TINY MITIARO

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21449, 15 April 1935, Page 12

TINY MITIARO

Island Without A European SERIOUS DAMAGE BY HURRICANE (gPJCIAI.LT WBITTS» yOB THE F&ES3.) [By R, K. PALiIER.] t vir. When, the island of Mitiaro came up over the horizon, under the trees that had at first seemed to be growing out o£ the water, several men on the boatdeck of the Matai passed an informal vote of censure on the Cook Islands Administration. The ground for complaint was the extremely unprepossessing appearance of this member of the island group. At first sight the vegetation, from the Matai's angle of approach, could have been taken for manuka; there was scarcely a palm to be seen, and there was no sign of life. But as the Matai rounded the island those on board could see the clump of palm trees which, according to th£ chart, reach a height of 92 feet, their fronds the highest thing on the island. Glaring white beaches of coral sand showed behind the reef that lay close to the shore. A man was seen on the landing, and the New Zealand flag ran

I up to the top of the pole. I Mitiaro, with only 275 people living on its four square miles of surface, is not important enough to have a wireless station, so our visit was a surprise. Instead of the usual crowd on the lauding there was not a soul, for the first man had disappeared within a minute or two—he was a I native policeman hurrying to get into uniform. Outside the reef was one canoe, a ! little thing not more than nine feet long, paddled by an old man who liked the look of us so little that after an inspection from a quarter of a mile away he made for the shore. Judge Ayson called to him and, looking deeply distrustful, he came closer,, "Tell them to send a boat out," said the judge. "Boat gone to Atiu," the old man told him. "No boat here." One of the Matai's boats was lowered and the crew showed that working lighthouses round the New Zealand coast is adequate training for reef landing.--:, for every passenger was dry when we reached the shore. Island Cavalcade By this time the natives from ail over the island were answering the call of the steamer's siren. By three roads they converged on the island, on foot or on horse-back, but all racing d.i if for life. The native pastor and teacher, a sturdy youth wearing white shorts and white silk singlet, greeted the party and took the judge and Mr Smith to the house of the ariki, who had died a few weeks before, where the weeping widow, elected by the people to fill her husband's place, was waiting for them. There is no European on the island. "I will tind you a good boy t<> take ycu through the island," :hc pastor told two of us who wanted to see how much damage ■he hurricane had dene. The gpod boy appeared, Tama, aged 14. followed by' other boys, not so good, ranging in age from five to seven. Terea, aged IS. also jouied the sight-seeing party. The main road across the island is a line piece of work, built on a causeway from two to three feet above the general level of the rather swampy ground it crosses. On either side is a row of coconut palms, and behind them are bananas, puku, from which trees canoes are made, and a profusion of utu, or Barrir.gtonia. Occasionally a blue heron rose from beside the road and flapped lazily ahead of us: sometimes a pigeon flew noisily over cur heads. Suddenly, round a corner there was a roar of hooves, and one of our team of reliable boys ran ahead to warn the oncoming traffic that the road was not clear. Round the corner came three tail, brown men, stripped to the waist showing bulky chests and heavilymuscled arms, at that moment being used to rein the horses from the full gallop which, at least when a boat calls, is the conventional Mitiaro speed. At each man's waist hung a knife two feet long. The sight was enough to terrify anyone who did not know the friendliness of the modern Polynesian. The- ferocious-looking cavalrymen stopped, smiling broadly, and shook hands with the visitors, the tirst they had seen for months. To them, and to the dozens of others who followed them, a strange face was something to be tallied of for weeks ahead.

Difficult Conversation i On this island there are no Europeans, and consequently the standard cf English is not high, though all the younger men are gallant tryers. "How are you?" asked one of the visitors, as | a variant from the "Good afternoon" i which had been his greeting to the orher natives. "Well.'' said the native, "I was plant taros." This sort of conversation is amusing, taut likely to lead into deep waters. The older men made no attempt at English, but their smiles were international. One of them, wearing a singlet that was torn right down the front and flapped outside his patchwork trousers, was specially enthusiastic in his greetings. The three-year-old perched behind him. hanging on tight, hid shyly behind grandfather. I "He one of the kings," Teres told us i when he rode on. I AmonH the coconut trees on either ! side of the causeway There was plenty of evidence of the hurricane. Many trees were uprooted altogether, great earthy tangles sticking up into the air. Others were snapped of? halfway up. some were just beheaded. Altogether probably 20 per cent, of the trees had been killed, and copra is the only export of Mitiaro. Presently there was a gate across the shady causeway, to keep the plantations out oi' bounds for the pigs we had seen wandering about in the undergrowth. In this part of the island, more intensely cultivated, were bigger patches of bananas which showed by their tattered leaves that they had also suffered, as well as kumaras and | taro. The former, neatly hilled. i

thoroughly weeded, were evidence of conscientious farming. Copra lay about drying, while lizards darted about among the pieces, apparently attracted by the repellent smell of the stuff. Working- Cargo When we returned to the landing every inhabitant of the island was there. The ship's boat was bringing ashore rice, sugar, milk, and ship's biscuits to tide the people over the unfruitful months ahead, and all the males of Mitiaro were carrying the stores up to the village. Brown youngsters of four or five ran out across the reef to the cut where the boat landed and raced back with small bags or cases. Older boys helped—some of them as naked as the babies, certain proof of tile poverty of the island — and the men carried the goods up the steep coral slope to the houses. As soon as the work was done the village bloods ran for their canoes and paddled out to the ship, some of them carrying mats or baskets to sell, while cne or two. anxious to please the girls, put one of them in the canoe and pushed a passenger through the surf. The youth of Mitiaro clustered thickly, too, about a ship's boat when it made its last trip, and when the time came to go there were a dozen or so who had no transport to the shore. With great splashes, for the Polynesian, having nowhere to dive from has no grace in this art. they took to the water, and our last sight of Mitiaro had as its foreground a reef over which car.ces were shooting and on which the swimmers were landing, upright, with all the skill of penguins.