JUST TO PROVE THAT I WAS REALLY THERE!

There have been reports of "hazing" in the military, included were reports on the Naval personnel when they crossed the equator.  A dump in a canvas swimming pool is not so bad when you come to think about it all and it was a break, everyone had a good time.

SOME COMMENTS BY ME

    This trip was not the normal for a Naval ship it was more of a cruise and hence was pretty much known as the "Easter Island cruise" by everyone. Normally H.M.C.S. Cape Scott was a factory repair and supply ship. As such we had vast refrigerators and store rooms for food supplies. There was also a deck for the machine shop as well as a deck for the foundry. There was also a sonar & radar repair shop.

    The ship was slow but served it's purpose whether in a Fleet Support role or for this trip. The compliment was around 200 and when the actual factory crew was onboard (not for this trip) the number was more in the 300 range. You will notice in all the reports how the Lt.Cmd's are mentioned as they unloaded the boats and did the electrical work etc.  I really don't remember (tongue in cheek) sitting in the sun while they did all the work! I do however remember when one of those portable houses were being offloaded one of the seamen getting knocked overboard and having the presence of mind to dive below the LCM (LANDING CRAFT MEDIUM) and come up on the other side. The swell was huge and he would have been crushed between the ship and the LCM had he not.

    The accounts of the Medical Expedition to Easter Island are taken from transcripts prepared by Dr. Stanley Skoryna as well as Commander Law. I also have newspaper clippings from across Canada in regards to the Expedition which I will enclose on the site for those who want to read them.  There are some things that are a bit misleading though and that I have since found out, I will also tell you about them.  One thing that stands out for sure is that we did not go to Curacao as stated on the document above but to Cartegena, Columbia instead also we stopped at the Galapagos Islands on the way back from Easter Island to Panama.

    When we arrived in Callao (Lima) Puru we were called on to be the colour party for Winston Churchill's honour.  He had passed away on Jan.24, 1965 at the age of 90. White gaiters and web belts, unusual attire for us I assure you.  Likely the first time the rifles had been fired for some time at least they got cleaned.

    You will likely notice the dates and will know that we were there very shortly after the Cuban crisis.  The International airport or " the gateway of the Pacific" was built but not for some years later.  What was done is that an airport was put on the Island as a joint project of the U.S. Air Force and the Chilean Air Force. I expect that this was an ideal listening post for Soviet submarines in the Pacific.  Security was very high during those days, as we were returning from Cartegena to Halifax Commander Law took a bit of a shortcut.  We passed through the waters between Haiti and Cuba and believe me the U.S. Air Force was there.  They buzzed us with fighter jets and were so close that you could see the colour of the pilots eyes.  The Cuban embargo was at full strength and no one was allowed to go through unless you could prove that you had a right to be there and were not going to Cuba.

I have seen the pictures of the Island now,airport,restaurants and stores.  The sheep are no longer on the island instead it is over run by horses and cattle to quote the person that passed this on to me "will they ever learn".  I somehow doubt it.

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EASTER ISLAND SOIL

As reported in the Wall Street Journal (27 July 1999), a strange chemical in a soil sample from Rapa Nui is nearing approval as one of the most promising new transplant drugs in more than a decade. Called Rapamune, it reduces the frequency of rejection in kidney transplants. Scientists are confident it will do the same for heart and other organ transplants. The soil sample was collected in 1964-65 during the Canadian Medical Expedition to Easter Island (METEI). This remarkable scientific expedition was written up in RNJ [Vol. 6(2), Vol. 6(3) and 6(4)]. METEI evolved from medical research undertaken in the early 1960's by Dr. Stanley Skoryna of McGill University, Montreal. The project was a scientific undertaking but, by chance, they found themselves in the middle of a revolt on the island (a story that would make a great movie!). The following is a newspaper clipping of the "revolt".

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Canadians in Midst

 Of Easter Rebellion

By FRED JOYCE

 The Royal Canadian Navy got drawn in, the medical researchers had a small mob scene on their hands and the 350 native voters of this Chilean dependency won themselves a new deal at the polls.

 The agitation was stirring at the time HMCS Cape Scott brought the 38-member medical research team here in December. The islanders were being told that their lot — under a Chilean navy lieutenant commander helped by four elected advisors-could be better. The leading spirits were Alphonse Rapu Haoa, a 22-year old island-born but mainland-educated schoolteacher and budding politician, and Lt-Cmdr. surgeon stationed at Easter. They said the councilors elected last fall were unacceptable and new elections were needed.

