“Queen Petterson"

Romantic Story of New Guinea Life

ATTENTION in recent months has been directed to the Island of Tatau, in the Tabar Group, off the eastern coast of New Ireland, by reports of a discovery of gold there. Investigations are proceeding at the present moment.

It was reported in this journal six months ago that the captain of an Islands schooner noticed gold in the mud on the anchor which he raised preparatory to leaving the lee of Tatau Island. He men tioned the fact to Mr. Charles Petterson, a veteran planter on Tatau Island, and Mr. Petterson subsequently obtained a con siderable quantity of gold there.

The newspapers now have been telling the romantic story of Mr. Petterson’s life.

The following (according to the Rahaul Times) appeared recently in a German newspaper, which stated that the Swedish newspapers had reported that “Queen Pet terson’ had just passed away in her native town of Gefle, in Sweden.”

“In 1915 (according to the German newspaper) a ship was wrecked in the Pacific Ocean. Only one of the crew was saved, a Swedish sailor, whose name was Charles Petterson. He succeeded in get ting to an island named Tabar, which was one of the old German islands of the Bis marck Archipelago. The island was in habited by cannibals, but notwithstanding their ugly habit, they received the ship wrecked man in a more than friendly manner. They saw in the white man a god, and they worshipped him as such. The old chief gave him his daughter as a wife and when he died shortly afterw r ards, the natives chose the w T hite man to be his successor. The living on this far-off island in the Pacific Ocean was at that time more peaceful than anywhere else upon earth and, as the dignity of a chief is besides united with big revenues, so the Swede agreed with them on this position.

Together with his dusky consort he reigned prudently and wisely on the island, and he introduced perhaps also a bit of civilisa tion. Anyhow he deterred them from their cannibalism and he made them highly styled vegetarians.

“Years of peace and prosperity passed: the brown daughter of the chieftain gave birth each year to a child, but after having given birth to the ninth child she died. He did not like to remain a widower, but he would not take another native wife. He went to Europe to look for a new consort.

Then it happened that the newspapers became aware of his adventure and they dealt with it very profusely. They were also responsible for calling the Swede sailor the ‘King of Tabar, King Charles the First.’ It sounded so noble and, as a matter of fact, it was not a lie. He was a supreme ruler on his far-off island. The king him self grinned over his title, but it did not at all mount to his head, at least as far as his future wife was concerned. He did not like a princess or some high-class per son. ‘She need not be rich, nor even hand some; the main thing is that she be good for my children,’ he said.

“On his trip fo Europe he quite natur ally called upon his native country and in his native city, Gefle, he met his looked-for bride. Her name was Jessie Simpson. The name sounded English, and her father was of English origin. But he was a Swedish citizen, the principal of the gasworks at Gefle, and Jessie was born there.

“She trusted him and she accompanied him to his insular state in the South Sea.

“Now began for Jessie her big adven

ture. But alas, it did not end so nicely, as she had thought of. She could not stand the hot South Sea climate. After some years she got malaria, and neither the natives nor the white ‘medical men’ could restore her to health. Then her husband sent her back to her country, and he made up his mind to follow as soon as he would have cared for his successor, and for his business in the insular state. The suc cession question was easily settled, because his eldest son ascended his ‘throne,’ but it was not so easy to order his affairs, for these comprised amongst others a gold mine, which was to be sold. But before the ‘King Charles’ could return to his native land as a private man, Petterson, his ‘Queen’ died.

“The golden adventure ends here.”

Miss Jean Forster, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Forster, of Suva, who recently announced her engagement to Mr. Wil liam Gidley King, of Fiji, arrived in Syd ney to spend three months’ holiday by the Niagara on January 25.

Mr. H. Miedicke, father of a well-known Samoan cocoa planter, Mr. J. G. Miedicke, of Magia Plantation, died after a short illness in Apia Hospital on January 3.

Mr. Miedicke, who had reached the ad vanced age of 79, had been living with his son for the last few years. He was one of the old Queensland pioneers.