Polynesia”

“Royal Georgian Order of Polynesia”

Conferred on British Admiral by Queen Pomare of Tahiti

From Our Own Correspondent

Papeete, Nov. 1.

THE life of Queen Pomare and the his tory surrounding her important reign over Tahiti have been subjects of much research recently and the following particu lars concerning the ancient “Royal Geor gian Order of Polynesia” will no doubt b© of interest. This is not, as might be sup

posed, a fancy flight of the imagination, but an historical fact unearthed by that assid uous delver into the past, Mr. W. W.

Bolton, M.A., and is taken from a Com mand Paper (No. 142) presented to the British Government in the year 1847.

Just prior to Dupetit Thouar’s second visit to Tahiti (November 1, 1834) whilst her undisputed sovereignty was holding sway over the protectorate, Queen Pomare wrote on June 15, 1834, to Rear Admiral Thomas, Commander-in-Chief in the Pacific Ocean, as follows: — “Wishing to testify to you, O Admiral, my great satisfaction for all the good ser vices you have rendered to me in my distress, I send to you, by the first oppor tunity, the highest proof that I can give you of my gratitude and pleasure. This is to make known that I have conferred upon you the first and highest honour of Tahiti, and which I had determined upon estab lishing and did establish, so as to reward my kind friends of Britain who had come to my help in this time of my great trouble, as well as to reward my high chiefs who had been faithful to their Queen. The emblems of this order of merit shall be sent to you very soon, as I have sent to Britain for them.

“According then to the rules in your and other lands, I hereby nominate you a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Georgian Order of Polynesia as a perpetual testimony of my great satisfaction, and I shall write to my sister Queen, the great Victoria, to grant you permission to wear this token of my gratitude for the services you have done for me and for my dominions.—Pom are, Queen of Tahiti.”

There is, however, no known record as to whether the gallant Admiral actually became a K.G.O.