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This narrative contains an account of the hoisting of the Union Jack at
I should like to explain here, at the outset of Mr Ward's narrative, how it came to be written. Mr Ward is an old man (78 years) in very straitened circumstances. Towards the end of 1932 he went into hospital and about this time a paragraph appeared in the
My name is
Upon the death of my father, my uncle, James Mallison, took myself and my sister under his care. James Mallison was a member of the firm of Mallison Bros., cotton brokers of
My uncle sent me to public schools and latter to a private school of Mr Ridley's, known as Bridge Street Academy, and, afterwards, to Duke Street Academy. But at the age of 12 or 13, I left the Academy of my own free will and turned my hands to work choosing the sea as my future career. At this early age, the urge of the sea was in my youthful bones and my boyish heart was filled with the ambition to sail before the mast. I dreamed of distant shorts; I longed to enter that romantic world of ships which brought to the England I was just beginning to know - the cities of the Midlands throbbing with industry - the commerce of every nation.
I was given my first taste of the sea. It was a voyage of no less an ordeal than a trip to Cape Horn and round into the Pacific. My uncle placed me aboard the sailing ship, the 'Canova', 1800 tons. We called at
I returned now to Manchester where my uncle awaited me in the hope that this, my first experience of the sea, would have knocked the wild-ness out of my spirit. He had hoped that the rough life on the Western Oceans and the howling gales of the Horn would have cured me of my wish to remain at sea, but he was doomed to disappointment in me. Against my wish, he sent me forthwith in the lighographic and letterpress printing trade thinking that I should take to this line of business and eventually settle down to it as my life's work. But the work was too hum-drum for me. The sea was definitely in my blood. The high spirit of the sailor appealed to me more strongly than ever. I liked
At the printing trade, I felt a chained man with my youthful ambitions thwarted. My intense longing for the sea at last got the better of me and so I cleared out and went direct to Hull, the port at which I had landed from the 'Canova'. Somehow I felt quite confident of myself in going along to the great seaport of Hull and I certainly had no misgivings as to my ability to get aboard another ship. But my uncle was quickly on my tracks and came to Hull where, with the lively aid of the police, he ferretted me out and took me back to Bolton.
From this determined decision of mine, it was quite clear to my uncle that my choice remained still the sea and not the land. But he made another attempt to turn my thoughts away from ships. He found me a new job in an entirely different line of work. I was placed in the cotton-broking business under the very eyes of the money kings of Manchester. The idea was that I should absorb the fundamentals of cotton-broking, proceed to Germany to finish of my education and to return to Manchester as a member of the Stock Exchange or something of the sort. A very large trade existed at that time between Manchester and Germany. For some reason which I cannot quite explain, I was absolutely blind to the possibilities of the great future that my uncle was so patiently planning for me. Nothing could shatter my dream castles of the sea. There they were and there they remained. At last my determination triumphed, and my foster-father, at last very reluctantly, took me down to a seaport to see what could be done for me.
He took me to the busy port of Liverpool and placed me aboard a ship called the 'Zelica', a full-rigged barque. I walked along the busy quays of the riverside and glanced up at the flags of different nations flying from the many vessels in port. If I had been told then that one day I should be responsible for making an improvised flag from the calico and print of my adopted city, Manchester, and to see it hoisted amongst the South Sea Islands to add another fragment of territory, another community of people to the Commonwealth of the British Empire, I should have felt myself a second Columbus indeed. Yet such a day came, on in the distance of years, and an exalted day for me and for the people thus served a happy event I trust.
The 'Zelica' was bound for the East Indies. A few weeks went by and I found myself at Rangoon and so, at last, I was on the highroad of adventure free to pass from one ship to another. I need not go into all the details of my subsequent experiences at sea; it will perhaps suffice for me to say that I joined one ship and then another - ships large and small, schooners, barques and steamers. I planted my ever-roving feet on the quays of distant ports. I kept on at sea and, at last, joined a vessel called the 'Triumphant', an American ship, and remained under the American flag for some time serving also in other American boats. Then I came again under the Blue Ensign but British ships did not please me as well as American. In American ships, the seamen were better paid and better fed.
