Cook Is.
p. 40 · Read in the full issue
Neighbourly Calls In
Rarotonga Sends Footballers and Trenchermen.
From Our Own Correspondent.
Rarotonga, Aug. 19.
IN the good old days, when a Poly nesian community wanted excite ment, an expeditionary army and a fleet of war-canoes were prepared; and some neighbourly island, if it was not alert, literally got it in the neck.
We do things differently to-day—we send our picked sportmen to call on our neighbours.
It has never been possible to send a local team of native footballers and cricketers to New Zealand to meet members of their own race, the Maoris, at sport.
The Rarotonga Sports’ Association decided to send a team of footballers and cricketers this year to Atiu, 116 miles away. Funds were raised, chiefly by dances. Troupes of native dancers gave a series of hula-hula dances of astonishing variety. These perform ances at last came to an end, and final arrangements were made to transfer some 40 players and visitors to Atiu by the schooner Tagua.
The party departed as “deck cargo” and provided their own rations while aboard ship. The journey was ex pected to last about 24 hours. Four or five days went by without news of the arrival of the Tagua, and fears were aroused that something had gone amiss With the schooner.
The party eventually reached their destination, and commenced a series of test matches. These are still in pro gress, and wireless results indicate that the Rarotongans are having the best of things.
A consideration which crops up when inter-island tours are being planned is whether the food resources of the island visited will stand up to the strain of the feasts that inevit ably have to be provided for the visitors. The next worst thing to a hurricane at an island is the arrival of teams of lusty footballers and cricketers.
Very little produce has been ex ported this year from Atiu, owing to the lack of shipping. In view of this, it has been estimated that the food re sources of the island will not be en tirely wiped out.
On the return of the tourists to Rarotonga, they will most likely be challenged to meet teams on their own island, both of footballers and cricketers. This arises from the some what peculiar custom which the selec tors are obliged to observe in deciding upon those to be included in the touring team. There is a kind of tribal law to be observed. An eaual number of players must be picked from each sports district. Consequently, many of the best players are left behind. They plan to have their revenge when the lucky ones return.