9.6 Settlement Sequence: A Summary
155
Ulimaroa, a large land to the NNW of New Zealand. Some of these voyagers had
returned, they said, and had described the indigenous people of Ulimaroa as eating pig (possibly kangaroo or wombat, given there were no pigs in New Zealand
or Australia). Maori in Queen Charlotte Sound, who were asked the same question through Tupaia, mentioned a canoe with four men reaching New Zealand from
Ulimaroa. The four men were killed. The suggestion that if it lay NNW of New
Zealand, Ulimaroa may have been New Caledonia is not tenable. Given the significant size of New Zealand, it seems unlikely that Maori would describe New
Caledonia as very large. The north-flowing part of the East Australian Current which
travels up the west coast of New Zealand flows NNW. It could be followed and then
crossed in a series of transverse steps to reach Australia.
The name Ulimaroa itself has been challenged on the grounds that the sound “l”
did not exist in Maori. The Polynesian “r” and “l” are different from their closest
equivalents in English. The name of the island we know as Ra’iatea is recorded in
Cook’s journal as Ulietea and Cook wrote kumala for kumara. There is discussion
of European distortions in recording the Maori language in Chapter 16. Perhaps the
best indication that Ulimaroa was Australia comes from the information encoded
in the name. One meaning of uli is descendant or race. Thus uli-a-Tiki means the
descendants or race of Tiki, that is, the human race. But the word also means blackskinned. The word maroa carries meanings of extensiveness and of being parched –
not inappropriate to Australia as a land that is 80% desert, which is subject to
drought and which is indeed an extensive land inhabited by a black-skinned race.
That New Zealand Maori both in the Bay of Islands and in Queen Charlotte
Sound knew of the existence of Ulimaroa suggests that Spice Island explorers, following the East Australian Current south from the Spice Islands, may have explored
the Australian east coast at some earlier time, just as there is some evidence, as we
have seen in Chapter 4, to suggest that Spice Island mariners may have explored the
coast of Western Australia. The response of Bay of Island Maori to Cook’s question suggests that there was even an attempt to establish a New Zealand colony in
Ulimaroa. Whether this colony survived the early risk of extinction faced by any
new colony, and especially by one on an already inhabited coast, is unclear but the
cultural identity of the colony certainly appears to have been lost. Perhaps this in
itself can be seen as illustrating the difficulty of establishing a colony on any of
the inhabited continental coastlines to which the WPWP currents led Spice Island
mariners.
9.6 Settlement Sequence: A Summary
If a Spice Island base for Polynesian migration history is acknowledged, a logical pattern determining migration sequence in each period becomes clear. Initially
opportunities for spice and obsidian trading gave primacy to colonizing endeavours (Japan, the Bismarcks, Madagascar). Primacy for defeated tribes, when spice
resources were wrested from traditional owners, was given to uninhabited lands
155
Ulimaroa, a large land to the NNW of New Zealand. Some of these voyagers had
returned, they said, and had described the indigenous people of Ulimaroa as eating pig (possibly kangaroo or wombat, given there were no pigs in New Zealand
or Australia). Maori in Queen Charlotte Sound, who were asked the same question through Tupaia, mentioned a canoe with four men reaching New Zealand from
Ulimaroa. The four men were killed. The suggestion that if it lay NNW of New
Zealand, Ulimaroa may have been New Caledonia is not tenable. Given the significant size of New Zealand, it seems unlikely that Maori would describe New
Caledonia as very large. The north-flowing part of the East Australian Current which
travels up the west coast of New Zealand flows NNW. It could be followed and then
crossed in a series of transverse steps to reach Australia.
The name Ulimaroa itself has been challenged on the grounds that the sound “l”
did not exist in Maori. The Polynesian “r” and “l” are different from their closest
equivalents in English. The name of the island we know as Ra’iatea is recorded in
Cook’s journal as Ulietea and Cook wrote kumala for kumara. There is discussion
of European distortions in recording the Maori language in Chapter 16. Perhaps the
best indication that Ulimaroa was Australia comes from the information encoded
in the name. One meaning of uli is descendant or race. Thus uli-a-Tiki means the
descendants or race of Tiki, that is, the human race. But the word also means blackskinned. The word maroa carries meanings of extensiveness and of being parched –
not inappropriate to Australia as a land that is 80% desert, which is subject to
drought and which is indeed an extensive land inhabited by a black-skinned race.
That New Zealand Maori both in the Bay of Islands and in Queen Charlotte
Sound knew of the existence of Ulimaroa suggests that Spice Island explorers, following the East Australian Current south from the Spice Islands, may have explored
the Australian east coast at some earlier time, just as there is some evidence, as we
have seen in Chapter 4, to suggest that Spice Island mariners may have explored the
coast of Western Australia. The response of Bay of Island Maori to Cook’s question suggests that there was even an attempt to establish a New Zealand colony in
Ulimaroa. Whether this colony survived the early risk of extinction faced by any
new colony, and especially by one on an already inhabited coast, is unclear but the
cultural identity of the colony certainly appears to have been lost. Perhaps this in
itself can be seen as illustrating the difficulty of establishing a colony on any of
the inhabited continental coastlines to which the WPWP currents led Spice Island
mariners.
9.6 Settlement Sequence: A Summary
If a Spice Island base for Polynesian migration history is acknowledged, a logical pattern determining migration sequence in each period becomes clear. Initially
opportunities for spice and obsidian trading gave primacy to colonizing endeavours (Japan, the Bismarcks, Madagascar). Primacy for defeated tribes, when spice
resources were wrested from traditional owners, was given to uninhabited lands