Palmerston Atoll and Island, The Cook Islands
Captain James Cook, the great Pacific explorer, discovered remote Palmerston atoll on his second voyage. Three years later, on his third and final voyage, he landed here (in April, 1777) for coconuts, scurvy grass to keep the crew healthy, and palm saplings to feed the ship’s cow. At the time the several islands or motus of the atoll were uninhabited. Today we too discovered and landed on Palmerston atoll, no longer uninhabited. In 1862 an English carpenter, William Marsters, settled here with his two (and later a third) Polynesian wives; the fifty or so people who now live on one of the islands of the atoll are their descendents. They all bear the name of Marsters, but the descendents of the three different mothers occupy different sections of the small island. We were warmly greeted as our Zodiacs wove through the narrow passage through the reef to land on the beach. A welcome dance was performed by the children of Palmerston Lucky School (“You’ll never meet another Marsters girl like me!”) We divided into groups for tours of the village – the church (which is the focal point of Palmerston Island society), the original Marsters house, the school, and the open houses of the current villagers. As we walked many of us found children reaching out to hold our hands in an unaffected sign of friendship.
Astoundingly fragrant frangipani or Plumeria blossoms adorned their trees, now leafless in the drier season (there is no truly dry season). Coconuts scattered over the island provide a source of food for people, pigs, and hermit crabs, alike. Young Taia Marsters demonstrated the art of climbing a coconut tree to harvest the fruit, and many of us enjoyed a refreshing drink straight from a newly-opened coconut.
Our afternoon was spent exploring the water adjacent to the reef by Scuba or snorkel-gear. Cook’s Physician and Naturalist, William Anderson, remarked on “… the yellow, blue, red and black tropical fish playing their little gambols amongst the little caverns.” We can add black-tipped reef sharks and green sea turtles to the list. And as for “little gambols”, we can add the giddy pleasure of snorkelers riding the outgoing tide rushing through the break in the reef, and then riding a zodiac back in to do it again and again.
Captain James Cook, the great Pacific explorer, discovered remote Palmerston atoll on his second voyage. Three years later, on his third and final voyage, he landed here (in April, 1777) for coconuts, scurvy grass to keep the crew healthy, and palm saplings to feed the ship’s cow. At the time the several islands or motus of the atoll were uninhabited. Today we too discovered and landed on Palmerston atoll, no longer uninhabited. In 1862 an English carpenter, William Marsters, settled here with his two (and later a third) Polynesian wives; the fifty or so people who now live on one of the islands of the atoll are their descendents. They all bear the name of Marsters, but the descendents of the three different mothers occupy different sections of the small island. We were warmly greeted as our Zodiacs wove through the narrow passage through the reef to land on the beach. A welcome dance was performed by the children of Palmerston Lucky School (“You’ll never meet another Marsters girl like me!”) We divided into groups for tours of the village – the church (which is the focal point of Palmerston Island society), the original Marsters house, the school, and the open houses of the current villagers. As we walked many of us found children reaching out to hold our hands in an unaffected sign of friendship.
Astoundingly fragrant frangipani or Plumeria blossoms adorned their trees, now leafless in the drier season (there is no truly dry season). Coconuts scattered over the island provide a source of food for people, pigs, and hermit crabs, alike. Young Taia Marsters demonstrated the art of climbing a coconut tree to harvest the fruit, and many of us enjoyed a refreshing drink straight from a newly-opened coconut.
Our afternoon was spent exploring the water adjacent to the reef by Scuba or snorkel-gear. Cook’s Physician and Naturalist, William Anderson, remarked on “… the yellow, blue, red and black tropical fish playing their little gambols amongst the little caverns.” We can add black-tipped reef sharks and green sea turtles to the list. And as for “little gambols”, we can add the giddy pleasure of snorkelers riding the outgoing tide rushing through the break in the reef, and then riding a zodiac back in to do it again and again.
