[?]otuma's Split Island Had

[?]ole In Cannibal Feast

Hofliua, or Split Island, a remarkable little islet off the western end ?/ Rotuma, which looks as if it has been cleft in two by an axe, figures h some of the early history of Rotuma.

is recorded that about 1780, a raiding party from either Tikopia Ontong Java in the Solomons hid lind Hofliua by day, and at night ered the village of Losa on the inland and seized some of the abitants for cannibal feasts.

Tie Rotumans, detecting the raiders m the heights and realising that disappearance of their people was Another topographical oddity of Rotuma is to be found in the Itutiu district where the twin hills of Sola lete and Solmaja have the appearance of a woman's breasts. The hills are covered with coconut trees from base to peak.

not from supernatural causes as they had thought, ambushed the raiders one night and killed or captured them all.

The name Split Island was given to Hofliua by Arthur Gordon and Hugh Romilly who represented the Fiji Government on Rotuma in 1879, after Rotuma’s chiefs petitioned Fiji’s Governor, Sir Arthur Gordon, for annexation by Britain.

Gordon (a relative of Sir Arthur) and Romilly lived on Rotuma to give the Rotumans advice pending the British Government’s decision on the chiefs’ petition, which was in favour of annexation.

A drawing of Split Island by

Arthur Gordon appeared on the cover of Romilly’s first book A True Story of the Western Pacific (a ghost story about Rotuma) published in 1882.

Romilly describes Split Island this way in his book: “On approaching Rotumah from the westward, a barren rock, shaped like a turtle’s back, is seen standing by itself about four miles from the mainland. At that distance you would say there was nothing extraordinary about it, but as you get nearer you see a thin white line completely bisecting it. On a still nearer approach you find out that this line is not a vein of quartz, as you probably have at (Over)

This striking view of Hofliua, or Split Island, was taken during a recent visit to Rotuma by Rob Wright, of the Fiji PRO. He also took the picture below.

irst supposed, but what you have con luded to be one island is in reality wo, and that the white line is the ky showing through from the other ide.

“The extreme width of this split may e perhaps forty feet, and on calm ays it is quite possible to pull trough it in a whaleboat.

“From one point of view, however, huge mass of rock may be seen idged exactly in the centre of the ssure, about half way between the Dp of the rock and the water.

“The sides of the crack are smooth nd perpendicular, like the side of house, and in some places seem to e polished, and are coated with a emi-transparent grey substance like lass, which chips off easily in thin nd brittle flakes.

“Take away the windows and pro ofing ledges of an old street in Edinburgh, treble the height of the ouses, and for white walls substitute polished black surface, and you lay form a very fair idea of what the iland of Hofliua looks like while ulling through its very centre in boat.

“Round it there is no protecting eef, and it is only on the calmest ays that it can be visited. Even then mding is dangerous work, and a eavy ground swell is never absent.

“About fifty yeards from shore it i necessary to jump overboard and wim ashore, and you are lucky if ou go through this performance nth no greater damage than a barked bin. However, the novelty of the lace and excitement of landing mply repaid us for our visit.”