Erromango is the fourth largest island in the Vanuatu archipelago. With a land area of 891.9 square kilometres (344.4 sq mi), it is the largest island in Tafea Province , the southernmost of Vanuatu's six administrative regions.
100-590: Manihiki is an atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands known informally as the "Island of Pearls". It is located in the Northern Cook Island chain , approximately 1,299 kilometres (807 mi) north of the capital island of Rarotonga , making it one of the most remote inhabitations in the Pacific Ocean . Its name has two possible meanings: It is believed that the original name of
200-548: A Cook Islander, Henry Puna , served as Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum from 2021 to 2024. Most Cook Islanders are also citizens of New Zealand , but they also have the status of Cook Islands nationals, which is not given to other New Zealand citizens. The Cook Islands have been an active member of the Pacific Community since 1980. The Cook Islands' main population centres are on
300-812: A compromise, it was decided that the English name of the islands would not be altered, but that a new Cook Islands Māori name would be adopted to replace the current name, a transliteration from English. Discussions over the name continued in 2020. On 25 September 2023, the United States recognised Cook Islands sovereignty and established diplomatic relations. The Cook Islands are in the South Pacific Ocean, north-east of New Zealand, between American Samoa and French Polynesia . There are 15 major islands spread over 2,200,000 km (850,000 sq mi) of ocean, divided into two distinct groups:
400-401: A deep, nine kilometer wide lagoon, which is almost completely enclosed by the surrounding reef. The atoll is located on top of an underwater mountain rising 4,000 meters (13,000 ft) from the ocean floor. The inhabitants are divided between the two main islets of Tauhunu on the west coast (where the government administration is based) and Tukao in the north, (where Manihiki Island Airport
500-699: A distinctive, idiosyncratic style with the so-called double-k design. Mangaia also produces food pounders carved from the heavy calcite found in its extensive limestone caves. The outer islands produce traditional weaving of mats, basketware and hats. Particularly fine examples of rito hats are worn by women to church. They are made from the uncurled immature fibre of the coconut palm and are of very high quality. The Polynesian equivalent of Panama hats, they are highly valued and are keenly sought by Polynesian visitors from Tahiti. Often, they are decorated with hatbands made of minuscule pupu shells that are painted and stitched on by hand. Although pupu are found on other islands
600-596: A few elderly Ura speakers remain. These four languages constitute the Erromanga branch of South Vanuatu languages . Due to a lack of documentation, it is unclear whether Sorug and Sye were two distinct languages or whether they were dialects of a single language. There is also evidence of two additional speech forms, Novulamleg and Uravat, though it is not known whether these were dialectical variants, distinct languages, place or area names, names of descent groups or simply descriptive names. The depopulation that followed
700-550: A global audience the idea that Erromango was the 'Martyr's Island'. Robertson's predecessor, Rev. James D. Gordon , had spread the belief amongst Erromangans that the Christian God had sent the 1861 measles epidemic to punish them for the killing of Rev. Williams and the other missionaries. Gordon saw this as a means of gaining converts, though some of his contemporaries disapproved of this tactic. This tactic backfired on Gordon, as he and his wife were killed in reprisal for
800-541: A number of Erromangans killed. Following this incident, Cook gave the name 'Traitor's head' to the peninsula adjacent to Potnarvin. Whaling vessels were among the early regular visitors to the island on the nineteenth century. The first such vessel known to have visited was the Rose in 1804 and the last on record was the American vessel John & Winthrop in 1887. In 1825, trader and adventurer Peter Dillon discovered
900-413: A participant, "the reconciliation has freed us up to embrace our customs and traditions, which we couldn't do before because of the guilt attached to Erromango's history and the tendency to view traditional culture as the antithesis of Christianity". Erromango and nearby Tanna were devastated by cyclone Pam in mid-March 2015, with reports from Tanna of an unknown number of deaths, complete destruction of
