TWO DREAMS TRANSLATED INTO REALITY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 490, 12 November 1948, Page 6

TWO DREAMS TRANSLATED INTO REALITY

OST of us who pound the city streets from Monday to Friday, and then escape into a suburban garden for the week-end begin at this time of the year to fret at the bonds holding us to this type of existence. We talk of the unnaturalness of cooping ourselves up in shops, offices and factories when the sun is shining outside, and we daydream of throwing off the shackles, buying an acre or two in the country and enjoying the simple life on a diet of carrots and silver-beet; or alternately we envisage the joys of a carefree existence. On some sun-kissed Pacific isle where nature is so bountiful that our food grows wild and clothing and shelter are unnecessary. But, for nearly all, these two dreams remain castles in the air, so that when I met the other day a man who had translated both into reality, I knew he had a story most people would be keen to read, even if it brought on additional neuroses engendered by feelings of discontent and frustration. As a very young man John Rolley was already busy building castles, so in 1927 he shook off the mud of the English’ countryside, and immigrated to New

Zealand, where in five years’ farming he was to make his fortune~ and return to England to live in luxurious retirement. Only half that dream came true. He did farm in New Zealand — in the Waikato, Taihape, Poverty Bay and the Bay of Islands -for nearly 20 years, and he did return to England twice in the ’thirties, but he did not make his fortune and he did not retire to a life of | luxury.

He nearly retired though-into a state of chronic invalidism. Hay fever developed into asthma, relieved only by adrenalin injections. .Then he found a cure in diet. Tobacco, tea, coffee, and refined foods were crossed off the menu on which were left only fruit and vegetables and occasionally meat. With his needs. thus reduced to this small compass, Rolley decided that he_could enjoy life most if he had a place of his own on which to grow his fruit and vegetables in large quantities. His brother joined forces with him and after a great deal of searching they found a farmlet of 18 acres of rough pasture, some old fruit trees and a small house. The brothers began subsistence farming, and whenever they needed money they would go out labouring on neighbouring farms for a week or two. Because of the boulders, some of them suspended one upon another, with which the property was strewn, it was called "Stonehenge," but, to quote a Christchurch radio talk given about it some’ four years ago by Monica Townend, "the owner had borrowed only the name from England and I felt he was creating an essentially New Zealand ‘Stone-

henge,’ a place of habitation that would one day become an expression of the landscape every bit as perfectly as a thatched cottage or a manor farm are expressions of an English village .... ‘Stonehenge’ was a bachelor’s home. There was one*long living room with a book-filled shelf running to the length of the wall facing the door, and better than any conscious attempt at decoration, the reds, blues, greens and yellows of the books formed a fine strip of colour and design." From one of the rocky. ledges on the property it was possible to see "the whole 18 acres lying below us like a map, the tiny outbuildings with their weather-boarding and shingled roofs, worn to.a silver grey and as soft as satin to the touch, and the house nestling comfortably on _ its well-screened shelf above the road." In this pleasant atmosphere John Rolley worked -his brother subsequently left to get married-many new trees were planted for fruit and shelter, and a cow or two and beehives made the land literally flow with milk and honey. But there was no complete divorce from the rest of the world. Mail and radio saw to that, and as the peace grew less peaceful, / Rolley began to wonder whether there might not be happier places than New Zealand. He had lone

been interested in taking a trip around the Pacific Islands and so in 1946 he leased "Stonehenge" and set sail for the Cook Islands. On the boat he was befriended by a Cook Islander, who became his host on his arrival at Rarotonga and with whom he lived until he set up house in the village of Arorangi with a New Zealand friend. Although Rolley thought that the natives had lost more than they had

gained with the advent of European civilisation, he considered that Rarotonga still offered good prospects for a fairly simple, happy and self-supporting life on a few acres of land. But before making any decisions about settling down he wanted to see other islands. His next move was to another of the Cook Group, Aitutaki. There he experienced more of the generous hospitality of the Islanders, to a number of whom he had introductions from their friends: and relatives in Rarotonga. An early divertissement was provided by a very jolly funeral. A young fisherman had been drowned in a sudden squall and to attend his burial each _ village on the island sent a condolence party to sing songs and perform dances. A huge crowd gathered to watch the performances, which were given in the open under the light of benzine lanterns. As the singing proceeded the performers became gradually worked up into a frenzy when they would begin weird dances. Sometimes their contortions took them from a squatting position to a leap in the air and then, as the music ended, ftey would remain rigidly immo-

