Tragedy Of Atimaono

Story of the Rise and Fall of a Tahitian Cotton Enterprise

(From the MS. of J. L. Young, xoritten at Merami, Warren, N.S.W., about i 1928, and edited by W. W. Bolton, M.A.)

Section I.

THE rise and fall of the Tahiti Cotton and Coffee Plantation Company Limited, of 9 Mincing Lane, London, 1863-1873 (also know as “La Compagnie Soares” and “The Atimaono Com pany”) was one of the romances of the Pacific, in which the personality <of William Stewart, the originator of the enterprise and the manager at Tahiti, played a leading part.

In 1862, cotton, in consequence of the Civil War in the United States, had attained a very high price, which in duced William Stewart to visit Tahiti in that year. He obtained from John Griffin Orsmond the transfer of lease of 385 hectares —900 acres —of land at Teahupoo, on the peninsula of Taiarapu.

This land had been leased by natives to Orsmond for a term of 100 years, from 1843, at a rental of 275 francs per annum. The value was small, only a portion being cultivable.

Apparently, on the strength of this acquisition, Stewart induced his brother in-law, Auguste Soares, a Portuguese financier of London and Paris, to form an association styled “The Polynesian Plantation Company”, which was suc ceeded in 1863 by “The Tahiti Cotton and Coffee Plantation Company Limited of London”; capital, £lOO,OOO sterling; general manager, Auguste Soares; manager at Tahiti, William Stewart.

In 1863, Stewart had persuaded the Governor, Commandant de la Richerie, to promise to assist him in acquiring an area sufficiently large to warrant the establishing of an agricultural enter prise: the intention being that lands in the Papara and Atimaono districts should be expropriated and paid for at prices to be agreed upon. The Pro tectorate Government (Tahiti was. a Protectorate from 1842 to 1880) was to guarantee the lands free of taxation for 20 years, and exemption from Customs duties for a like period of all machinery and all other articles of prime necessity for the working of the plantation. It was on these prospects that the T.C.C.P.

Company was formed in London in 1863.

But when Stewart, after visiting London, reached Tahiti, at New Year, 1864, he found that the Governor had received positive instructions from the Minister of Marine at Paris not to carry out any arrangements for expropriation of lands until further orders. These instructions were the result of protests to the Minister by interested parties at Tahiti, who from various motives were opposed to the proposed enterprise.

Stewart, who was a man of action, then

decided to deal with the landowners direct.

The Governor on January 11, 1864, formally notified the natives that they were at liberty to dispose of their lands to Stewart or to decline to do so. How ever, there is no doubt that the Gov ernor strongly advised the proprietors that it would be to the general interest to encourage the cultivation of the waste lands by sale to Stewart, as well as that of the comparatively small area of native food plantations which were contained in the proposed aggregation.

Stewart continued during 1864 and subsequent years to acquire the free hold of an area which, according to the plan made in November, 1867, by Sur veyor John Turnbull, had a frontage of miles to the sea and extended inland and up the mountain side for more than 7 miles, the area being nominally some 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres), of which a large part was rugged mountain. But when, in 1875, the estate was sold at public auction the total area then claimed was 3,950 hectares (9,500 acres) of which 1,450 hectares (3,500 acres) was cultivable and 2,500 hectares (6,000 acres) mountain. All freehold; except 105 hectares of communal lands apper taining to the Chefferie of Atimaono, which was leased to Stewart in 1864 for a term of 50 years, renewable for a further term of 49 years at a rental of a little more than 400 francs each year.

The Estate Estate was called “Terre Eugenie” in honour of the Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon 111. It it to be noted that all titles to land stood in the name of William Stewart,

although he acknowledged that he pur chased for the company.

The total area cultivated up to the cessation of operations in 1873 was 3,100 acres) as follows, as stated officially by the Court.

Under Sea Island Cotton . . . . 1,000 hectares. „ Coffee ... 150 „ Sugar cane 50 „ „ Coconut trees 50 „ „ Maize, Rice, Vegetables, etc 50 1,300 „ In 1864, 1,000 Chinese were imported and others subsequently—also a num ber of Gilbert and Kingsmill Islanders.

Numerous Tahitians and Cook Islanders were also employed, besides 60 or more whites and half-castes as overseers, artisans, clerks, etc. At an official en quiry in September, 1867, it was found that the number of labourers was at that time 916 Chinese and 323 Poly nesians, of which 108 were women. This number was exceeded in 1869, when more than 1,500 were employed on the Estate.