As time went on, I rose to the position of second mate. A change of outstanding importance took place in the maritime world. Plimsol came on the scene and his brilliant efforts brought about a great improvement in British ships. I went back to British ships and sailed to many parts of the world; to India, China, and Japan. Many friends I made on those wide and interesting voyages and as the years rolled by, the names of one or two of these men rose high in the annals of marine and naval history. For a space, my service was cast as "ship's writer" for
At Brisbane, I became friendly with the mate of a Melbourne barque, the 'Maroon' under the command of Captain Cumming, and shipped aboard her as second mate. A squatter by the name of Muir had chartered the barque in Sydney to sail round to Port Adelaide to pick up sheep and cattle for shipment to Roebuck Bay, North Queensland. I believe I am right in saying that Muir was one of the first squatters to enter that vast hinterland of Northern Queensland.
This charter completed, we said "Good-bye" to Australia and sailed to the Java Archipelago to load sugar. Having loaded, we set our course for Auckland with the first cargo of sugar for the sugar refining works at Chelsea, across the harbour from the city of Auckland. Refining machinery although installed had not commenced to operate. At that time, the Chelsea works were managed by the son of Mr Philson, Health Officer at Auckland. At Auckland, I became acquainted with a Captain Minchin who taught navigation. He had just taken over a schooner called the 'Auroro'. She was a fine little ship and her lines pleased me greatly. Very little persuasion was needed to induce me to join her and as her next trip promised to be of particular interest, I joined her as mate.
The 'Auroro' had been chartered to run down to
Looking back at the Island of Rarotonga in those days, I see that things have changed very much indeed. Oranges were picked in native crates called 'barrels', 300 oranges to the barrel. The method of packing wad to tie three oranges together and to place one hundred of these bundles in a crate. At that time, Chilian money was the currency at Rarotonga and a barrel of oranges was paid for at the rate of one dollar and a half (6-Od.) per barrel. Usually the amount was taken out in trade goods. Labour was however paid for in cash - Chilian money - at the rate of 4-Od. per day.
But the most noticeable change which has taken place is in the nature of the exports from the Island. It is almost unbelievable to those who see the Island today that it was once a garden of cotton plants and very beautiful it appeared to me when I first saw it from the deck of the 'Auroro'. I well remember the charming aspect of the cotton plantations all along the flats between the foreshore and she foot of the hills.
There was a cotton-spinning establishment at
Labouring in the factories on the cold, bleak days of the English winter compared with the lot of the native people of the Island, growing cotton amidst the green verdure of the hillsides under the gently cooling heat of the tropical sun and the worker free to bathe in the lagoon or to lie under a tree as his whim dictated.
It was no wonder that the sight of the cotton ginning plant, the cotton fields and the entrancing surroundings of the island broke the spell of my sea-going activities. But something else about the island appealed to me. It was the spirit of pioneering which animated the small community of Europeans. Here they were on a mere dust speck in the ocean struggling to fashion out a means of providing a measure of better ment for the native inhabitants of these islands. And so it came about that I merged myself into the Island community by taking over the management of the cotton ginning plant at
Before I proceed further, I would like to digress and say that, at this time, a cloud of impending disaster to the cotton-growing industry had appeared on the horizon. Scotland had produced an engineer (I forget his name) who saw in the river Nile the wonderful possibility of converting Lower Egypt into a vast cotton-growing field. Plans had already been settled upon for erecting a huge dam across the Nile, but for the outposts of cotton-growing such as the South Seas, the position was still secure for a year or two.
Two instances will suffice to show that the pioneers of the Cook Islands had the welfare of the native people at heart and the confidence thus created in the native chiefs did much, I believe, to clinch the annexation of the Islands to Britain without protest either at the time of annexation or subsequently.
The firm of
There was also a Mr
Latter when the cotton industry was no longer a paying proposition, and had to be abandoned, Mr Nicholas became the driving force behind the fruit industry. He left me with the very definite impression of being the most brainy man with whom I have ever had the privilege of coming into contact. I admired his integrity, his wholly unselfish spirit and his fine brain. He died a poor man.
