TONGAN SKETCHES

Taranaki Daily News, 10 May 1930, Page 17 (Supplement)

TONGAN SKETCHES

TROPICAL DIVERSIONS '

- (By «

“Faifekau.”)

'Being a further extract from an old manuscript in the possession of a New Plymouth resident. . . “Before very, long I found myself’a member of the Nukualofa Club, a thoroughly excellent institution and ably managed -by a good committee, The untiring efl Orts of the 'secretary have given to Europeans * in Nukualofa a real haven of rest.. Pleasantly situated and well furnished it was quite the place to drop in of aii evening to read the papers and magazines which our monthly steamer brought to aid us in bur isolation. There too one could see the wireless budget which was- issued every other day, and was our only link with the big world outside. One of the most important and necessary features of the club ; was the library,' for the lot of the white man in the tropics would indeed be a very unhappy one Without 'books. The club’s annual ball takes place in July and is quite the leading social function of the'* year.' Of course on ‘Steamer Day’ the Nukualofa Club puts oii its most festive appearance and is usually full.of visitors. “An account of my time in Tonga would -be incomplete did it make no mention of the Tonga Golf Club to which I was with all speed elected. It owes its existence to the labours of two men one of whom was absent during my time on tlie island. The other was my very kind and hospitable neighbour. There is in the township an area of considerable size, in the centre of which is the ancient burying pl ace the Tongan monarchs. ' Formerly this spot was an eyesore full of weeds which had been .allowed, to grow unchecked till the whole place had 'become a wilderness. . The British Consul got to work and obtained leave to have the area cleared, and then laid out golf links. No one in Nukualofa except himself had ever played golf, so he taught as many as . wished to learn. The result is that today there exists a flourishing club and it has proved to be a most important aid to a healthy life in those parts. True there are not a great many conveniences such as one finds on older and wealthier links, but improvements are added as funds permit. Some of us used to put in strenuous work on the . greens endeavouring to keep the weeds in check. In tropical lands during the rainy, season the growth of vegetation is .phenomenal to' the newcomer and it took us all our time to keep the links in good playing condition.

“The fact that the great majority of members had never played elsewhere wai responsible for some quaint anomalies. For example word reached Nukualofa that all truly great golf .clubs possessed a system of handicaps but, of course, no notice was taken of the rumour immediately. One does not hurry in Tonga and One is rightly suspicious of anything new even if it be true. What ‘always has been’ must be right in Tonga. However, after a time the Idea did sink in, and finally tlie leap was taken and.it was decided we must have handicaps. ‘With due humility and after much prefactory searching for an opening, the Acting-Consul and I casually described, ‘in the. hearing of ■some committee members, how golf handicaps were arranged. But the word fell on stony ground. If we were to 'have handicaps at all, and this in itself was regarded as a radical' venture, then at least the committee should not be hampered on" so important a matter. So it was decreed that an Open Championship should be played, and- this duly took place.

“Of. my own performance I naturally forbear to speak. But the important point is that the gentlemen who conyprised the greens committee undertook to handicap, on the result of the championship. .First they declared themselves scratch men and handicapped us according to our worth as compared with theirs as disclosed in the championship meeting. So, although my handicap as ■a member of an English” golf club was 21 (which I succeeded in reducing to 18 before I left) I now discovered that my true merits had at length been recognised for, on approaching the ' noticeboard, my astonished eyes beheld the handicap of 8 opposite my name. When I ''am asked now what my handicap is I answer 18 and add .proudly ‘but 8 im Tonga.' However when, all is said, by way of criticism the fact remains that on our eight-hole links 'we spent many happy ami healthy hours, in company with real good fellows, to say nothing of the pigs • which ' roamed about, they cows, and the Queen’s horses which were occasionally found tethered to ,the pin on the green. All of us will ever remember those priceless afternoons when the westering sun 'shed a lovely soft light around, as .we rested by the hy•biscus for the cup of tea made for us by' the ladies, and when our talk was, as always; of the coming of the steamer, and what it would bring.' And .all the while the monarchs of Tonga slept on, all unheedful of the innovating modern who played round their tombs and made a common bunker of them. Peace be to your bones, O Tubou I and to the bones of your brown ancestors! <t: While on the subject of games I must not omit to mention tennis which is very popular with everyone. There is a tennis club with' a large membership and two good courts. Players can be seen hard at it on Saturday afternoons and, of course, there is a championship tournament every year. The best court in Nukualofa was that belonging to my neighbour. He had made it himself with infinite labour and patience, and the making lasted well over five years. Surrounded by a high wooden frame on which grew the famous ‘mile a minute’ and shaded by numerous coconut palms and yvith a really first class turf always kept in the pink of condition, it made tennis a real pleasure. My neighbour was as hospitably inclined as he was fond of’the game and on many an afternoon at four, o'clock I could be found helping to make a four. Then would follow- cool drinks -and a smoke." . ,