NOTES AND DOCUMENTS Early Contacts Between Bellona and

NOTES AND DOCUMENTS
Early Contacts Between Bellona and Rennell Islands and the
Outside World
BELLUNA AT\[) RFNT\FI.I. ISI.ANDS,
I.\VU l'OIYNI·:.'iL\N Ol·II.TFH.S IN
IHF SUI.UMON
ISI.AT\lJS,
wnc ,1l1l()llg' Ihe I"<lst \iSIIl't1 placcs ill Ihc South Pacific bdor,' Chr'lstlanil\' WilS
introduccd thlTC ill I ~nH. This fael has sillcc Illil(k thcl11 of c()nsidnaiJle mllTl'SI to
natUl.il! illld s()cial scwnlisls, ;lnd IhuT h,I\'L' I)lTII a nu llll.l<' r of publications ;t1)OUI th"lll
Irl l'<T,:nt ycars, I HOW"\TI., nonc has included <l systClllatic study of contact with till'
two i:dands in pl.l'-IlIissJO!1 tillles, This paplT attel1lpts t() fill thal gap,'
The results of a c()lnputCl' sllllulation of Polyl1l'sldII drift voyages publishcd in I ~)n
suggestcd that thc locatio!1 of I{c!1ncll and Belloll<l to the southwest of SiLO Cris(obal
madc thclll Illost unlikely IlTlllinal points for such voya!:ics 'It is virtually impossible',
the authors oftl1l' silllulatioll said, 'to drift c1irnJly Io Rennell or Bellolla frolll our Polynesian starting [J()illts', Thcy added Ihilt, cxecpt for Tikopia, frolll which there was 'd
very low cOlltaet prolJilbility', no othlT Polynesi<ln Outliers :it'l'l11cd to o!kr much prolnisl'
as starting [Joints 1'01. dl'lft voyages J In racI, apart from traditions about thc lirsl Polynesian arrivals, the oral traditions of B,'llolla and I{cnn"ll speak of 10 differcnt cano,'s
arriving I'rolll other parts 01' thc Pacifie in pre-Euro[lcan times: and the arrival ollllany
others, not rUllclllllered in tradition, :;'TlllS likely,
The PITSL'lIt islanders claim that th"jr lor~rath('l's sl'llled both Bellona and Rt'nnl'iJ
about 2+ generations ago (tolll 'Ubeang'ango (litcrally West 'Uuea: ~roudiJly 'Uvca in
thc Loyalty [slands) and lrom 'UI)(',lInatangi (litnally East 'UIlt'a; proiJalJly 'Uve;! or
Wall is IsLtnd).4 Oral traditions also s[leak of (,UIO", arrivillg at Bcllolla frolll the Dull
Islands in gl'lItTation 11111<', ,It P.. "l1ndl from two unknowll starling points auout gl'neratjoll 12, at RCl111cll Irol11 Rotull1a in generation 1+, at RClll1cll from Ihe Duff Islallds
III gClllTation I(), alld at Rcnllcll fronl Tiko~i,1 (IWO voyages) in gcnLTatioll :.W Two
voyagcs to Fklloll<l h-Olll unkllown starting pOlllts at SOIl1C unspl'cificd time ill thl' past
1 I:or "I lldit' " ut Ill{' l"("llIClgy. ndllln' dlld l~lJlglI;Lg(' cd Ik1Jolld dlld l{('111!l'11 LLllld~,
sCC' Solus C:hri,;ri;ul>';t'll.
111'1/(lfl(J I \/(tfld (.\ltul[fzAl) (f:( IJH'Jl Il<ll!,l' [\ I ~J 7.-)): .\,1111\1<'1 I1 LlIlt'rl. J)ldl{lTlOl}" 0/ l!lr !~(lfl.~lll(l).:t {If Itnl
711'// OTUI Nl'lIllTltl, !Jm ( }. Nm1/rl!('\I" ([Tul Nrt!otll'l(' to r.:J1~'11 III :npl"ldlagcll IlJ7~1): S<\IIIUc! f i Lllwr!, Roll" J-\. u;-.c!lc!
:tIld 'J'( H)III. l."i . r·dup(lllgi. I lie !HJ1/(UV o/I/'( Ila!l.~'llm:I' of /(OIl1t/l aud Nrl!()!la, Iltul l, r."!lJ.;/llh In /(rf!T/rllr,r a!ld ntll(Jllrl('
(:()]>l'llllagl'II FlHI); ~~lJllll('lll Llht.Tt ;1I1d Tllrlw]1 j\!olllJl'rg, F,om fill' [!Co CaT/M'1 Ora! '!'!(u!lf/o!l\ 0/ N('!IlIrll
tl1lrl !J('1/0Tl(l !\!cl1lril (:opt.'Jlha,L.:('ll ,tlld Ilollollllu \Ilh:,): Rnli Kll:-t [wl, l'fll,!!{"(l!{(1 il Fhfll NI!I/r IUofJrI Fl'wl\ flllll
IIIJmirzdn 01/ Iitl/()lIa I I faTui ( I ~lHH); '!'orhl'Jl \ 1l I1 11 H: rg, 'I hI' N('li~I/(ITI fJ Nfll{}Tlfl I \Iautl ( :( llwllhdgl'[ I 1l}h/»): '1'( n-lll' J I
\VClllf (cd,), 'f lit ,Yatwa! I hl/of}' 0/ /(rrl1lfl! I \Imul, Ih !fnll Solomon ',/rl1uil, I ( :ClI H'Jlh:t,lZt'1l IlJ~IR), l{csLllr:- or <lr< h,ICllll)gi(~11 iJl\'('sti~,l!ions (~\11!H" IOUIHI ill i\t. Cllik.t/llllri, 'The (':ldy POlYIlt.':-i:11l s(:t!lnUl"Jlt Oil l{t'IIlll"1I 1.,L!lHj ..: .
()u(J\ill1wll'a!u'"f\ uf Ihf' !Jr!J(lr(11Ifl1l oj..ln!/flmflJ!':) ([lid L/h'l(}!IJ~l~' ('l'llkYl) 1~17,-)), l··H): ,I I 11(llds('II,'( )utlier ar<'lI,lC'(II0gy' 1\(-l1llll:1. t\ pn'l i IJli II:LJ'~' rl'jH III (Ill liclt! WOI k :lIlf I I .I( linl ~1I1 ){)Il d.II!'S·, ..tu lw({/Ino' Mlr! P/tYI!f ClI .. 1'11!/1/J/J(llo,!.!.}"
11/ ()/lYllIIU. 7 (1~}7'2), IH'l-~(),-),
l This s[lJd~' \\,l:- 'lll1llSfllTd h~' ill(' I ),llIisiI R(',{'<In 11 (:Ulltll dlur tI]l' IluIll<ltlilil':- A ']JtTi.d ,h;1tlk., 11) I{olwr r
SIl/JI/ \{Oll r (In
«
I,dll,1.4llllll, \\hl) 111,HIt: '.;('\'t'I:.I IllllSll"lll'll\T
lOIHl'rllill,~ wll:l1l'r'.. \\1111 "ig!lll'd or
1;\1
r,ni"llll,
J '17'\), .-,'1.
,I For ;Ul
:-1I~gl's(i(1I1;-'11I1 ,Ill Cdllit'] dl.tll ldrl1l' !l,ljlt'! .llHl \\'111111l1)( Illt'tllll,tLlTi,d
(1lIlld(l wilh 1Z1"l1!lt'11 ;tllt! Ikllon:l.