At that time, the Island was in charge of its native chiefs of whom Makea Takau appeared to hold the most prominent position. But each chief was the head of his own district and in practically everything they ranked equally. Queen
Britain had appointed a Consul at Rarotonga, a
Through the good work of the missionaries, the old tribal establishments, "Maraes", had been abandoned and the natives lived under more modern conditions. Several European houses had been erected and stores had been established. There was no hospital and no doctor with the exception of a very old practitioner, Dr. Hassell, who had stowed himself away at Ngatangiia and who lived with the native chief, Pa Ariki. The doctor might, in a very serious case, give what medical attention he was able.
(At this stage, I was obliged to discontinue my narrative as I had only a short time before been in hospital and felt rather exhausted. On 31st July, 1933, Mr Davis asked me if I felt able to resume the narrative which I do now.)
My second visit to Rarotonga in the 'Auroro' was made I think in July 1884 and I have resided here permanently since then. I have therefore been a resident here for some 49 years. The cotton ginning establishment which I took charge of was situated at Avarua, on the site on which now stands the Public Works buildings. I stayed at this job for about three years until the plant was removed to Avatiu At this time, the price of cotton dropped disastrously and it came about that, owing to the freights to England being so proportionately high compared with the actual cost of the product, cotton growing became an uprofitable proposition. This unfortunate position was created as the outcome of the completion of the Nile dam following which Egypt quickly became a vast area of cotton fields producing cotton at a very cheap rate. Thus the cotton industry at Rarotona disappeared and the islands had to turn to other ways and means of building up an export trade. The fruit trade expanded.
Of the several European houses at Rarotonga, there was one situated at Avatiu owned by Mr
The number of Europeans on the Island was small - there being about six all told. At this time, I was a young man in the prime and full vigour of life and I was, together with the others, eager and active for the welfare of the islands. I gave my support to any scheme for the betterment of the native people as a whole. My sea voyages had taken me to almost every part of the world and in oceanic isolation, I was able to give accounts of my experiences of the outside world, and this, I felt, gave me a somewhat unique standing in the community.
The spirit of pioneering appealed to my vigorous disposition. The rugged, hearty character which only the sea can create had shaped itself round my frame and an initiative, bred possibly of the raging sea storms which I had been through, was still latent in me so that I was always prepared for what might crop up at any time.
I had a very good friend in a sea captain who came regularly down to the Island from Papeete, Captain Elliot, of the schooner, 'Nassau'. His vessel belonged to the German firm, the Society Commercial at Tahiti and which later removed to Samoa. It was his custom to come down to the Cook Group between the months of March and November to pick up cotton and to make tracks for Tahiti early in December so as not to be caught in the hurricane season. He generally returned to Papeete via Borabora, his home island.
In December, 1889, he thus departed from Rarotonga carrying with him our best wishes to see his sturdy frame again in the following March or April. In April of 1890, he arrived back at Rarotonga, secured his ship off Avatiu, came ashore and joined us at our so-called club, the house of Mr Nicholas.
Amongst those present on that occasion were
"What are you getting at, Skipper?" someone asked.
"A French man-o-war," replied Captain Elliot, "is on her way down here from Papeete, and, if you fellows wish to remain British you had better get busy pretty quickly."
None of us of course had anything against the French but we thought that, if a warship of the tricolour was on her way to the Cook Islands to force an issue of citizenship, we would do what we could to get the Islands under the British flag. This unexpected announcement came like a bombshell to us. I raised my voice loudly in the matter of what ought to be done. It was decided that someone should go, there and then, and interview the old Queen,
The old lady was, however, very wary. She 'um'd
That the French warship was speeding on her way to plant the tricolour at the Cook Islands was very certain to us and we knew that she might appear off the island at any minute. The main obstacle, that of hoisting the Union Jack, having been overcome, we went back to the house of Mr. Nicholas and discussed the position of the other islands of the Group.
