GEMS OF THE PACIFIC.

Shannon News, 1 March 1927, Page 4

GEMS OF THE PACIFIC.

A TRAVELLER'S IMPRESSIONS. The subject at the Levin Chamber of Commerce luncheon, held in the Arcadia on Friday, was an address by Mr J. A. Sellors, "Travels in the Pacific Islands." There was a large attendance, and Mr Sellors' remarks were followed with much interest. Mr J. Harvey, who presided, welcomed the speaker to the gathering, and apologised for the unavoidable absence of Mr J. Ince. He also welcomed Rev. J. D. McArthur and Mr. H. Barber (Shannon). FIJIAN- INDUSTRIES. Mi- Sellors said that he sailed from Auckland on April 2Gth and arrived at Suva, Fiji, in four days. Suva had one of the most striking harbours in the world, with a chain of extraordinary volcanic mountains on the left, and the town on the right. One began to realise that he had left New Zealand on beholding the fine tall Fijians with their remarkable crops of hair, standing in cases to a height of a foot above the head. In sudden contrast were the Indian labourers, who impressed the visitor as being slimy sort of gentleman who would "have one in for him" if the opportunity came. Suva was important for its sugar, banana, cotton and rice industries, the last-named being carried on for the demand existing within the island. A visit was made by Mr Sellors to a sugar factory, and on his way thither he was reminded of the New Zealand bush by the forest growth of Fiji, but there was a difference caused by the great splashes of colour in the island bush, due to the wealth of tropical flowers. Passing by rich grazing lands and water meadows, he saw Friesian cattle and a dairy factory. The sugar mill was very up-to-date, and there were between four and five hundred men working in it. The Fijian sugar industry supplied the. whole of New Zealand and a great part of Australia. The cane grew to a height of seven or eight feet, and was cut with a hooked knife. - In Suva there were some very fine stores, one of which had about threequarters, of an acre of floor space, and sold practically every variety of goods. What struck him most was the reasonableness of the prices, due to the low Customs tariff. A good many terminal lines came to the Pacific Cable Station at Suva, and another important institution in the capital was the great Pacific Hotel. There were so many gorgeous Indians, with red sashes and white turbans, standing outside that it seemed as though one ought to be a prince before he could go inside. A VISIT TO TONGA. The next stage of the journey was to Nukualofa, or Tonga-Tabu, the seat of the Government of Tonga, and a remarkable town. Tonga had a Queen, a Prince Consort, who was also Premier, and six councillors, two of whom were elected and four nominated. There was no public debt, neither was there any municipal debt, and the only taxation was a poll-tax of £1 2s on every native over 18. On reaching the taxable age the native received as his birth-right eight acres of land, which was inalienable.' It was impossible to buy land in Tonga, but it could be leased from the Government. The highest point of' the island was only 60 feet above sea-level, but there were lovely flowers everywhere. Copra with the Tongans was like butter-fat with New Zealanders—it was in ' everybody's mouth and was always talked about. In fact, it was rather a rival to butterfat Most of it went to Holland, Germany and Britain, and was converted :'ntc margarine. A LITTLE KNOWN ISLAND. While the steamer was lying at Nukualofa, Mr Sellors took the opportunity of making a visit to his daughter on the little island of Ewa, 28 miles away. As the Methodist centenary celebrations were being held on the small island, it was difficult to obtain a passage to it, owing to the abnormal number of natives travelling by the cutters. However, the Government kindly took Mr Sellors and his party across by launch and landed them on the beach. There were 40 or 50 natives about, who looked at the visitors, and the latter looked at them in turn, but there were no means of communication, as neither party understood the language of the other. Presently the chief, a kindly old man, came down, and, although he could not speak English, he evidently gathered the meaning of the pantomimic performance that was indulged in and took the visitors to his house. The chief gave them oranges and sent a mar. on horseback to the plantation. Some hours afterwards a two-wheeled buggy arrived for them. The village consisted of 40 or 50 houses, a Wesleyan church, and Burns and Philp's store, run by a native. The track, which was not a road, ran from one side of the island to the other, and was lined by cocoanut palms. There were ruts 18 inches deep, and the going became so gad that the driver had to take to the bust, and drive over stumps, through brambles and tall grass. After two and a-half hours, during which they covered four miles, they arrived safely at the plantation.

