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Taranaki Daily News, 9 July 1921, Page 10

Out in the Pacific, with no land within a hundred miles, is M’alpole Island. Three miles long, and half a mile wide, it rises abruptly 300 -feet out of the sea. Captain M. C. Campbell, of the steamer Malai-ta, which (says an exchange) arrived at Grey mouth on Tuesday with a cargo of guano, told an interesting story of the island, which until it was taken over by the Austral Guano Company three years ago, was uninhabited. To-day there are 140 persons on the island, including four whites. The majority are Japanese, and Loyalty and Solomon Islanders indentured laborers, working under a two years’ agreement. Every six months the M-alaita visits the island, taking provisions and mails and returning with guano. Each visit is the signal for rejoicing on the island. In fine weather the Malaita steams within a hundred feet of the cliffs for loading. The guano is shot down in bags on to punts, to be transferred to the vessel. The Austral Guano Company are installing drying machines, and when they are in working order they will greatly increase the output from the island. At present the guano is sun-dried.