R. (" \\"lrd,llld,J \y \,'dll), FhcSrttlo1/ol/fJll)lIlp/('\/{1:1 LOJ!lj!UlnSlfTlIl/flIIIlTl(\lilul('dIH111'..
;l'\~(':-""[ll'lll
or dll'
h:ul
liLt! {I,l<lilillIlS, SIT "-IIS/
I'll
Iwl,
l'I"I/,~If"(1f1(/', Sl'! lill/l
1 '),1
192
JOURNAL OF PJ\CIFIC HISTORY
arc also recorc!ed in the tr;1r1irinn. i The approximatc dislance: from the Duff [slands
to Rcnnell and Bellona is 777 km; from Tikopia to Rennell, it is 96:3 km; and (rum
Rotuma to Rennell, 1,392 km. 6 All the identified places o( origin referred to in the
traditions are within an area 4-0 Nand 4-0 S of Bellona and Rennell.
There is good reason to belif've that prehistori' contau between the people of San
(:ristuhal and Bcllona/Rennel1 was not infrequent. According to the missionary C. E.
Fox, people from San CrislObal 'often used to go to both [Rennell] and BeJlona in old
days'. They knew them as .\moraha and Amokiki respect ivdy. 7 Prehistoric voyages
from San Cristobal have also be(·n discussed by others 8 In hisloriCClI times, two visits
from Tikopia arc on record, onc in about 1907 and one in 1026. 9 Five or six g-enerations before them, a canoe known as hak.a hak.alaalopetope, which is said to have been
a copy of a Tikopia canoC', was destroyecl on Ht'llona.'o Aboul If) generations ago, 'a
v;roup of black men anu ""umen· i~ said tll have arrived at Bellolld froIlI Talllllakn in
the Reef Islands to the cast. They werl~ offered food and shelrer, but did not linger
a nd 'some sailed away'. 11 The anthropologist ;\Iphonse Ricsenfeld recorded traditional
talcs on, ikaiana orvoyages 10 Rcnnell;12 while S. M. Lambcrl recorded a Rennellese
story about a party of invading Tongans, all of whom were killecl but one. IJ The survivor lived among the Rrnnellesr umil he died. However, those 'Tong-ans' probably
did not come from Tonv;a "s the Rcnnellese and Bellonese use that name to describe
all islands to the cast of them. '4 [n fact, Larnbcn's 'Tongan' invasion may correspond
to the traditional voyage rel"crred to ;;tbove as originating at Rotuma 10 generations
ago, as the tak of that voyage also mentions a single survivor being allowed to live
on Rennell.
The anthropologist E Paravic[ni colk:ctecJ [;lies on GlIad,llcanal of the eviction frorn
that island nf two warring chieftains. Om; sailed to San Crisrobal, the other to Rennell
where he married. Later, women fro!ll San Cristobal w('re sent lO Bellona. As it was
then uninhabiled, the wom,'n matt,c1 with flying foxes. 's The last part of the story is,
of course, a myth, but it may well be a clue to a minor invasion f"nm Guarialcanal
at some stage
All evidence indicates that the Bellonese themselves have never been very outward
bound, probably b"cause they ran out of large trees to dig out seaworthy canoes soon
after arriving there. Nevertheless, seven voyages to other Islands an: repurted in current lalcs. four of these relate lo juurneys lo Cuadalcanal illld San Cristobal, which
lie al a distance of [64- km Clnd J Cl I km respccrively.'6 The periods or these voyages
, All voyages ar.. ,darnllll in EII).. rt .lIlIl r'vlo"heq~, From ill, "i,'o Can{,,", , '<".X1S 217, 21 n, 224 (Dulf],land,),
'2'21; (Tik0l'ia), '221, '22'2 (R{lIu,n,,), '215, 216 (unknown '" R,'nndl). '22'> (nnk""w" '0 Hl'l1ona). SI',' "I.,,, Ravn"",,1 Finh .. i\ lIa[ ivo- vovag .. [Il R,·,,"<"l1' [from Tiklll'iaj. Omrnia. 2 (1931 l. 179·190. and Daniel Tulrannku,
Nc)(chupk \'1. Iq?t (in prt"parJ.tion), ~6·67, {(Jr the vnyagc:. from Rllt~llnd anu till" Unkn(hVn ~Iarfin points.
t, .l\J1 dis(rtllc('s given in this papl'l· :trC from Chri~tians('n . .\llnH<::lrna {}1I B~II()na.
I:L
, c. I':. Fox. 'Bdlon" anrl R.,·nrwl1 Island,'. Jourllal of Illr l'o/)'rtmall SOrifl}', 27 (191R). 225 ..
• G. Thileniu,. '1:.lllIlograrhi,.. he F.rgebnisse dU' MeliJnesi,·n'. Novo A ail. ilbhalldlulI.I:m d", f':ai.lnltihm ',lXJpolrl·
Carohna f)elllJfhm IHud,.,.ni, flrr ,vol/l1vrscher, 80 (No. I) (I (02), 1- l 0:1. (:. M. \VooJIi'rd, 'On ""ne lillk·known
I'oly,wsian , ..,dcm.. nlS in lh,' neighhourhood "r [he .\olnmon Islands'. GtoRroph/(lIl'/ourna{, 48 (1916), ofl.
o Elbcrt and Monl.".rg, Frum Ih,' 7iua Cano(s, lesl 2'26 (n'"c<): Finh, 'A nalive voyage', 190.
'" Kuschd,
Vmceallu. ',-xl 4+.
" R C. R"bc':I>, 'TI" (:hild,rll or K;tilU,U', ./oumol 0/11". PolY'",/nTl SaC/"ly, 67 (19:>8). 8.
Il Alphonse Rie'''nrelO.
Mexalilhir Cullurt of Me/a lIn ia (I.,'iden 1950), 186.
<J S. M. I."mbert, 'Hedlth surveyor Rcnnell and Rellon" Islands'. Oaan/a. 2 (t931). !JB.
I ' Elben anu Mo"!>er.,:, FUn] Ihe "wo Ca rIOtS , lexl :lLJ (nn, .. ,).
I l E. Paravicini, R,iJen in rI.. a B,iliuhtn Salomontll (Frauenkld 19:11), 103: see alw Rics~nleld, MCRahlhic
CalluTl, 193.
,. Elber! and Mnnbng, Frvm lire 1i1)0 Canan. leXls 22A, 229. DO: Tuhunuku. NOI~b(lok VI, lexls 88,89
nu
<liT not indicated In 'th" traditltlns. Other tr;lditions tell 01;\ \'oyage to Munglla (proIJably Murua or VVoodlark Island), 796 km away, in generation eight, and to 'Uhl'a and
hack imllledii\[('!\' aft"r the settlellll'lll or Ikllona. t7 A voyage I"roll! Rellona to an unknowll
destiIlation in gl'nndtion 1:2 is ;ilso spokl'l] of. '" The voyage to 1\1ullgua is SOlid to haH'
been made by one Ngaakl'i in the 16th ccntury, The outward trip took five cI;\vs and
the rl'turn eight, The \'oyage to 'UIll'a ant.! luck, which would hitVI' cO\TH'd a distilnn'
of aboul 'i,J()() kIll, is s;,id to ha\'\' I)(,\,n made to obtain turrlllTIC h,r the islanclers' ritUills.