WILD HORSES AND PIGS,

Ewa was a very remarkable island, composed of three levels, that of the shore, then a plateau of 400 ft elevation, and then another 1200 feet high. The island must have been settled in some early period, as there were between 400 and 500 horses on it, now in a wild state. They were very poor beasts, evidently inbred. If one of them was broken in, it would be found that it was not a puller. With the exception

of pigs, there was no other animal life, though there were plenty of jungle fowl and pigeons. As far as the flesh of the wild pigs was concerned, Mr Sellors said that he would rather have gone hungry. The gathering of copra was the chief industry. Apart from this, the native might cultivate a quarter of an acre, out of his eight acres. He would dig a hole and put a piece of yam in it, and this would grow to the size of the hole; if he was lazy he dug a small hole and grew a small yam. They had sweet potatoes and various other articles of diet, but to the speaker all these things seemed particularly nasty. His relatives were making a kitchen garden, and he had since learnt by letter that they had been very successful in their efforts. They were also going in for cotton-growing. A HURRICANE EXPERIENCED. While Mr Sellors was on Ewa, a hurricane destroyed three cutters that were on the beach, and the native visitors were marooned. The Government, however, cabled to Suva asking for an Australian warship to call for them, and the request was acceded to. Some of the natives were taken aboard the Government cutter, but Mr Sellors' party were left stranded. Time was going on and they were beginning to feel anxious, as the steamer might leave Nukualofa without them. Luckily, a party of Americans came along in a cutter. They consisted of a scientific expedition sent out from Berkeley University, California, and they took Mr Sellors and the others back to the capital of the group. Before they could start, there was a delay owing to the native crew going ashore to see their friends. When the crew arrived, every vestige of wind was gone, and there were great rollers, and the voyage lasted about six hours. What surprised them more than anything, on their return, was to find H.M.S. Dunedin lying off the island. TONGAN PRINCESS. The steamer took as a passenger the Tongan princess, who was going to Auckland and then to Melbourne, to finish her education. She had her suite with her, and at Vavau they went ashore to attend a festival, where the dresses worn were beyond description in regard to colour, and the natives indulged in much dancing, the Princess looking on. The Tongans had exqui- . site voices, and sang like a trained choir, rendering hymns which had been translated into the native tongue. Subsequently the vessel stopped at Tin-Can Island, also known as Navau Island. Here the natives swam out to get the mail in a kerosene tin from the steamer. Eight natives came off from the island, each carrying a long pole to keep the sharks off. The mail was dropped overboard in a tin, the natives picked it up, and they Avent. He was told that there was only one white man living on the island, which was clothed with palms from the shore to the tops of the hills. PROGRESS IN SAMOA. The party went on to Samoa, where the natives turned out in their war canoes, one of which had 32 paddlers. The speaker found the Samoan climate too hot, and said that it was not generall} r suitable for white men; they could not stand it for more than a year or two. A German casino had been taken over by the New Zealand Government and turned into residential flats, with good suites of rooms, gardens, and one of the most beautiful views he had ever seen. General Richardson was living in the house that was once occupied by the late Robert Louis Stevenson,'the author, which was in a beautiful position overlooking the harbour. At Samoa the party's adventures were over, and after calling once more at Suva they returned to Auckland and eventually, in his case, to Levin. Mr J. W. Gibson moved a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Sellors for his interesting address, and congratulated the Chamber of Commerce on having successfully established its adjunct, the Luncheon Club.

The motion was seconded by Mr F. 11. Hudson, and carried by acclamation.