picture not mine
When most people envision a tropical island, their first thought is Tahiti. With its veil-like waterfalls, welcoming people, and sparkling white beaches, it’s at the top of numerous travel bucket lists. It’s even inspired a Bath & Body Works fragrance: Tahiti Island Dream! But not many are aware of its royal history, much less the woman who saw the monarchy’s final days.
An “intelligent, musical…and quite energetic” woman, Queen Marau was a prominent public figure, even into old age. Forced into an unhappy marriage to a man thirty years her senior, it’s possible her two youngest children were from an affair in Paris, and she befriended many prominent artists and writers.
She was the last Queen Consort of the Kingdom of Tahiti. The Tahitian Kingdom was a Polynesian monarchy founded by chief Pomare I, who, with British traders and missionaries, and European weaponry, unified the islands of Tahiti, Mo’orea, Teti’aroa and Meheti’a. Later, the kingdom annexed the Tuamotus and the Austral Islands. Its rise and recognition by Europeans allowed Tahiti to remain free from a planned Spanish colonization.
Unfortunately, it became a French colony in 1880 after King Pomare V was convinced to give Tahiti to France. The monarchy was therefore abolished, though there are still pretenders.
While I haven’t been able to find that much information, I have found enough to form a complete biography. Since Queen Marau isn’t talked about enough, I wanted to do her justice with a well-written and researched piece. I hope you enjoy!
***
Marau was born April 24th, 1860 (Taurus) to Tahitian Princess Oehau and Alexander Salmon (born Solomon), a British Jewish merchant. Her full name was Johanna Marau Ta’aroa a Tepau Salmon. Her mother was the adoptive daughter of King Pomare II’s widow, who was the mother of King Pomare III and Queen Pomare IV. Interestingly enough, the name Pomare is unisex. The first to use it was King Pomare I, as it was a nickname meaning “night-cougher.” He took it to honor his daughter Princess Teri’inavahoroa who died of tuberculosis in 1792.
(Fun fact: Marau’s name means “Much-unique-cleansing-the-splash” in Tahitian.)
Her father was the first Jew to live in Tahiti; curiously enough, his maternal uncle Joel Samuel Polack was one of the first Jews to live in New Zealand. (Joel would also write several books about pre-colonial New Zealand.) A wealthy merchant, Alexander was secretary to Queen Pomare IV. Through Pomare IV, he met her adoptive sister Oehau. Oehau was head of the Teva clan, traditional rivals of the Pomare family, and descended from Chief Amo and Queen Purea who received the first European explorer to Tahiti in 1767.
The writer Herman Melville (1819-1891) described Alexander Salmon:
“The lady he wedded being a near kinswoman of the queen, he became a permanent member of her majesty’s household. This adventurer rose late, dressed theatrically in calico and trinkets, assumed a dictatorial tone in conversation, and was evidently on excellent terms with himself. We found him reclining on a mat, smoking a reed-pipe of tobacco, in the midst of an admiring circle of chiefs and ladies. He must have noticed our approach; but instead of rising and offering civilities, he went on talking and smoking, without even condescending to look at us.”
(Basically, he was pompous and considered himself royalty.)
Marau was one of ten children. Her elder brother, Alexander Ari’ipaea Salmon Jr. (1855-1914), ruled Easter Island from 1878 until its cessation to Chile in 1888. He owned a large sheep ranch there and exported wool. The ranch was managed by convicted murderer Jean-Baptiste Dutrou-Bornier, who had acquired additional land and appointed his Rapa Nui wife “Queen”. Sadly, this was a low point in the island’s history; in 1872 its resident population dropped to 111.
Her elder sister, Titaua (1842-1898) settled with her second husband in Anstruther, Scotland. The trip took 10,000 miles– shocking in those days. Nowadays, a blue plaque marks the house she lived in. She had a total of fifteen children, and her travels were documented in the book From the South Seas to the North Sea by Fiona J. Mackintosh.
Marau attended school in Sydney, Australia. In the late 1860s, she attended a private school called Young Ladies’ College. She left school at age 15 to marry. (more on that later.) Her brother Narii and nephews John and Alexander Brander, the sons of her older sister Titaua, had preceded her to Sydney and started attending Newington College in 1867. Marau returned to Sydney later. It is reported that she attended the picnic on March 12, 1868 at Clontarf Castle (Dublin, Ireland) where Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh was shot by Henry James O’Farrell. Duke Alfred later visited Tahiti in 1870, where he met Marau’s sister Titaua.