About !i)()O a B"lloIll'se cano\' is ITporled to ha\"(' drift\'d to (~i\lukai U"lia:ltokai), at
the SCllllhcast ent.! 01" Nnv Georgia in the So!olllom, But ;ill on hoard were killed !l\'
thl' local inhabitants 19
NUlll' {II' the dril't \oyag"s 10 Ikllon;l/Renlll'illlor thos" I"roln it to other islands ilnd
back appeal' to have kft anv iIllportant Illarks 'HI the islanders' religious or \ClCial institutions or patterns 01" beh'l\·jollr, OIl tilt' other hand, Ngaakei is saiclto ha\,\, hrought
hack yaIlls and bananas rrolIl his vovage 10 V'/oodlark as well as thc import,lllt plaCl'
name, Ghollgau; and the Ikllon,'se arc said to haH' kal"l1l'd rrom the Tikopi:ln" how
10 build the characteristic cano,', haka hakalaalo!}clo/Jc.
It is not certain whl'll Bdlolla and Rennetl W('IT disco\Trnl hI' EUT"()P";IIlS or who
the discoverer ""as. SOll!e sourc,'s claim that Capt,Jin Thomas Butln mad,' the diSCO\,10
eTV in the Wal/Jo/(, in 179+ or IHO 1
Others (t"nJit (;,\pt:lin WillialTl Wilkillson or the
Indispenmble in 1790,2t [n tan, neither captain seellls to dl'slT\"(' th,' titl .. of discovner.
Butler's 'Chart of thl' Westnn I'Mt of thc P<.lcifie' of [799 shows thd( the T,;Val!m/e nn:n
went near the Solomon Islands ill sailing to Tiniiln from the 'S.W, C;\pl' or New Holland' in [794. 12 On the o( her h;lnd, although I he same cha rt show:; I hat the !rlfllJ/Jtllsable, Captain Wilkinson, did pass between the thcn 'Naml'less [slands' ofl·kllnllil ilnd
lZcnnell, it does not seelll likely that the voyage was in 1790 as tll<' ch,lrt indicates,
According 10 the hislnrian Colin ./'\ck-Hintoll, lhe vova!-i" look placc ill 1794 whcll
Wilkinson was accompanied hv the All!crican vl'ss\,1 f-Infcyon. This ,,,,p,'ars to 1)(' cor'reet as the Indis/Jmwh/e's first \'isit to Sydllev was in May J 71)4. u
The first indisputable ohsl'J'\alions nf Bcllnna 'lnd Rcnnel! W('J'C rn,le!c hy Captain
Mathcw Boycl in the ship iJef/ana in 1793 artl'f Ill' had COt Ilpil'tl'U a voyage frolll England
ro Australi<l with a cargo 01" Illeat ant.! wine, plus s('(tlns and cCJlwicts. H Bnyd left Sydn"v
for China on :20 Fehru'lrv 179:l. Renndl lsLtnd calliI' ill Sight on :1 March Boyers log
r('cords'
At Y2 pas I H A.:vl. "IW tl1<' I.and "'hich \\'(' S\!l'p"s,'d 1,,1l<' rIll" Island "t".'\r"wicks," 'Cl /1')<111
w(' di~co\'l'l"ed ir was d IIIlH h sm;t1kr Islanrllwillg onl\" "hour !2 [,l'''gues !Ollg, 1I lay, nl'arly
I' (-'.11)( n alld MOldwrg. FIIJIfI Ihl' 'l'f'IJ
l:a!l(J/"I. It'x[:-, '1.27. 1'24.
KusdH"L l·rn.~'ra!llr. (t'.x( I'~
I') V\'opt!filrcl. '()n :-UII1(' littk-kIlO\\"1l P<.>l\-llcSi;1/1 St'!I!cJlll"llts', ·17
'0 F.g.
W. T. Brig"'''''' :1" IT"I" I" l/ir j,ln",], o/I/ir l'a"/,, O,,'W (J-!on"I"I" 1~1(11)), 221: A. (: (;"'p,lri,
lIa"rlbu(/i drr I,·rrlbr\(hrrlbl"'.~ (\'\'('it""r 1825), :\:\111. 'fIl7: H. I. HlIg-"ifl, 'A flllll' on Rl'I1f1l'11 Is!"nd', (Jaa,,'''.
2 (19~11-:{2), 171: S. H. IZ,,}, 'P"I,"",i"ll I;'flguago ,,1'1 hI' SOllllllllfl I ,I;",ds', Juurnal DJ l/it I'ulynt"u" So, ttl)' ,
ili (19[7).170; C;. 1. J)'''Il('fI' Ilt- Ril"flZi, ()rrarnro" (""q[//iT", I'arlltrlu Alu"rlt (Paris IfUIl), :m:L
11 Brigll~lIll. An Illrlrx, 1 '2B, IIlClHillllS l)(ll!l Butler alld \\'ilkiJl:'>f1n ;1'\ dll' disc(l\TITrS
Hcllllna; ,\. (;. Findlay, A Ijirt{tu~yJu, the . Vau:{'(J{iOfl 0/ lhf Pa(~!i'( ()aaTl (I ,(Jlldoll I H:l I). I I, J() 17: Spfll::i Christi .. Tl.'-l'll. "I 'Iit' 'Jlapping
of Kt' n [It,ll and IkJ)()n~l Islands'. in Torbe.: n \V olll (cd.), '/Iu' Satura/ IIBlorr 0/ It. I'm/I'll Il!flnd (( :()llCllh~l,l!;{,1l 1~i6B),
or
V, :El.
HR, I.auric alld.J, v\'hittle, 'l-\ul1(:r\ lhan (l((!lc \\l'~tvrll pan of Illl' Jl.ltili(" (prillted '2() \f.IY 17QQ),
Tlrt (;oTll/J/t'lr 1.,'aJI lnd/o Pd(ll
()n'r'f/!a/ .\'{ll'I.!:~(l!(lr t I.Olld()1l J BOO 1. pb((' l '2'2,
lJ C. Jack·Hill!IlIl, net Star,h/"" l/it !I!rmd> of Sol"",ulI. 151,7//1"11/ (Chl,,,d 1'1(,'1). :In
" F. M UIa"" 11 , /I"lon'al Rrmrrl< ,,, .\'rI(' Sout/i Jl'alrl (S"dll<"\ lWI'll, 11, 1-,-IIl, 2n.
1". Jir/Jll:ll,ly !lw \'\'('''[('1'11 SlllflIlIClIl ..... ("IH'ci;tlly .\'c\\' (;l'nrgi;l. '
f)f
ill
194-
JOURNAL OF PACIFIC HISTORY
FSE & WNW, the middll' or it hy our observations in the Li.lt, of 11 ° S 36 Long, 160: 10
; :ast 01 l'rccnwich. ,. [1'vlodern Inslrument,; ..;ive Rennell. s POSILIOI\ as u'iweel\ lal. I 1°:31'
& J 1°47' S, and lon~. 159°55' & 160°37' l::: I"
Boyd's log states that Bellona was sig-hted at I p m. th,· rollowing day, bearing 'NBE
distant 6 Leagues'. He estimated it to be about eIght miles long and seven leagues NNW
or Rennell. The modern measurement or Bdlona is 11.5 km or 7.2 miles,
The native names of the two islands arc Mungiki (Bellona) and Mugaba (Rcnnell).
