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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 82

Cook Islands (Rarotonga, etc.)

page 48

Cook Islands (Rarotonga, etc.)

I.—Descriptive.

These islands were discovered by the illustrious Captain Cook, on one of his voyages, and are named in honour of him. They embrace the following :—Mangaia, thirty miles in circumference; Rarotonga, twenty-four miles; Aitutaki, eighteen miles; Atiu, eight miles; Mitiero, ten miles; Mauki, six miles; and Manauai, or Hervey, consisting of three islets within one large circling reef. The Cook Islands lie further south than any of the other groups visited, being situated between 18° 54′ and 21° 57′ South latitude, and 157° 20′ and 1600 West longitude. They are partly of volcanic and partly of coral formation, Rarotonga is the only island of the group which has a harbour; and from this fact, combined with its great productiveness and central position, it has been made the collecting and distributing centre for the trade of the islands. To this port is also brought a large quantity of produce from Rurutu and Rimatarn, two islands of the Austral group, which, being beyond the French Protectorate line, have been brought under the influence of British trade. The form of government throughout the Cook Islands is a native monarchy, or rather, many monarchies. Thus on Rarotonga there are three queens, each having her own well-defined territory and jurisdiction, viz., Matea, Mere Paa, and Tenuomana. The King of Atiu is married to Queen Makea, Native laws and customs form the basis of government in each district, and so well-disposed are the people, that breaches of the law are of rare occurrence. England is the only Power that maintains a consular agent at Rarotonga, the present representative being Mr. R. Exham, of the firm of Messrs. Donald & Edenbo-rough. These islands were very early evangelised by the agents of the London Missionary Society, and the natives all profess Christianity, with the further advantage that there are no opposing sects to confuse the mind and complicate religious authority. page 49 Rarotonga is a beautiful island, with bold volcanic hills rising to a height of nearly 3000 feet, and having a level belt all round the coast, besides many fertile valleys and slopes between the hills. It is well watered by streams, and the rainfall is regular. Hurricanes occasionally occur, and cause great destruction. The harbour is at Awarua, a mixed native and European settlement, which from the sea presents a very primitive appearance. On landing, however, it is seen that there are some good buildings, embracing the church, school, mission house, queen's residence, ginning mill, stores, and European residences.

II.—Population, Soil, and Products.

Rarotonga is believed to have been peopled by a body of stragglers from Tonga, and as these multiplied they spread to the other islands of the group. In appearance the natives closely resemble those of Tonga; but their language, several dialects of which are spoken in different islands, nearly approximates the Maori of New Zealand. Since the introduction of Christianity there have been no wars on these islands. The present native population, which is almost stationary, is as under :—
Mangaia 2,000
Rarotonga 2,000
Aitutaki 1,800
Atiu 900
Mauke 600
Mitiero 300
Hervey 200
7,800

The foreign population does not exceed 30, and is concentrated at Awarua and Ngatangihia, on Rarotonga. The Europeans number 25, of whom over 20 are New Zealand colonists, and a few Germans; while there are 25 Chinese, some of whom keep stores, while Others work on the plantations. The natives show a higher degree of industry, and a more ready adaptability to European manners and clothing than those of any of the other groups visited. They have passed a law forbidding the importation of foreign labour, and the extensive plantations, cotton-ginning works, etc., are worked entirely by natives. Boat-building, coach and dray-making, and house-building, under European direction, are also most successfully prosecuted by the Rarotongans. Many of them also engage as seamen on board the trading vessels that visit the port, and are found docile, teachable, and capable of work. The sale of intoxicants to natives is forbidden, and they are also prohibited from making orange beer, but in spite of these restrictions they occasionally indulge to excess in the "home- page 50 brewed" beverage named. The soil of Rarotonga and several other of these islands is of the richest description; this is shown by the fact that in a single year Rarotonga alone sent 4,000,000 oranges and 40,000 gallons of lime-juice to Auckland-On Mangaia, the soil is poor; but the natives, by incessant labour, have rendered it very productive, and it contributes largely to the exports of the group, besides supporting a considerable population. The chiet products of these islands are cotton, copra, coffee, lime-juice, oranges, bananas, pine-apples and arrowroot; but nearly every variety of tropical plant would grow, and with the necessary labour the productiveness of these islands could be increased tenfold.

III.—Imports and Exports.

