On June 3, the Governor of New Zealand was visiting the small and somewhat primitive tribe of Maoris who inhabit this far-flung outpost of the dominion, and he decided to give the people cause to remember the day.
At 10 a.m. a display of bunting was made, and H.M.S. Philomel, the cruiser which was escorting the Tutanekai, steamed close in beside the coral reef, and, from a spot close to where Cook landed on April 1, 1777, she fired a salute of 21 guns.
The tense drawn attitudes of the watching and listening natives were sufficient indication that, within the memory of the islanders, the boom of big guns had never before resounded over Atiu.
• The work of the missionaries among the islands of the South Pacific is often marked by devotion, enthusiasm, in the face of difficulties and great self-sacrifice, and this applies particularly to the French priests of the order of the Sacred Heart, who operate among the islands of the Cook Group.
The hurricane which struck some of the atolls in January caused much distress by sweeping away the natives' food supplies, and the missionaries shared this trouble with the islanders.
On Mauke, the Governor of New Zealand, during his recent visit, found a lonely priest who acts there as preacher, school teacher, and missionary, whose delight when his Excellency conversed with him in his native tongue was almost pathetic.
At Atiu, where the effects of the hurricane were exceptionally severe, the warship's doctor was asked to see the priest, who was thought to be suffering from heart complications.
The doctor found that the man was practically starving - the effect of insufficient nourishing food upon a delicate constitution. The ships sent ashore enough provisions to maintain the missionary until he could return to his headquarters at Papeete.
Cattle, horses, and dogs appear to thrive in the islands of the South Pacific. Cattle have been successfully introduced to the Cook Islands, and in Rarotonga one may see small herds of fat bullocks feeding on excellent grass which has been sown by the planters among the cocoanut palms.
Horses have been in use in most of the islands for years. The natives favour the Chilian ponies, which carry incredible loads and live on the roughest food, but there are many New Zealand horses about, and, when properly looked after, they thrive satisfactorily.
• Visitors to New Zealand are almost invariably struck with the peculiarities in native names for which this dominion is noted.
Discussing the pleasure derived from his visit to the Queenstown resort, the Under-secretary for the Colonies (Sir Hartmann Just), while eulogising the beauty of Lake Wakatipu, said he thought New Zealanders were inclined to be lazy in the dropping of syllables of Maori words.
On being told that he had not yet encountered the best samples of the Maori language, which showed to advantage in the North Island, Sir Hartmann inquired if the Native language was taught in the public schools.
After being informed that the language was merely an optional special subject in a civil service examination, Sir Hartmann suggested that something should be done to preserve the characteristic tongue of the Maori race.
- ODT, 23.6.1914
