Cannibals & Convicts, 1886, by "Vagabond" (Julian Thomas), p.45-58:
CHAPTER VI. NEW CALEDONIA.
New Caledonia is situated within the Tropic of Capricorn, between the parallels 20° and 23° of south latitude. It is on the meridian of longitude 166° east of Greenwich. It runs south-east and north-west, and after New Zealand is the largest island in the South Seas, being about 180 miles in length by 30 to 40 in breadth. The distance between New Caledonia and the Australian continent is some 700 miles.
A high mountain range, the Chaine Centrale, runs from south to north, forming a backbone to the island, and being the source of numberless streams which feed the rivers fertilising the valleys. The forests and dense vegetation are tropical, of much the same character as in New Guinea, for in New Caledonia, as in Papua, a species of Eucalyptus is found. This, which is called the niaouli, as in Australia, adds greatly to the salubrity of the country, the aromatic odours which fill the air of the "bush" being evidences of the volatile essences which kill the germs of miasma.... the niaouli in New Caledonia likewise gives to the atmosphere an extra amount of active oxygen, and tends to make this the healthiest of all the islands in the South Seas.
New Caledonia is a land of the gum-tree and the convict; hut there its similarity to early Australia ceases. There are no marsupials here; in fact, there are no animals at all except the "flying fox," [Pteropus, fruit bat] the great vampire bat of the Pacific, and a small species of rat. Feathered life, too, is very rare. One occasionally meets with pigeons and parrots, but the forests and bush are generally silent. One hears neither the song of a bird nor the flutter of a wing.
Its mountain heights are sombre and forbidding. But they contain mineral treasures which have not yet been sufficiently exploited. Copper, nickel, antimony, gold, are all found in New Caledonia. And as the area adapted for cultivation is comparatively small, it is in the development of its mineral resources that the legitimate prosperity of New Caledonia should in the future lie.
New Caledonia was discovered by Captain Cook [James Cook, 1728-1779] on the 4th September, 1774. He named Cape Colnett, and the Isle of Pines, the latter from the only species of tree growing thereon. Two boats of his expedition traversed the chain of the great reef which surrounds New Caledonia. It was on the north, at Balade [Grande Terre], that Captain Cook first saw the natives. His relations were friendly with them, although they were reputed to be cannibals, a character which they to the present time justify.
After Cook, came the great but ill-fated mariner La Perouse [Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse, c. 1741–1788], who was lost at Vanikoro. Admiral Bruny d'Entrecasteaux [Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni d'Entrecasteaux (1739–1793], who, in 1791, was despatched in search of La Perouse, reports the natives of New Caledonia as being cannibals. For forty years the island appears to have been unvisited, except by some early "beach-comber," runaway sailor, or escaped convict.
In 1853 New Caledonia was formally taken possession of by the French Government, although by right of discovery it belongs to Great Britain. New Caledonia, for a few years previous to that time, had a sprinkling of English population engaged in the island and sandalwood trade with the natives. The French did not want New Caledonia for purposes of commerce, but to make it a penal depot.
For years afterwards New Caledonia was quite unknown to the general public in Australia. A few smart merchants, of whom a Mr. John Higginson was chief, grasped all the trade, and acquired all the contracts for provisions and supplies for the convicts and troops.
In 1872 New Caledonia became known to the outer world as a place of deportation for the Communists who were sentenced by courtmartial at Versailles. The convicts were settled on the island of Nou, the Communists on the peninsula of Ducos, and on the Isle of Pines. The thousands thus added to the population caused Noumea to become a place of commercial importance.
From the first, the French authorities paid no attention to any rights which the natives, called by the generic term of Canaque [Kanak], might be presumed to have in the soil. It is said that the Canaques of New Caledonia numbered 60,000. Their villages were situated in the valleys which run between the spurs of the mountain range. The natives were divided into a number of tribes, and the language or dialect was often completely different. The long stretch of sea-coast afforded a plentiful fish diet; but the arable land of the country was, in proportion to the population, limited in extent. I think the natives made the most of it. Their fields of taros and of yams, and their plantations of bananas, were carefully tilled. The French authorities seized the most fertile valleys, on which they planted penitenciers agricoles, or leased them to free colonists employed in cattle raising; and, in some parts, cultivating sugar and coffee...