The plantation was well laid out and cultivated, and extensive buildings erected, the foundations of several of which were composed of coral blocks from the Great Marae (sacrificial altar) of Mahaiatea, which was situated on

the Estate. These comprised cotton gin ning mill, engine and boiler house, cot ton drying house, sugar mill, coffee cleaning machinery building, boat houses, etc. Substantial quarters for employees, and hospital accommodation for both white and coloured patients, also quarters for the latter. „ There was a comfortable house for Stewart, who entertained lavishly during the first

years of his management, and more sparingly later on —due, it was said, to the advice of the Governor, the Comte de la Rouciere, who thought that too free a hospitality attracted officers and functionaries from their duties at the town of Papeete, 27 miles away.

At one period, three sailing vessels were employed in recruiting Polynesian labourers. Wages, which varied from 30 to 100 francs per month and found, were paid in cash in local currency, mostly silver dollars, to the labourers at regular stated intervals. These were on the whole well fed and cared for, and not ill-treated, and were under the care of a French medical man resident on the plantation, who reported to the Chief Health Officer at Papeete.

Stewart, though a strict disciplinarian, was naturally a humane man and if, as occasionally may have been the case, discipline was enforced with a certain severity by overseers, he did not fail to rebuke the authors. Anyone who has had experience in managing coloured contract labourers knows how difficult it is, with the best intentions, to avoid disciplinary methods which seem harsh.

Of course, the Tahitians and their con nections looked with disfavour on a sys tem which compelled regular work dur ing regular hours and enforced discip line; so it naturally came to be an

William Stewart.

accepted fact that the Chinese and Gil bert Islanders were slaves.

Attacks on Stewart THIS view was made use of by the opponents of Stewart, for whom “any stick was good enough to beat a dog”. Among these were some who claimed that the land had been acquired by Stewart at prices which were too low —forgetting that originally most of the land, being unoccupied, had no practical value, and in fact an examination of the prices paid the natives, as appears in the Government records, shows that full values were paid, as values were at the time. His critics included some in fluential merchants at Papeete who were jealous of Stewart’s preponderating in fluence and feared injury to their inter ests; also some Chauvinists among French officials and functionaries who objected, not unnaturally perhaps, to the extension of British influence in Tahiti —the memory of the Pritchard affair was still recent —and, of course, the usual crowd who “bark as the caravan goes by”. Not least was the enmity of the British Consul, who had personal reasons for disliking Stewart, and who had actually proceeded unsuccessfully in the French Courts against him on a charge of “insuiting oehaviour” arising from a reply Stewart had made to a letter.

Stewart was a masterful man and was not at all conciliatory in manner to his opponents, some of whom were quite unscrupulous in their methods of attack. For instance, they used as a tool a worthless rascal, a former visi tor to Tahiti, who inspired articles in the American Press, charging cruelty to the labourers on Atimaono, which it was asserted was condoned and actually permitted by the Government.

In consequence of these attacks, which were republished in French and British newspapers, the Governor appointed a Commission to proceed to the plantation and investigate conditions there. The Commission was composed of 14 per sons, all men of position, viz., the high est judicial and the highest executive functionaries of the country, a naval officer, two medical men, one French merchant, three French planters, one British planter, two American ship masters and the German Consul, who was also a prominent merchant. The British Consul was invited but declined to attend.

The Commission made its unanimous report to the Government on Septem ber 27, 1867, which was to the effect that the 1,239 labourers were well fed, well housed and well treated under the care of a qualified French medical man, and with good hospital accommodation.

Further, that no complaints of bad treatment or of having been beaten or flogged, or of want of care or food, were elicidated, though numerous Chinese and natives were interviewed privately by different members of the Commission.

Outside of such minor complaints as that some abusive language had been used by some of the French and Eng lish overseers, the only serious com plaint—if it can be called serious—was

made by the Chinese who claimed that Stewart’s attempt to minimise suicide by their compatriots was unwarranted.

It appeared that certain Chinese who had lost money gambling had hanged themselves. Stewart as a deterrent had fined the fellow-gamblers of the suicides.

They admitted that this measure had caused a cessation of the practice but maintained that suicide was a recognised way of ending trouble and settled all accounts, therefore fines were not in order! The Commission could not take that view, so the grievance remained.

