FROM PAR NIUE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2715, 9 March 1916, Page 6

FROM PAR NIUE

GLIMPSE OF AN OCEAN ISLE

INTERESTING INTERVIEW

After an absenco of five yours, Mr. H. Cornwall, Commissioner of Niuo, and a gentleman well known throu""hout New Zealand, is visiting Wellington, and renewing the friendships «.l former years. Mr. Cornwall states that the war has not made much variation in the routine of life in Niue— cnn ot !!' " le South Pacific, lying some 500 miles west by north from Ilarotonga—beyond turning the people ink a miniature nation of jingoes for Eng- ,, will have nothing German, said the Commissioner, "anc 'would not hear of the return to the island of ail official of German extraction who was formerly employed there. The.i have been most enthusiastic m theii patriotism since the news of the outbreak of the war reached tlieui, wliicli feeling reached its culminating point wl»eii there was a call for recruits. Many more offered than the 150 thai were accepted, a good many being rejected owing to minor tropical diseases. lMr. Cornwall said that from inquiries made since he arrived in New Zealand ho has learned that after the preliminary change-of-life. troubles resulting in the transfer of the Rarotongans and iNiue Islanders to New Zealand, the lnen settled down to military fcamp life, and he had been assured that nc better trained troops, as far as smartness m drill was concerned, has left the Dominion than these Islanders. He had. heard quite lately that they had arrived at their destination fit and well. A Great Blow. , 3 *i? economic state of the Island of Niue, Mr. Cornwall savs that a year ago the island was visited by a tierce tropical hurricane, which bowled over some 800- or 900 native houses, )? . a ' )ou t 12,000 coconut treef ill full bearing. This was a great blow to the whole of the island, which had been singularly immune from such disI turbances. The last hurricane experienced was 28 years ago, and native' who remembered that one, said that it was nothing to compare with the big blow of last year. It could be said that the island was only just recovering from the effects of the storm, a fresh lot of trees having just come intc bearing., It takes a coconut treo from flight to ten years to arrive at full maturity. How long they continued tc bear he could not say—a hundred years, perhaps. As a matter of fact, the coconut tree had not j*et been cultivated for a century, but they have continued to bear fully as long as anyone could remember. Uncertain Communication. Strictly speaking, there is no regular service between Niue and anywhere, though the schooner service from Auckland is fairly dependable, lliese vessels brought a-' mail about every six weeks to two months, and loaded copra back, to Auckland. As thei'o is no wireless communication oi any alternative service, the contents ol each mail is eagerly devoured, more particularly anything appertaining tc the progress of the war. There \va: some talk, about throe years ago, of es. tablisbing a wireless station at Baro tonga. When that was acconi[>lisliec he hoped that Niue would also be link.ed up in the chain of ocean station! that, would bind tho islands of the Patine closor together. Best Bananas in the World, .The Commissioner stated positively that the best bananas in the world arc grown at Niue, and anyone who has ever tasted them would bear him out in that contention. He hoped that tome day one of the island services would see Niue included as a way port, if it were only to show the people of New Zealand what really good bananas were. Mr. Cornwall tells a rather good -story in illustration ofNiue's superior fruit over other bananas imported into New Zealand. Uea, tho native chaplain with the Niuo troops, came into Auckland city from the camp one day, and when about to leave again thought ho would purchase some bananas for his military flock. He went into a big fruit shop, and waa shown some bananas. "Are those tho best you have?" ho asked through an interpreter. "Yes," said the shopman, "these are the best obtainable in Auckland." "Then," said Uea, "I won't buy any— those are not good enough to feed m.v horse on 1" The illustration is a good one, as Niue horses are given the Inferior bananas as fodder, : and thrive >n tho food. Population Not Increasing. . The population of. Niue remains stationary.' It is now about <1000, and there has not been any appreciable fluctuation for ten. years past. The children's education is . being attended tc Rt a school that is being attended by about 150 pupils.. The school -is undei tho control of Mr. J. C. Evison late ol Bell Block, Taranaki,' who has one white and two native assistants. A pro portion of theso pupils are receiving ar education equal to that given in the Fifth and Sixth Standards in New Zealand. At present they have no medical officer on the island, and as things are now there is no prospect of getting one until after the war. They are, however, fortunate, in having a verj good practical chemist, who does verj good work indeed among the natives Mr. Cornwall returns to Niue in a few tveeks' time, but is due for retirement on superannuation in another three anc a half years. He finds tho climate quite endurable. Tho tcmperntun caries from 90 to 97 degrees in the shade_ (day time) in the summer, and even in the winter it seldom goes below 80 degrees in the day time. The nights, however, are cooler in the winter, and on one occasion 57 degrees was registered, but that was a record. Mrs. Cornwall is visiting New Zealand with her husband.