LT24: Marsters of the Universe

THE MAGAZINE FOR CORPORATE AND LEISURE TRAVELLERS Issue 24 June-July 2013

$9.95 inc GST ISSUE 24 JUNE-JULY 2013

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CO O K ISLANDS

MARSTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

From a tiny atoll in the Pacific Ocean, an unusual dynasty has flourished.

Roderick Eime washed ashore.

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hen Captain James Cook sailed through his namesake islands in 1773, he called them the Hervey Islands after one of the Lords of the Admiralty. Naming as many islands as possible after influential superiors seemed a good idea for the ambitious seafarer from humble Northern England stock.

When Cook made his second visit in April 1777 he again missed the main island of Rarotonga in his hurry to get to Hawaii and was also given a frosty reception at Mangaia. But, roaming through the 1.8 million square kilometres of ocean that comprises the Cook Islands today, he returned to an uninhabited atoll spied on his first visit.

Perhaps a little braver this time, Cook would have rowed cautiously through the labyrinth of reefs and tricky currents that perpetually protect this speck of land. Maybe his need for fresh water and food forced Cook to make the hazardous landing as he certainly took the opportunity to stow cattle feed and coconuts while more of his crew fished from the plentiful supply in the three-mile wide lagoon. Perhaps the provenance of this landfall somehow influenced his choice of name‌Cook chose Henry Temple, 2nd Viscount Palmerston and then Lord of the Admiralty as the donor.

Palmerston atoll remained unoccupied for the next 90 years until the arrival of William Masters in 1863, from Manuae, who had accepted a post of caretaker of the island with his two Polynesian wives and another couple, the wife of which was also

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a cousin of the other two. The second chap, a Portuguese sailor, clearly outnumbered and outflanked, fled for his life soon after, leaving the English carpenter alone to build his own dynasty.

Passing ships and yachts continued to stop by for refreshments, much as we did one sunny afternoon en route to Fiji from Tahiti aboard the luxury German expedition ship, Hapag-Lloyd’s MS Hanseatic. Rowing out to meet us was a chubby, sun-blasted man with a tincture of Polynesian and his young son. The pair greeted our crew warmly and immediately begun to supervise the unloading of crates of supplies, mostly consisting of flour, sugar, coffee, beer and cigarettes. With the cargo stowed in his ‘tinny’, our pilot was ready to guide the fleet of zodiacs ashore through a narrow, but safe channel past layers of reef only the locals know.

On the beach, the entire island was there to meet us; the reverend, the school teacher, the mayor and hordes of excited kids in smart tropical uniform ready to put on a song and dance show and conduct ad hoc tours. But first a prayer…mercifully short and to the point. “… oh Lord, give us guidance and protect us from falling coconuts!”

Coconuts there were aplenty and just as the reverend delivered his final exultation, one of the heavily laden fruit hit the sand with a dull thud. “Amen”!

Over time the growing clan’s name evolved into a new spelling, Marsters. Some say from the heavy Leicestershire accent of the patriarch’s home. By the end of the century, the skilled tradesman had built several sturdy homes from the wood of wrecked ships that had strayed too close to the island’s treacherous reef. The bell

of the ‘Thistle’ still hangs in front of the church. She ran aground in 1905 and after valiant attempts to float her off failed, she was abandoned and sold to the Marsters clan for 30 pounds.

One trader, the American barque ‘Empire’, called by in early 1900 to find the island in dire straits. Coconut blight had struck the island and the population of 50 souls was starving. The vessel’s master, Captain Knacke, learned old William had died the year before from lack of proper food.

His grave, with its ornate granite headstone, sits imperiously next to the church while his portrait sits on a ledge in the house he built, his serious gaze still surveying the little empire he’d built from scratch. I use the word ‘empire’ deliberately because over the years, many Marsters have left the island, some to other parts of the Cook Islands, others to the rest of the world. At the time of William’s youngest daughter’s death, Titana Tangi in 1973, well over one thousand Marsters had dispersed. One is even Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, the Hon. Tom Marsters.

As we were preparing to leave, a couple of young boys came to survey the load piled up on the sand. They inspected the bags, boxes and crates with intense curiosity and finally looked at each other with a sense of resignation. What could possibly have piqued such interest? Then one turned to us and asked. “Did you bring us a ball?” Our faces fell.

So, should you ever find yourself heading to Palmerston in The Cook Islands and wondering what to bring these isolated souls, the first thing on your list should be a ball, the second: my apology. www.cookislands.travel/palmerston

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