Sparkling
waters push a coconut further up the coarse, reddish sands. Pink-tinged Barringtonia flowers add a splash of
colour to the leaf debris flotsam of the high-tide mark. Palms sway in the
gentle tropical zephyrs that blow in off the blue Pacific.
The beach is
deserted except for a couple of figures at the waters edge at the far end of
the beach. All is serenity, so far from the hustle and bustle of the modern
world. The coconut will, perhaps, sprout & eventually add to the swaying
verdant fringe of this pristine shore.
 |
| Barringtonia flowers on the beach at Malekula |
 |
| Sanaliu Beach, Malekula |
This
is a scene that would be recognised by Captain
James Cook, as he sailed down this coast, on his second voyage of discovery, in the Resolution in 1774. Cook was
in need of fresh provisions and no doubt his men looked longingly at the
pristine beaches, seeing the natives who waded into the warm waters waving
green branches, a sign of greeting, to the European intruders. Eventually a
safe anchorage was found in what Cook named Port Sandwich, at the southern end
of Malekula. The British sailors’ first
encounter with the Malekulans was tenuous to say the least. Initial tolerance
soon turned to intolerance: the Malekulans believed the Europeans to be the
ghosts of their ancestors, who could sometimes be malevolent, and in return the
Europeans did not understand the Malekulans attitude to private possessions.
Tensions became strained and the uncertainty of Cook’s landing was accurately
captured by his onboard artist, William Hodges, in a colourful canvas
entitled ’Landing at Mallicolo’. Firearms are displayed by Cook’s
men while one or two Malekulans brandish spears.
 |
| Landing at Mallicollo by William Hodges 1744-1797 |
William Hodges is, perhaps, the most under
estimated landscape painter of the 18th century. As he was on Cook’s
2nd voyage of discovery he was under contract to the British
Admiralty, so many of his magnificently coloured paintings of the 18th
century Pacific remained, for many years, in the Admiralty archives. For that reason,Hodges was relatively unknown even in his time, a sentiment admirably described
by his friend, the poet William Hayley, on his epitaph:
“Ye men of genius, join’d to moral worth,
Whose merits meet no just rewards on earth.'
“ To active Hodges, who with zeal sublime
Pursued the art, he lov’d, in every clime;
Who
early traversing the globe with Cook,
Painted new life from nature’s latent book.”
As Cook sailed on through other islands in
Vanuatu, which he named the New Hebrides, Hodges conscientiously recorded the landings. On Erromanga, Cook’s
reception was hostile and led to the death of several locals.
Cook did not stay
at Erromanga and as he sailed south, passing Aniwa, he and his men noticed what
seemed to be a large fire on an island to the south-west. By the time Cook
sailed into the bay he named Port Resolution, he had realised that what they
had seen was, in fact, the volcanic fires of Mt Yasur.
As on other islands, Cook’s reception on Tanna was
initially tense, and the ship’s cannon had to be fired several times to warn
off the natives. An added complication was the realisation by Cook’s men that
the islanders had several distinct languages and that there was little
relationship and co-operation between each tribe. There are 110 distinct
languages in Vanuatu and 3 extinct languages.
 |
| Landing at Erramanga by William Hodges |
 |
| The Williams River on Erromanga, named after the Missionary John Williams who was killed her in 1839 |
 |
| A recent photo of the eruptions on Mt Yasur, island of Tanna |
William
Hodges detailed Cook’s landing at Port Resolution in a canvas utilising
magnificently the atmospheric effects of bright tropical sunlight & the
dark brooding smoky fires of Mt Yasur, which forms the backdrop to Cook‘s
confrontation with the Tannese.
If Cook was to return to Tanna today he would immediately recognise the
fires of Mt Yasur, which still dominate the southern area of the island,
periodically blowing mineral-rich volcanic ash across the island, adding
the natural fertilizer which
nourishes the excellent Arabica coffee
trees that grow on Tanna, producing one
of the world‘s best coffees.
 |
| Cautious Landing at Tanna by William Hodges |
William Hodges was also to paint the first images of Easter Island and some of the first oil paintings of Tahiti and New Zealand. Hodges story and photos are admirably illustrated in the book, William Hodges 1744-1797: the Art of Exploration published by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
© Neil Rawlins text & photography
Travel Books by the author available on Amazon Books
