A man and an island - Vol 20
Vol 20 - This week I look at the fascinating Palmerston Island. Once home to an Englishman, 3 wives, and surrounded by endless ocean.
안녕하세요, Kia Orana, Welcome
This week I present the fifth edition in my series looking at the Cook Islands. In volume 16 I discussed the island of Atiu with a two-part series looking at birds, bush beer, coffee, caves, warrior culture, and beaches.
This week I will talk about another island in the Cook Islands group that has a fascinating history.
If I told you there was an island with no airport and no area that is safe for large ships to enter would you go? A place that is exposed to the daily conditions of the Pacific Ocean including hot sun and strong winds with no mountains to seek shelter. Sometimes you might experience a cyclone but you are so far away from help or any kind of support. It might take weeks for any help to come. If they arrive they might not be able to find you. There are no cars, hotels, or restaurants that we experience everywhere in our normal daily lives. In the past, It might take many months to reach this island. Present-day, It might take 8-9 days to get there by boat from Rarotonga, the capital of the Cook Islands. Once you arrive on this island you might have to wait for the next boat to return and pick you up. The main boat usually comes 2 -3 times a year.
Would you like to live on this island?
Some people might consider it a paradise, others a scary proposition.
If I told you a story that in 1863 an Englishman, a ship’s carpenter settled on an island/atoll with two Polynesian wives and literally nothing else, and later added another wife. Somehow he managed to survive until his death nearly forty years later leaving behind 23 children and 134 grandchildren. If I told you his descendants are so numerous and around the world today would you believe it?
This is the story of Palmerston Island and William Marsters.
Palmerston Island - Image courtesy of Young Pioneer Tours.
William Marsters - Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
PALMERSTON ISLAND
Situated at the edge of what is called “The Southern Group” of the Cook Islands is an island named Palmerston. There are a number of islets that make up this group but according to recent information, 50-60 people live on Palmerston. If we joined all these pieces of land together they would measure about one square mile (2.6 km2). It’s hard to imagine this small amount of land existing there in the middle of the ocean. There are many islets but everyone seems to live on Palmerston.
Essentially, it’s a very small place in a big ocean.
Map of Palmerston - Image courtesy of Sometimes interesting.
In 1777 Captain Cook set foot on this place and named them after Lord Palmerston from the UK. Nobody would go near this place for nearly eighty years.
This brings us to William Marsters who many believe hailed from Leicestershire of the English Midlands. During his travels around the Pacific, he met and struck an arrangement with the owner of the island. A Tahitian-based trader named John Brander. The arrangement was quite simple. Head to Palmerston around 1863 and become its caretaker. Look after the place and also plant and harvest coconut in order to send highly lucrative coconut oil to the market. Marsters did this happily with his two Polynesian wives and a future third one. While on Palmerston he planted coconuts, built housing, and grew other crops. It’s hard to imagine this kind of existence but he seemed to thrive. Every six months Brander would send a ship with essential supplies and Marsters would send back highly valued coconut oil. It seemed like the perfect relationship for all involved. However, things were about to change.
According to Marsters
“I was put here by Mr John Brander of Tahiti to make cocoanut oil for him. For the first six years, their vessels attended me regularly but afterwards they left me for two and three years at a time without coming near, and in 1878 they ceased coming here”1
dated the 6th of January, 1888
Letter from William Marsters - Image courtesy of Sometimes interesting.
As you can see the arrangement worked well for a number of years then suddenly the ships never came. Brander passed away and Marsters was left on the island. In 1888 Marsters claimed the island but there were challenges from the relatives of Brander. Marsters eventually was victorious and Queen Victoria granted him a 21-year lease. He managed to live until 1899 when he died of malnutrition and illness at the age of 67 after his coconut trees were affected by a disease.
However, his legacy continues today. He managed to split the island between the three wives and families in order to give everyone space and their descendants survive today around the world. He left behind 23 children and 134 grandchildren.
While he was on Palmerston he spent a lot of time taking materials from shipwrecks and started to build a community. These buildings included a church, housing, and a school.
William Marsters original house - Image courtesy of Patrick Dayshaw & Kirsten Rohrbach.
William Marsters grave - Image courtesy of Sometimes Interesting.
Downtown Palmerston - Image courtesy of Sometimes Interesting.
An unbelievable life and story. If you ever meet someone from the Cook Islands with the surname Marsters it’s highly likely they descend from Palmerston and William Marsters.
In the next edition, I will release a Korean newsletter.
This week’s recommendations
Feel free to engage in the conversation below
1) Could you live on this island?
“Feed your focus, starve your distractions.”
https://sometimes-interesting.com/palmerston-island