Boss MeKegg

Noted Trader and Planter Passes On

A Tribute to Boss MeKegg

By R. W. Robson

Bob McKEGG, who suddenly died in Rarotonga on July 7, aged 71, was the first Pacific Islands resident I ever met; and one of the best.

I had never previously seen a Zealand, an unsophisticated youth.

I had neved previously seen a coconut tree, or a non-Maori Polynesian, or the friendly evening cavortings beside the lagoon.

McKegg, of my own generation and texture, introduced me to Islands life.

He explained why it was unwise to drink the fermented orange-juice (“bush beer”) which the lads kept hidden in the lovely green valley behind Avarua; and why the giggling young ladies of the village put red hibiscus blossoms behind their left ears.

My friendship with Bob, like my first impressions of the Islands’ life to which he opened the door, lasted for 45 years.

He was 23 when he went to Rarotonga first for Messrs. W. H.

Grove and Sons Ltd.; and when I saw him, a little later, he was running the store in Rarotonga for the Cook Islands Trading Co. Ltd.

He was not only a popular young man—he was a very competent trader, and he soon won the con fidence and respect of both Euro pean and native communities in the Cook Islands.

Within a few years, Robert McKegg had acquired full possession of the Cook Islands Trading Co.; and thenceforward he conducted it as a private concern, for the bene fit of his family. He made a happy marriage, and he is survived by his wife, Mrs. Irene McKegg, and their two sons, Henley and Neil.

Like so many successful traders, Mr. McKegg (in his later years, he was universally known as “Boss”

McKegg) gave his knowledge and his service freely to his Island community, and assisted much in building up its industries. He took a ,^ en interest in the planting and cultivation of oranges, and assisted m introducing methods to improve the produce for the New Zealand market. He died on his well known Plantation, Taipara, the establish ment and improvement of which had been his lifetime hobby.

The South Pacific Islands owe a great deal to successful, generous men of the type of Bob McKegg.

A group from Fiji, at a recent Polynesian Association party in Sydney: John Raddock, Mrs.

Lily Antilla (formerly Smith), Mrs. Venice Raddock and her sisted Orbell (from Levuka). —A Tele-Photo.