ABSTRACT
Cocoa reached the Territory via Samoa from Ceylon. It was introduced to the Gazelle Peninsula by German planters. Some of the indigenous population did begin to grow a little cocoa in the inter-war period, but most of the trees were lost through neglect, or damage during World War II. For some years after 1945, most Tolai were preoccupied with re-establishing their homesteads, subsistence gardens, and coconut groves. The new councils, which were empowered to levy rates and taxes, were keen to sponsor local economic development so as to help provide increasing prosperity. The drift away from the project has taken on considerable proportions. The cocoa inspector’s reports, available only from 1959 onwards, indicate that the percentage of cocoa handled by the project declined from 60 per cent in 1959 to 36 per cent in 1965.
