Endangered bird survival critical
Turtle man helps out
St Joseph’s prefects lead mass
Art trail opens up
Living in Liminal Space
The WeekEnd Crossword

The Blue Lorikeet or Kurmo‘o is an internationally endangered bird. Kuramoo-Rat_Poster_Aitutaki_eMail Kuramoo-Rat_Poster_Aitutaki_eMail

Just 300 of the already endangered Aitutaki Kuramo’o (Blue Lorikeet) are estimated to have survived Cyclone Pat – which could put the survival of the bird in jeopardy if urgent precautions aren’t taken.

The Kuramo’o population was assessed by British students last year at more than 3000 birds, but ornithologist Gerald McCormack of the Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust says the island would be lucky to have more than 300 survivors.

The biggest threat to the few surviving Kuramo’o is an invasion of Ship Rat with the cyclone reconstruction cargo. The Blue Lorikeet used to be on many islands in French Polynesian but it has been lost on those where Ship Rat has arrived and flourished.

Today it survives on Aitutaki and on seven islands in French Polynesia and on some of these Ship Rats are slowly but surely destroying them by attacking their eggs and nestlings.

Natural Heritage has produced some awareness posters for Aitutaki to have everyone on the alert to look for any rat, large or small, in cargo and put in a serious effort to kill any such invader.

The poster gives information about the particular sort of hole Ship Rat gnaws in coconut fruits – through the husk on the side going right through the hard shell to the flesh. McCormack says it’s a scientific puzzle why Aitutaki does not have Ship Rat given the easy boat access to the wharf and the claim from medical researchers in the 1960s reporting Ship Rat. “It’s very important to not let Ship Rat arrive at this time, and we also hope that if there is a localised colony of Ship Rat already present that this campaign will find them so they can be destroyed.”

McCormack says the surviving lorikeets are searching for ripe fruits and flowers with nectar, which are both notable for their absence.

“Fortunately the coconut palms are already opening new flowers and this is the number one traditional food of the lorikeets.”

Artificial feeding of the surviving lorikeets has been rejected following discussions between McCormack and Alan Lieberman at San Diego Zoo.

Lieberman has emphasised that feeding with sugar solutions shouldn’t be done because these can quickly develop bacteria that will kill the lorikeets.

McCormack says putting out pieces of fresh ripe fruit each morning would help if the lorikeets found it and if the mynas didn’t attack them.

“Overall, I expect a reasonable number of Kuramo’o to survive on the coconut flowers and should their natural foods become available in a couple of months.”

Large Pacific Mahogany (Tamanu) trees on Motu Rakau were blown down and these trees were important roosting trees for various seabirds, such as Red-footed Boobies (Toroa).

McCormack explained that after much discussion it was concluded that a conservative harvesting of this valuable wood would not harm the seabirds and would let the Tamanu saplings grow. These particular seabirds do not nest on the island but visit at night. Feeding at sea, the seabirds can rest on the ocean, and can fly hundreds of kilometres. If they need to they will go to other islands to roost, and will return to Aitutaki when times are better.

He says the famous ground-nesting Tavake (Red-tailed Tropicbird) on Honeymoon Island is a winter nester and would not be devastated by this particular cyclone, which was not accompanied by a major sea surge.

Myna birds were also devastated by the cyclone and this could be used as a head-start to an eradication campaign, recommends McCormack.“Birdman George Mateariki is currently implementing a very successful campaign against mynas on Atiu, and the methods could be adapted for use on Aitutaki, if there was strong community support.”

McCormack’s’ visit to Aitutaki was sponsored by Air Rarotonga.

• Aitutaki Cyclone Appeal Media Team

Dr Michael White donned gloves to help with the clean-up. 10021933

Guests with positive attitudes and a willingness to help clean up Aitutaki after cyclone Pat have made it easier for accommodators on the island to bounce back into business.

After the cyclone, the Popoara Ocean Breeze Villas, like many homes and businesses on Aitutaki, sustained damage to its property.

