Palmerston Island
Our next stop was Palmerston Island, another exciting stop due to the uniqueness of this island and its past history. It is the most remote and seldom visited island of Captain James Cook’s many discoveries. Cook first sighted Palmerston on June 16, 1774 on his second voyage to the Pacific, although he did not land until his third and final voyage in 1777. The island was then uninhabited, but a missionary by the name of William Gill reports having found 12 ancient graves as well as several basalt adzes that belonged to its original Polynesian settlers.
We landed on Home Island, where live the present 55 inhabitants, most of whom descend from William Marsters, an Englishman who settled the island in 1863 with his three wives. Marsters became virtual king and autocrat of the community until his death in 1899. All 14 current marriages are between original descendants of the Marsters with the exception of three whose wives come from other Cook Islands or abroad. It is estimated that there are 2,500 Marsters in the world and every one of them considers Palmerston his island.
Marsters’ life has recently been researched by our lecturer Gerald McCormack, who shared with us his findings from work in England, and announced that a book will soon appear with his story. Marsters arrived on Palmerston onboard the schooner Aorai (50 tons) on July 8, 1963. He was an overseer of a few Tahitian laborers to exploit existing produce and to plant more coconuts on behalf of William Brander, a Merchant from Tahiti and owner of the island.
Between July of 1863 and August 1870, Brander would send a ship every six months to the island to pick up the copra (coconut meal from which the oil is extracted) and to bring supplies for his workers; but after Brander’s death in 1870 these voyages ceased and no ship turned up for the next 19 months. When Marsters finally made it to Tahiti he demanded Brander’s sons to pay for his wages and the commission that their father owed him. He was never paid, and Marsters then decided to return to Palmerston and take possession of it. The dispute with Brander’s heirs lasted for many years, but Marsters remained in possession of Palmerston.
When the English took possession of the Cook Islands in 1888, Marsters immediately applied to the high Commissioner of the Western Pacific in Fiji for a temporary lease, and on May 23rd of 1891 the High Commissioner granted Marsters a license to occupy the island for 21 years. Marsters then claimed exclusive possession on the grounds that he had lived there for many years and planted 200,000 coconuts.
By the 1880's Marsters' sons started to demand that he pay them for their work and they formed three groups of copra workers. Marsters then gave each son half of the value of the copra that each made, but of that half he had to give one-third to his mother. By that time he believed that the only way that they would be able to live peacefully after his death was to set up laws and distribute the land between his three families. Until one year before his death in 1899 all the land, trees, crops, pigs and poultry were considered as being owned by William Marsters. It was then that the first lineage decided that upon his death they would have the other lineages banished, and this led the two later lineages to request him to make clear provisions for them as well.
Marsters then decided that he would divide all of the major islands, such as Home Island, into three equal portions. The first born son of the first lineage then had the right to choose first, and chose the middle part, which is where we landed. On the second islet the senior member of the second lineage was given first choice, and upon the third island this corresponded to the elder son of the third lineage. The reef and the lagoon were declared common property. The livestock was equally divided.
To avoid problems between his descendants William Marsters wrote a book of laws and decided that to rule the island it was necessary to set up a Council formed by the elders of each family which was to be presided over by the eldest descendant in a direct line of primogeniture of the first lineage. In the absence of the eldest, his following brother took over. Some of his laws are still applied, for example:
1. - Everyone has to remain a member of his clan and cannot change family. Women who marry outsiders must live upon his land and loose rights upon their inheritance. Women have the right to inherit land only if they live upon the island and marry a Marsters, in which case she will release this land to her husband and go to live on his land.
2. - Trees are held in common with the following exceptions: Birth trees, or those trees that where planted to honor a birth, could be inherited. Each person was entitled to own two feeding palms, but those “sweet coconuts” that have an edible husk and are called “sweet nuts” are owned by whoever plants them.
3. Pigs have to be penned, fowls have to be fed by each family in a determined spot. It is against the law to feed another person’s chickens and any transgression shall be punished by 10 days of hard labor
4. - Regarding the collection of Tropicbirds, which lay their eggs between June, July, and stay through January, it is not allowed to take the eggs, but there will be one collection of chicks each month. Their number is to be decided by the island council and they are to be divided proportionally between all the inhabitants. Other birds belong to the owner of each territory and can be collected at any time but not their eggs.
5. - Turtles belong to everyone and the meat has to be divided (but we were told they are not eaten any more). Land crabs belong to the owner of the land where they live.
6. - Visiting islands: you cannot visit any other island without notifying the lineage or you get 10 days of hard labor.
7. - If one gets a coconut, everyone gets a coconut.
Upon arrival we were invited to prayers by their Pastor and they sang ancient Christian hymns in their Maori language. Following this ceremony the Assistant Mayor greeted us and welcomed us to the island following which we were led on a tour of the village and its highlights: William Marsters' original house, his tomb, the modern school, the satellite phone, etc. On Home Island, cultivation was carried out in the large pit that had been dug by its former Polynesian inhabitants and filled with compost, which was held in common ownership. Other gardens built later belonged to the family who built them. Some of us snorkeled in the lagoon from the beach and later that afternoon from a platform on the outside reef. The corals looked healthy and the divers observed large numbers of big groupers, which indicates a very healthy marine environment.
