A TRIP TO FIJI, SAMOA, AND TONGA.
(By Ngapunawai.) Having been ordered complete rest md a sea trip, we managed to secure passages per s.s. Talune for Suva, though experiencing some little trouble n getting berths, owing to the large jumber of passengers offering. Our luggage was sent down, and in due time ■ye got on board ourselves. After about three hours' delay we left the Queen . Street Wharf, Auckland, bound for ►~. Suva, Fiji. There was a great scramble at tea-time. The stewards showed us jur places and took oUr orders, and that was the last of it for a very long time. Our table was in an after-corner of the t saloon, and there we all sat patiently. At last two or three were served, and then the orders gradually dribbled along, but one gentleman sat nearly through the meal before he got his soup. I was told afterwards that there was . only pantryman to give out afli the orders, and when our man reached the alley-way leading to the pantry there was quite a row of stewards waiting for their orders, so that when our steward at least reached the panlry he had forgotten what he came for. On asking for our cabin or berths, the chief steward had not been advised and did not know where to put us. At last my wifo was placed on one side of the ship, and a berth was made up for me 3n the other side, where I shared a small cabin with three others. One of them was a Canadian, a big heavy man, and of course lie had the top berth. It was yrith great difficulty that he climbed up into his berth, and when once there he was almost a fixture. It was only with much puffing and blowing as he twisted and turned that he could get out again, but it was no use grumbling, for about ninety people were stowed away in a 3pace intended for about fifty. Sir E. Lechmere will remember the trip. A I pipe burst, or something of that sort, ' and his cabin was swamped out and he i had to move to another part of the ship. There were two New Zealanders on board who had become alarmed at the Land Bill and have* secured a large area ! of land in Fiji. They had a quantity of flax roots with them, which they intended to plant in Fiji for a trial ! The general opinion seemed be that though New Zealand was in a prosperous state just now it was only for a short time, and we should experience a great slump. The price of butter, etc., would go down, and land would drop to a very low price. THE SOUTHERN SEAS. Our first two days out were rough, the wind coming away from the southeast and blowing very hard, with a high following sea. The old Talune rolled and dived into it, but managed to reel off her 12i knots each day, much to Captain George Hotford's delight. After the second day the wind dropped, but a long roll followed us, which kept up all the way to Kandavu, where there was a very heavy break on the coral reef. The Koro Sea was very smooth, and put me in mind of the Hauraki Gulf in summer time. After the second day all the sea birds were left behind, and no sign of life was to be seen, except a few frightened flying-fish, who scuttled away from the steamer. We noticed all through the tropics that there was no sign of sea life— no porpoises, sharks, or other fi«h jto be seen, and only once in a way a lonely gull some distance from the ship. We saw two #r three ' whales and a thrasher, but they were very scared of the ship and soon cleared out after the first blow. We sighted Mount Washington early on the Sunday morning, and after breakfast glasses were brought up on deck to get a good look at the first land and a sight of the first *cocoanutpalm trees. We saw a solitary hut or two as we passed, but there seemed to be very little life on Kandavu. We next sighted 'Mbenga, where the fire-walkers come frdm, and then Viti Levu, and after a while we could see the lighthouse- and marks for the enitrance, and than the. houses of ! SUVA. We went through the entrance about 4 o'clock in the afternoon and waited for the doctor, who came off in an oil launch and passed us all very carefully, as two cases of plague had been reported the day we left Auckland. The steward gave our names, the purser chocked, and we were asked what business we were on and why we had come to Fiji, etc. Two or three whaleboats with Fijian crews kept cruising round us while the doctor was on board, evidently to see that n6ne of us escaped from the ship. After the doctor left us we steamed up to the wharf, where a great crowd was waiting. Being Sunday afternoon, the whole town seemed to have turned out to see the strangers — European ladies and gentlemen in summer clothes and natives with all sorts of clothing, and some with hardjy anything at all en. After passing our luggage through the Customs we proceeded to our board-ing-house, and after much patient waiting got a room and h,ad tea. On Monday morning we wanted to see the place, but it was rainirig hard. When we arrived at Suva it was fearfully hot and no w ind, with the sea smooth and oily. The