Early renderings or them include Moi-ki, Mou-iki, Muigi, Mo iki and Mongiki on the
one hand, and Mongg'ana, Mongaua, Mongava, Mou-raha and Muava on the other. 28
Rennell is knuwn as Muuke on C;uadalcanal,2. Fenuahala on Sikaiana and Totohuke
on San Cristobal,JO Bellona is called Amokiki on San CristobaJ J ' But what is the origin
or the European names) A chart published in 1799 with an account of the missionary
ship DuJl ill the PaciJic rders to both islands as 'Bellonas 1. '.12 But I\nov/sllliLh's chart
or the previous year applies the name Bellona only to the one now known as such.))
The earliest record yet round or the lIame Rennell is in a nautical work by John Purely
published in 1816. He refers to both islands as Rennell's Isles, omitting the name Bel10na]4 It has be(~n suggested thar Rennell Island was named after Major James Rennell, a geographn and hydrographn who died in 1830 JS But this has not been
confirmed.
The two islands were known among the whalers within a few years or their discovny. Ves~els known to have sighted them during the whaling era include: Resource, 1799;
CaroLine, 1829; WIlLiam Hamilton, 1839; Tu.;o Brothers, 1860; Cambria, 1861; Gay Head,
1861, jajJan, 1869; and Mathi/da Sears, J874 .16 Some or the ert'w or the Caroline are
recordc'd la have gnnp ashore at 'ReynoldS, lsland,J7 whilp th(' Willwm Hamillon 'sent
t[wlo boats on shore at hellona island'J8 The boat parties returned four hours later
having seen 'one Indian', and he ran so I'ast that 'wc could not see his heels ror dust'.
These are the first known European landings on Rennell and Bellona
Stories of a kw dramatic encounters with early white visitors survive on both islands
Onc tells of a dog that came ashore from an unidentified vessel that anchored 01'1' BelIona, lts hark rrivh'ened the islanders, who threw stones at It ;l.nd threatened if with
their w('apons. Ohserving this from the ship, one or the crew members shot and woundFd
"M flo"d, [.o~hook of the lIelloTla 10 POJ'l.Ja"kson <lnd Wh"rlJpn:L, 14.Julv 179'21029 Sq>l. 1704, I.ondnll.
Ilrili,h I.ihr"r", lndio Onin' Librarv and Rfeord" I'd'. U'vIAKIR :IS'JA.
17 \'\10111'. '11,',. Nalural Hi,lory, 11,
.
lA S. H, Ray, 'i\.1 ill hcilu n[(u') ii i>t'r tI rei Diakk le der S"lolllon -lllScI n'. /:eit>ehriftfu' ;Ifrikanisrher und Ocealli,chcr
Sp'arhl'lI, 2 (1896), :r'): S, c, C. Knihb" n(Saua~eSolo",u",ill they W~realld Are(l.ondol1 1929), 21~J: Thikniu"
EthTlo~,aphi.\eh,'l:'r~ebni"e. 16: R. R., K;lne, ~.ep0rl 10 W"I('rn racilic Hi,,,,h COlnllli",iollcr, :j Fen. 1925, We"lcrl1
"""die Arehivn 4:)(,/25: Ilri,~hall', An Inn,'x, LP: (; M Yon~(·. l.ife of IhJhopJohll Cnlerirl~e Pall,,,,,, (l.onrlol1
IHH). x: C. lvI, Wo"dIL"'d, '~"t,·, 01: 1<.,'n,)('1I 1,lan'l'. Jiof/, ;(3-24 (I<}07),
l? Para\'icini, Nti)('n. !O:L
.JG
Jl
VV()()dJ<H'd, 'No/cs nn KennelI', :14.
Fox. 'BdJon:'l dud Rcnndr, '2'2:L
J'
J,
,1.0
1\
Wil,on, It ;l-lis.,iof/Qry Vo)'a,~e 10 Ihe SuulheT!l PaeiF' Ocean, 1791)'-17.'111 (Cr,,! I 79<}),
i\rru",sIILith, Charl of Ihe PaciF' Oaan (I.ond"n 17(11).
'''.1 Purely. Fable' of Ihe Pmilions.
la Ilaumpany th, 'O,i"Illal NauiealO,' (I.onc..lon IHIIl). lOO.
J< (:iI"i,ti~ns<:n, The In~ppin~ or ({enl1ell', +0.
J. 'ec [("ben I.angdon (cd.), Where Ihe Whal", Went: An Index 10 th~ Pacific Pf/rl) and hlann,. "isiled by Ameriwf/
IVholm (and Jame olhl"T shl)I') in Ihf' 19th Century (C~n"erra 1'18+), 22i), no, 21?, ror uelail, or Pacilic ManuscripIs
~un'au (PMIl) l11inofill1ls 01 Ihe lo~' or all the ships rderrcd to olhn than Ihe Caroline. LJurlilh lknnl'll also
lisls \'I,ils 10 R"nndland Bellon" by FhrAwlraliall 1829, lirolhers 18f,), anrl Mart/IQ 1855, Sec.Judilh A, flennell, 'tile Weallh 0/ Ihe Sulomon, (Honolulu 1987). 350-2, published afl'" lh" wriling of' Ihis papn, Ed.1
.n Hon"n' Fo.,tcr, 'A Sydlwy Wh"kr, IH29-:I2: 'l'he r('n,inis"'-l1ce, uff""'es Hcncrlev',jol/l"al of PauFe
Hi,I",}', 10 (1')75), 97 .
.'A (,ogs of William ftamdtoll, 19.June Ill:J9. I'MB ",icrolilm' 819. 8')i!.
i\UTFS
1~J:)
,\:-ill I)()CVMFNTS
a Bc1lonesc man, who latl-r died of his wound J9 An eVl'n mon' dramatic storv conClTns
a ship that anchored at I,abangu, Renm:11 Island, Thl' crew tried to abduct a Il!an and
a woman, but ,vert' frustrated initially by a relectivl' of the man, who threatl'l1ed them
with his spear, l.atc'!', onc of the intruders tired a gUll and hit
Renlll'!lcsl', who flrst
realized he was wounded when he saw the contents of his stomach noating in the watC!,
Tfll' intruders thl'n made off with thl' dead man's will: and SOI1.'" This storv lIIay Ill'
iclcntical to onc rt:clllckd by the l,thnographical collector A, S, 1vleek, who heill'c! rq)()/ts
ahout 'a Rotulnah man, who shot onc oftl1l' Rl'IlIlell Island,-rs becausl' thev W('I'l' (rVlng
to take away his tin'arms'," Certainly, the applOaeh ola Eur'opeal1 .ship alwilYs inspired
f('ar in the islanders aftl'!' their first rrlt'l'tings with Europl'ans, ilnd it is said that hig'hranking ll\Cll oftl'l1 Corbade thl'ir bmili,·s to go to the IWilch, i'vlo!'l'ovt'l', young nll'n dillI!Jl'(1
to the tops of the coconut trLTS to make observations from a sak distance, Not sU!'fJrisingly, several early reports statc that there was no sign of human lik Oll the islands,
The first Europeans to make pcaedulcontact y"ith thc islander.'i appear to hilVl' 1)('l'll
missionaries of the 1vll'lanesian Mission, Bet wcen 1WiG and l86:l, the mission vc'ssel
SoulhrTn Cross call('d at the two islands on f()ur occasiuns, h;\ving on bOim[ Bishop.J.