Our next stop was Palmerston Island, another exciting stop due to the uniqueness of this island and its past history. It is the most remote and seldom visited island of Captain James Cook’s many discoveries. Cook first sighted Palmerston on June 16, 1774 on his second voyage to the Pacific, although he did not land until his third and final voyage in 1777. The island was then uninhabited, but a missionary by the name of William Gill reports having found 12 ancient graves as well as several basalt adzes that belonged to its original Polynesian settlers.
We landed on Home Island, where live the present 55 inhabitants, most of whom descend from William Marsters, an Englishman who settled the island in 1863 with his three wives. Marsters became virtual king and autocrat of the community until his death in 1899. All 14 current marriages are between original descendants of the Marsters with the exception of three whose wives come from other Cook Islands or abroad. It is estimated that there are 2,500 Marsters in the world and every one of them considers Palmerston his island.
Marsters’ life has recently been researched by our lecturer Gerald McCormack, who shared with us his findings from work in England, and announced that a book will soon appear with his story. Marsters arrived on Palmerston onboard the schooner Aorai (50 tons) on July 8, 1963. He was an overseer of a few Tahitian laborers to exploit existing produce and to plant more coconuts on behalf of William Brander, a Merchant from Tahiti and owner of the island.
Between July of 1863 and August 1870, Brander would send a ship every six months to the island to pick up the copra (coconut meal from which the oil is extracted) and to bring supplies for his workers; but after Brander’s death in 1870 these voyages ceased and no ship turned up for the next 19 months. When Marsters finally made it to Tahiti he demanded Brander’s sons to pay for his wages and the commission that their father owed him. He was never paid, and Marsters then decided to return to Palmerston and take possession of it. The dispute with Brander’s heirs lasted for many years, but Marsters remained in possession of Palmerston.
When the English took possession of the Cook Islands in 1888, Marsters immediately applied to the high Commissioner of the Western Pacific in Fiji for a temporary lease, and on May 23rd of 1891 the High Commissioner granted Marsters a license to occupy the island for 21 years. Marsters then claimed exclusive possession on the grounds that he had lived there for many years and planted 200,000 coconuts.
By the 1880's Marsters' sons started to demand that he pay them for their work and they formed three groups of copra workers. Marsters then gave each son half of the value of the copra that each made, but of that half he had to give one-third to his mother. By that time he believed that the only way that they would be able to live peacefully after his death was to set up laws and distribute the land between his three families. Until one year before his death in 1899 all the land, trees, crops, pigs and poultry were considered as being owned by William Marsters. It was then that the first lineage decided that upon his death they would have the other lineages banished, and this led the two later lineages to request him to make clear provisions for them as well.
Marsters then decided that he would divide all of the major islands, such as Home Island, into three equal portions. The first born son of the first lineage then had the right to choose first, and chose the middle part, which is where we landed. On the second islet the senior member of the second lineage was given first choice, and upon the third island this corresponded to the elder son of the third lineage. The reef and the lagoon were declared common property. The livestock was equally divided.
To avoid problems between his descendants William Marsters wrote a book of laws and decided that to rule the island it was necessary to set up a Council formed by the elders of each family which was to be presided over by the eldest descendant in a direct line of primogeniture of the first lineage. In the absence of the eldest, his following brother took over. Some of his laws are still applied, for example:
1. - Everyone has to remain a member of his clan and cannot change family. Women who marry outsiders must live upon his land and loose rights upon their inheritance. Women have the right to inherit land only if they live upon the island and marry a Marsters, in which case she will release this land to her husband and go to live on his land.
2. - Trees are held in common with the following exceptions: Birth trees, or those trees that where planted to honor a birth, could be inherited. Each person was entitled to own two feeding palms, but those “sweet coconuts” that have an edible husk and are called “sweet nuts” are owned by whoever plants them.
3. Pigs have to be penned, fowls have to be fed by each family in a determined spot. It is against the law to feed another person’s chickens and any transgression shall be punished by 10 days of hard labor
4. - Regarding the collection of Tropicbirds, which lay their eggs between June, July, and stay through January, it is not allowed to take the eggs, but there will be one collection of chicks each month. Their number is to be decided by the island council and they are to be divided proportionally between all the inhabitants. Other birds belong to the owner of each territory and can be collected at any time but not their eggs.
5. - Turtles belong to everyone and the meat has to be divided (but we were told they are not eaten any more). Land crabs belong to the owner of the land where they live.
6. - Visiting islands: you cannot visit any other island without notifying the lineage or you get 10 days of hard labor.
7. - If one gets a coconut, everyone gets a coconut.
Upon arrival we were invited to prayers by their Pastor and they sang ancient Christian hymns in their Maori language. Following this ceremony the Assistant Mayor greeted us and welcomed us to the island following which we were led on a tour of the village and its highlights: William Marsters' original house, his tomb, the modern school, the satellite phone, etc. On Home Island, cultivation was carried out in the large pit that had been dug by its former Polynesian inhabitants and filled with compost, which was held in common ownership. Other gardens built later belonged to the family who built them. Some of us snorkeled in the lagoon from the beach and later that afternoon from a platform on the outside reef. The corals looked healthy and the divers observed large numbers of big groupers, which indicates a very healthy marine environment.