1000-1084: A permit. Visitors can obtain a permit at the administration office either from the Island Secretary or the Mayor or the Deputy Mayor. There is good fishing in the open waters beyond the reef, including catches of Yellow-fin Tuna and Flying fish . Tours of the pearl farms can also be arranged. Flying time to the island by Air Rarotonga takes about three and a half hours, and there is a flight every 2nd week Thursday from Rarotonga; however, flights are sometimes cancelled due to lack of passengers or lack of fuel at Manihiki. The Tukao solar farm and Tauhunu solar farm provide 136 kW and 147 kW respectively. 10°24′S 161°00′W / 10.400°S 161.000°W / -10.400; -161.000 Cook Islands The Cook Islands ( Rarotongan : Kūki ‘Airani ; Penrhyn : Kūki Airani )
1100-653: A storm, and eventually came to land again on 17 October 1963, at Erromango in Vanuatu . Four of the seven men on board survived to arrive at Erromango, but one of them died soon after. Teehu Makimare, of Tauhunu village, was later awarded the gold medal of the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand for his leadership and courage in this epic unintended voyage. The story has been told in Barry Wynne's book, The Man Who Refused to Die . The Original Chief (Ariki)
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#17327723359731200-486: A treaty with the Cook Islands specifying the maritime border between the Cook Islands and American Samoa and also relinquishing any American claims to Penrhyn , Pukapuka , Manihiki , and Rakahanga . In 1990 the Cook Islands and France signed a treaty that delimited the boundary between the Cook Islands and French Polynesia . In late August 2012, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited
1300-518: Is a common art form in the Cook Islands. The proximity of islands in the southern group helped produce a homogeneous style of carving but that had special developments in each island. Rarotonga is known for its fisherman's gods and staff-gods, Atiu for its wooden seats, Mitiaro , Mauke and Atiu for mace and slab gods and Mangaia for its ceremonial adzes. Most of the original wood carvings were either spirited away by early European collectors or were burned in large numbers by missionaries. Today, carving
1400-588: Is also known for her fabric designs), Apii Rongo, Varu Samuel, and multi-media, installation and community-project artist Ani O'Neill , all of whom currently live on the main island of Rarotonga. Atiuan-based Andrea Eimke is an artist who works in the medium of tapa and other textiles, and also co-authored the book 'Tivaivai – The Social Fabric of the Cook Islands' with British academic Susanne Kuechler . Many of these artists have studied at university art schools in New Zealand and continue to enjoy close links with
1500-557: Is an island country in Polynesia , part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean . It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately 236.7 square kilometres (91 sq mi). The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1,960,027 square kilometres (756,771 sq mi) of ocean. Avarua is its capital. The Cook Islands is self-governing while in free association with New Zealand. Since
1600-544: Is celebrated each year as Constitution Day . Albert Henry of the Cook Islands Party was elected as the first Premier and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Henry led the nation until 1978, when he was accused of vote-rigging and resigned. He was stripped of his knighthood in 1979. He was succeeded by Tom Davis of the Democratic Party who held that position until March 1983. On 13 July 2017,
1700-592: Is considered closely related to the Samoan language . English and Cook Islands Māori are official languages of the Cook Islands; per the Te Reo Maori Act . The legal definition of Cook Islands Māori includes Pukapukan. Music in the Cook Islands is varied, with Christian songs being quite popular, but traditional dancing and songs in Cook Islands Maori or Pukapukan remain popular. Woodcarving
1800-607: Is exercised by the government, with the Prime Minister as head of government . Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of the Cook Islands . While the country is de jure unicameral, there are two legislative bodies with the House of Ariki acting as a de facto upper house. There is a multi-party system . The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The head of state
1900-456: Is governed by Pukapuka ( Suwarrow , with only one caretaker living on the island, also governed by Pukapuka, is not counted with the inhabited islands in this context). Each council is headed by a mayor. The three Vaka councils of Rarotonga established in 1997 ( Rarotonga Local Government Act 1997 ), also headed by mayors, were abolished in February 2008, despite much controversy. On
2000-407: Is illegal to disclose names or any information about Cooks trusts) be physically located within the archipelago. Taxes on trusts and trust employees account for some 8% of the Cook Islands economy, behind tourism but ahead of fishing. In recent years, the Cook Islands has gained a reputation as a debtor paradise, through the enactment of legislation that permits debtors to shield their property from