The members of the Commission

unanimously declared their complete satisfaction without reserve with all that they had seen and heard at the plantation, which gave the lie to the statements which had been made to the contrary, which they described as “in famous calumnies”. The report of the Commission is contained in a pamphlet in English, including the Report in French, which was printed at the Gov ernment Printing Office in September, 1867, under the title “An outline of how it came to pass that so many absurd stories have been circulated about the cotton plantation of Terre Etigenie”.

End of Atimaono ginned cotton was principally ex- 1 ported to England, and while the price of the article kept up, it appeared as it success might be assured; but with the fall in price of Sea Island cotton, from 1869 onward, from as much as 3 to even 4 shillings per pound, to one shillmg per pound, and even less, sue-

cess was impossible; and in 1872 failure became inevitable.

Money could not be found to carry on and operations practically ceased in 1873, and William Stewart was declared by the Court to be in a state of insolv ency. AH the lands had been purchased and held in his name and he was there fore legally the owner and responsible

for the debts of the very large estate.

A delay was caused by the necessity of regulating the situation, which was done by Auguste Soares, the general manager of the T.C.C.P. Company Limited, making a declaration in May 1874, before the Lord Mayor of Lon don, that William Stewart had acted solely in the capacity of manager and had never pretended to any personal ownership of the lands or other assets of the company.

Meantime, William Stewart died at Atimaono on September 24, 1873, at the age of 48.

As the result of a suit brought by Andrew Crawford and Co., of San Fran ks 00 ’ i Who were amon g the creditors, the lahitian Court on August 22 1874 declared the T.C.C.P. Co. Ltd., to be insolvent. The creditors having agreed to a voluntary liquidation, the estate was put up to public auction at Papeete ?nnn A nn g f USt 3 H 18 1 5 ’- at the P riee of 500,000 francs for Atimaono, and 20,000 francs for the rights to lease of lands at Teahupoo, and was purchased by a syndicate styled Laharrague, Robin et Cie, composed of the two gentlemen above-named with Mr. de la Casa, Mayor or Paris, Mr. Francois Cardella, of Papeete, and others.

Under the management of Mr. Car del a, a little sugar and rum was made, and a little coffee and vanilla grown, and a precarious and uncertain revenue derived from the slaughter of spme of the half-wild cattle, the progeny of the plantation herd, which had escaped into the mountain valleys. Gradually it was found that there was nqt enough revenue to pay expenses of management, and the estate became a wilderness.

Some of the proprietors entered into litigation with their associates, which proved fruitless; and eventually, about the year 1900, it was finally agreed to dispose of the estate piecemeal. It passed into the hands of several owners, who have planted many thousands of coconut trees, and one established a sugar mill which has turned out some thousands of tons of sugar during the past 25 years.

Mr. de la Richerie was succeeded as Governor-Commandant of Tahiti on December 14, 1863, by Comte de la Rouciere, who held office until June 5, 1869, when he was replaced by M. Tous lard.

M. de la Rouciere believing, as M. de la Richerie had done, that the enterprise of Mr. Stewart was a benefit to Tahiti and to its inhabitants, did not fail to give it encouragement and thus gained the ill-will of those who were opposed to Stewart.

Mont Calme ANY sketch of the history of Ati maono would be incomplete if men tion of this “house on the height” was omitted. Stewart's action in erecting the house impressed the imagination of the people of Tahiti, which was what he intended, among other things.

Mont Calme, also known as the “White House”, was situated on a small

plateau on the mountain-side, at an elevation of 1,630 feet above sea level, nearly three miles in an air line from the sea and about half a mile from the Eastern boundary of the estate. The site is still marked by some tall Nor folk Island pine-trees, and a luxuriant mango tree, both planted by Stewart in 1866. The towering pines are still vis ible from the main road west of Tah aruu River. These trees may be re garded as the only visible memorial of William Stewart, for all the many sub stantial wooden buildings which he caused to be erected, including his com modious residence, have in the course of more than 70 years fallen down through neglect or have been pulled down or burned, and so have totally disappeared.

