Understanding

Letters To The Editors

The Polynesian

Mind

Sir, —Without wishing to be dis courteous towards Mrs. Hebenstreit ( PIM , October), I am completely in agreement with the forthright official of the Cook Islands Administration who bluntly told her “that she could not possibly understand the Poly nesian mind”.

Cook Islanders still peevishly recall the famous article in which Mrs.

Hebenstreit [Johnny Frisbie] wrote that the local Maori population pre fer to travel to New Zealand by the high-priced Matson ships instead of the more modest Moana Roa.

Wrathful Maori critics declare that Mrs. Hebenstreit missed the major point of the whole issue—Cook Is landers can secure accommodation on the Matson ships with comparative ease. The Government-owned Moana Roa is frequently heavily booked by officials proceeding to New Zealand.

Necessity and not snobbishness, say the Cook Islanders, necessitate their travelling by the Matson ships.

Writing of the possibility of fapanese entering Rarotonga, Mrs.

Hebenstreit says: “The islanders smile for they do not fear such a thing.”

Perhaps Mrs. Hebenstreit has now the report on the debate in the -ook Islands Legislative Assembly 3n that particular matter; it appeared n the same issue of PIM.

Those Islander members were not sxactly “smiling” when they expressed ilarm that the little (16,000-acre) sland of Rarotonga would be iwamped by the newcomers. (Very ;ensibly they opted instead for de veloping their own fishing industry mder the guidance of their own ughly-trained Fisheries Officer.) P-NG Trends Mrs, Hebenstreit holds highly motional but amorphous views on acialism, but it would perhaps re tire the intervention of an ontologist 0 interpret them.

It is with some hesitation, there ore, that I suggest she should read he excellent article in October PIM 'V . Judy Tudor on Papua - New juinea. Some similarity appears to xist between certain present trends 1 the Cook Islands and P-NG.

I fear, however, that Mrs. Heben streit may declare that Judy Tudor is yet another of the “misguided” ones.

“Rare is the man,” declares Mrs.

Hebenstreit, “who can really ‘feel’ the emotions of a race other than his own.”

The rest of the world must have been wrong for all these years about Joseph Conrad, Louis Viaud Pierre Loti), Ernest Hemingway, Sir Richard Burton (the classical Arabic scholar and traveller), Benjamin Dis raeli, Rupert Brooke, Rudyard Kip ling, Lord Lugard, and the Cook Islands’ own Rev. W. W. Gill.

One could add at least another 30 names to this list without diffi culty.

Mrs. Hebenstreit—now an Ameri can citizen who lives in New Zealand —professes deep sentimental attach ments towards her “real home”, which she states is the Cook Islands.

Yet the said Mrs. Hebenstreit has written some pretty tart things about conditions in that spiritual home of hers.

Here are a few extracts from articles she published in the Auckland Star only 18 months ago. • By the time you’ve finished a few weeks in the Cooks, you’ll prob

ably be ready for a touch of luxury anyhow ... If New Zealand offers an “entertainment wilderness” to the tourist, Raro tonga is a desert. • Cook Islanders are leaving for a new life in New Zealand in ever increasing numbers. Seventeen per cent, of all Cook Islanders now live in the Dominion—an increase of 800 (21 per cent.) since this time last year . . .

Why are the Cook Islanders fleeing? The answer is mainly economic. • The biggest problem is the irre parable loss to the Cook Islands of skilled and trained workers, the people the Cooks need to help increase production and bring greater measure of economic stability to the islands ... In Rarotonga the pakeha co-worker is paid three to four times as much for the same job, [this fact] is causing the bright young people of the Cooks to desert in prodigious numbers . . .

The drain is most noticeable to day on the outlying islands where old people and young children far outnumber the few remaining providers. • The Cook Islander finds the pur suit of agriculture not only con fusing but lacking in rewards.

His only hope seems to lie in outside sources of income. • If the Cooks are not to remain permanently dependent upon largesse doled out from Welling ton—if the islanders are ever to pay their own way—agriculture and related industry must be further expanded and developed.

It appears that when Mrs. Heben streit herself says such things, every thing in the garden is bright and blooming. But when anyone else says them, it hurts “her soul which she has worked hard to keep Polynesian”.

By the way, I cannot quite forgive Mrs. Hebenstreit for misspelling the very common Cook Islands Maori word Papaa (European) throughout her PIM article. In its original sense, Papaa meant “four coverings” or “four layers”. Early Europeans in the Cook Islands were dubbed with the name owing to their numerous garments. The “Popaa” of Mrs.

Hebenstreit is not a word in Cook Islands Maori, a language with which —isn’t it a nuisance, Mrs. Heben streit?—l am reasonably familiar.

Yours, etc.,

Ronald Syme.

Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

Calling The Cattle Home Sir, —As a member of the Federal Inland Development Organisation, I thought I knew something of the far inland and its characteristics. Our organisation, as you know, is most interested in roads for defence purposes to our far north for the role of transport and troop move ments if at any time necessary.

One of the advantages of these roads, will be that they can also go through the Channel Country and used for the transport by road of cattle, both out (fat) and in (skinny).

However, I had to go to Honiara

in the British Solomon Islands to learn a trick which might be of con siderable interest to Australia and may even be used, but I have never heard of it before.

My host at Honiara was that well known character, Ken Hayes. As a good host he took me for a drive one afternoon to see his farm lands.

He asked me whether I would like to see his cattle and I informed him that as long as I could see them from the distance and also not have to walk through thick jungle to get to them, I would be most interested.

With that he sounded a horn on his car, which made a weird sound. (Over)

Almost immediately grazing cattle from up to 600 yards away raised their heads and started to move over to the car. About two toots pro duced 30 or 40 head of cattle.

It would appear to me that this invention, which he had purchased in America recently, would be a wonderful idea for our Australian cattle owners.

After an inspection of his rice fields, where he is growing quite large quantities of a rather long type of rice, and a visit to his farm, the trip ended up with moans from him that he was only getting 1,000 eggs per day from his poultry farm, so I took him back to the hotel and bought him a can of Japanese orange juice which has become his sole beverage and comfort in times of egg shortages.

Yours, etc.,

E. T. Penfold.

Sydney 'Oxford Records Project Sir, —The answer by Professor Davidson in the September PIM to your July mention of the Oxford Colonial Records Project is very welcome.

The Oxford Project provides one centre of security for British Colonial papers in danger of disappearing; that there are other such centres is all to the good. The need for co-operation in exchanging information is implicit in Professor Davidson’s letter and, indeed, his own University has written cordially about collaboration to mutual advantage.

It may be of interest that a con siderable time before news of the Oxford Project was given in PIM one of the libraries mentioned in Professor Davidson’s letter as having facilities for caring for historical records in no way inferior to Oxford had shown its approval of the Oxford Project.

Yours etc.,

John J. Tawney

Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Oxford University.

Sir Leon "Wasn't Ridiculed"

Sir, —Over the past six months, the University students of New Zealand have been attempting to publicise and assist with the problems facing New Zealand’s Island Territories. With all modesty, we can be satisfied that our efforts have been worthwhile and constructive rather than destructive.

Consequently, it is extremely disap pointing to see your September issue furthering an item of bad publicity and of doubtful truth. We would like to take this opportunity to correct

the false impression created by an article which appeared on August 7 in Wellington’s Evening Post, and to provide you with a more realistic ac count of our recent activities. [PIM quoted the Evening Post as saying that university students jeered Sir Leon Gotz at an address.] In consultation with the Depart ment of Island Territories, NZUSA arranged for each of its constituents to hold some activity which would publicise and assist with the solution of contemporary Island problems.

As the centre with most access to Government officers and policy mat ters, Victoria University of Welling ton arranged a comprehensive lecture programme for the week 5-9 August.

The second speaker was Sir Leon Gotz, Minister of Island Territories, and in the eyes of NZUSA and the Victoria University Students’ Associa tion Executive, the report of this meeting which appeared in the Even ing Post was misleading, sensational and thoroughly unsatisfactory.

It is true that the meeting opened with some talking and a little unrest, but it is thoroughly inaccurate to say that Sir Leon’s words were frequently drowned with shouting and roars of laughter.

Some points were ridiculed, and several tactless statements may have drawn comments from the audience, but Sir Leon was given an excellent hearing with no more interruption than he would experience at an average orderly political meeting, or, for that matter, in a speech to the House.

A complete unabridged tape re cording was made of Sir Leon’s speech. This has been searched by

various independent judges, without one considering that the meeting was disorderly, rowdy or impolite to Sir Le ??' D , Mr. Peter Blizzard, President of Victoria University s Student Associa- Uon, protested to a sub-editor of the Evening Post at its sensational, misleading and inaccurate report of this meetmg. He received a verbal agreement that the statement he had pre- Fu r fl W £ uld be I P rmt s d - We regret that the Evening Post did not honour this agreement. Unfortunately we have not retained a copy of this statement, and we regret that it cannot be sent to you.

Since this misrepresentation has

been repeated and conveyed widely across the Pacific through your maga zine, we would be very grateful if you could consider the value of writ ing another article, which more fairly represents the efforts of New Zea land’s University students. As you can well imagine, we are seriously concerned that adverse publicity, es pecially within the Islands them selves, could almost negate the in terest we have striven to arouse among the New Zealand public.— Yours, etc.

(Miss) Juliet Fulton

External Affairs Vice-president, NZ University Students Assoc. Inc.

Wellington, NZ.

Sir Leon Gotz.