Orderly Tahiti

Memories of Ships, Honky-tonks and the Yacht Club

rHITI, one of the most orderly and law-afoiding communities on earth, becomes aware of the ugly spirit of disorder and lawlessness prevailing else where, whenever a ship calls at the port of Papeete.

Our unsavoury heritage from Honolulu, the honky-tonk, is the neutron which dis integrates the atoms descending from the ships, into' a hideous explosion that transforms Papeete to the pattern of the Hawaiian metropolis. This sort of thing does not enhance the white man’s pres tige.

Island authorities are at a dis advantage. Whenever they cast any of a ship’s company into gaol, the long arm of the distant Labour Leader immobilises the ship in port. The law of the Labour Union in an alien country, challenges the power of the Government in the Islands. The world is dancing to some strange tunes.

The honky-tonks, of late, have emerged from these Walpurgis nights somewhat like a shambles. The goodly sums de rived from “rectified” booze and maenad percentages, however far exceed the ac tual cost of repairs. So, the attendants sweep away the broken glass, patch up the cheap furniture, and the Palaces of Delight are speedilv made ready for an other argosy from overseas.

ALL this brings memories of the now defunct and decidedly not-lamented Tahiti Yacht Club.

The “Yacht” was a bit of airy imagina tion. But the title served certain mem bers of both sexes as a passport to the quarter-deck of incoming yachts, where they constituted themselves a “Welcome to Our City” committee.

The people aboard —who were so fed up with each other after the long voyage that the yachting party, like a delayed time-bomb, was on the point of blowing up—were pleased to see any new faces, and were flattered by what seemed to be an official welcome. Cocktail shakers were agitated, and the explosion of the time-bomb was delayed until the yacht was actually* at the quay.

Yachting parties always blew up at Papeete during the notorious 1920 decade.

The Tahiti Yacht Club was the place where the several scattered orphans could soothe their wounded spirits until mail-steamers came to take them away.

JThe barman was an artist; the booze 'was good, although costly; the gossip

was spicy.

Nor was there lack of other entertain ment. One of the charter members —a merry gentleman—had the engaging habit of punching the nose of any per son who declined to drink with him.

The whoopee parties, on steamer days, brought spectators from all parts of the Colony to witness pageants recalling the “Decay of the Roman Empire.”

The Tahiti Yacht Club was “of the tourist, by the tourist, for the tourist.”

As tourism diminished, the club faded, and finally vanished. Its disappearance was a, major contribution to the peace and good order of the community.—

Acr.

Apia (W. Samoa) rainfall during 1945 was 127.46 inches, according to figures just released by the local observatory.

Rainfall for January. 1946, was 23.98 inches and heavy rains were continuing in early February.