Mont Calme was the result of a sort of Monte Cristo gesture on the part of Stewart. The Comtesse de la Rouciere remarked to him, in 1866, that such an estate should have a health resort on the heights. He replied that it was too soon to think of such an expense, but began at once to prepare, not mention ing his intention to any person. He had a road made up the hill and a site cleared on the plateau, ostensibly to plant Cinchona trees. All the material for the six-roomed house and outbuild ings was cut and marked ready Jto erect. He then put on most of his 1200 labourers to carry up the material and erect the buildings, to instal the furni ture and to lay out a garden and trans plant bushes and even small trees watered by the supply from a neigh bouring spring. He persuaded the police at the post on the plantation, near the Taharuu River, to stop all traffic towards the town for a day, in order that no news of the work in pro gress should reach that place. Then he hastened over the 27 miles to Papeete with relays of horses and induced the Count and Countess to return with him to be surprised!

On arrival at Atimaono, they were carried in sedan chairs up the winding road to the house, which he then pre sented to the Countess as a “Maison de campagne”, furnished and with a staff of servants. She named the house “Mont Calme”. She did not occupy it very often, for an ever-in creasing feeling of hostility to Stewart was manifested by his opponents, who resented the friendship between the Governor and himself, which had the effect of curtailing the visit of the Count and Countess to Atimaono. The build ing of Mont Calme, though loudly de nounced as an extravagance by those who had no money in the plantation and therefore nothing to lose, was really intended by Stewart as an advertisement and also as an additional lien between the Governor and himself.

Stewart was not extravagant in the management of Atimaono in view of the size and importance of the enter prise and his belief in the permanence of the same. He could not foresee the rapid recovery of the cotton industry in the United States, after the termination of the Civil War in 1865, and the con sequent fall in the price of the article,

any more than did the planters of cot ton in Fiji, Samoa and elsewhere at the same epoch, who equally suffered ruinous losses.

Mont Calme appears on the large plan of Terre Eugenie, made by the Surveyor John Turnbull in November, 1867, as the “White House”.

Barque “Moaroa”

THE following incident throws a light on the conditions of recruiting labourers in the Pacific in those days. (Editor’s Note: The following account of the “Moaroa” tragedy is not regarded by Mr. Bolton as complete or accurate.

It evidently was pieced together by Mr. Young, from several sources.) On July 4, 1869, off Nukunau (Byron Island) the barque “Anna”, of Mel bourne, Captain Bruce, met the barque “Moaroa”, of Tahiti, Captain Blackett, owned by the Atimaono Plantation under the French Protectorate Flag.

The “Anna” had 159 natives of the Gil bert Islands on board, recruited at various islands as labourers for Fiji— most of them no doubt induced to ship by false pretences. Two days pre viously, Captain Bruce had heard from a passing vessel of the action being taken by the courts at Sydney against the captain and supercargo of a vessel for kidnapping and incidentally murder ing natives, and feared prosecution if he proceeded to Fiji with his passengers.

Meeting the “Moaroa”, which vessel was seeking labourers for Atimaono,

J. B. Lattin, a Frenchman, who was the supercargo and also part charterer of the “Anna”, saw the chance of dis posing of his cargo of natives without risk of taking them to Fiji. In concert with Captain Bruce, he told Captain Blackett that his water casks had leaked and that he had not water enough to carry the natives to Fiji, and there fore wished to be rid of them. For pay ment of £6 per head —euphemistically called “passage money”—the 159 natives were sold to the “Moaroa”.

As Captain Blackett had not enough money on board to pay the sum agreed on, J. B. Lattin took passage on the “Moaroa” to get paid on arrival at Tahiti.

The “Moaroa” recruited about 150

more natives at Arorae Island, and some 200 more at various islands, and was bound for Tahiti on July 17 with about 500 natives on board, of whom not less than 100 were women and chil dren.

On that date, at 7 a.m., the vessel being then becalmed about 5 miles S.S.E. of Nukunau, the natives rose and killed Captain Blackett and J. B. Lattin —the former with his own Winchester rifle, the latter with the cook’s axe. They also killed three of the watch on deck, who were Eastern Polynesian natives.

The fourth escaped aloft, and slid down a stay into the forecastle. The natives then attacked the watch below in the forecastle but Maori Harry (a pure blooded Maori) transfixed with a har poon the first man who came down the ladder and so stopped that attack.

Heinhault, the mate (subsequently well known to the writer at San Fran cisco as Master of vessels, but under another name) retreated to the cabin with the second mate, the cook and the steward.

