Ihe Story Of

T. E. Binkley

By Oscar Nordman

Rhomas Erskine Bunkley

died on October 19, at the age of 80. He was wealthy and ery well known; but few followed is* body to burial in Papeete. In is long life there had been much ) admire; much to deplore.

Bunkley, then a small ragamuffin, joking much younger than his 19 ears, escaped from the vessel 'aloma when she arrived at 'apeete in 1890. He had stowed way on her in America. How he ot to the ship from his home State

of New Jersey, I do not know.

European resi dents helped the bare-foot youth.

He got a job as floor-sweeper in the stores of S.

R. Maxwell & Co., Ltd., and there he made himself useful.

They called him Pop o t i (cock roach) because he was so small and thin and lively.

Maxwells put him on the trim little schooner

tebecca as a supercargo, and bus he made several voyages d the Paumotus. Coming into 'apeete one day, Bunkley de ided he was homesick. He went to Ir. V. Goodwin, then acting as lanager of Maxwells, and reminded iim that he had done good work n the Rebecca: and he wanted taxwells to aid him by making up ds fare to ’Frisco.

“It was at your own choice that ou stowed away on the Paloma,” eplied Goodwin. “How you get back > your own concern. Get out!”

Junkley went back to the Rebecca. k/TANY voyages later, when the t! Rebecca came in, Mr. W. L.

Young, a high Maxwell execu ive from Auckland, was making his teriodical inspection. When he xiked over the record of Bunkley’s fork on the Rebecca, he was stounded. He was further im- Tessed with the interviews he had irith the young man.

The outcome of that, and of ome discussions in Auckland, was hat the young American was ffered and accepted—the manager hip at Papeete.

Immediately, the new manager ent for Goodwin. “Pity you didn’t end me to the States when I asked r ou that time, Vic,” he said. “Now, ’m your boss —and I haven’t for gotten.”

Goodwin prepared himself for the

Order of the Sack. But it didn’t come.

“I was pretty mad at that time,” said Bunkley. “But I think that, in taking that stand, you were acting in the best interests of the firm.

Just keep on serving the firm.”

The managership of T. E. Bunkley was very successful. He became the representative also in Papeete of the Union SS Co. He was absolutely ruthless in the trading world —all for the benefit of S. R. Maxwell. He was —to put it mildly—not loved.

There was the occasion when Captain Joe Winchester piled the firm’s fine schooner, Tamaru Tahiti, on a reef in the Tuamotus —well named the Dangerous Archipelago.

It was an accident that might hap pen to the best sailor. But Bunkley,

in an attempt to offset the loss, seized and sold all that Captain Winchester had.

It is a coincidence that Mrs. Win chester, widow of the captain (and mother-in-law of the famous James Norman Hall) died here within a few days of the death of Mr.

Bunkley'.

Many were the tales told of Bunkley’s hardness in dealing. I have a vivid personal memory of him, in those days.

MANY years ago, I was convicted of a crime I did not commit, and sent to gaol. Later on I was “pardoned” and, more recently, I was rehabilitated —mv name ex punged from the records. (next page.)

T. E. Bunkley

When I was imprisoned, I was the owner or controller of business ind property worth a million francs —cottages, hotel, cafe, garage.

Bunkley, through his position in Papeete, was prominent in the mat :er of dealing with my estate. He jersuaded my wife to agree to an motion sale of all my property—he iromised that he would buy it in md it would all be placed in the lame of my wife, and she would Tin the different businesses, which vere quite healthy. On that assur mce, the business community stayed iway from the sale, and Bunkley >ought the lot, at a low figure.

When my wife went to him, to lave these matters adjusted, he re used to discuss the matter. He aid he had bought the properties or himself. And he kept them.

When the Maxwell-Henderson & dacfarlane-Union Co. business was ill reorganised, Bunkley retired, a wealthy man. In his later years, he eemed lonely and unhappy. Maybe, le felt some remorse for the things le had done. When his will was ipened the other day, it was found hat he had bequeathed to my wife,

Margot, one of the properties (Villa Sonoma) he had taken from her in the dark days, long years ago.

Mr. and Mrs. Connell and three children departed for several months’ leave in Tasmania on December 15. Mr. Connell is attached to New Guinea Goldfields, Wau, New Guinea.

St. Augustine’s Church of Eng land, Wau, New Guinea, held a special Christmas Service on December 23—Special features were carol singing, and the Bethlehem Cantata sung by the choir, under the direction of Mrs. Hoile. Soloists were Mrs. Given, Mr. G. Smith and Mr. R. Curtis. The church over flowed and seats had to be ar ranged on the lawns outside.

West Samoa Identity

The late Mr. A. J. Tattersall, who was a professional photographer in Western Samoa for 60 years, and who died on November 25, aged 85. (See December

Pim).

A Cairns (Qld) company may es tablish fishing and pearling bases on Cartier and Ashmore Islands in the Timor Sea. The Islands, which are uninhabited, are nominally within the Commonwealth of Aus tralia but have been used by Indo nesians as fishing bases. It is believed that some of the islets

would be suitable for the production of culture pearls.

Under a recent Proclamation, all trochus and green snail shell sent out of the British Solomon Islands, after September 1, became liable to an export duty of 10 per cent, of FOB value.