Site Of Ancient Mangaia
pp. 79-80 · Read in the full issue
Marae Uncovered
From Our Own Correspondent MANGAIA, April.
Council-workers of the Keia dis trict, acting upon the suggestion of Pastor Rani, recently cleared away about an acre of dense scrub and un covered the sites of the ancient marae of the heathen Rongo and (by its side) the first Christian edifice on Mangaia.
The first “church” was nothing more than a thatched roof supported by six pillars of wood but there John Williams, pioneer LMS missionary, was received by Mangaia’s native king a century ago and there also the first mission service was held. This church was later abandoned for another on the beach site now occupied by the px’esent church.
The original site, next the marae, rapidly fell under a dense growth of guava and other island scrub and became little more than a legend, its presence often doubted in modern times.
The recent clearing has, however, re vealed the old marae of Rongo, a 10-ft square of stones on a slight rise, and also the unmistakable site of the church that eclipsed the heathen place of sacrifice.
The marae was floored with coral pebbles, still remarakbly white; although no trace, naturally, can be found of any church building. This writer has searched the sites of both the marae and the first church but found no ancient relics or artifacts.
A native policeman in Rabaul was hanged in Rabaul in early April for killing a native woman with his bayonet. There have also been a number of killings in the Fly-Strickland area of Papua—these as the result of inter-tribal feuds.
Administration patrols are gradually en tering these areas to find in many cases that natives, neglected during the war years, have reverted to old-time savagery.
Suva’s month-long beer drought was broken when supplies arrived at the end of April. Apart from this last acute period, supplies have been short for a long time.
There may be some connection between this and the fact that although HMAS Bataan was recently in Suva for a four days’ visit, the occasion gave rise to not a single “incident” worthy of comment.
Mr. Jock Campbell, BA, AEd, who was formerly on the staff of the Rabaul Euro pean School, has resigned from the Queensland Department of Public In struction, and is now Senior Geography Master at the Brisbane Boys’ Grammar School. Mr. Campbell’s turn of office with the old New Guinea Administration is still uncompleted; but no effort has been made to re-instate him. His qualifications are said to be higher and his status senior to some of those who have been appointed to high positions in the Education De partment of the new Administration.
Evidently, Mr. Campbell had the temerity to speak his mind to some bereaucrac somewhere, as this is Bureaucracy’s usual way of getting back at people who dare to criticise.
A shipment of 46 pigs to assist in re stocking Nauru Island (which was “eaten out” by Japs in 1943-45) was loaded at Auckland in April by the British Phos phate Commission’s motorship Trienza.
Mrs. W. Cameron was a passenger on the “Malaita” when it left Sydney on April 24, for New Guinea. With her two children, she will rejoin her husband in Edie Creek.