The Tin Can Islands, for which the New Zealand expedition sailed from Auckland to observe the eclipse of the sun, is one of the most picturesque places in the Pacific islands. It derives its name from the fact that the mail is delivered in a tin can, soldered up, and thrown overboard from the mail steamer. The inhabitants, who include two families of whites, wait anxiously for the monthly steamer. "When she appears they swim out from the shore and collect their mail when it is thrown overboard. The shores of the island are very steep, and there is not even a roadstead in which a ship can lie. The Tofua is virtually their only contact with civilisation, and even this ship does not stop unless one of the residents wishes to make a trip to civilisation.
The. following appeared in last week’s {Second Edition.
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Otago Witness, Issue 3994, 30 September 1930, Page 33
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145Untitled Otago Witness, Issue 3994, 30 September 1930, Page 33
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