The British Consul, Mr. Exham, had only two flags. The line of action suggested by me was that Captain Elliot should proceed at once to Mangaia and leave one of the flags there and then go on as speedily as possible and drop the other flag at Aitutaki, and, further, that we at Rarotonga should manufacture our own flag for hoisting by
Captain Elliot and the British Consul agreed to this plan and the 'Nassau' hoisted sail and hastened to Mangaia. The first job at hand was the making of a Union Jack and as, I suppose, I was deemed to know something about flags by virtue of my sea exploits, this job fell to me to put through. That same Sunday night we took down some rolls of materials from the shelves, a roll of calico, one of red cotton material, and the other, a roll of blue muslin or something. With tape and scissors, I cut out a blue back-ground about five or six feet square, shaped out the crosses and pinned everything together. Mis Nicholas, with the aid of a sewing machine, ran the pieces together and seamed in a cord for attachment to the lanyard.
The completed flag was a very fair model of the Union Jack, It is somewhere in existence still, but it is a disappointment to me that it has, so far, not been recovered by the authorities. I saw the selfsame flag on one occasion in 1926 but its whereabouts have since completely eluded me. I am hopeful, however, that it will someday be given up to the New Zealand Government. I feel certain that it will, for, if it has passed into the hands of any of the native people, they will preserve it as they would an article of their own tribe.
Sunday night was now far spent and I am not certain whether we took the flag along to Queen Makea that night or early the following morning. However, I folded it in correct man-o-war style and hoisted it to the top of the flag pole which stood in those days outside of what today is the Royal Hall. I showed Queen Makea exactly what to do to unfurl the flag. The flag remained furled all that day but the next day, Tuesday, (not quite certain) the French Man-o-War appeared on the horizon, Mr. Exham, myself and others waited in the vicinity of the flag. The warship approached the island and, when she was about two or three miles off, Queen Makea gave the lanyard a pull and my home-made Union Jack fluttered out in the breeze.
The warship came along opposite the flag but made no signal of any kind to us on shore. Seeing the flag, the captain slowed his ship round and steamed away and we knew later that he had made his course for Mangaia. The 'Nassau' had however reached
The act of ceding the islands to the British had now been made and since that event, the Cook Islands have continued to enjoy the protection of Britain. The act seemed the most natural thing to do in the circumstances but, on looking back at the event, I recall how near a thing it was that the opportunity of making the Cook Islands part of the British Dominions was not missed.
I see today the results of the efforts made by my countrymen to avoid the influx of races that would quickly destroy the possibilities of the native people here improving themselves. I see how much has been done in the direction of education, medical and other services for the Cook Islands people and I am indeed proud that I was associated with the event of ceding the Islands to my native country. And throughout that long period since the annexation, nothing has occurred to upset the harmonious state of things that has from the beginning, existed between
Official action was taken shortly after the hoisting of the flag. The British Consul communicated with the Home authorities, the outcome of which was that a British warship, H.M.S. Hyacinthe came down to the Group from British Columbia. She was under the command of Captain Burke. Upon the arrival of the warship, Captain Burke read a Proclamation from
Some years later,
I shall now return to an account of things concerned with the general progress of the Islands and particularly with my ventures both as a skipper of island schooners and later as a storekeeper.
A small steamer, the 'Janet Nichol' (Captain Hutton), owned by Donald and Edenborough, was running throughout the Cook Group about the time I came to Rarotonga, She made occasional visits to
The result of this trip disclosed to the Union Company that there was money to be made out of cargo carrying to and from the Islands; but Donald and Edenborough had by this time purchased a larger steamer, the 'Richmond'. The 'Richmond' and the 'Ovalau' were found still to be unable to handle the products of the Islands. After running in competition with Donald and Edenborough for some time, the Union Company continued in the Islands trade for a number of years possibly until about 1923. This resulted in two steamers a month calling at the Islands for fruit. Eventually, the quantity of fruit offering in the Cook Group became a factor in the arrangements made for the mail-boats between San Francisco and Sydney to call at Rarotonga.
