THREE TEAMS OF 40 PLAY CRICKET MATCH ON ATAFU

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28699, 24 September 1958, Page 13

THREE TEAMS OF 40 PLAY CRICKET MATCH ON ATAFU

(Rec. 9 p.m.) ATAFU, Sept. 22. A three-team, 40-a-side cricket match which made modern tests seem tame was, for the New Zealand and United Kingdom parties on Atafu, the highlight of a great three-day celebration to mark 100 years of Christianity on the little island where scientists are waiting for the eclipse of the sun. Nobody knows who won the cricket, but 80 men were out before lunch, and the fall of each wicket was accompanied by a bout of feverish drumming.

A New Zealand scientist was out without scoring when he was caught after the ball rebounded from a roof of a hut on the edge

ot the ground. The day before the cricket there were religious services, and oh the third day there was feasting. On the fourth day, Sunday, there was little celebration. The islanders were recovering. The religious celebrations began early on the morning of September 10. Large numbers of men and women attended the church service. The church was decorated with flowers and handpainted banners. The men sat on the right-hand side of the aisle and the women on the left.

The service was conducted by Lonetona, a Samoan pastor, in an impressive and dignified style He outlined church history on Atafu and other Tokelau islands, and repeated this in English for the benefit of the visiting scientists. Christianity in the island began in 1858 when Faiyalua, an Atafu native, returned from Samoa. He converted the king and his elders, and was then sent back to Samoa to seek a pastor for Atafu.

In 1861 the Rev. Mr' Ella, from the London Missionary Society in Samoa, visited the Tokelaus, and established a church on Atafu.