bile until released by the cheering and clapping of the crowd, some of whom from time to time would join’ in the dancing. Interspersing the dances was speech-making and much merrimentno wailing or crying. Rolley also spent idyllic days fishing and gathering edible seaweed on the coral reefs, and lying lazily in the shade while the boys played their ukuleles, which were often home-made from coconut shells, Every Monday there would be a pua tournament, when work would cease for the afternoon, while village teams competed in throwing the native discus or pua. The actual competitions would be accompanied by feasting and drinking and the day’s entertainment would conclude with a dance. Rolley took part in one of these competitions and although he did not score, he was enthusiastically cheered, for he was, so he was told, the first white man to play in an inter-village contest. He also made history, he understands, by giving a lecture-demonstration on compesting to native school teachers and other interested persons on the island. Rolley found there were many difficulties involved in leasing any land, so he borrowed a piece from some Island friends and started clearing and planting, but before he had advanced far with his cultivation he was given a job supervising a Government sponsored orange replanting scheme. On this he worked for some time, also taking the opportunity to establish beehives at the nursery. An lrishman’s Wit Then came an opportunity to go to Tahiti via Penryn and Manihiki. For the first part of the journey, the 100ft. schooner on which he travelled carried 59 passengers, three pigs and some fowls ‘-about 40 people and three pigs too many for comfort. Among the passengers were Robert Gibbings, the Irish author and artist, his attractive secretary, and a young globe-trotting New Zealand woman, Gibbings, whose Irish wit did much to brighten the voyage,

was gathering material for a book, readings from which have been recorded by the NZBS. (See page 4.) Penryn had come by some very doubtful benefits of European civilisation, and, although Rolley spent an énjoyable time as the guest of a family _to whom he had an introduction from an Aitutaki family, it did not attract him as much as other parts of the Pacific. The next stop was the coral atoll of Manihiki. It was Boxing Day and the Resident Agent entertained the. European passengers, while the natives visited the homes of friends and relations. In the afternoon a special dancing display-a Manihiki version of the hula-was put on for the benefit of the visitors, and the following evening there was another dance, when there was opportunity for doing a waltz or one-step with the hula maidens of the previous afternoon. After a few days the schooner sailed for Tahiti and dropped anchor at the capital, Papeete, where half the total population of 26,000 live. Its free and easy Bohemian atmosphere, with French, English, Chinese, Americans and Polynesians mingling freely without racial antagonisms, immediately attracted Rolley, while the scenery outside the township was unspoiled and was amongst the most attractive he saw in his travels. Novelist’s Romance His wanderings about Tahiti included a swim at Pierre Loti’s Pool; named after the 19th Century French novelist, who used to meet his Tahitian sweetheart there. On the return trip from the pool Rolley and a Danish friend decided to quench their thirst from some coconuts in a plantation near the road. Rolley had looped his belt around his feet to climb one of the trees when along came two Tahitians. They signalled him to make the climb, expecting to have a good laugh at a white man attempting to climb native fashion. Of course, Rolley had learnt this art in Aitutaki, and so the joke was on the (continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) Tahitians. They took it in good part, however, and joined in the drinking of the coconut milk. é The Dane was one of. the four members of the crew of a 52ft. yawl which was making its way round the world, and Rolley joined forces with them, living on the boat and, after several weeks, sailing with them to Fiji. The air of British efficiency and respectability of Suva did not appeal to him after the freedom Of other parts of the Pacific and he soon returned to Tahiti, where he obtained a job teaching English to Chinese children. They knew French, but as Rolley’s French was limited to the rusty school-boy variety he used a method (of which he had read in a digest!) whereby a language can be taught without the teacher knowing any tongue other than the one he is teaching. Later he visited the Marquesas. It was a rough trip. One of the crew was washed overboard, but was rescued after a quarter of an hour in the rough sharkinfested water. The beautiful Marquesas, where the soil was. amazingly fertile, attracted Rolley greatly, but his. stay was cut short by an accident, and

he had to return to Tahiti for hospital treatment. After q further stay there he joined a ship and worked his way to Australia. He signed off at Geelong and _ hitchhiked up the Australian coast. For a while he worked in a sugar plantation in Queensland, and was perturbed at the methods employed, only artificial fertiliser being used to replace all that was being taken from the ground, for waste foliage was burnt. Productivity was slowly decreasing and, while crops were still good, he had doubts about the future of the land if these methods were continued. Later he joined a travelling sideshow and worked his way down ta Brisbane, where he caught a ship for Auckland. And all I need to round off this story is to be able to say that Rolley has returned to "Stonehenge" to live happily ever after convinced that New Zealand is the "best little country in the world." Such an ending would doubtless be very pleasing to all staunch New Zealanders, but it would be a dream, not reality. Rolley has applied for a visa so that he can go back to

Tahiti.

P.

M.