TRISTAN DA CUNHA.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 May 1925, Page 7

TRISTAN DA CUNHA.

THE LONELIEST ISLAND. London, March 24. The Rev. Martyn Rogers, who over three years ago gave up his church in England to go as a British missionary to Tristan da Cunha, a lonely island in th** South Atlantic, is back in England, with his young wife and baby. The latter, a golden-haired child, is named “Edward/’ after the Prince of Wales, at the islanders' special request. “The people have signed a petition asking the English Government to send an annual mail to the island,” said Mr. Rogers. “It is the only means of getting food and clothes. There are 140 inhabitants, and for 15 months they lived on fish and sea birds, so that we should have what little meat (beef and mutton) there was. When our baby was born three years ago, an old woman of 90 nursed my wife. The people are all related, and there are only five names on the island. “My wife played the organ and taught the choir, and we had four services a day in our church, which, with a little school, all helped to build. The people arc half-coloured, and are all Church of England and speak English. We buried three people while we were there, and solemnised four weddings— the latter at a farewell service before we left—when both brides and bridegrooms wept, and the proceedings more resembled a funeral! “For the wedding breakfast we had dry bread ami tea —which were great luxuries. On the rare occasions when a ehip is sighted everybody makes a rush for the beach and for the tiny canvas boats the islanders fashion for themselves. We had our letters written for months waiting for a chance to get ft ship to take them. We were two years without news. All we knew was that Lloyd George was in Parliament and that Princess Mary was married. Our baby hM-B-eVer a piece of cake or ehojXiftLe, or eaten any white bread.” /Mr. Rogers added that he had had an with the Prime Minister of Africa with regard to the islandin Cape Colony, but no aryet been wade.