Cook's

Pacific

The Tongans' natural ability to smile caused quite a few headaches among television staff from the Australian Broadcast ing Commission in Tonga in November. They were there to film portions of an hour-long documentary "The Infinite Paci fic" on Captain Cook's voyage around the Pacific.

During filming on one of Tonga's most beautiful beaches, Monotapu, of the slaying in Hawaii of Captain Cook and his sailors, the television crew had the utmost difficulty in asking Tongan extras to look natural.

They could not understand why the Tongans smiled so.

Perplexity turned to annoy ance as the Tongans turned on seemingly endless smiles during serious scenes. Finally, the vil lagers' leaders spoke to them and they calmed down to serious dramatics.

Said one Nukualofa resident: "It was the television staff's own fault. They should have re

hearsed it properly instead of calling all these Tongans to gether in one day and expect everything to work out smoothly. I don't blame the Tongans for smiling one bit!

After all, to them smiling is natural and healthy."

The film will feature the Pacific as it is today, two hun dred years after Captain Cook landed in Australia's Botany Bay.

Mr. K. L. Porteous, the pro ducer, said the film would be one of the most ambitious and expensive yet to be attempted by Australian television. The "Tahiti" portion was filmed in Western Samoa, and the "Hawaiian" section in Tonga, because the kingdom has more true Polynesians than Hawaii has (somebody in the TV crew said!).

The picture on p. 53 shows Captain Cook meeting his end at the hands of the Sandwich Islanders—as the Hawaiians were then called. Captain Cook is played by well-known Nuku alofa identity, Jack Riechel mann, seen on the opposite page complete with powdered wig and buckled shoes. Above him, Tongan film extras turned themselves into chiefs and com moners from Hawaii and bow to Cook and his men, believing Cook is their long awaited Great White God.

On this page below right, these Tonga "Hawaiians" find it all a big joke.

The film team also went to Western Samoa (where Captain Cook never set foot, but the scenery is good) and at right top, it gets ready for action near a lagoon. Man giving the orders is Kip Porteous, and next to him in the white shirt is the director, Michael Pearce.

The photos on these pages are by Sio Magisi, Tulua Bros., and lan Todd.