Lonely Tongam Islet Has World's Queerest Mail Delivery

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 128, 20 August 1927, Page 24

Lonely Tongam Islet Has World's Queerest Mail Delivery

(Written for THE SUE by

ERIC BENNETTS)

ASTWARD from Suva and about the same It MTTV# A] distance as Auckland £rom Fit'- £s Nma Foou I (LfOHjpj-l | —a dot on the map—i one of many South Sea islands, which export copra through the agency of two well-known firms, Messrs. Burns, Philp and Co., Ltd., and Maurice, Hedstrom. Ltd., respectively represented by Messrs. W. G. Quensell and Stewart Ramsay, these two men and their families being the only white residents out of a population of 200 people. Being well off the main shipping routes, Niua Foou knows little of worldly progress. Small inter-island craft call at the modest landings between April and August and take the coconut product. During the rest of the year, however, the only communication is when a steamer signals that it carries, or will receive, a mail, or hoists a white flag to announce that a passenger wishes to land. The method of collecting the mail from a steamer is not by boat, this being specially requisitioned only when a passenger requires transportation. There is an appointed mailcarrier and he, generally with some companions, swims out and back with the mail. The carrier uses a thick stick about six feet long which is tucked under the left armpit to act as a float. The mail is attached to a short stick, held clear of the water in the right hand, the left being used to jiropel in conjunction with the kicking of the feet. This method of delivering or receiving mail between island and steamer has been employed "without loss of mail or life for years past. . NO FEAR OF SHARKS Willie, the 17-year-old son of Mr. Quensell, has been in charge of the mail for some time. This slim lad was in Auckland for five years and was a pupil at Parnell School. He says that swimming with the mail is no trouble at all. Slmrks are plentiful about the island, but they do not worry him, though they often hovered about. The young natives plunge off the rocky coast into deep water and enjoy fishing with the use of a float stick. Sometimes they have the thrill of hooking a shark—considered to be good fun! LAKE AND VOLCANO Niua Foou is surrounded by deep

water and there are no sandy beaches or coral reefs. In the centre of this ! island of perpetual sunshine is a beautiful fresh water lake which has | three islets. From the rocky coast, j the rich lands rise high, so that the views across the lake are very j charming. Tw o main roads run ; round the island, one abutting the coast and one high up. A feature of i the topography is a live volcano, which

blew up in 1919, but has since been quiescent, though it has occasional lava overflows. Wild ducks and pigeons provide good shooting. A PECULIAR NATIVE BIRD The island’s remarkable bird is the Malau, about the size of a fair-sized pigeon and of brownish plumage. With its long claws this bird digs a hole three or feet four or more straight into the ground and lays its egg, which is bigger than the ordinary duckegg and of wonderfully rich flavour. It is common to find many eggs in the one hole. Once the bird lays, she never goes back to the spot, but another bird will burrow down to the egg, remove it, lay another, and, after covering it will place the original egg over the top and cover it up. In this way a hole will reveal any number of eggs, with the oldest-laid egg always nearest the surface. If undisturbed, the eggs are incubated by ground heat and hatch out in a few weeks, the young bird emerging

from Mother Earth a ling, ready to fly. The ®M*a. tected by the Tongan PROUD OF THEIR KING**, There are nine villages on , and two churches and schooL a°n r d n w re - rresem the R An Catl> and W esieyan faith* Th l - a fooo t are very religious. They are toward strangers. e Bananas. oranges, lemons,

breadfruit, kumeras and other frmand vegetables grow in profusion,, Niua Foou. The people are talking about a wireless installaho: The most recent modern innotat*. was the landing of two motor-ton*, for the carting of the copra, ttv these vehicles first made their pearance to oust horses from peaceful highways, they created a«: sation. However, like all good thin,' the novelty soon wore off.

It is interesting to record tfc Willie Quensell, mentioned in it article, is a nephew of Miss Panin. Hoeft, who is well-known in Ne. Zealand as a swimmer. If he retnr to Niua Foou, Mr. Quensell intoe to take a camera, so that Sts readers may have future evidenc* c the beauty of this lonesome parafe