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THIS ISLAND STANDS 5 miles to the north east of Nguna, a bold and defiant volcanic crater often frowning beneath threatening clouds. The island at that time was fertile and populous. In 1884, after the worst years of the recruiting era, Milne estimated the population at 500. This was the last island in the Nguna district to welcome the Good News.
Emau had already earned a reputation as a dangerous place for recruiting ships. Maripau, Chief of Marou village, and his people had overpowered and killed the crew of one of these ships. This cost the lives of five Europeans and four Fijians who made up the crew. Another recruiting ship was down in the south of the Group near Tanna with a crew of Emau men. The crew mutinied and killed the captain. They promised the European mate his life if he would navigate the ship and take them back to Emau. When the ship safely reached Emau the crew killed the mate, wrecked the ship and escaped ashore with the loot.
Warships tried to punish the island for these acts of violence. Spent shells from such reprisals still made up the iron ballast of the "Dove", the Nguna Mission launch, as late as 1941. Relationships of any kind between the Emau people and the Europeans became almost impossible.
In spite of this history of violence Mr Milne visited Emau in his boat on 18 August 1870, just a month after his arrival at Nguna. He encountered Maripau, the most powerful chief of Marou village, who had 10 wives and was just in the midst of marrying his eleventh.
Six months later Milne sailed around the island calling at five of the villages. Mrs Milne accompanied him. They were out to make friends and gave a knife to each chief and bought some coconuts and yams from the Emau people. some of the chiefs said that they would like to receive a Christian teacher but Maripau refused to allow them to do so. He ruled the island as a vicious cannibal and was afraid of the effect that Christianity would have upon his way of life. However in November 1872 curiousity brought Maripau over to see the Mission station at Taloa. He was interested to watch Mrs Milne's sewing maachine at work. and to see her play her small oargan. Whn Mr Milne invited the chief into his study he grew suddenly scared of all the books and left in a hurry.
Earlier in 1872 the "Dayspring" had called at Emau seeking new openings for teachers. On board were Dr Geddie and other missionaries. They bought land at the key village of Wiana; the chiefs were friendly and agreed to take a teacher and as usual the land was paid for in trade goods. But the goods soon turned up again at the Taloa Mission station. Maripau, chief of Marou, and the Chief of Lausake had forced the Chiefs of Wiana to change their minds. They forbade the sale of any Emau land as the site of a Christian teacher's house and church.
The missionary bided his time and a fresh opportunity soon arose. In September 1872 a recruiting ship, the "Sea Witch", shortlanded three Emau labourers on Nguna. This gave Milne a golden opportunity to win the friendship of the people of Emau. He sailed with the men to Maripau's village. One of them was nicknamed "Pilot" and was Maripau's brother. But nothing could change the old chief's attitude. Milne met with a cool reception and the gift of a small blind pig not from the chief but from the people. In New Hebrides custom such a miserable gift was a calculated insult.
On another of these early visits to Emau, Mr Milne was taken to Maripau's house where some of the chief's wives were preparing food. Milne took the opportunity to speak to them.
"I said that God was good, and loves good conduct," records Peter Milne in his diary. Maripau heard this and looked worried. He took Milne by the hand to lead him to the farea, the men's house. Mr Milne thought that the wily chief was afraid that his wives would hear from Milne about Maripau's bad conduct. But that was not Milne's way of working. He always spoke to men face to face. When Maripau reached the farea, says Milne, "I spoketo him about God, and the Lord Jesus Christ , and prayed. When I was leaving he gave me a fowl. He died a heathen."
Many years later Mr Milne leaarned that a plot had been made to kill him on Emau Island and this may very well have been the occassion and the real reason for the chief taking him to the farea. The missionary's fearless and quiet manner and firm and direct words about the way of salvation through Christ disarmed his enemies. They found that they had no power to execute their plan to kill him.
Emau persisted for many years to reject the worship. The first Emau man to show real response to the Gospel was George Talako whose wife died leaving him with three sons. On 18 Juy 1883 Talako in his trouble brought them to Taloa for help and for the sake of bringing them to a Christian village.
Soon after this the first teacher was settled on Emau, at Wiana village in 1884. But by that time nearby Nguna and Pele islands were in the midst of a great spiritual movement in the Christian church.
THERE IS AN old proverb among the Efatese people of the Central Islands, Nawora ni Takara e sikai mau. "The landing at Takara is the only one." Travellers to and from Efate by seagoing canoe must all use the one and only passage at Takara. From Emau, from Emae, from Makura, from Tongoa or Tongariki - all must make their landing through the narrow break in the reef at Takara. Takara lies between Onesua and Paunangisu. It has for many centuries been the gateway to and from North Efate for the seafaring Efatese people. This landing at Takara made North Efate an important centre of tribal life and movement. It was still like that when the first missionary arrived at Nguna in 1870. The influence of North Efate reached out to nearby Nguna and Pele island and to all the Efatese migrant colonies as far north as Epi.
When Mr Milne arrived at Nguna he was the farthest north of all the missionaries except John Goodwill, who was on Santo for a short time from 1870-1874. For this reason Dr. Geddie, who was in charge of extension work, asked Milne to take oversight of the Polynesian teachers who had been settled at Havannah Harbour in 1871. Two of these were placed at Udaone in the Harbour, Vaimanga a married man, and Tavini a widower. Milne made regular visits by boat to encourage these men. Another couple, Nehemia and wife Kapitia, were settled at Moso. They endured constant sickness and had to be removed by the Milnes to Nguna where both died and were buried in 1872.
*An extract from:
LIVE, A HISTORY OF CHURCH PLANNING in the New Hebrides now the Republic
of VANUATU TO 1880, book Two, J.Graham Miller. "Live" was published by the Committees
on Christian Education and Overseas Missions of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
of Australia from the New Hebrides Educational Publications Fund which was
established with an anonymous donation of four thousand dollars and was printed by
Bridge Printery, Sydney, Australia in 1981:
National Library of Australia Card No. and
ISBN: 0 909503 68 0.
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