Cook Islands Notes

Maori Chiefs Visit the Track of the Ancient Migration

From Our Our Correspondent

Rarotonga, July 20.

BY recent mail steamer we received a visit from a party of N.Z. Maori chiefs, who spent the w'eek-end here meeting our Rarotongan Maoris. Ac cording to the New Zealand press, the party came down to try and establish relationships with our Maoris. It is established tradition (both here and in N.Z.) that it was from Rarotonga that the Maoris went to New Zealand (about 600 years ago). The language is practically the same. Their time here was spent mainly in feasting, though they had an opportunity of see ing the fruit packing sheds in opera tion, the schools, hospital, and one or two native plantations. The party was accompanied by Mr. H. R. H. Balneavis, Private Secretary to the Minister of the Cook Islands, and Masters H. and H. Ngata (2), and Miss Hana Ngata.

It was originally intended that the Hon. Sir Aspirana Ngata, N.Z. Minis ter of the Cook Islands, would visit the Island, and that the party would ac company him, but he was detained in N.Z. on account of the political situa tion there at the time, and the party came on without him.

By the same steamer Judge H. Carr (N.Z. Native Land Court, Gisborne) ar rived to relieve Resident Commissioner Judge H. F. Ayson for three months, the latter leaving for New Zealand to undertake some special Land Court work for the New Zealand Government.

Mr. S. J. Smith (Secretary of the Cook Islands Department, Wellington.

N.Z.) recently stayed a month here During this time he paid a visit to the Lower Group Islands per s.s. “Wai pahi,” and managed to stay a week at Mangaia, connecting with a schooner from there back to Rarotonga.

Mr. A. F. Scherer, headmaster of the Avarua School, has retired, and re turned to N.Z. In addition to his ordi nary duties, Mr. Scherer had acted as Superintendent of Schools for the past two years. His place was filled by the transfer of Mr. A. McKenzie from the Aitutaki School, to be headmaster of Avarua School and local Education Officer. A male assistant has also been appointed to the Avarua School (Mr.

C. E. Taverner), in order to relieve Mr.

McKenzie of some of the routine work, and allow him to devote more time to the general work of all the schools.

Death Of Maui Pomare

News of the death in California cf Sir Maui Pomare, K.B.E., C.M.G., came

as a great shock to the people of Rarotonga, where he was well known and very popular.

Sir Maui passed through on May 24 by mail steamer on his health re cruiting visit to California, and al though he was too ill to come ashore a great many of his friends went out on board to see him. He died in California on June 27. He had been Minister of the Cook Islands for 16 years.

On his retire ment, at the ter mination of the Reform Govern

merit in December, 1928, the people of the Cook Islands presented him with an illuminated address. This was made locally by Mr. Wm. McBirney, of Arorangi, planter. It was signed by the leading Europeans and natives. Here is a small photograph of it.

The Pure Fruit Products Company are at present working at full pressure, canning orange juice, lemon juice, lemon peel, etc., for the N.Z. market.

This co. was formed on the strength of the experiments of Mr. F. V. Senn on the preservation of orange juice.

Last year a Bowling Club was formed in Rarotonga, and slowly and surely

the green has been got in order. At present a top-dressing is being put on, and it is hoped to open the green soon.

H.M.S. Laburnum is due at Raro tonga in August, and the Sports Asso ciation has decided to put an Associa tion team against the warship. Al though the natives do not now play Soccer —much preferring Rugby—it has always been found possible to get a team to score a win against the war ships, every time they have played.

Good For The Labourers

Quite a stir was caused early in the orange season by the people of Aro rangi taking all the labour away from Avarua at the rate of 6/- per day.

“They had so many oranges they didn’t know what to do,” so they came in and took all the Avarua labour they could get at 6/- per diem, instead of the usual 4/-, to help them pick.

That district has had a very heavy crop of oranges this season—the pack ing shed at Arorangi has averaged over 6,000 each boat —more than twice the number handled by any of the other packing sheds. This has occa sioned a lot of night work at the shed, in order to get the fruit graded and packed in time.

The younger and more agile Euro peans have taken to climbing the pre-

cipitous peaks of this island. They surmounted Te Kou (1850 ft.), one Sun day, and on another occasion went right across the island, up the Avatiu Valley and past The Needle.

Expedition At Aitutaki

At present, in Aitutaki, there is an American Expedition, investigating the marine life there, and taking moving pictures of same. It is the Chancellor - Stuart Expedition (Mr. P. M. Chancel lor and Mr. Norton Stuart). Mr. Chan cellor is either a millionaire or mil lionaire’s son, and has taken up this work as a hobby. Mr. Stuart is the business man of the combination.

The Needle, a rock on the summit of one of Rarotonga's mountain peaks, familiar to all travel lers between Wellington and San Francisco.

Address to late Sir M. Pomare. See Letterpress.

A charming picture of Noumea, capital of New Caledonia, and tha other allied French territories. It is not generally known that Noumea is the nearest Pacific Islands town to Australia.