Little Old Schoolhouse On The Coral

Because of its inaccessibility, Mangaia, in the Southern Cooks, has always been rather neglected. But the youngsters will now be well catered for with these three new school buildings which recently were completed by the Cook Is. Works Dept. The school is built on the makatea—the upthrust coral barrier that encircles the island a short way inland, and which in places is 300 ft high and up to a mile wide. Mangaia is the same type of formation as French Makatea, and British Ocean Is. and Nauru. But unlike these three islands, there is no phosphate on Mangaia which probably pleases the Mangaians, anyway. Some years ago when high grade manganese was found the people decided that they would only be letting themselves in for a lot of trouble if they allowed anyone in to exploit it. They rely on orange and pineapple exports for their cash income.

Photo: W. H. Perciva*