[?] Z's Bright Lights
p. 37 · Read in the full issue
"Draining Off Cook Is. L eaders"
ure leaders in the Cook Islands eing lost to New Zealand be of the allurements of the Euro way of life, according to Mr. R. [ rchibald, a Wellington City :illor.
ARCHIBALD, who returned to NZ in May after a three tour of the Cook Islands, said : of leadership there was lead apathy towards the white gov :nt. te reasons for this apathy,” he “appear to be first the climate, lends itself to indolence, and ily a lack of leadership among own people because of an un paradox. e are educating their children imary schools on the islands, bright ones then have the e of attending Pareroa College rotonga and the bright ones at ollege receive scholarships for :r study in New Zealand, msequently, these people who be logical leaders do not go permanently to the islands, hav ;come used to the European way > ”
Different View , Archibald’s views differed those of Sir Leon Gotz, New nd Minister for Island Terri , who also returned from a week tour of the Cook Islands *y- Leon Gotz said he had been happy” to find that the Cook Is Legislative Assembly and the councils were co-operating ex [y well with the Resident Com ►ner and Resident Agents in the ;nt islands. am delighted at the progress las been made,” he said, lis progress is largely due to attitude taken by the Island members. They have sd that future progress is de nt on the amount of self help i they display. ley also realise New Zealand jnly give a certain amount of y and with the tremendous h of the population it is obvi iat greater effort must be made ovide food and sustenance for reat many childen.”
Sir Leon said that on Mangaia, 1,100 children, aged between six and 16, were going to school, out of the total population of 1,600.
Many new sustenance crops had been developed. The islanders were now planting pepper, new types of passion fruit, allspice, new kumaras which could be canned, extra varieties of pineapples, and there were 60,000 coffee seedlings ready to be sown.
Tomatoes were also being grown to supply the New Zealand market in times of shortage, and the canning factory was going “great guns”.
“I am hopeful that tuna canning will be developed so that full use can be made of the freezer and the canning plant,” he said.