The fire of insurrection had been smouldering for a long time, and in June, 1878, it burst out. It was stated that all through New Caledonia there was to be a general rising of the natives. Whether this be so or not, the majority of the tribes on the west coast rebelled or were driven into rebellion. Many French lives were lost, there being over 200 massacred in one week, and the insurrection was only put down after many bloody reprisals.
It was during this war that I first spent some months in New Caledonia, as correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald, in company with the troops, and had full opportunity of studying how France treats a native population. Living, too, as I often did, in convict depots, with convict servants waiting upon me, I had a chance of investigating the French penal system as it is in New Caledonia, and how it is likely to affect the future of Australia.
CHAPTER VII. CAMP LIFE.
Noumea I found a pretty, well laid-out, and well-kept city in embryo. It is true many of the houses were of wood, but they were therefore so much the better adapted to a tropical climate. Many of them were most elegant residences.
An Australian visitor, accustomed to the roughness and uncouthness of our new colonial bush towns, would be astonished at the neatness and attractiveness that is often visible in Noumea. The side-walks are good, and the town has a magnificent supply of water from a reservoir on an adjacent hill; and if there is no gas, the streets are fairly lighted with oil lamps.
The Hotel du Gouverneur, if it resenables a Swiss chalet, standing, as it does, in beautiful gardens, seems in accordance with the climate and the surroundings; and the friendly and courteous reception I met there from Governor Olry could not be surpassed in a palace... My best thanks are due to him for the facilities given to me, which French, and even English authorities are not always ready to tender to an independent journalist, whose criticisms may be unfavourable...
Lieutenant-Colonel Wendling was proceeding on the following Tuesday to Bouloupari, to take charge of the operations, and the governor thought I might like to go with him. This being Saturday, there was only a delay of two days, so I was glad to accept the offer... After the death of Colonel Galli-Passeboc, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexis Wendling was commander of the forces in New Caledonia, comprising the marine infantry, to which he belonged, the artillery, and the gendarmerie.
But French marines are not like English. The latter are soldiers both by sea and land; the former comprise a force recruited especially for land service in the colonies and at the naval depots of Brest and Cherbourg. Thus, the life of a French marine is passed between Senegal, Cayenne, Martinique, Cochin China, Pondicherry [Puducherry], and New Caledonia. The length of service in each colony is three years, with the exception of Senegal and Cayenne, where, owing to the unhealthiness of the climate, the term is only two years.
On leaving a colony the marines have generally about a year in France, at one of the naval depots, prior to being sent out to another part of the globe. It will be seen that Algeria is not included in the above list; but that is considered as a province of France, and has a Governor-General —a high and mighty personage. All the other colonies being beyond the seas, are under immediate control of the naval department of France; hence the infantry recruited for service there is styled "marine," and its soldiers wear the anchor on their collar and buttons. The governors of these colonies are always naval men, their posts being considered as the prizes of the department...
I left my temporary abode in the Maison Lise, Noumea, at half-past five on the morning of the 30th of July. The previous day I had spent in procuring necessary and unnecessary articles for campaign life, the latter, I believe, predominating. The many kind friends to whom I said "good-bye," and who bewailed my approaching fate at the hands of les Canaques, had each and all suggestions to make as to what I must take with me. Colonel Wendling declared that a mosquito net, made tent fashion, was indispensable; others said it would be useless. However, I had it manufactured. By the time I had procured one quarter of the things I was informed it would be "impossible to live without," I found I could not take the articles i myself wanted.
So I only purchased a sheath knife and a few pounds of tobacco, with which I felt equal to either scalp or bribe any solitary Canaque whom I might meet with. Everybody wanted to lend or give me a revolver, although I had two very good weapons of my own. One dear friend would insist on my taking his pistol—it was charged, however, with cognac. The same gentleman got quite angry because I would not accept his writing-case filled with all the luxurious materials for polite correspondence. In sooth, if I had purchased all the articles recommended to me, and accepted those offered to be lent or given, several Saratoga trunks would have been required to convey them all to the seat of war, and Colonel Wendling had issued the edict that my baggage must be kept within reasonable proportions...
The Perrier was a small steamer, one of the half-dozen which acted as coastguard boats; the baggage and half the men were taken on this, the remainder going in the Rose, which had been chartered for the occasion. The latter boat proved by far the quickest, and steamed ahead of us, gaining ground at every turn of the screw... The coast reminded me of that of Queensland but for the high range behind. The coral islands and reefs, inside which we steamed, formed a sea-wall, against which the outside surf beat fruitlessly; so the shore is lapped by ever peaceful waves. Now and then on the coast we saw the stations of some "colons," with fields around of maize and lucerne, giving a bright and refreshing colour.
