LIFE IN WESTERN SAMOA

Taranaki Daily News, 16 October 1934, Page 5

LIFE IN WESTERN SAMOA

DR. HOME’S EXPERIENCES CUSTOMS OF THE ISLANDERS. ADDRESS TO THE ROTARY CLUB. An interesting account of his recent visit to the South Sea Islands and his sojourn at Western Samoa was given yesterday to the New Plymouth Rotary Club by Dr. G. Home who, at the request of the Minister of External Affairs, recently took charge of the surgical work in Samoa for a month. The first port reached on his tour, said Dr. Home, was Suva (Fiji), then Levuka was called at, and then Samoa. It was difficult, he said, to accustom oneself to the varying forms of government ■ Fiji was a Crown colony, with a governor appointed by Downing Street. The Friendly . Islands was a Protectorate under its own queen, while Western Samoa was a ter- . ritory of which the mandate had been given to New Zealand under the supervision of the League of Nations. Visitors found that outside Samoa New Zealand currency, silver and notes, was subject to fairly heavy exchange, but in Samoa New Zealand silver coinage was accepted at face value, though a small exchange rate applied to notes. A problem affecting Fiji was that of the dominance of the Hindu. Originally brought to the islands to assist in the development of the sugar industry, the Hindus now equalled if they did not outnumber the Fijians, and what would be the outcome was causing the authorities some apprehension. The sugar industry was the most important Fiji possessed. Copra, which at one time was also important, had received a great setback owing to the fall in price obtainable, which had dropped from £l4 a ton to £3 15s. In Suva the rich flats were eminently suitable for growing sugarcane; there were extensive factories, and the whole industry was thoroughly well organised. SCENES AT CARNIVAL. Levuka, the former capital, had lost most of its importance as the principal town in the group. It was chosen as the capital originally because of its central position. Levuka was, however, less suitable for cultivation than Suva, and so its importance had diminished. A carnival had been arranged for the visitors, for which native dancers had practised some months. The dancing was strenuous rather than graceful, said Dr. Home, but they saw a good Soccer football match in which none of the players wore boots. Samoa, continued Dr. Home, consisted of two main islands, the larger about the size of Stewart Island; the second, in which the capital, Apia, was situated, being somewhat smaller. Apia was on the northern side of the island and was 1 situated on the shore of a shallow bay fringed with coral reefs. Most people knew of Apia as the harbour from which, in the year 1889, ,the British warship Calliope, using Westport coal, escaped from a hurricane while American and German vessels were piled up on the beach. He thought that occurrence had given Apia rather undeserved notoriety. As a matter of fact, so far as Dr. Home could, ascertain, there had been no severe hurricane since 1889. The trees bore no signs of being subject to hurricanes, which usually passed further south. Apia was set in charming surroundings. Coconuts grew on the low grounds as prolifically as anywhere in the world. Behind were hills, clothed ■ with bush much like New Zealand hills, only that they were perhaps a little greener. Samoa had a heavy rainfall, the wet season lasting from November to March. In! the winter, the time of Dr. Home’s visit, the tempera- , ture was never below 74deg. in the shade and occasionally went as high as 84 to 85 degrees. Naturally such a climate was enervating and did not make for strenuous effort. EDUCATIONAL EFFORT. After tracing briefly the history of Samoa during the past 80 years and the efforts being made by the New Zealand administration to teach the Samoans to accommodate themselves to a more complex civilisation, Dr. Home said the educational efforts were now directed* towards developing native crafts, love of music and singing, and towards better tropical agriculture. It was not easy to develop work requiring physical and mental energy, among a people living in a land that gave them all the fruits of the earth they needed with very little effort, but he thought the education now being attempted was on sound lines. Dr. Home gave an amusing description of a gala day he attended. It was a farewell to Chief Judge Luxford, who has since returned to New Zealand. The feasting that accompanied such gatherings tested the European considerably. Besides which, when the European visitors arrived at the meeting place they found there were 60 chiefs and 40 “orators” waiting to have their, say. The proceedings began with argument as to who should be the speakers, but fortunately when King Malietoa, King Malaafa and General Hart had spoken it was decided to allow Judge Luxford to reply. Then the feasting began, the plenitude of the dishes being balanced by the lack of table utensils, of which there were none except plates made of coconut fibre. “Eating stew with one’s fingers is an acquired accomplishment, said Dr. Home, who described also the ceremonial drinking from the kava bowl, a cup being dipped in the bowl and tendered to the visitors in order of precedence and at the instructions of the master of ceremonies, who was stationed near the bowl. There were still quite a number of Germans residing in Samoa, said Dr. Home, and he thought that as they contemplated the happenings in their Fatherland they were glad to be left in their island homes. Dr. Home was thanked for his address, and the hope was expressed by Rotarian , R. W. D. Robertson that he would give the club more of his island reminiscences .. on another occasion.