But as villa owners Allen and Maria Mills reported, guests who sat out cyclone Pat with them have been working every day since the devastating cyclone on Wednesday February 10.

“Like many of you, we also have positive attitudes from guests,” said Allen and Maria.

One of their guests, Dr Michael White from Wales, who went to Aitutaki as part of a turtles study, has been doing his part to help clean up the island.

Dr White had hoped to be able to find evidence of current nesting this season.

While in Aitutaki Dr White was to carry out an informal survey of traditional knowledge of sea turtles and will endeavor to get to Manuae to check for signs of nesting there.

But since he’s been on the island – he’s been putting all his efforts into helping locals recover from the cyclone.

“Another guest who has visited us for the last three years, but staying in a private house this year, has also been out each day to help. He is Bob Belana from Canada.”

And as a small token of appreciation, a number of tourists operators on the island have been giving visitors special deals on tours.

Bishop’s Cruises have begun a lagoon taxi service to one foot island for just $20 return per person.

• Matariki Wilson

St Joseph’s primary school prefects (from left) Williams Thompson, Rosaline Van Eijk, Gino Dennis, Angeline Ngametua, Lawrence Makara, Kianga Manuela, Manase Unuia, Alana Kairua, Jadial Shaheem, Anita Henry, Melbourne Matamaki and Tia Rangi Henderson vow to be the best leader they can be for their school. 10021915

Twelve St Joseph’s School students were inducted as prefects of the school yesterday at St Joseph’s Catholic Cathedral in Avarua.

And just to show that they were capable leaders, the young students led the special mass for their induction ceremony reading the day’s scripture and praying for ill family members.

After the mass the students were finally able to beam with pride as they received their prefect’s pin from the schools proud principal Sister Celine.

With their badges pinned to their chest and their right hand raised in the air – the students vowed to take on the responsibilities that come with being a prefect, looking after their fellow students and helping their teachers in the day to day tasks of school life.

Then it was time for proud family members to adorn their children with layers of ei and share in their joy of becoming young leaders.

The 12 new prefects are Tia Rangi Henderson, Melbourne Matakino, Anita Henry, Jadial Shaheem, Alana Kairua, Manase Unuia, Kianga Manuela, Lawerence Makara, Angeline Ngametua, Gino Dennis, Rosaline Van Eijk and William Thompson.

Two special ‘peace ambassador’ badges were awarded to Veia Atoa Lowry and David Akaruru.

• Matariki Wilson

Loretta Reynolds’ ‘Voyages’ is the first stop on the art trail. 10021940

Examiners spent yesterday analysing the Master’s of Art and Design final projects. Today, the artists can breathe a sigh of relief and the public can get ready to browse their exhibitions. Last night, Loretta Reynolds unveiled her project at the Beachcomber Contemporary Art Gallery. Hers was the first exhibition to open, and the rest will be opening on a rolling basis. By Tuesday, you’ll be able to travel the full art trail. Here are the details:

‘Voyages’ by Loretta Reynolds

Where: BCA (Beachcomber gallery)

When: Opened last night and will be open to the public for two weeks.

‘Seeing the Funny Side’ by Joan Gragg

Where: Upstairs of the Sir Geoffrey Henry Museum.When: Open Monday February 22 from 11.30 am - 2.00 pm and will be open from 9 am - 3.00 pm daily starting February 26.

[The Third Space] by Andrea Eimke

Where: The Theological College at Tupapa

When: Opens February 23 and will be open until March 4 from 8 – 4 pm daily.

‘Patterns of Identity’ by Kay George

Where: The Art Studio at Arorangi

When: Opens Monday February 22 at 6 pm and will be open for two weeks.

‘Are Korero’ by Eruera Nia

Where: Ina Nui Gallery

When: Open for one week starting February 24.

All the artists would like to thank CITC Liquor for their sponsorship and support. - RR

A figure of a hand Eimke made from paper mulberry barkcloth and free-form machine-sewn lacework. 10021918

Having resided in Nigeria, Saudia Arabia and Atiu, German-born Andrea Eimke knows what it’s like to live life as a ‘foreign national’.