R, Sclwyn. tlll' Rev, j, C. (later Bishop) l'attcson, and thl' Rev, Robert (;oc!rillg'(oll,
Patteson was tlw lirst to compile a vocabulary olthc local languagc',42 Onc i\uthority
claims that sevcral young islanders weJ'e tak,'n to New Zealand in 18:;6 to be illdonr'inated in the teachings ofChristianity;43 another says it was later, in 1862 44 At all evcnts,
when the islanders returned home, they were not strong l'noug'h to overthrow the old
reI igion, Moreover, there was no attem pt to support them from outsldl', as t hl' m ission's interest in Renncll and Bdlona lapscd I(lr rnore than 10 years aller the Suulltem
Cross's {CllHth viSit In IB6:3, ()Ill' rt';t\on I(l!' this appClrs !tl fwve been that the two islands
were tou far from the ship's regular route; another, that the murder of' Bishop Paul'soll
in 1871 removed Olle of (hose rnost inlercstl'C1 in the islanders' wellar<' h'orn the scenl,.45
Meanwhile, the blackbirding lTa of the Pacific had begun, and;1 Ilumber of islcInders
wcre recruilcclfrom RCf\f\dl i.tnd Hellona to wtJrk on plantations in (~ul'l'nslilr1d, ,\ paplT
published in 1976, using of'licialligun's, slates that b5 Iklloncse \\'<'Ie recruill'd IlctWl't'll
18G3 and 1B87 46 HowevLT, this lig-ult, dol'S IlOl accord with ]'kllonn" oral traditions,
whIch claim that only a few Hdlones' !cll lilr plantation work 4 ' It Sl'crns proualll,',
therefore, that suml' ofthosl' n'lTuitcd as IkllorH'sC ;lnually carllc frOllt Rl'llTldl or othlT
islands, In any case, alter sc vl'l'a I Bellolll'se and Rennellcse had died ill Queenslalld,
thc Queensland Rt'g-ulatiolls forbade retTuiting' frOlIl thc two isl;lllds 48 IIo\\cVLT, thiS
did not stop recruitcrs filr plallt<ttions in Fiji from duillg so, (:or l'''dlllpk, d 11<l'IlCt,
issued in lY04- to .John Alldersof\ of tht' barqucntinc La({y NOTlI/(j1l 10 ll'LTuit '!'olvllesiilll
,I
Iq
TullllllUku, 0J()!t,!J(lok VI, 206-U.
40
Kuschel,
!'t!lIJfM lI ct!, le.\:[
tJ3.
·n 1\. ~, \In:k, ,·1 ,Valwalilt /'lI (:(l.ruul,rL! 1.(llId (I'lllldon l~ll:{), Iq7 .
.u R.l\·, '\·Iitdll'ilurqs'('ll': \'\. "OJI Ht"i!o\\", 'Firlig(' Hl"rllt'rkuJI.!2;t'1l 1.11 dt'll) Artikt"! "f)i(' SpradH" \'Orl 0.1(Ji-ki.
BelJoll'\ '[11,\("1'° ill ell'lll :\\ll"s;II/.(' \'1111 Sidl1l"y 11 R;t~' l\litt!leilllllg("1l tilKr c1r('i Ui;tl('kl(' dlT S:l!tlIIHJI1·(IlSl'!Jl',
£l'lt"ltrI/! ft,r ,IFIAan/"h,' 'Wrl (}wulI"he ,\/)1(/(h"" ,I (IH'IH). 111,,"11.
"C, E. I:"x, I.urd vf !hr Svuth"n !,Ie, (I.""d,," I'I~,H), "10.
4·1 D. Ililliard, 'TIlt: IlitHIc for R../'lllll..'lI IsL'llld, ,I ~tlldy ill r[II~SJllllal'" politics', ill (; A. \-\'(10<1 dlld P S.
O'Con""r (",Is), W I' ,\/u"rll' ,I TT/huI' (1)\I"",li" 197:)), Illfi.
" Ililli"rd, ''1'1", ""Ilk', IO!;.
,1(. Charles:\
Pri( t' ;Ul<\ I:,liz~d)l"th Ibk('r. '(hi~ill~ (If" P;ll'ifit [sl:Ll1d I.tllllll]'cr..; ill (hll'!'ll.'):IIH1, lIl(d-IQ().J
(J n'S('<Irdl lInf(", Jowl/al (~! J'aci!u fltltor}'.
1I (197h), 11:-).
47 Roll" Kusclwj 'llld T()r1 It'l 1 !'vltlrdwrg. 'Hisl(Jr~' alld <lr~tl tradition: ;l (;\.'l· sludy', )UIUl{(l/ of {hi' /JII!}nr\/(U/
Sou>I}', Bti (1'177), H'i-'/'"
-4/1 C. 0.-'1. \'V(lodl(m:..L ktttT III I:J AII.L::'. I~J(H!(J J figlt (:oll11llissiollt:r. \-\'('~t('ITI P~I( ilil', \\'(':-.t('lll P;\cifi( , rc!Jj\'I",
]ik I 'j2/1'1I14
196
JOURNAL OF PACIFIC HISTORY
illlIlligrallls' for Fiji specifically stales that Rellona and Rennell were IWO islands in the
Solomons where he rnuld opaate. 49 The first Resident Commissioner of the Solomons,
Charles M. Woodford, protl'sled strongly against this policy, fearing serious consequences to the people of such small islands. 50 It is not known whether any islanders
were actually recruited. Howl.:ver, around 1020, Levers Pacific Plantations on Guadalcanal did recruit some Rellonesl.: and Renncllese for tht'ir plantations. But they abandoned the practice after several of rhelll died and others f('1I seriously ill soon after their
arrival on Guadalcanal. The Rt:nnellesl~ and Bellonese thus acquired a reputation for
being useless for planlalion work ilnd this, no doubt, saved the IivfS of many others.
Recruiting !'rom thest' two southern Outliers of the Solomons was therefore fairly limited
hI' comparison wilh other islands.
It \\,:IS c1uring the blackbirding era- in 1893 -that Ihe Solomon [slands became a
Hritislt Pl'Otl·ClOl'ate. Rcnnell anu Belluna were added to it 011 tlit' morning of 17 June
1897 when Captain G. N. A. Pollard of H.M.S. Wallaroo anchored off Bellona and
landed with a small pany of men." With 'due ceremony and honour to the occasion'
and with the ship firing a royal salute, the British flag was planted and the proteClorate
declared. 51 A few islanders made their appearance as Pollaru went ashore. Judging from
the 'few canoc~: hauled up on the strand' and the 'primilive fishing arrangements the,'e
in view', Pollard thought the islanders were '01" the fisher class'. They greeted him and
hIS m('n in a friendly manner, 'assisting lhf' hoat Ihrough [he surI' and offering spears,
and bows and arrows for b:uter. However, they 'took to the hIlls in haste' when the
royal salute was fired and did not reappear until after the Englishmen's departure."
Pollard's account adds.
