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Although they're called the Cook Islands, Palmerston is the only one on which Captain Cook ever set foot himself. Records show he went ashore on April 13, 1777 during his third Pacific voyage. He named the tiny and remote island after Lord Palmerston who was First Lord of the Admiralty. The ancient name was supposedly Avarau, meaning 200 harbours.

The Marsters Legacy

All the islanders are descended from one Englishman, William Masters, a carpenter and barrel maker who arrived from MANUAE in 1863. He was accompanied by two Polynesian wives who were cousins. He subsequently took a third wife, who turned out to be another cousin, and then a fourth.

Masters had 17 children and 54 grandchildren before he died in 1899. By the time his youngest daughter died in 1973, there were over one thousand Ma(r)sters living in Rarotonga or New Zealand. Less than 50 remain on Palmerston, but wherever they live, they all consider it their homeland.

The name Masters became corrupted to Marsters, possibly because of the way William pronounced it - he's thought to have come from Gloucestershire in England where the accent would have made it sound like there was an "r" in the middle.

The Marsters family were granted full ownership of Palmerston in 1954. Three branches of the family remain and each has a section of the main island for houses and crops, and parts of the other islets.

The island is so remote, it wasn't even properly located on maps until 1969! Up and till then, its position was based on Captain Cook's original charts which showed it 10 miles away from where navigation satellites have now confirmed it really is. Ships visit with supplies only a few times a year, so the recently built HF telephone station (above right) provides the only permanent link with the outside world. Visiting yachts help supplement the island's needs.

Some of the modern day Marsters on Palmerston.
The Government provides support in the form of direct aid such as a generator and in public works projects like the community water tank and school.
All homes have electricity from 6 am till noon and in the evening. Almost every house has a freezer though few have fridges. VCRs are also very popular!

William Marsters built his own home on Palmerston from shipwreck timbers and driftwood found on the shores at the time of his landing. No one has lived in it for many years. Only the corrugated iron roof is new - the original is still underneath. Simon Marsters stands proudly outside.

Parrot fish are the island's main cash crop. They're dried or frozen and shipped to RAROTONGA. But the islanders have a hard time getting their product to market because of the infrequent visits by the supply ships. Fishing is particularly good near Palmerston Rock and the bizaarely named "Scratch My Arse Rock" (it was called that by William Masters and has never been changed!) The local diet is supplemented by baby Bosun birds and coconuts.

Bill Marsters has set up a rescue programme on Palmerston for the Pacific Green Turtle. The species is officially classified as endangered and the programme gives the turtle a helping hand in life from the point of hatching (left) until the juvenile stage when it can be released back into the wild (right).

These remarkable pictures - and the one of the shoreline top left of the page - were taken by Matthew Mumford of New South Wales, Australia. In kindly giving me permission to reproduce the shots, Matthew says he feels extremely fortunate to have visited Palmerston and it's something he won't forget in a hurry. You can read about this and other expeditions he's undertaken by visiting his web site