heat caused steam to rise from the Wc3t ground, so that it was like being in a steam bath. We were told that during one night last Auguaty 36 inches of rain fell. Where would parts of New Zealand be if we had anything like that? The rainfall in parts of Fiji is said to be about 200 inches per year. All the eastern sides of the larger islands are quite wet, while the western sides are a3 dry as a bone. No New Zealanders need think of settling in Fiji, as all the work is done by the blacks, either Fijian boys or coolies fiom India. Many of the coolies are settling down in or near Suva after their time on the plantations is up. Some return to India and then pay their own passages back to Fiji and settle down with their wives and families, and are known as free men or free coolies. Eighteen or twenty were in the steerage of the Talune, having come from Calcutta to Auckland in a lar<*e cargo boat. '. *, We saw very little of Suva, as it was so wet we could not.get about. As the Andi Keva was sailing for Levuka, we took passage by her and left Suva about midday, keeping inside the reef and going up the entrance of the REWA RIVER. The country here is very flat, and only a foot or two above the level of high water mark. We passed great stretches of sugar cane, a hoipital, the Roman' Catholic mission station, and many Fijian villages. The |Rewa River runs past the Sugar Company's large mill and a gieat sugar country, but we did ' rot go up so far as that, as we took a !
channel that led out to the sea again. After going several miles along the back wash, as it is called, we came to a dead slop on a The boat was heavily laden and had a great many passengers. About a dozen of us were in the cabin, and forward there was a great crowd of natives. We had expected to be in Levnka about four in the afternoon, so the trip of sixty milet was thought little of. Now, however, we were at a standstill for at least twelve hoii r s. After dinner we went ashore to a native village and examined the gardens and 'surroundings. The captain, who has been some thirteen years on the trade, knew the natives, and had quite a long talk with them. Before] leaving we clubbed together and gavti prizes >for boys', girls', and married women's races. The natives appeared to enjoy the fun very much. One old h.dy was watching us make up the change', and being offered a penny refused it, not knowing what it was. Sb«> had never seen a penny before. \ threepenny-piece is the lowest com known in these outlying villages. Before we left the steamer the native chief Kandavu had taken several of our' passengers away to bis own village some miles distant, promising to bring then \ back before we got out of the mud ; but we did not see them again, which was a very good job, as when night came dowu so di<J the mosquitoes in countless mil lions. I tried the cabin, but it was un bearable. Tho heat was enough to stifle one, and the mosquitoes kept up a continual hum. Half of them kept up tlK j singing while the other half had a feed. I then tried a chair on the deck under the awning, and wrapped a blanket round me. Two of us dozed away there until very heavy rain came on and drove us back to the cabin. In desperation I rolled the blanket round my head and fell off to sleep. The ladies must have fared badly in 7 their little cabin, for there was hardly room to move in it. The captain and crew were at work at midnight, but it was no use— they could not get over the bank, and it moant 1 o'clock next day. No carg> could be taken out of the hold, as a lot of bonded goods were there, and the Customhouse authorities had sealed th. 1 hatches down. The boats were lowered and filled with the deck cargo, and nearly all the passengers took seats on top of it. After much shouting and hauling on the kedge that had been put out nhoad, and engirfes going at full speed, ive gradually came off into deeper water, and having^ taken the passengers and deck cargo oh board again, away we went. The Andi Keva is 120 tons burden and has a speed of about nine knots. Tho channel soon began to widen out, md it was not long before we had passed the Wesleyan mission station and were rmce more on the sea, though it is very shallow between Viti Levu and Ovalau. We wont round the western end of Ovalau, and for the last time sat down to tea on the Andi Keva. It was a sort of resurrection tea, as we had been on board so long and there were many more passengers than usual, but the steward did remarkably well, and everyone was cheerful and glad to think that our •. oyage of sixty miles was nearly ended. We had been 36 hours on board. When we came on deck after tea the lights of LEVUKA could be seen ahead, and we were soon alongside the wharf. We put up at \'olke's Royal Hoteloand were well treated indeed .by M# and -Mrs Volko *nd also by their daughter, Mrs Foster, ivho very often came to see and help Her parents. We went out next morning, and soon found out