Mangaia Is Little:Known Island Of Cook Group

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27894, 16 February 1956, Page 16

Mangaia Is Little : Known Island Of Cook Group

Mangaia, a small island of the Cook Islands group included within the boundaries of New Zealand, has recently been surveyed by Mr H. E. Fyfe, senior geologist of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (Geological Survey branch). His report to the Island Territories Department is in the course of preparation. Approximately 110 miles east-south-east of Rarotonga, Mangaia is just within the tropical belt, and consequently enjoys a climate that is more congenial to the European than that of islands nearer the Equator. Though annexed and proclaimed part of New Zealand in 1901, little is heard or known about Mangaia or other of the charming islands of the -Cook Group, undoubtedly because Rarotonga has been the chief and probably only port of call for tourists. Mangaia, like many other Pacific Islands, is of volcanic origin and rises abruptly from the ocean, but it has a variety of features that are not common to other Pacific Islands. It has a central gently-domed core -of deeply-weathered basaltic rock—dissected by radial streams —the apex of which is the centre of the island at an elevation of 554 feet above the sea. This central core of red lateritic earth is surrounded by the Makatea—a massive elevated coral reef, threequarters of a mile wide, that stands as a rampart 200 feet high between the core and the ocean. Landward, the Makatea descends precipitously in cliffs whose bases are in places almost at sea level; seawards, it is girdled by a cliff some 60 feet high, whence it is joined by a slope, carved in solid coral, that gently descends generally to cliffs 20 to 30 feet high that front the lagoon within the fringing reef. Beyond the reef the slopes plunge to

death, and there is no anchorage for ships. Friendly Rivalry The island has a population of 2000 Maoris, whose ancestors appear to have chiefly migrated from Tahiti and Tonga, and most of them Jive m huts typical of the traditional New Zealand Maori whare (although there are some European-type houses). The island is divided into six districts amongst which is a friendly rivalry in sport and social functions. Much of the coral ijock is fantastically sculptured into myriads of almost razor-sharp pinnacles, and though access over such areas is difficult to a boot-shod European, most are of little concern to the barefooted Maori. Perhaps the most impressive feature of interest to the European are the caves of Mangaia with which it is studded. These abound in stalactites and stalagmites, some of rare beauty, and pendant tracery of closely-spaced sheets of calcite. With the exception of the central part, the island is clothed with an abundance of vegetation. The lower country between, the Makatea and the centre of the island is the most valuable land to the Maori. Here in the alluvial flats of the lower courses of the streams are the taro fields with their extensive and intricate system of irrigation; in the higher levels and slopes are the plantations of pineapples, which for flavour and sugar content are probably unexcelled, and have over the past years been the chief export of the island. Mangaian bananas are famed throughout the Cook Group for their size and flavour, as are the oranges. In favourable localities, kumara and arrowroot are cultivated, and the coffee shrub yields beans that make an excellent brew. Mangoes, breadfruit, and pawpaw flourish, and the übiquitous coconut palms dominate the vegetation. An indigenous wild passion fruit is very like ours in flavour, and wild ginger and curry serve the purpose of the more orthodox varieties.

Fishing Poor For proteins the population depend on a rather scant supply of fish, pork, and goats. Chickens roam at large throughout the plantations and are more highly regarded than eggs as an article of diet. As there are no shallow water banks except the lagoon to serve as feeding grounds, fish are by no means plentiful, and canned meats and fish are treasured. Before the advent of the white man, the chief and possibly the only musical instrument was the drum, fashioned solely out of tree trunks and limbs. A variety of notes of different pitch and timbre can be struck from these instruments, and complex rhythms have evolved to accompany the native dances and songs. Modern dances have been introduced to the island, and these are held, to the accompanyment of drums and songs by choirs from the different villages, in the large packing sheds, illuminated by hurricane lamps. These sheds consist of a concrete floor with coconut-palm thatch roof supported by hand-hewn uprights and rafters; walls are dispensed with as they are of rare necessity. There are no wharves or anchorages around the island, so passengers and freight are lightered over the reef and lagoon in native-built “flatties'* about 30 feet long with a six or eight foot beam, manned by Maoris and propelled and steered by long sweens. The Maoris are adept at handling the fully-laden craft. and they are skippered by the stearsman who selects the waves or series of waves that he knows will best serve him for successfully negotiating the passage. Rarely is there any loss of cargo through faulty seaipanship, and the lightering of heavy motor-lorries is not a serious task. For this two “flatties” are lashed together and decking constructed across them. The lorry is lowered over the ship’s side and lashed to the decking, and. to the onlooker* it is conveyed to the shore almost as simply as the passage of a single boat.