On returning nn board thl' noats werc hoisted and secured ready to proceed wh~n a flatic'('
was observed 10 ('apsi~.c in his C:'IIlOe, alld being linable 10 right it, he endeavoured to swim
Itlr the shore then nearly a rnile distant, the ship '''<is st"ITer! (0r him and he was got on
h0arn by mean5 01' ropes in a s0111cwhal n:hau,tcd conditloll showing I hell. he could never
have reached the shore against thl' wind and currcnl; a nu"l WitS lowered, his canul' s('cured
and he was landed silklv with a larglT supply or prm",ions thall prollably he had seen for
~r)nlC tim<..'.5~
Residenr Commissioner Woodford paid his first of'fil'ial visit to (he Iwo islands in
I SlOb 55 Then the islanders were Idt in peal'" by officialdom for 20 years. However,
the :vJ.elanesian lvlision vessel Southem (:rol"( resumed contact with them during this
period, lnaking- four visits between [904- and 1908. Liulc is on record about these visits
apart Crom the fact that one Harry Drew made- a voclbulary of the language. 56 On
the other hand, the interest in (he islands at this time of Dr Northcote Deck of the South
Sea Evangelical Mission is well docuJntnll·d. Hi, mission had been founded in Queensland in 1886 and had estaolished itscil" in the SolollHlns in I Sl04. In 1909-10, Deck made
six voyages 10 Renncll, taking three Islands teachers tltere on the Iifth voyage in August
." W"sILTn
"0
P~eifi(
Arrhives. File 196/1904.
vVoodlord. letter of
I~)
Aug. I ~)()4.
" The afll,.·x"infl nf Renn,·1 and Hdlooa i, nrn,wously S1aled ,n have laken place on 19 June t8'17 in
a (tkgranl (rom Ihl' C()mm~ndtr-in-Chief, Au"ralia S,atinn, 10 'he nder Sarelary of Stalc, Colonial Office,
o( 7 July 1897 (PRO. Kcw. CO 2L5!83. Idc~riHll 33). Brigham, An {ndex, 1~3, givc5 Ihe dale as 18 Aug.
1!l98. This "rror is repeated by Hngbin.·A nOle', 174. and by K. 13irkel-SflJiill, All Dhno!v.Riw! Ske/(h of R'nIIdl {jlalld (Copenha::('n 1956). J7.
"G. N. A. Pollard, In.,- of HMS Wnllan", 21 Apr. 1897 to 18 Apr. t898, PRO, K,·w. Adm 53/16:)42.
" G. N. A. Pollard. rep"rI on Ihe isl"nd of R~lIona, 17 June 1897, PRO. KC\v. Adm l/7iHB
"G. N. A. Pollard. kucr to Comnli.nder-in-Chicf. Australia S'3lion. 5 July 1897, PRO, Kcw. Adm 1/73.14B.
" C. M. Woodford, 'Exlran from ;10 account', in N. l)eck. South/Tom {;uadalcanal (T"ronto 191:1), 5.
" F"". Lord
0/ th,'
Sou/hm {sle" '210.
ll)]
1910, Thl' !eachl'f's, Thomas Sandwich, ofVanuatu, <md Tommy, 1akira and Andn'\\
Kanirara, of Ihl' Solomons, were killed by the Ren!ll'lJese three clays after Deck's (leparture S ? Extl'rnal and internal ;llcounts naturally ddfcr on the reaSOI! for the killings S "
But they instantly t Doled Deck's ambitions to convert the Renndkse, and 20 nHII'l' I'l'ars
passed IJl'!cllT tIlissionarv intl'l'l'st In the Lslands was rl'kindled,
During thl' intn\'iil, husil1l'SS IntlTl'sts sought to exploit thc' uonomic pott'ntial of
thl' two islands, Rutllours that ',ofJllt'l' OIT in largl' quantities' l'xisll'd on Rl'lllll'lIbl'gan
cinulating about IHH'i, hil\lng originiLted with a cl'rtain Mr SOl"('ns,'n oflhe ship f)OUTO,''J
Se\'fTal applicatioll's fClr mining lilcnces werl' sulJsl'qul'l1l1y made (0 the \VestlTn Pacific
High Comll\i"ion: from VV /\, Tan'l's in IHSHj, Arthur Robl'rt Docker in 1897, Burns,
I'hilp and COlllpan)' Ltd in I~)O+, and A, E, Stl'phen in IC)O~), Rl'silknt C<lIlIlllissionn
Woodford tried (0 prn'l'nt thl' liccnces front being gTilTltcd, but apparently rl'Cl,iv('(1
little support from thl' High Commissiuner."u Even so, Stephen, who is said to ha\'('
\'isited both Renndl and Belluna in sCilrch of phosphatt', was apparently the onlv appli"
cant for a licl'nce who both rlTei\"l'd Olll' and aetcclupon it,6' Nl'\'ntlw!css, on i'4 January ICl10, vVoodford wrote to the High Commissionn suggcsting thal mining should
only take placc in co-operation with the islanders·' In [':125 and 1927, the Solomoll
Islilnds CUVernnll'nt itself organised two cxpcditions to the two islands '(() 't'l' iI' phosI)hate rock c:xistl'd there'6J How(,\'l'r, the investigations showed that the jlnccnlii(;l' of
phosjJhate was '(()O low (0 Ill' tll' cOl1llnl'!'ci;t! intercst' and th'tl. the phosphatised areilS
were 'patchy and v<::ry [oealiscd'64 A Illovil' cameraman, G, J, i\1acKay, was app2lrently a member of the 1927 cxpedition, An article in the Pacific hlands kfontlily in I~nb
claimed that his films had 'secured him invitations to display same before the principal
geographical societies of the United Statcs',65 [I this WlTe so, nothing is now known
of the wherl'abouts of his filnls,
Scicntilic inteft'st in the people of Rennell and Ikllona may he said to have begun
wilh the 'Oll\pibtion of Bishop Patt~son's vocahulary 01' tht'ir language b"twcen 18,16
and 1863, In 1896, this was analysed by the linguist Siclncy H, Ray, who recognised
tlUt the words were Polynesian 66 In 1927, during a two-month stay on Renncll, the
.\ustralian anthropologisl H, Ian Hogbin col!eC!.cd a further 500 words as well as ethnographical data 6 ? In [lJ28 and 1930, the American Whitney South Sea Expedition conducted an investigation of the avifiwna on Renndl, th(' beginningol'prolonged n;s("arch
" F, S, fI Y"l1l1~, I'""I,/mm Ihe I'("i(" (1,"11""11 Iq:!:;), :!IIH-l'\; Il",k, SOlllh/rum, 50,(;1),
~~ S. i\·1. r,:II11lwrr 'British SlllUJIlfJll ["lands hl..'alth surv('ys, jCJ:)'r.'/oul1uz!(!/"j",o!ll(a!.lf,difUlranrf 11~~t:/f'Tu"
:17 (1934), 10:1, Torbl,,'Tl ~1oJllxrg, '( :risis and !!lass CClll\'l,,'rsioll Oil }{l'lllH'll Island in I ~':Hr, JOllrnal 0./ {h, P(J(}'
lIlH'a'l,)'oriel}'. 71 (I~)()'2). 14.'i-50: Torlll'1l I\lonbl'rg, 'All bland dl<JlIgt'\ il:\ rdig-ion', in (~ . .,\, Highland ;Inl!
odll'r.s (t'Cls\ ?oIYNt'lian (,'ullurr flnlon': Fo{[}'\ I'll flonor (If KtrUltlh F I:'rnory (floflohdu. !(){;/), ~lfi5-Wl.
