THE "HOME" AWAY FROM HOME.

Dozerdust, Volume 1, Issue 22, 13 November 1943, Page 3

THE "HOME" AWAY FROM HOME.

Mosquito Het Gossip.

DISCOVERED by Captain James Coo

1774.

ANNEXED in name of Napoleon 111. £4th. sept. 1853»

1878... a native rebellion organ ised with object of killing all whites on island.

100.000 once native ?populn ; ': ’: 0

Now Caledonia. Present population 30.000.

BY a decree of 2nd. Sept. 1863 New Caledonia designated as a convict settlement.

MAY 9th. 1864 first batch of 2>'convicts arrived. Over 15,000 hat been shipped from France by. 1895 when degree was re-pealed. Today loss than once hundred of origin? convicts' alive in colony.

3,000 political deportees sent to Now Caledonia. Mostly supporter of Commune of 1871. Treated on a different basis from " convicts”. Eventually pardoned/ and returned to Franco

CATHOLIC missionaries landed Dec 1843. Large and important blocks of land still hold by Church 0

AMONG white population only abov four hundred protestants: otli • ? Roman Catholics, Native popular 01 fairly equally divided between Pre .as tents and Roman Catholics. South of island almost wholly Rom? Catholic; notfch almost wholly Protestant.

FIRST free settlers, whalers & tether adventurers. Outstanding personality, Walter Paddon, ex mic Shipman Royal Navy settled lie du Bouset,lß4s. In a few years he wa employing 200 natives and about 60 ’ 1 ’ . .

1895 - first attempt made to in duco settlers from Franco made by Governor Feuillet.

Among early settlers were a num her of families who migrated from lie de La Reunion.

Last organised attempt 1925-26, when a number of settlers from north of France formed a co-oper-ative concern to develop cotton industry. Scheme failed.

MINING represents 85f exports.