THE TUTANEKAI.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 152, 27 June 1914, Page 9

THE TUTANEKAI.

RETTJKN FROM ISLAND CRUISE. I A VISIT TO TONGA. j Tlitf Government steamer Tutanekai | returned to Auckland this morning alter a cruise in the South Seas extending over oome six weeks. The vessel lelt. Auckland on .May lb, and ran into heavy weather. However, good progress was . made and Rarotonga was signtcd early . on the morning of May 22. As soon as the vessel dropped anchor iv the hay the Resident Commissioner. Mr. H. W.Xortiicroft, and the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. G. Pearce Baldwin, came aboard and welcomed Dr. Pomare, the Minister in Charge of the Group. On Wednesday. May 22, his Excellency tho Governor and the Countess of Liverpool arrived hy the Willochra- and immediately boarded the Tutanekai, which was" to convey them round the group. After three days' festivities the Tutanekai weighed anchor and practically a week was spent in visiting the neighbouring islands. On June 11 the Vice-Regal party went on board the Moana and sailed for Wellington, and that same evening the Tutanekai set out for Niuc, The lonely tropical island of Niue was reached at daybreak on dune li, and the Resident Commissioner, Mr. H. Corn- | wall, with Dr. Dawson, the. Medical Officer, came off to welcome the party. Two days were spent at Nine, and both the ! white and native population did every- ! thing in their power to make the visit an

jnjoyable one. Arrangements have been made with the naval authorities that the collier which svas to be sent to Vavau to coal H.M.s. Philomel should carry a supply to rehll the bunkers of the. Tutanekai. Accordintrly, on iMonday evening, June loth, the "course was set for Vavau, the most northcrlv island of -the Tongan group, and after an enjoyable run the steamer anchored off the little town of .Vie-afou. A crowd of natives was brought aboard to coal -the ship, but tbcv made such slow progress: that toward morning Captain 'Pn-t sent them til and finished the work expeditiously with liown crew. On arriving at -Nie-afou. Dr. Po-mare wont ashore and called upon the Governor of the Island. Mr. Tugi, and in the evening that gentleman dined on board. Next day the Governor arranged some native dances in honour of his visitors, and did all that he could to make their stay a pleasant one. H wns" a beavtift'l even-ins when the Tutanekai steamed down the long sonbetween numerous isles. Here and lucre were patchrw of -white coral sand re- ; lleetcd in the still green waters. Beyond j wns a belt of tropical 'bush, and then j

on the higher land* the vast pUurfevtton* of coeoanut palms. Altogether it v.-as I a magnificent eight. Once clear of land I and the dangerous looking 1 reefs which i abound in that part of the Pacific, the course was set for Nukualofa, and the J capital of Tonga was reached a'botrt 11 o'clock on .T.une 18tih. the f-tearoeT berthin? alongside a splendid wharf, the first occasion on which the vessel wae berthed .since leaving Auckland. The first, nran to .step aboard wafi the Director of Medical Service. Dr. -Tzp.-d. formerly of Wellington, and he gtwe the party a very cordial welcome. It appeared that the 'X-ew Zealandrrs in Tonga—and they form the bulk of the white population:— '"luul Hicen looking forward to this visit, aud had' arranged a sfries of entertainments for the benefit of these on board. t\ little later tiie Prime Minister, Mr. Tu'ivakano. with other mo-mbe-rs of the Tongan Cabinet, including 'Mr. Sktsewe, Chief Justice, and Mr. 'Ilxircourt, AuditorOnrral (a son of Mr. J. B. Ha-rcourt. of Wellington), came aboard and officially welcomed Dr. J'omaTo. The Minister then called upon the British Consular Agent, and later visited' the Palace and paid his respect* to His "Majesty the King;. iin t'b-e afternoon all the visitors were entertained' at a garden party at Dr. Izanl's rrsidtmeo, and' in the owning the official narty dined at the British Residency, where Hie Majesty was also a guret. ' . , ... Tvie .people of the. Island vied with one anothcT in entertaining the visitors, and' really lavisbrtdi 'hospitality upon them.

The next dsrv the Prime 'Minister gave a picnic at a-n' historical battlefield iica-r the village of Nukunu'ku. The King was present, °aud -there were some hundreds of guests. To reach tho picnic ground were driven some miles inlamCand at last came to a cleared spot in the middle of the jungle. Here a small lcafv pergola had- 'been, ■erected, and the gucste eat on mats underneath it The first thing was the making of the national drink, Jtava, of which all the jrucste partook, some because they liked "it. others because of its alleged medicinal value, and others again because they could not or would not run the risk of off ending thitr host. The natives o-avo several line dances, Rang the-ir songs, and altogether made the day pass very quickly. Dinner was placed before the guests in the native fashion, all sitting on mats, and -dispensing with such unnecessary utensils as plates, forks, etc ifany -pigs had been roasted whole, and the slaughter among the poultry of Tonga bad been very great. The party returned to town, and after a brief respite again assembled at the medical officer's residence as the guests of the Now Zealanders of Nukualofa. The entertainment took the form of a Tongan evening, and on tho lawn beside the house the natives {rave several beautiful dances, not Tongan only, bnt Samoan and Fijian. At supper Captain Post, on behalf of the visitors, thanked

the hosts for the great kindness which bad been extended to them, and promised to send a Now Zealand ensign for the New Zealanders' Association, which he understood they proposed to form in Tonga. At daybreak on Sunday, June 21st, the Tutanekai cast off from the wharf, and c.cc more resumed her journey. When passing through the Egeria Channel the part}' was greatly interested in the wreck of the steamer Knight of St. George, which was piled high and dry upon the reef, a mile to the north of the entrance. On the way South a call wns made at Sunday Island, the principal island of the Kermadec Group. It had been arranged that the Tutanekai should pick up the settlers there and convey them to New Zealand, but as the Minister was anxious to return to the Dominion in view of the opening of Parliament, and as it would take ihe settlers probably three or four days to get their goods j ready for shipment, it was decided to j proceed straight to Auckland. The I Tutanekai, which will now take part in j the search for the launch missing from I the Bay of Islands, will call for the settlers before she returns to the Dominion. ; ! After a somewhat stormy trip, Anck- j 1 laud was reached at an early hour this morning, and the long cruise came to an [ end. Deaeite the isdemest weiticr it!

had proved very enjoyable, and the credit for this was largely due to the genial qualities of the commander of the vessel, Captain Post, who did not spare any efforts to make the members of the party comfortable, going so far as to give "up his quarters to the ladies during the trip round the outlying islands. As captain of the vessel, it devolved upon him to entertain visitors to the ship on man3 r occasions, and many of them, especially the few white residents on the smaller islands, will long remember his hospitality and kindness. As for those who sailed with him, they will remember for many years the kindness and unselfishness of Captain Post.