2100-474: Is isolated from foreign markets, and has some inadequate infrastructure; it lacks major natural resources except for significant seabed critical minerals, has limited manufacturing and suffers moderately from natural disasters. Tourism provides the economic base that makes up approximately 67.5% of GDP. Additionally, the economy is supported by foreign aid , largely from New Zealand. China has also contributed foreign aid, which has resulted in, among other projects,
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#17327723359732200-684: Is known to be the Whakaheo Ariki. It is believed that the Whaingaitu Ariki title were the family of which were prayer warriors of the Whakaheo. In later years, families have been fighting for positions and titles of the land. It is believed that the first born daughters of the Whakaheo were not to succeed to Ariki, this title was given to the first born son. The title of the first born daughter is known as Whakatapairu. In 1997 Cyclone Martin devastated Manihiki. Almost every building on
2300-399: Is located). Each settlement has a school, churches, stores and a few pickup trucks. The total land area is approximately 4 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi). The major islands of the atoll (listed starting clockwise from the northernmost point of the atoll) are: Polynesians are believed to have lived on Manihiki since at least 900 or 1000 AD. According to local folklore , the atoll
2400-517: Is moving to the north-northwest. Most of the island is fringed with a platform of uplifted coral reef limestone dating from the Late Pleistocene and Holocene . Erromango was formed during a prolonged period of volcanic activity took place between 6-1 Ma . The island is an ancient underwater volcano that has been raised 100-300m above sea level by tectonic uplift , forming a plateau on which stand three sets of eroded volcanic cones in
2500-482: Is no longer the major art form with the same spiritual and cultural emphasis given to it by the Maori in New Zealand. However, there are continual efforts to interest young people in their heritage and some good work is being turned out under the guidance of older carvers. Atiu, in particular, has a strong tradition of crafts both in carving and local fibre arts such as tapa. Mangaia is the source of many fine adzes carved in
2600-510: Is probably one of the main reasons for its popularity. The Cook Islands has produced internationally recognised contemporary artists, especially in the main island of Rarotonga. Artists include painter (and photographer) Mahiriki Tangaroa , sculptors Eruera (Ted) Nia (originally a film maker) and master carver Mike Tavioni , painter (and Polynesian tattoo enthusiast) Upoko'ina Ian George, Aitutakian-born painter Tim Manavaroa Buchanan, Loretta Reynolds, Judith Kunzlé, Joan Gragg , Kay George (who
2700-521: Is the King of New Zealand , who is represented in the Cook Islands by the King's Representative . The islands are self-governing in "free association" with New Zealand. Under the Cook Islands constitution, New Zealand cannot pass laws for the Cook Islands. Rarotonga has its own foreign service and diplomatic network. Cook Islands nationals have the right to become citizens of New Zealand and can receive New Zealand government services when in New Zealand, but
2800-921: The International Civil Aviation Organization , the International Maritime Organization and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization , all UN specialized agencies , and is an associate member of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and a Member of the Assembly of States of the International Criminal Court . On 11 June 1980, the United States signed
2900-827: The London Missionary Society and fellow missionary James Harris were killed and eaten by cannibals at Dillons Bay in November 1839. In November 2009, after a lengthy collaboration between the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia , the Presbyterian church of Vanuatu and the Vanuatu Cultural Centre , Williams' descendants travelled to Erromango to reconcile with the descendants of those who killed their ancestor,
3000-598: The Sinai-Palestine campaign , first in a logistical role for the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Rifles at their Moascar base and later in ammunition supply for the Royal Artillery. After the war, the men returned to the outbreak of the influenza epidemic in New Zealand, and this, along with European diseases meant that a large number did not survive and died in New Zealand or on their return home over