On January 28, 1875, Marau married Crown Prince Ariiaue, the future King Pomare V, in Papeete, Tahiti’s capital. She was only 14 years old, and he was 35. (Yuck!) Marau’s royal wedding was a spectacular affair, a celebration that lasted two days and featured both Polynesian and European traditions.
This was a strategic alliance between the Pōmare family – who had always struggled to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the Tahitian public – and her mother’s Teva family, who were considered the true holders of power. However, the marriage was a match made in Hell.
In Marau’s words, Pomare V’s behavior was “quickly became impossible to tolerate”. Suffering from syphilis, tuberculosis, and pneumonia, the prince was also an alcoholic who was drunk by noon. The two often argued. They had three children: Princess Teri’inui, Princess Takau Pōmare-Vedel, and Prince Ernest.
Despite Queen Pōmare IV’s kindness, Marau was unhappy at the palace. She spent more time at her mother’s house in Papara, where she occupied herself reading, practicing Tahitian embroidery, and immersing herself in Tahitian culture.
Her reign as consort only lasted from September 17th, 1877 to June 29th, 1880– when Tahiti and its surrounding islands became French Polynesia. This abolished the Tahitian monarchy. When this happened, Pomare V received a pension from the French government and the titular position of Officer of the Orders of the Legion of Honour and Agricultural Merit. It’s safe to say, that, even though Marau no longer had power, she enjoyed a comfortable life.
In 1884, Queen Marau traveled to Paris, France, where she was warmly welcomed. Her fashion was admired and imitated by Parisian society women. She spent several months touring France, where she met and fell in love with a handsome navy officer. Given the timing of the affair, Pomare V suspected that his younger daughter and son were actually fathered by the officer. This became a source of tension between the two. During one argument, she claimed none of the children were Pomare’s, but that is probably untrue and she admitted this in a moment of anger. (However, we don’t know about the two childrens’ true father.)
Pomare V and Queen Marau divorced on July 27th, 1887. Divorce was very unusual at the time, especially between royal couples. The marriage sounded unpleasant anyway, so good for her!
Pomare V died on June 12th, 1891, at the age of 51. According to Nelson, New Zealand’s Nelson Evening Mail, he had been sick for some time. It was also written, following his death:
“Within less than twenty minutes of the event being known, the Chinese shopkeepers were rushing all over the town to buy up the black materials in the stores, and one man who, in 1883, foresaw the sad event and then laid in a large stock of crape and black prints, now managed to get rid of his prints.”
In later life, Marau befriended American writer Henry Adams, who wrote a biography of her mother and herself. Her other famous friends included Paul Gauguin, W. Somerset Maugham, and Robert Louis Stevenson.
Queen Marau with her daughter Princess Teri’inui and Hawaiian princess Abigail Campbell Kawananakoa, 1929
After her mother’s death, Marau’s relationship with her siblings deteriorated. This led to a seven-year-long feud and legal battle over their mother’s land and possessions. In 1904, she dropped the lawsuits and reconciled with her siblings.
On February 2nd, 1935, Queen Marau died at the age of 74. Her remains are interred at Uranie Cemetery in Papeete, Tahiti. It is located near the Pomare Royal Cemetery. Another prominent figures at Uranie Cemetery include and Alexandre Maximovitch Leontieff (President of French Polynesia from 1987 to 1991) and Cheyenne Brando, daughter of actors Marlon Brando and Tarita Teri’ipaia.
Marau was proud of her Tahitian heritage. Her tomb depicts Mahaiatea, the island’s largest marae (or temple)– a culturally significant monument in Tahiti. In 1971, Marau’s daughter Princess Takau published her mother’s writings as Memoires de Marau Taaroa.
***
Although Queen Marau isn’t well-known, what I’ve found is fascinating. I had no idea that she was considered a Parisian fashion icon, nor did I know that she befriended so many famous people. The fact that she divorced her husband must have been scandalous for a royal couple in that era, but it’s a testament to her courage. Though her life was difficult, she made the best of it and remains a beacon of elegance and strength.
Curious History Girl 