Originally from Dusseldorf, Eimke spent years working around the world as a professional interpreter and then as an embroiderer. The Master of Art and Design course that she’s just finished this week gave her a reason and an opportunity to creatively express the experiences and skills she acquired in both fields.

A self-taught textile and fibres artist, Eimke has been living on Atiu for 26 years. She said that her experiences as a cultural chameleon, whose life borrows and blends bits and pieces from a number of cultures, inspired the idea behind her final project for the Master’s course.

“I’m in this in-between space. I’m taking a little bit from my own culture and from myself – and I’m also bringing in things I’ve learned from other cultures – to make up my current life,” she said.

Her thesis is based around the idea of ‘liminal space’ – the space between cultures, the space inhabited by immigrants and ‘foreign nationals’.

It’s a space, she said, “filled with an exciting wealth of possibilities, alternatives, and choices making way for journeys that negotiate the challenges of ongoing change”.

The title of her exhibition is [Third Space]. The brackets symbolise cultural boundaries, which aren’t necessarily restricting or constricting, but are real nonetheless.

Eimke said that as a German who calls Atiu home, she’s stuck between these boundaries. She’s not “a typical German anymore,” she said, but neither will she “ever become a Cook Islander”.

“There’s the idea of boundaries – they don’t block you out. They integrate you somehow, but they’re still there,” she said.

Eimke said she’s fascinated by the idea of cultural boundaries, “not in the sense of being scared and getting caught in between but in the sense of – it’s actually quite nice here in between.

For Eimke, the third space is not transitional or temporary – rather, it defines many a lifestyle, including her own.

“My personal situation is not a situation of change, where I start here and end there, and at some stage it’s finished,” she said. “It’s a more permanent situation. I’m permanently in-between.”

Her final project visually represents the third space, the in-between space that allows all who fill it to act as a bridge between cultures.

She fuses unlike elements together to create a blend that’s both physical and symbolic.

“I’ve worked with materials that are European-based, like woven fabric and polyester cotton thread, and I’ve combined those with tapa cloth as a Polynesian element,” she said.

Her exhibition also incorporates lace. For Eimke, lace is symbolic because it ties things together and also because it’s “culturally comparable” to tapa cloth in Polynesia. In Europe in the Middle Ages, she said, lace was so precious that diplomats would exchange it to seal a treaty, in the same way that Polynesians would use tapa cloth as a political and diplomatic tool.

Eimke’s exhibition will open at the Takamoa mission house on Monday. Eimke said she “couldn’t have found a more ideal spot” to debut her final project, as the building itself represents a blending and meshing of cultures.

“It was built with the combined expertise of the local people and the expertise of people from the other side of the world where I come from,” she said. “I had another space in mind but it was already taken, and this ended up being an absolutely ideal location.”

After two years of hard work, the course finale is upon her and Eimke is relieved that the pressure is off, and excited about the way that the experience has broadened her artistic horizons.

“[The course] has really freed me to try avenues that I would never have tried before, or that I wanted to but didn’t because they’re tough and hard and complicated,” she said. “It’s kind of scary to venture into new things and it’s really easy to keep doing what you do well because it’s always worked, but they definitely pushed our boundaries.”

Eimke said the course drove her away from her comfort zone in more than one way.

“Going to school again at my age is not so easy, and it also coincided with our getting broadband on the island. Before this I’d had no idea how to surf the internet,” she said. “Apart from learning the specifics of the art studies, I had to train myself in internet usage.”

The internet was an integral part of Eimke’s study, as she submitted most of her assignments online from Atiu.

She said that that without the support and encouragement of her Master’s course mates, she probably wouldn’t have been able to tackle the challenges of distance learning.

“Sitting in the outer islands, I’m really isolated, but that group spirit we had during the study was really fantastic for me,” she said. “I’m really hopeful that we may be able to continue as a group and take our exhibitions overseas. We’ve worked so hard that it would be a shame if this was now the end.” - RR