Romantic Tahiti

Interesting Scraps of History.

From Our Own Correspondent.

Tahiti. Oct. 10.

MR. PETER WILKIE, an old resident in Papeete, has now taken over the Stevenson’s Camp Hotel at Tautira from the late proprietor, Rivnak Milos, who is leaving for a trip to Europe.

This hostelry, which is becoming popular for week-end parties, as well as with the visiting tourists, is situated amid the most beautiful and romantic surroundings to be found in Tahiti. The village of Tautira is on the North-east coast of the Tiarapu peninsula, some 50 miles from Papeete, and it was this spot that Stevenson decided upon as a place of residence during his sojourn in Tahiti some forty-five years ago.

Somewhere in this locality also lie buried the remains of Don Domingo Boenechea, who first arrived in Tahiti as Commander of the Spanish frigate “Aguila” in 1772, some five years after the discovery of the island by Wallis, and returned again in the year 1774 with the intention of converting the natives to the Catholic faith and thus preparing the way for colonisation.

The venture proved to be an unlucky one, however, for Boenechea fell sick and died, and the two Franciscan Friars he established ashore failed to win the confidence of the inhabitants or to make a single convert. They left Tahiti finally after about a year’s stay; and so ended the Spanish connection with the island.

It would seem that for many years after his death Boenechea’s grave was carefully tended by the natives, but it is now completely lost, though diligently sought for by the local Societe des Etudes Oceaniennes. In all probability the site was neglected during the years of political disturbance in the early part of last century, and was finally obliter ated by the jungle.

Stevenson’s Camp Hotel commands magnificent views of the Tautira valley and the mountains of the Peninsula, as well as of the main island, and the cli mate is generally several degrees cooler than in Papeete. We wish Mr. Wilkie all the success that his enterprise de serves.