We sat in the bows of the Perrier, and smoked cigarettes or played with a little kitten—your French soldier will derive childlike amusement from the most trivial and innocent thing. The commander of the Perrier was a naval officer who could play baccarat with any man living. I don't know if Madeira is quite comme il faut before breakfast, but the bottle which this gentleman opened for us was decidedly appreciated...
A high peak was seen in the distance. "That is Ouitchambo, where the rebels are," said Colonel Wendling to me. At three o'clock we arrived alongside a small sloop of war, the Gazelle, which protects Buraki, the port for our destination, Bouloupari. In fact, the Perrier distinguished herself by running into the Gazelle. We landed in the boats, which could not get near the rocks. The soldiers waded ashore, whilst I was carried on the back of a sailor.
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See also: Papua New Guinea - Solomon Islands - Samoa
Fiji - Tonga - Australia - New Zealand
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All of New Caledonia is one time zone at GMT+11 with no DST
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New Caledonia News
The first humans settled in New Caledonia around 1600 B.C. The Lapita were skilled navigators and evidence of their pottery around the Pacific has served as a guide for understanding human expansion in the region. Successive waves of migrants from other islands in Melanesia intermarried with the Lapita, giving rise to the Kanak ethnic group considered indigenous to New Caledonia.
British explorer James COOK was the first European to visit New Caledonia in 1774, giving it the Latin name for Scotland. Missionaries first landed in New Caledonia in 1840. In 1853, France annexed New Caledonia to preclude any British attempt to claim the island. France declared it a penal colony in 1864 and sent more than 20,000 prisoners to New Caledonia in the ensuing three decades.
Nickel was discovered in 1864 and French prisoners were directed to mine it. France brought in indentured servants and enslaved labor from elsewhere in Southeast Asia to work the mines, blocking Kanaks from accessing the most profitable part of the local economy.
In 1878, High Chief ATAI led a rebellion against French rule. The Kanaks were relegated to reservations, leading to periodic smaller uprisings and culminating in a large revolt in 1917 that was brutally suppressed by colonial authorities.
During World War II, New Caledonia became an important base for Allied troops, and the US moved its South Pacific headquarters to the island in 1942. Following the war, France made New Caledonia an overseas territory and granted French citizenship to all inhabitants in 1953, thereby permitting the Kanaks to move off the reservations.
The Kanak nationalist movement began in the 1950s, but most voters chose to remain a territory in an independence referendum in 1958. The European population of New Caledonia boomed in the 1970s with a renewed focus on nickel mining, reigniting Kanak nationalism. Key Kanak leaders were assassinated in the early 1980s, leading to escalating violence and dozens of fatalities. The Matignon Accords of 1988 provided for a 10-year transition period.
The Noumea Accord of 1998 transferred increasing governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia over a 20-year period and provided for three independence referenda. In the first held in 2018, voters rejected independence by 57% to 43%; in the second held in 2020, voters rejected independence 53% to 47%. In the third referendum held in December 2021, voters rejected independence 96% to 4%; however, a boycott by key Kanak groups spurred challenges about the legitimacy of the vote.
In February 2021, pro-independence parties gained a majority in the New Caledonian Government for the first time. France and New Caledonia officials remain in talks about the status of the country.
CIA World Factbook: New Caledonia
Area of New Caledonia:
19,060 sq km slightly smaller than New Jersey
Population of New Caledonia:
300,682 (2023) | 227,436 (2009)
Languages of New Caledonia:
French official
Melanesian-Polynesian 33 dialects
New Caledonia Capital:
Noumea
NOUMÉA WEATHER
New Caledonia Bruno 1882
A Year in... New Caledonia Campbell 1873
Travel in Fiji & New Caledonia Anderson 1880
Cannibals & Convicts Vagabond 1887
In an Unknown Prison Land Griffith 1901
French Colonies & Their Resources Bonwick 1886
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New Caledonia Reference Articles and Links
Wikipedia: New Caledonia
BBC "Country" Profile: New Caledonia
Australia & Pacific Maps
WikiTravel: New Caledonia
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Les Nouvelles in French
ABYZ: New Caledonia News Links
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