The Coolidge examiner., 1936-07-24

About 1888 or 1884 a small COM
pany from New Zealand, including
several Maoris, were brought to
Lord Howe, but in two years they
were so discontented that they were
taken back to their old homes in
New Zealand and Nature once
more was left in untroubled pos
session.
But not for long! American
whaling vessels, securing the
Southern seas, found tnat Lord
Howe island was an excellent
place to replenish their water sup
ply. There were no government Of
ficials 10 deal with, no distractions
to tempt desertion, and no natives
with whom the sailors could get
into trouble. By 1910 reports of
these numerous visiting whalers
reached Sydney, and two families
established themselves on Lord
Howe to grow fruit and vegetables
for the crews. So well did the
settlers prosper that others fol-
lowed, and by 1850 a small COM
munity was well rooted on the is.
land.
Excellent Climate and Soil.
The climate is delightful, with
much bright sunshine, yet plenti-
full supply of rain; abundant
breezes, but no cyclones; never a
trace of frost, but very little ex-
cessive heat. The soil IS fertile,
and nearly everything which grows
in warm, temperate or subtropical
countries can be grown on Lord
Howe. The island has such a trop-
ical appearance and there are so
many palms that the entire ab-
sence of coconuts is striking. The
explanation is that the mean an
nual temperature is not high enough
for that heat-loving palm.
With the discovery of petroleum
the decline of the whaling fleet be-
gan and hard times came to Lord
Howe. Without the Whalers, there
was no market for the produce,
both Australia and New Zealand
being too far away.
But necessity often leads to dis
coveries which prove epoch-mak-
ing, and so it proved in this case.
There is no record of who first
noticed the unusual hardness of
the palms growing so abundantly
or who was first to offer them for
sale. But demand for the palms
from Lord Howe gradually devel-
oped, and long before the TWenti-
eth century dawned they were in
use all over the world wherever
there were florists.
Four Kinds of Residents.
Governmental machinery is SIM
pie. Local affairs are handled by
a local committee of three, chosen
by the islanders themselves The
marketing of the palm seeds and
relations with the Australian gov
ernment are handled by the Lord
Howe Island board of control, COM
posed of three New South Wales
officials in Sydney, the island be-
ing politically a dependency OF
that state.
The residents on the island are
divided by two lines of cleavage
into four natural groups; one line
separates those born on Lord
Howe, and hence known as is
landers," from those born else
where, and so known as "non-iS-
landers." This cleavage is not the
basis of social distinction; if the
islanders look down on the non
islanders they conceal their feel.
ings perfectly.
The second line of cleavage sep
arates participants" from mon
participants" an economic division
of the islands income from the
sale of the palm seeds. To be
participant one must be an island
er, or else married to an islander,
and a resident for 10 years or
more.
The degree of participation de-
pends on age and sex. All males
twenty-one years of age, or more
have 25 shares in the allotment.
Women of like age have 10 shares,
but on marriage their holding is
increased to Is shares. A mar
ried couple will thus have SO shares
when starting their home. For
each child born to them 10 addi-
tional shares come to them, with
a maximum of 35 shares for chill
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