When the Rains Come

When the rains come. Well, we waited two months. During these two months I was ready to move out to a more suitable spot either by a river (some 10 miles away) or to Apia where water is wasted daily by the bucketsful, through dripping taps, gardening hoses or just a ‘take-it-for-granted-attitude’. Water! There's always water in Apia, so why worry?

But we stayed. We sent an S.O.S. to the Public Works Department to supply us with water. They arrived most promptly with six 40-gallon drums of water. These they proceeded to fill every three or four days. But horrors! They forgot to scour the shellite, kerosene and diesel out of the drums. Regardless of the precautions one takes with the boiling of impure water, the impurity took its toll. The consequent reactions were carbuncles, abscesses and stomach complaints. Yet we survived.

The rain still didn't come. Then the Public Works Department forgot to come. The drums remained empty for days. Did I give up? No! The pioneering spirit in me excelled and I ventured forth to make the best of the situation. I proceeded to collect our buckets (two only), pots and containers, got into the car and travelled to the next village, where we had been told there was an excellent supply of river water. After explaining our plight to the owner, he agreed readily, with much concern and sympathy, to help us. Now we had water ….

Yes we had water, but only a very limited quantity, so that I had to devise some method enabling us to bathe, drink and cook, without having to make a second trip in one day.

Rationing It Out

For bathing—A swim in the sea first to remove the initial dirt, then one bucketful and 8–10 cupsful of water to be used per person. (Four bodies were involved.) The result was ‘tane’, a skin disease caused by excessive sea water and the lack of fresh water for washing afterwards.

For cooking—One bucketful and two pots of water only.

For drinking—The remaining containers. The water was duly boiled and stored in the refrigerator, to be drunk only under extreme emergency.

The water-closet problem was solved readily with the use of seawater carried up in buckets. My only regret here is, the main pipe has been corroded, probably the sewerage system also, and will have to be replaced.

A friend in need is a friend in deed, and our friends in Apia, who had heard of our sorrowful plight, would bring water in gallon bottles, ostensibly to relieve our dehydrated state, but secretly to assure themselves of getting a cup of coffee during their visit.

By now the pioneering spirit was somewhat deflated. I informed our department that I would go on strike if the water-supply did not improve. Them … then ‘the rains came’. It continued for three glorious days, and the tanks, buckets and containers were filled to over-flowing.

During the arid period, the Water Works Department were busy also, working on a reservoir constructed especially for us. Soon the pipe-lines were connected to our tanks, thus ending our water problems, except of course that every so often the engineer has still to be reminded in a note, ‘Please, pump

some water’.

I have often wondered how a housewife would overcome such a distressing situation; and now I can smile retrospectively and record it as another lesson in the hard school of tropical experience.

Mrs Akuhata-Brown, formerly Moe Bella Kapene, comes from Wairoa; Mr Hohepa Akuhata-Brown is from Te Araroa, East Coast.

Mr Akuhata-Brown is headmaster at the Aa'na District School in Western Samoa, and his wife is an assistant teacher. Their school has 428 Samoan pupils. Mr and Mrs Akuhata-Brown have been there since the beginning of 1962, and will stay until the end of 1965.

?

It was not possibe to publish a report in this issue on the annual conference of the Maori Women's Welfare League, held last July in Dunedin, since this took place after ‘Te Ao Hou’ had gone to press. However a report on this lively and stimulating conference will appear in the December issue.

?

The Ahuwhenua Cups for excellence in Maori farming have been won this year by two Waikato farmers. The sheep farm award was won by Mr McAlister, who runs a 635 acre sheep farm at Oparau, near Kawhia. The dairy cup was won by Mr J. W. Hedley, who has a 129 acre farm at Hoe-o-Tainui, near Morrinsville. Mr Hedley won this cup previously in 1955, was placed second in 1959, 1960 and 1961, and was third in 1962.

?

A few months ago 21 third form boys from Edgecumbe College camped for a week at Hopuruahine Inlet at Waikaremoana and worked on the Lake Walk Track, which is eventually to go right around the lake. Peter Fair-brother, their form master, and Jimmy Hahipene from Te Teko, a member of the College Board of Governors, were the adults in the party. They had a most enjoyable time, and did a very useful job in contributing toward the construction of what will be a magnificent walking track for visitors to Waikaremoana.