In proportion to their population, the Cook Islands have a very large import and export trade, the greater portion of which is done with New Zealand-What has been accomplished by these natives, expecially on Rarotonga and Mangaia, is an earnest of what might be done on the much more populous islands of Tonga, Samoa, and Tahiti, if the natives were trained to habits of industry, and were imbued with the ambition to acquire dwellings of European construction, improved clothing, and a few luxuries of diet. I regret that the full year's statistics of imports and exports were not available, but the total for 1884 could not be short of £60,000. For the nine months from 1st January to 30th September, 1884, the total value of imports was £18,000, of which, £9,000 worth was represented by prints, clothing, and drapery goods: breadstuffs and groceries being valued at £4,000, ironmongery at £2,000, and sundries at £3,000. The exports for the same period reached a total value of £20,454, and the chief articles of export and the quantities were as under :—
Copra 1,103,133 lb.
Cotton 350,420 lb.
Cotton 788 bales
Seed cotton 23,667 lb.
Coffee 35,800 lb.
Oranges 6,410 crates
Cocoa-nuts 7,626 crates
Pineapples 760 crates
Dried bananas 3,841 lb.
Limejuice 28,012 gallons
Whale oil 1,200 gallons
Cotton seed 109 tons
Fungus 1,040 lb.
Pearl shell 1,950 lb.
Kapok 872 lb.
Kapok 4 bales

As already remarked, these products could be exported in much greater quantities, were more labour available; indeed, much is page 51 allowed to run to waste on Rarotonga at present, because of its too great abundance or the want of a good market. For example, tons of excellent coffee could be seen in the plantations, totting on the trees and on the ground, for the simple reason that the price received for it—rod. per lb.—does not pay sufficiently well to induce the natives to gather it. The import duty of 3d. per lb. levied by the New Zealand Customs Department, would, if removed, leave a sufficient margin to stimulate further production. Candlenats grow in great profusion, and hundreds of tons might readily be collected each year. From these nuts a most valuable oil is obtainable; but the trouble of gathering the nuts from the ground and removing the shells is too great to give sufficient remuneration, according to native ideas. What these ideas are may be inferred from the ruling wages paid them for cotton picking, which is two and a half cents per pound, or one half the value of the crop.

IV.—Trade with New Zealand.

The extension of trade between these islands and New Zealand is well-nigh an impossibility, for the very sufficient reason that this colony already absorbs nearly the whole of the import and export trade. The under-noted shipping return shows this very clearly:—
Rarotonga Shipping For the nine months from 1st January to 30th September, 1884.
Nationality. Ships. Tonnage.
English 31 7,782
French 9 860
German 10 420
Total 50 9,062

Of the English shipping, 29 vessels of 6202 gross tonnage were from Auckland—the other two vessels being from San Francisco and Sydney Island respectively. The connection between Auckland and Rarotonga is of long standing, Messrs. Owen and Graham having, in their Island trading days, a large branch establishment here; but about six years ago they retired. The field thus vacated was entered by Messrs. Donald and Edenborough of Auckland, and by their enterprise and energy the present flourishing trade with Rarotonga and the other islands has been developed. The French and German trade on this group of islands is inconsiderable, and the nineteen visits of vessels mentioned in the foregoing table were made by small schooners and cutters trading between these islands and the headquarters of the commercial houses at Tahiti. The export of fruits to New Zealand could at page 52 once be increased if the market is sufficiently absorbent; and, as formerly pointed out, the export of coffee could be easily doubled, if the abolition of the New Zealand Customs duty left a margin for profitable labour in gathering and preparing it for the market. I may be excused for mentioning a rather novel branch of trade with this colony, which it appears the native Rarotongans are desirous of cultivating. The female population of the island being rather redundant, on account of many young men leaving as sailors and never returning, it is suggested that a portion of the surplus females could be "placed" in the inadequately supplied matrimonial market of New Zealand. It is not forgotten that when Paora Tuhaere, the Maori chief of Orakei, visited Rarotonga a number of years ago, several of the unmarried youths who accompanied him chose wives from among the maids of the island; and on the occasion of her projected visit to New Zealand, Queen Makea proposes taking with her several of her "maids of honour" as samples of the feminine stock of Rarotonga. When the commercial delegates called on Queen Mere Paa at Ngatangihia, the natives turned out in force to welcome us, and after a lengthened "korero" on trade matters, a native chief reminded the delegates that if any of them desired a wife, there were plenty eligible damsels to choose from !

V.—Local Industries, Trading Houses, etc.