" C, M, \''100111",,,, It-lttT "I ~HJ (l<l 1WIG, \'\'('sl,.,.r; l\'cdic !\rrhi\T',
60(:. tv1. \V(lodrorc!, k((l'rllr'2·~.Jan. l~II() 10 Higll CorlllTlissinrlt'r, \,Vt'SllTtl P,u-di(, \Vn,tt"fn Pacific .'\rchi\·c·s,
No 3h7-:Y11' 17(j/U'J
~l C, A \/, Stank)', 'Rc'purr on lht· g'c:()l()gic~al rccoT1n<.tissdllCt.' or Rl'l1ndl f:\land' ill RTitl'sh 5'()/omo'fl [\laTlfh
Proltc{oralt Hr/Jorlfor 1927 (!.clllcln!l 19'29), 1:l: \Voodrord, '()Il SOrTlC link-known PC)lyfll'si:ul scttlclllt'!1(S', ,~5,
., See nule 60,
6J Knihbs, Tht ,)(W{lJ?( SO/Ol!lMlI, Iqq; Stank!"
'Rt'port', I:)
., S,anky, 'Report', 2(j,
., c, .J. MacKay, '/\ rnr",il'-c;>nl(Tarnan on Rl'nn"'t', Pa,~fie Island, ;lyfonlhl)' (Jan, 1936), 44-5, rvbeK;>y
sa)-', Ill' wt'lI! ro Rt'llrlt'1l in tht' Ralladl' wilh Rt'sic!c'nl COllllnissionl'f Kalll'. K~lnt:'s vi:-:ilS weft' in Jan, t~JL.1
and Aug. ISI'27. Fro[]J ;"lfl nlilori;d II(l(C (Cl all artick I)~: i\1alKay ill
Pa(~flc hlandr ;\rlf}fllh~y (Apr I~)T)),
~l, it appl'ars that !\.1acK~IY'S \'isit \\:as in )Q'27.
"ll'
M, Sct' IlOtl' '}'2.
,,' Sranky, 'H.l'port Oil the gl'(l!ogical reconnaissance', Ih; Anon., 'Sydney anthropologislll'avt's rnr()lttl~fing
,'iolornol'ls', Parif,'c /,Iandl ,lfonlhlY,l'o\. 1C)'n, :!5: H,,~IJin, '/\ "o(e', 174-8:2; H, [an Hog'bin, "'P"lvn"si",,"
l"I"";,,, in lvkIJnt'.'i,,', .loum,,1 of Ihl' 1'"I)'nww( .\'",'-(1)',49 (1940), 199-22(1,
lY8
of Cl similar kincl 68 The last scientific expeclition hefore World War 11 was the TcmplctonCrocker Expedition of 1933 which included the American anthropologist Cordon MacGregor of the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, the photographer Toschio Aseida, and the
American doctor S. M. I,ambert. MacCregor wrote the first study of the local religion ;69
Ascida made a 35 mm film on Rennell, Including part of the important harvest ritu:1I,'o
and Lambert, who had visited the islands previously with the Whitncy expedition,
became an even stronger advocate for leaving the Islanders [0 themselves. Because he
was aware that these long-isolated people were not Immune to new illnf'sses, Lambert,
in both speech and writing, urged all outsiders to keep away from them. In his 'Health
Survey of' Rennell and Bellona Islands' published in 1931, he had written:
The people have a religion perfectly adjusted to their menial outlook. The basic morality
of the island is prllV d hy ri,,· f"v(Jllrahk halance of populalioll; general health is excellent
Any inlroduction ofChnslian missions would only be !'JlIowed by social mal;\<ljuslmenl and
its atlend:>nl disasters. lsnlallon Irom western culture and the ways of the white man removes
Ih,' mOSI important and principal belle.fil of the missionary to such a socielY, th:>t is, the
IJeoIJ"" do nol nel'd the protcClion of the mission againsllhe while man. No onc knows how
many ages It has taken to bring this primilive cullun' to ils prescnt bloom, and this can
be deslroyed permanenlly hy whilc settlemeIlt, 0 .. the IIltroduetion or rrllssions, or both, in
il very short limc
In most places, while culture has dcslroyed or obliterated nativc
culture
"
Lambert's premonitions proved corn'Ct. Soon af"ter his own firSI Visit, the Rev. N.
A. Ferris, a Seventh-Day Adventist, found a pretext for visiting Rennell. He had met
a Rennellese man, T('~heta, In Tulagi, then tht' capital of the Solomons, and Tegheta
had said that he wanted someone to go to his island to teach the inhabitants. Ferris
Interpreted this lO mean Ihat the islanders wanted to "'am auoul the Seventh-Day Adventists, lIe and the R"v. L. '\. Borgas Idt for Renndl on 29 Novcmlxr 1932,'1
A few months later, the S.D.A. Mission sought Ihe government's permission to send
lhree Solomon Islanders to Rennell as missionary teachers. 'The riming roul.d not have
been worse', as a student of the mission has pointed out. '3 Lambert was in Tulagi and
J C Barley, AC(ing Resident Cornmissionn in the absence of F. N. Ashlcy, was a
good friLnd 01' his and shared hiS views on Bcllona and Rennell, According lO Lambert, both Barlt'y and H. B. Hetherin~ton, a senior medical ol"licer, who had also studied
the islanders' health, tried to convinl"C Borg-as that attcmpts 10 convert them would be
disastrous. Borgas is said to have replied: 'Evt'n if it meant thc' death of the last native
on RI'nndl, I still would feel that 1 must go'.'·
This was the beg'inning of a trial of strength between the missionaries on the one
hand and Lambert and the government, represented by Barley, on lhr other. Barley
even went to Rennell to investigate the missionaries' claims that the islanders longed
to sce thelll. According to Lambert, Barky found that they lllcrcJy wantrd someone
,,' Woll"!", 'Ihr Nnl"rallli'lorv; Torl)("n Woll( 'The bUlla 01' lZl"lIl1cll ",HI Ikll""". Solomon [slanus'. Ho;al
SI/ci,.l)' of I.I/m!on, PIu!olOphica! "l"m""lrti()III: ,)i'T/>' 11, 2'i5 (I <)(j'J), :J'21-'f"1
.
()Q C
M<tcGrcglll". 'The .~(Jds or Rt"ll/\I'11 Isl~lItd·. PajJfT.\ vf Ihl' Pfobod)) }vfw,cu1Il oJ ;1m(T/'wJl Ar(hatOlogy and t;thnuluRY, 211 (194:1). )2-7.
70 A copy Clr ASl'iurt's filnt is in lhe Bishop MUSCUIIl.
[,'ttH!>rf"l, 'Health survey', tn.
1.. A. Hnrgas, 'Visit to Rl'nndll.slancls', /1,o{rn./aJlaJl Uaorrl(fi Feh. 19:r~), 2-4; N ;\. i"l'rris, 'Mol'<:': "boul
1Z"nncll Island'. A"'lrala,ia" Htrurri (IJ [:"!>. 1~1J:S); :\. W 1\'!artin, pITS. ,""mnl., 197.1.
7J D. Sll·lcy. 'The Sevenlh-l)ay A<!vcnti:,t lVlissioJ1. in the SOIOJlHHl rslands. 1914--4'2', MA thesis. University
"
72
"r Auckland
H
(.\ttckland 1<)1\3)
r .;lInbcrt, 'British
SO!OlTl(lll
Isl(I]\(Js 1H'.11rh
sur.. . . eys·.