 When word of this was sent to the mainland, 2,500 miles to the east, the Chilean government's reply was that Andrade and Rapu should be sent to Chile aboard the Cape Scott, which was to visit Valparaiso after dropping the scientists. Andrade and his family went, after a giant farewell party, but Rapu went into hiding. He was still underground when the Chilean gunboat Yelcho appeared Jan. 5 with 40 marines aboard, and also Anrade, for an on-the-spot investigation by marine Cmdr. Guillermo Rojas.

 He began an inquiry into dissatisfaction on the island, including reports that Rapu's group was agitating to join a federation of Polynesia, 2,500; miles to the west but the sup­posed ethnic home of the Easter Islanders.

 Meanwhile, an open letter to Chile's president signed by Rapu. and 55 others had appeared in the Chilean press complaining of lack of self-government, dictatorial administration" of the island and low pay for the few natives on government jobs.

'HEART ATTACKS'

Rapu appeared before the in­quiry Jan. 9 and was told to return next day. The same day, a crowd of his followers—mostly women — heard him having words with Rojas in the officer's jeep and rushed on the pair, apparently under the impression Rapu was being arrested.

 The incident occurred near the expedition's campsite, one of the few fenced spots on the island, and about a dozen women rushed Rapu inside. The marines fired rifles into the air. Some of the women, screaming, fell to the ground, claiming they had suffered heart attacks.

 Let them cool off

 Rojas sent his marines away and waited for the Islanders to cool off.  While he waited Rapu slipped out a rear gate under cover of darkness and rode off on a waiting horse.

 Next day, the marine commander visited the camp, apologized to the expedition for the disturbance and announced there would be new elections.

 In the voting, Rapu and three friends took over all the councilors' posts and have a one-year mandate to do something about improving the island's economy. At their first meeting, they talked of getting new industry. At present, the 1,200 islanders catch fish or lobsters, and between 50 and 80 work on a government sheep ranch, 18 are employed by the Chilean air force and seven work on a small experimental farm.

Note: taken from a Victoria newspaper.

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Note: You will find some spelling mistakes in these documents, one has to remember that they were typed at sea on a rolling ship and a manual typewriter. The duplication was on an old duplicator machine which did not give the best quality.  I think that in the interest of authenticity they should be left as is.

A LITTLE BOOKLET WE WERE GIVEN 

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Note: You will find some spelling mistakes in these documents, one has to remember that they were typed at sea on a rolling ship and a manual typewriter. The duplication was on an old duplicator machine which did not give the best quality.  I think that in the interest of authenticity they should be left as is.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 

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Note: You will find some spelling mistakes in these documents, one has to remember that they were typed at sea on a rolling ship and a manual typewriter. The duplication was on an old duplicator machine which did not give the best quality.  I think that in the interest of authenticity they should be left as is.

Born in London, England in 1916 to Canadian parents, Law was inspired and encouraged to study art by his Grandfather Law, himself an artist, and family friend and noted anthropologist, Dr. Marius Barbeau. He has studied painting and drawing with Franklin Brownell, Fred Varley. Frank Hennessey and Percyval Tudor Hart.

During the Second World War, Law served as an officer in the Canadian Navy. He was mentioned twice in dispatches, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. In 1943/44, while his flotilla of Motor Torpedo Boats was being prepared, he was commissioned as an Official War Artist. an assignment which was confirmed by his appointment as an Official Naval War Artist in 1945. Transferring to the permanent forces after the War, he traveled to the Arctic, and to the East and West coasts of Canada. He was known as "the painting Commander".

Upon retirement, he became active in the art community of Nova Scotia, was artist-in-residence for Saint Mary's University between 1967 and 1980, and was the first curator of Saint Mary's University Art Gallery. In 1981 Law was made an honorary Doctor of Letters by Saint Mary's University.

Bernard Riordon, Director of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. and Curator of Law's Retrospective Exhibition in 1989, says of Law's work. "His paintings have provided us with a vision of Nova Scotian and Canadian landscape in vigorous and bold realism. In the tradition of the Group of Seven, his works demonstrate a distinctive Canadian point of view by their fresh and robust approach to landscape and by their honesty of purpose."

It is with great sadness and deep regret that I must announce that C. Anthony Law passed away on Tuesday, October 15th, 1996 following a long battle with cancer.

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