiet in the gov- watch (which ran until after World War II), it ernment. Eventually this would have been entered in the file. got smoothed over, and Meanwhile, thanks to Peter MacQuarrie Barb Norris. the work continued. We (TIGHAR#1987), Kenton Spading (TIGHAR had run out of known #1382EC), and Mr. Metuisela Moa, the gen- bone collections, but had plenty of buildings erous head of the Fiji Intelligence Service, we to search, plenty of archives to inspect, and had met Mr. Foua Tofiga, who became perhaps plenty of people to talk with. our most valuable contact and, I hope, a good A search of the Fiji Intelligence Service friend. Mr. Tofiga is from Tuvalu, educated in building (formerly WPHC Bachelor Officer Tarawa, and he came to Fiji in 1940 to work Housing) yielded no bones. An interview for the WPHC. He was literally in Sir Harry’s with the head of maintenance for the Public office when the bones were sent in; he was a Works Department resulted in his agreement bit sorry that “the English” hadn’t shared the to get all government maintenance workers matter with him, the “only brown face” in the to keep eyes open for the box. We ran down a office, but he understood their perceived need rumor of “bones in a box” in the local Masonic for secrecy. Lodge—they were bones used in Masonic rit- Mr. Tofiga described Gerald Gallagher as ual, and didn’t match the Hoodless descrip- his great friend; he had assisted Gallagher in tion. In the Museum library we reacquainted loading the colonial ship Viti for the voyage ourselves with Margaret Guthrie’s biography that was to take Gallagher to his death on of her father, Dr. Hoodless, which sent Barb Nikumaroro. He had worked closely with and the guys off to search the old garage that Vaskess, and said he had seen the sextant box the Hoodlesses had used for storage. Noth- from Nikumaroro, which Vaskess kept in his TIGHAR Tracks p. 14 office. He travelled to Nikumaroro with Sir tunnels—to no avail—while I negotiated Harry in December of 1941, where he visited for, but failed to get, permission to search Gallagher’s grave; Viti was on the high seas the War Memorial Hospital itself.