Fiji Canoe (camakau)

This is a photograph of a camakau, a fast and highly manoeuvrable outrigger sailing canoe used to travel among the islands of Fiji.

In the 19th and early 20th century, the average length of a full size camakau was twelve metres, and some are reported as being up to thirty metres in length. The hulls were made from a single trunk, or in the case of larger vessels, two trunks joined together.

Larger vessels required a crew of forty men to handle the large triangular sail and rigging. Either end of the camakau could be the bow (front), so to change direction, the crew would lift and shift the entire rig to the opposite end of the canoe. As depicted in the photograph, the sail could be made from sheets of hand woven pandanus matting stitched together.

Thomas Andrew: Photographer of Samoa

This photograph is part of a large collection of photographs taken Thomas Andrew, a New Zealander who lived in Samoa from 1891 to 1939. Andrew is best known for his studio portraits, but he ventured well beyond that controlled environment. He photographed political events, recorded daily life, and shot idyllic scenes for the tourist market, as his diverse portfolio reveals. Andrew also photographed people and scenes in other Pacific Islands including Fiji, Tonga and parts of Micronesia.