From J. Stanley Gardiner (1898), "The Natives of Rotuma," Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 27:459-460.

Stone axes (Plate XXVIII, Figs. 1-3) were made of a very fine-grained basaltic rock common in the island, or of dense lava rubbed down to the proper size and form; they were termed ia hofu. They were mounted on an elbow stick, as is general in the South Pacific. In shape they are roughly rectangular, flattened above, below, and at the sides, with one end bevelled away. Proportionately to their size, they are remarkably thick, and the angle of their cutting edge is very blunt. Between Figs. 1 and 3 there is an almost perfect series of four axes in my collection, but two of them have their sides near the butt considerably rounded. There is one axe smaller than Fig. 2, but it appears to have been considerably knocked about and chipped. The cutting edge in Fig. 3 is much more acute than is general, while another is also slightly more acute, but has the lower surface flattened, while above it is somewhat rounded. A rough axe of lava has its sides rounded, and is proportionately considerably thinner than any of the above. The axe represented in Fig. 10 was dug up in the grave of the mua (p. 464); it is termed the voi ronu. It is a singularly well finished and polished specimen. It was used by no one except the mua, but I could get no information as to how it was mounted. There is no sign of its ever having been mounted on the top of a stick or in a forked one, but if fixed in any other way there would be no object in having both ends sharpened.

The smaller axes are nearly all made from shells, the principal ones used being the clam (Tridacna sp. ?) and a large spider shell (Pterosceras bryonea). They are as far as possible squared, but taper away from the bevelled end considerably. Between Figs. 4 and 5 are four intermediate forms; one is 2 1/2 inches long, cutting end 1 inch broad, but the other only 1/4 inch. Fig. 6 is the smallest; it has been ground out of a very small Tridacna, and still shows the lines on the shell very well. A piece of shell, roughly squared and ground down somewhat at one end, is apparently a half-finished axe. There is also a stone axe smaller than any of these, 1 1/2 inches long by 3/4 broad and 1/6 thick; it has the same general shape as the above, but possibly its use was different.

I have five shell and one stone implement used for scraping the pandanus leaves for mats (p. 419). The shell ones are all of Tridacna, and are squared as far as possible, but taper slightly. There are two intermediate between Figs. 7 and 8, while the fifth tapers very slightly, and very closely resembles the stone form (Fig. 9).