1,~ I
19~)
to teach them English so that they could communicate with traders and govLTnll1CI1l
officials,75 The ITsult was that on 27 Af-lril 19:1:1 the government declarcd the Native
Passes Regulation to he in forcc' throughout the Solomon Islands,76 This Ineant that
islanders could not leavc their districts without pnmission from the cornmlssionLTs 'lnd
they could no longer Ill' removed from their hornes to be taken tu mission schools, After
protests from the ll1issionaric's, the n'gulatioll was maek applicable only to Hcllona ;lIId
Renncll froIn 27 Nm'emlllT !9Tl." Then, a dnlTl' issued in thc spring of 19:H cnaI)kd the IlIission'lric's tu apply to thc gO'.'t'nllllent to rC!T10\T he,dth)' voung !T1en fro!T1
I hose two isLlnds ,IS wdl. That same spring, n'prcsentatives of till' rvlelallcsian "'fission, South Sea E\angelical lvlissioll, and Sl'v('llth-l)ay J\d\'elltists \'isitl'd Rellnell and
Bcllolla, fktwCTIl r)o ,Ule! HO voullg IlIen ,In' ('stilIl,l[nl to havc Iwcn n'IIl()\'l'(1 from tllelll, 7H
Hut auording to Rcsieknt (;umlllisslllnLT Ashky, HelluI\a was soon closed to disciplehuntns hecause of its inhahitants' 'suspicion of outsiders and the consequent Jikdilwoc!
of \'[o!c-nee', 79 Both islands WLTe declared clusl'd districts after SOllle islandns died or
",nc takl'll ill following visits hy outsider:;,"O
Till' Closed District Rl'guLttioll stoppc'd the fatal epielcmies hut was too late to save
the old Polynesian culture, In lenS the missionaries' removal of young peopk from
their traditional culturdllJa,kgrourld bore fruit, During the harvest festival in October,
the old religion collided with a new and primitive ]'orm of Christianity which the young
men had learned at the mis',iorl schools The struggk, named the ["'iupani Madness
alter the locality on Rennell where it occurred, has been described in detail by Moa,
one of the principal part iei pan ts, and anal ysecJ by Monberg,81 Two Illon ths latLT, M oa
went to Bcllona with a kw other Renncllcse, and in onc week they convinced the I:\t-llonese that the Christian god was stron';cr th:ln their own, Then' was no bloodshed,
Internal unrest-due to the killing o! many men on the eastern side o! the island a !ew
years earlier-ensured the speedy acceptance o! Christianity, A decisive battle betwec'n
two rival factions, SOlTle of whom had heen hiding In the forest filr sevcral years, had
bcen expected at thl' time of Moa's arrival, Instcad, there was promise o! a peace!ul
I'uture. Nevertheless, violent clashes did occur };lte:r clue to rivalry between the SeventhDay Adventists and n'presentatives o!the South Sea Evangelical r-.1ission
The change to the ncw religion as well as the consequent social changes and changes
in values werc gradual at first. The first resident teacher, a Melanesian, who set up
house on Bellurl'l in 1949, did little IJUt change the patterns of the settlcmenb, The
changes became nlure rapid in tl1l' latc' 1960s as Visiting ships Ilc'uunc' rnure nUlllt'l'OUS
and young peopk went to Honiar<-l and returned with new ideas, new sets of values
and new patterns of behaviour, In the 1970s, there were I'urther changes with the deaths
of old men dnd women who had b,'en thl' custodians of the traditional culture,
In summary, this inquiry has shown that contact betwcen Rennc:ll and Be1l0na and
the oU!:iide world was far more extensive lTl the i:;lancJc-r:;' pre-Christian era than previous :,tucJies have Indicated, From 1829 to 1~J:j8, th(' two islands are now known to have
been visited by 61 ships, and there may have been othn:;, The known fil{ure represents
" Itll<J,
n f 11I1i;ml, "1'11<- haltk', 114
T.. i\. !\orgas, '1Iltt'ITsting-dl'\"I'lllprlll'II!S rl'gclrding !<YJlJlt'lllsl<IIl(1'. :lultra/al/aTl Ntyorr/(I'L
77
N()\"
Iq'H).
:l: HlIli""d, 'Tht' "'[(t!c', IIS,li,
" Ibid" JIB,
" Ibid,
1:10
'Closed districts
1:11
Ell>LT[ aIld
its r('ligio!l'
ill
the
.\-1(JIlIJCr.~,
SOI(JfllOllS',
Fmm tilt -/i('o
/lan/ll hlo.nrll :\I(}f/lh~l' (.'\ug. 1~U7), 114-.
CanU(I,
{C.\I
:2:)5. t\1olllwrg, 'Crisis": Mordwr.'{. 'An island
l"ll<lrlgcs
200
JUURNAL Of PACIFIC HISTORY
onc VIsit every 21 months, although the frequency of contact with each individual island
was lower because many ships did not visit both of them. These visits apparently had
no intluence on the social or religious life of the people before 1938. In the second half
oftht, period, Woodford and I.ambert both helped to delay disruptive contact between
the stone age islanders and the modern world. But they could not prevent their eventual lncorporation into It.
ROLF KUSCHEL
Bankroll Instead of Bullets
Nauru's Roh In the Bzrth oj the Jv!arshall IsLands RepubLlc
ARMEO INDIGENES FROM NEW GUINEA UNDER GERMAN OFFICERS IN 1910 HELPED PUT DOW,,,
the revolt of the Sokehs people on the island of Pohnpei when both the Melanesian
and Micronesian areas were under the control of Germany. Some seven decades later,
In 1980, troops from Papua New GUlI1ea assured the viability of ItS neighbour, the new
nation ofVanuatu, by quashing a revolt on the island of Santa. In both cases the peoples of one Pacific polity intervened by rnilitary me:ms to directly intluence the course
of political self-government in another. Two years before the Vanuatu incident, in 11)78
a third example of interef'ssion by Pacific Islanders occurred, but this time less widely
chronicled, possibly because not firearms but monf'y supplied by the phosphate-rich
nation of ~auru aided the nascent Republic 01- Ihe Marshall Islands. The full details
are revealed in a defamation case arIsing out of the Nauruan loan brought by the longtime President of the island, Hammer DeRoburt.'
The events which led to the transfer of a cheque for $A600,000 by the Nauruans
to the Marshal!ese on 10 May, 1978, 'for the purpose of enabling the people of the Marshal! Islands. . to continue negotiations and discussions with al! appropriate bodies
and to continue development of institutions of sel f-government'2 have antecedents going
back many generations. For one thing, according to President DeRoburt 'there are many,
there are a fair number of people on Nauru whose parentage would be
Marshallese'.J
Indeed, the President was married to a Marshallese woman from Ebon. Back in 1974,
a Nauruan loan to the Marshall Islands Development Authority (MIDA) provided
$600,000 for the financing of a port terminal on Majuro and allied capital improvements. This loan was fully consonant with the programme on which Nauru had
embarked to invest its surplus phosphate revenues in Australia and within the Pacific
so as to establish an endowment upon which to depend in the near future when its mineral
resources arc exhausted. Nauruan money was later Invested In a hotel and housing
on Majuro. There thus were supportIng linkages as Wf'l! as precedent for the President
, Hammer DtRoburt v. Ganntll Compally, file., Civil No. 78-037:>, US District COUrl in Honolulu, 1971J.
All quotations in the tcxt arc (0 dcposirions and documents on fik io this r:lst". DcRoburI wa, not President
of .\Jauru during the period when the loan was negOtialcd and made.
l Mt"morandum of Understanding, dated 10 May, 1978, supporling loan, on file as exhibit accompanying deposition uf Hammer DeRoburt, 18 Feb. 1980.
J Deposition of Hammer DeRoburl. 2 Mar. 1982,23.