several Taranaki people. Mr Arthur Hempton, manager of the Bank of New Zealand, had just received orders to return to New Zealand to take charge of the Whangarei branch. Mr W. A. King, of the Polynesian Gazette, is still very mtich alive, and is running the paper with his son's help. We also saw Mrs King and her sister, Miss Dunn, who are very well known in New Plymouth. I expect all old natives will remember Sergeant Dunn, of the police. Another New Zealander was Mr Ensor, who was for some years in the Armed Constabulary Force. He knew a great many of the old identities of ' Taranaki. The island of Ovalau is very rough and broken. The hills rise right up from the sea, one and two thousand feet. Many houses are only to be reached by flights of steps, very like Wellington, and one thing which looks very strange ia that many of the houses are anchored down with iron stays to prevent them from being blown down during the hurricane season. Volke had a cottage just across tho road from the hotel, where tho Governor used to put \\p when in Levuka, and where Volke had all his best furniture. During a hurricane the cottage was blown down and every bit of furniture smashed. There has been no hurricane this season, so fever is very bad. We spent a day or two looking round, getting mummy apples and cocoanuts from the natives, and enjoying ourselves in spite of the heat. One afternoon I thought I would like to see the famous Waitovu waterfall, and though my head ached a good deal I thought I could manage the two miles each way, and away we went. We reached the fall, which is well worth going out to see. A fair-sized stream about as large as the Henui, falls some fifty or sixty feet over the rock into a deep pool, something like Bell's Falls, en- the western side of Mount Egmont. Then looking out seaward you can see the long line of coral reef, or rather the white foam of the sea on it, extending for a good distance north and south, with the opening in front of Levuka and another one further to the north. Levuka faces out nearly due east. Ovalau being very hilly, there is a small stream in every gully. The natives divert the water to their taro patches, and have cultivations all over the place. They grow cocoanuts, bananas, taros, and kumaras. The mummy apple grows wild. It looks very funny to see a great Fijian walking into town with a stout stick on his shoulder with half a dozen taros in a kit .at. one, .end and the same number of kumaras athihe other, end, aftd then after - 1 a *hile''.'returning to his 'village with a 'smtfll-'lftrr'-cel fastened on to each end: of his stack and carried on his shoulder. Fancy half a pound of tea at one eHro! and a tin of meat at the qther ! The natives are very fond of carrying ,an umbrella. >I saw one walking along with an umbrella i rolled up and carried under his arm. He was clothed in a sulu only — that is, a bit of cloth or perhaps a towel round bis waist. A smart shower came on, and our man ran -ajs hard as he could for shelter. The rain was glistening on his bare back, and the umbrella tightly rolled up under his arm. We heard of one who asked the loan of an umbrella from a friend, and upon going for it
found it against the wall inside the house and open. It would not come through the small doorway, so he tore down part of the roof and got the umbrella out that way. We did not hear what the owner of the house said about it. After leaving the waterfall we soon got out on the track or roadway again, whore we met a Fijian who for a sixpence climbed a tall cocoanut tree and got us some green nuts. One each was plenty for us, but he told us that a Fijian would eat ten right off. One strange thing is that no cocoanuts grow on Viti Levu. The trees grow beautifully, but they have no nuts. We strolled quietly home, and I went to bed with the dengue fever. It is not fatal, but very horrible for all that; in fact, one wishes it were fatal so as to end the trouble. When recovering^ your hands and feet come out with a sort of rash, and itch most frightfully. While recovering, I used to watch the natives sailing their £anoes and cutters about. They are wonderful sailors, and that is the only thing they are good at, except fleecing a stranger, and they can do that to perfection. One man, Charlie Tailefulga, came to us and wanted our washing, as he was a wash•rman. We gave him some things, which he tore almost to pieces, and quietly charged us four shillings a dozen for the washing. Volke came out and called him names most violently, but we could not get out of the four shillings. (To be Concluded.)- j
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TH19070731.2.18
Bibliographic details
Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13488, 31 July 1907, Page 3
Word Count
2,777A TRIP TO FIJI, SAMOA, AND TONGA. Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13488, 31 July 1907, Page 3
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