Turtle Led Adventurer to Cook Is

Cook Is. Treasure

THE following from the Sydney “Sun day Sun” of August 14 purports to be the story that induced Mr. J.

Wray, in his yacht “Ngataki”. to set out from Auckland, N.Z., in August to seek buried treasure on Suwarrow Island, in the Northern Cook Group:— According to a book. ‘‘Annals of a New Zealand Family”, written by Mrs, How ard Jackson, formerly Laura Mair, her relative. Henry Abbot Mair, found the treasure.

In 1876. Mair, who was on the brigan tine “Ryno”, off Suwarrow Island, says the author, swam ashore, and while rest ing. saw a turtle preparing to lay an egg. Hearing a metallic sound. Mair drew nearer and found an iron box em bedded in the sand.

With great difficulty he prised the lid off and saw that the box contained a large number of silver coins, rings and jewellery.

He was wearing only a singlet and leather belt, but he filled his singlet several times with the treasure, and. taking it up to dry sand, buried it at the foot of a tree.

Slipping some of the rings on his fingers, and placing some of the coins in his belt, he swam back to the ship and made a rough sketch of the island where he had buried his treasure, hoping at some future time to return to retrieve it. but failed to do so.

Two old residents of Fiji celebrated their birthdays during August—Mr. W. H.

Cuthbert. of Suva, who is 86, and Mr.

Richard B. Howard, of Navua, who is 90.

Mr. Cuthbert has snent 68 years in the Group (there was only one other European there when he arrived in Suva in 1870') and Mr. Howard has lived 21 years in the Colony.