After visiting such place.) as Samoa and Tonga, where, in proportion to the population, the industries pursued were of the simplest and most meagre kind, we were agreeably impressed by the busy aspect of affairs at Rarotonga. Messrs. Donald and Edenborough have erected extensive ginning machinery, presses, etc., where, by native labour, the cotton is ginned, pressed, and packed in bales. The machinery is driven by steam, and it is curious to note that cotton-seed is used as fuel instead of coal. The same firm have also steam machinery for husking the coffee under the same roof as the cotton gins. Boat and carriage building are carried on by the natives, under European instruction. We saw a very fine cutter in the builder's shed, approaching completion, and there are a large number of drays and buggies on the island, which are nearly all of local manufacture. The women assist at cotton-picking, and also make large mats, etc. In the work of packing oranges the women also render assistance, besides attending to the yam and taro plantations, from which the staple food of the household is obtained. The chief trading houses on the island are—
  • Messrs. Donald and Edenborough.
  • Société Commercial de l'Oceanie.
  • Captain Trayte.
  • Mr. Henry Nicholas,
page 53

Besides their different branches in Rarotonga, Messrs. Donald and Edenborough have agencies in all the islands of the Cook group, as well as on Rurutu and Rimatara, in the Austral group, and on Palmerston Island, an isolated spot which is under the British flag, though not formally annexed. Captain Trayie, in addition to various stores in Rarotonga, has trading relations with the other islands, and has obtained a lease of the Scilly Islands (three in number) for thirty years.

VI.—Shipping Dues, etc.

Rarotonga is the only island of this group that can boast of harbours, and these are by no means capacious, while their safety is at certain seasons very questionable. The three harbours—the twin openings in the reef at Awarua and the larger one at Ngata-ngihia—are neither of them more than mere boat havens, and are all alike exposed to northerly and north-easterly winds, so that they are unsafe during the hurricane months. On this trip the steamer Janet Nicoll entered the larger of the Awarua harbours, but had to be turned round on entering, so that she might get a clear run out. This operation was not unattended with danger, as, in slewing, her stem was rested against the reef on one side, while her stern was within fifteen feet of the reef on the other. When in, she seemed to fill the harbour; but two little vessels were got in alongside of her—one of them carrying away her foretopmast in so doing. The steamer had about a dozen mooring lines out, some attached to chains anchored on the reef, and others to cables attached to cocoa-nut trees on shore. Ngatangihia harbour, about six miles round the coast, is larger, and the entrance is said to be five fathoms deep, by about twenty fathoms wide. This harbour many years ago was frequented by whale-ships; but since then the bottom is said to have silted up by the deposit from a stream that flows into it. There being no wharf at the chief harbour at Awarua, all loading and unloading has to be done by means of boats and punts, and this process, besides being tedious and costly, frequently leads to goods being damaged by wet. There are no Customs duties levied at Rarotonga, neither are there any harbour or quarantine dues, or taxes of any kind on shipping or commerce, beyond a charge for pilotage of 4s. for every ten tons register.

VII.—Currency and Exchange.

Chilian dollars and half-dollars are the principal currency here, though English money is preferred by the natives and traders alike. The debased coinage was introduced many years ago by Messrs. Goddefroi and Co. and Messrs. Brander and Co.; and though it is heartily detested by the present race of traders, it is found impos- page 54 sible to get rid of it. As a rule, bills are paid by the exchange of produce, as it would entail a heavy loss to remit coin. Herr Zierig, the manager of the German store here, often cannot obtain produce from the natives in exchange for his goods; and when he remits Chili coin to head-quarters at Tahiti (where, be it remembered, the coin is current), he is charged a discount of 7 per cent.

VIII.—The Labour Question.

Thanks to the industry of the natives of this group, the labour difficulty does not assume by any means an acute phase. The Rarotongans have passed a law excluding all foreign labour—the evident intention being to secure a continuance of high wages to themselves. The usual charge for a day's work here is 8s., but this is by no means invariably maintained.

IX.—Acclimatisation.

Fowls, turkeys, and pigs are reared in great quantities on these islands, and horses, cattle, and sheep also do well. The Indigenous plants here are identical with those of the other groups, and there is nothing suited for acclimatisation in New Zealand. I procured some seeds of a tobacco which is cultivated here by the natives, in order to its growth being experimented upon in Auckland. With a wise forethought which would do credit to any civilised people, the Rarotongans have prohibited the importation of guava plants or seeds. This fruit has not yet been introduced to this island, and the natives, having heard of the evils resulting from its introduction elsewhere, are determined upon avoiding these, if possible.

X.—Tourist Traffic, etc.

The scenery and climate of these islands, and the interesting character of the natives, should render them popular places of resort for tourists; but there are no hotels or houses of accommodation for visitors, so that in the meantime visits to these parts are likely to be flying ones. Invalids would find the climate of Rarotonga more temperate than that of Tonga, Samoa, or Tahiti.