In addition to the steamers that Donald's were running, they owned a very fine schooner, the 'Vaite' which subsequently Captain Harris bought from them. This smart little schooner is still running for the firm in Tahitian waters. Another schooner seen frequently in the Cook Islands was the 'Nassau' to which I have previously referred.
After the cotton business collapsed at Rarotonga, I went to sea again, sometimes as supercargo and sometimes as skipper of one or other of the small schooners, Amongst those which I commanded were the 'Snaume' and the 'Goldfinch'. The 'Goldfinch' was built at Rarotonga. Other schooners built at Rarotonga were the 'Takitumu' and the 'Arorangi'. The 'Takitumu' belonged to the natives of Ngatangiia and was in the charge of Captain Rennie. Trouble brewed after a while and the schooner went on the reef at Ngatangiia and was smashed up. The 'Arorangi' was
I was at one time the skipper of the schooner, 'Avarua'. When I recall to mind the losses of ships in the South Seas over the last forty-six years, I feel that I was born under a lucky star for I have never, in all my experience of the sea, met with any mishap. I have sailed round the islands of the Cook Group, as far north as
After serving as Captain on these various inter-island schooners, I gave up the sea altogether and left the schooners for younger men to handle. I opened two small stores on the Island of Rarotonga, one at Matavera and the other at Ngatangiia. I was very contented and happy in my store-keeping venture but it was not to be that I should remain long ashore. The owners of the 'Avarua' decided that the time had arrived for supplementing the sails of the schooner by engine power. It was decided to install oil engines in the 'Avarua' but to enable this fitting to be done, it was necessary for the ship to go to San Francisco, and it came about that my services for this long voyage were requisitioned. Indeed, I could have declined to consider such a proposal. I did, in fact, after fully considering the matter, come to the conclusion that I ought not to go. But my friends put the matter to me in such a way that to have held out would have appeared to others as ungenerous and to myself as contrary to the true spirit of the pioneer in the South Seas. I therefore agreed to go and sailed as mate in the little schooner.
My two stores I left in charge of natives but they were inexperienced and instead of small profits being made, debts were incurred. On my return, I found the position so bad that I could not continue and so my stores had to be closed down and my losses faced. By some extraordinary circumstance, for which I have never been able to account my debts proved considerable. I never recovered from these financial looses and for a while, I regretted having agreed to sail with the 'Avarua'. I took my losses seriously, for the idea of debt had been something quite outside my experience, but, now that some years separate me from that unfortunate happening, I simply view the matter as merely the fortunes of war.
Throughout all my life, I have carried with me my sword of honest dealing and no doubt that is one reason why today I have not one penny piece in the whole world. I am supported in my old age with the satisfying thought that, when the opportunity came for me to do something tangible for the Cook Islands, I seized the chance and, thereby I trust, my name will find a place in some niche of Britain's great history.
At my present age, nearing eighty, sickness has begun to make its appearance and the doctor has ordered me to give up work entirely. Until recently, I have been engaged at odd times by various local people principally in office work. More recently, I was doing clerical work for the firm of Jagger and Harvey from which job I went into hospital.
This brings my account up to the present day, July, 1933. It finds me living not very far from the site of the flag-pole upon which the Union Jack was first hoisted at the Cook Islands. In recent years, numbers of people have sought me out with the object of hearing some of
Again people from overseas frequently write to me for details of my life and a few months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting the Governor-General of New Zealand,
I would like in conclusion of my narrative to say a word or two about the Polynesian people. In all my years in the Cook Group, I do not know of one single enemy I hare made amongst them. In my schooner trips to the outer islands, I have been able to reason with those inclined to make trouble and generally things have cleared themselves quite quickly. The Polynesian is so generous of heart that in some directions he has to be saved from himself. The native people treated me well and I shall be content to take my long siesta amongst them. When now in the evening of my days I bow my head before the temple, I offer a prayer of thanks for the many honours the Polynesian has done me in his own humble way.
(Note:- The foregoing narrative was dictated by the late Mr. Ward, and recorded by Mr.