About 9 a.m., all the natives being on deck, the men in the forecastle ran through the hold and joined those in the cabin through the bulkhead. The second mate, having found some liquor, be came foolhardy and insisted on opening one of the cabin portholes to parley with the natives, when he was instantly killed with a double-barrelled gun which had been taken from the interpreter— who, by the way, was not killed, but tied hand and foot on deck. This was about 11 a.m, Maori Harry suggested to the mate to blow up the half-deck next to the cabin.

All the powder obtainable, 34 half pound tins, was emptied into a small keg, which was raised on cases of pro visions, until the mouth of the keg was close up under the half-deck hatch, on which many of the natives were col lected.

The powder was fired by a train, the mate and crew sheltering themselves with blankets, mattresses, etc. The hatch was blown off with considerable noise and smoke and, when the crew immediately rushed on deck shouting, with what weapons they had, the natives became panic-stricken and all jumped overboard.

Some of the natives, finding that the vessel was not destroyed by the ex plosion, tried to board her, but were prevented. It had been calm, all through the tragedy, with the vessel drifting along the land some four or five miles distant, but a light breeze sprang up just after the natives quitted the vessel.

Owing to the strong current running to the S.W., between Nukunau and Beru Island, 20 miles to the West of the former, only few of the swimmers reached Nukunau, and a few of the strongest reached Beru, helped by the current. It is uncertain how many sur vived—some accounts say 8 landed on Beru of which 4 were women, other accounts say 12. Again, it was said that 30 reached Nukunau, others say more than 40, of whom several died soon after landing. Some of the sur vivors declared that they encountered a “demon” shark (“Bakou tuea” or “King Shark”) of great size, who de voured several and that fear and ex haustion caused the others to sink.

It was an awful tragedy. Several were no doubt burned by powder. The writer saw a man at Nukunau, in 1876, who had the mark of a burn on the hip. which he said was caused by the explosion. He said that several infants in arms and older children were among the victims and gave some harrowing details of the lamentations of the un fortunate swimmers who sank, one by one.

Captain Bruce, of the “Anna”, is the same man with whom the writer was wrecked in the “Rose” in the hurricane

of March 20, 1871. He related part of the foregoing—the rest was gleaned from various sources in the Gilbert Group, and at Tahiti and San Fran cisco. The Islands from which the natives on board the “Moaroa” were re cruited are as follow, with approximate population in 1869;—Beru (Francis Island), 1500; Nukunau (Byron Island), 4000; Onoatoa (Clerk Island), 3000; Tamana (Botcher Island), 2000; Arao rae (Hope Island), 2000. These figures are not to be relied on, being merely estimates. Owing to the number of labourers recruited from 1869 to 1873, and the loss of life by starvation dur ing droughts in the late 70’s, it would be difficult to ascertain what the prob able numbers were in 1869—possibly about the foregoing.

Chinese Murders IN 1869, the opponents of Stewarts made much capital of the exe cution of a Chinese who had begn the ringleader in the murder and mutil ation of three other Chinese. Four were accused, but after trial by the Courts at Papeete, only one was con demned to death. The Governor was also abused for having “introduced the guillotine to Tahiti”, and Stewart for having “demanded four heads” by accus ing four men as murderers, which they were!

Tragedy seemed to haunt Atimaono, the last being the murder of Mottu, an aged Swiss, who was employed by the owners of the estate in 1896 (of whom the writer was one at that epoch) as caretaker.

The natives of Papara had for some time been in the habit of trespassing on the property and killing the half wild cattle. Mottu, while sitting by a path watching for the marauders, was sneaked on and killed by a stone thrown by one of them. His body was buried by the murderers and, for a length of time, his disappearance was a mystery to all but the murderers and their friends. After many months, one of the latter was overheard by a half caste relating the story to a boy. The police were informed, the remains ex humed, the man who threw the stone was condemned to imprisonment at Noumea, and “Justice was satisfied”!

The skull of Mottu is a gruesome ex hibit at the Museum at Papeete to the present day.

(To Be Continued.)

Captain and Mrs. H, Gosling left Suva, Fiji, by the April “Mariposa” for England.

Miss Mabel Yandall, who for the past 12 years had been well-known in West ern Samoa as an assistant in the store of Burns Philp (S.S.) Co., Ltd., died at Tufuiopa on April 9, aged 30. The cause of her death was tuberculosis.

Educated in New Zealand, she was closely connected with the Apia Protest ant Church, singing in the choir and teaching in the Sunday school. Miss Yandall visited Sydney at the end of 1936 to seek medical advice.