3100-719: The Snapper , with a crew of 113 Tongan labourers on board, had all arrived just before the Hawaiian vessels. The Erromangans resisted the Hawaiians' takeover attempt, and the Hawaiians' hostile intent turned the Erromangans against the other interlopers and their Polynesian crews. Fever killed most of the Tongan and Hawaiian labourers, and just 20 Hawaiians returned to Hawaii to tell the story of their failed occupation. A crash in
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3200-556: The Southern Cook Islands and the Northern Cook Islands of coral atolls . The islands were formed by volcanic activity ; the northern group is older and consists of six atolls, which are sunken volcanoes topped by coral growth. The climate is moderate to tropical . The Cook Islands consist of 15 islands and two reefs. From March to December, the Cook Islands are in the path of tropical cyclones,
3300-453: The world economic crisis had driven up the price of essential goods to such an extent that it was provoking significant emigration to New Zealand and Australia . He said that the population of Manihiki at that stage was just 280. There are two villages: the larger village is Tauhunu which is on the Islet of Tauhunu on the western rim of the atoll. The second village, Tukao and also known in
3400-579: The 1820s. In 1813 John Williams , a missionary on the colonial brig Endeavour (not the same ship as Cook's) made the first recorded European sighting of Rarotonga . The first recorded landing on Rarotonga by Europeans was in 1814 by the Cumberland ; trouble broke out between the sailors and the Islanders and many were killed on both sides. The islands saw no more Europeans until English missionaries arrived in 1821. Christianity quickly took hold in
3500-540: The Colonial Boundaries Act, 1895 of the United Kingdom. The boundary change became effective on 11 June 1901, and the Cook Islands have had a formal relationship with New Zealand since that time. The Cook Islands responded to the call for service when World War I began, immediately sending five contingents, close to 500 men, to the war. The island's young men volunteered at the outbreak of
3600-534: The Cook Islands established Marae Moana , making it become the world's largest protected area by size. In March 2019, it was reported that the Cook Islands had plans to change its name and remove the reference to Captain James Cook in favour of "a title that reflects its 'Polynesian nature ' ". It was later reported in May 2019 that the proposed name change had been poorly received by the Cook Islands diaspora. As
3700-607: The Erromangans and the traders. In 1830, King Kamehameha III of Hawaii sent two ships with 479 Hawaiians on board to seize control of Erromango and its sandalwood, under the command of Boki , ruler-designate of Erromango. Their arrival in Cook's Bay coincided with the arrival of two other groups of traders intent on exploiting the sandalwood; two ships, the Dhaule and the Sophia , both crewed by 330 Rotuman labourers and another ship,
3800-459: The Government as "not in a fit state" to respond to regional challenges. New Zealand's subsequently announced "Defence Policy and Strategy Statement" noted that shaping the security environment, "focusing in particular on supporting security in and for the Pacific" would receive enhanced attention. The Cook Islands Police Service is the police force of the Cook Islands. The Maritime Wing of
3900-591: The New Zealand art scene. New Zealand-based Cook Islander artists include Michel Tuffery , print-maker David Teata, Richard Shortland Cooper, Nina Oberg Humphries , Sylvia Marsters and Jim Vivieaere . Bergman Gallery (formerly BCA Gallery) is the main commercial dealer gallery in the Cook Islands, situated in the main island of Rarotonga, and represents Cook Islands artists such as Sylvia Marsters , Mahiriki Tangaroa , Nina Oberg Humphries , Joan Gragg and Tungane Broadbent The Art Studio Gallery in Arorangi,
4000-654: The Police Headquarters building. The Cook Islands is expanding its agriculture, mining and fishing sectors, with varying success. Since approximately 1989, the Cook Islands have become a location specialising in so-called asset protection trusts , by which investors shelter assets from the reach of creditors and legal authorities. According to The New York Times , the Cooks have "laws devised to protect foreigners' assets from legal claims in their home countries", which were apparently crafted specifically to thwart
4100-506: The Police Service exercises sovereignty over the nation's EEZ. Vessels have included a Pacific-class patrol boat , CIPPB Te Kukupa commissioned in May 1989 which received a re-fit in 2015 but was withdrawn from service and replaced by a larger and more capable Guardian-class patrol boat , CIPPB Te Kukupa II , which entered service in 2022. Cook Islands has its own customs regulations. Formerly, male homosexuality
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4200-722: The Uswo-Natgo clan, 170 years earlier. To mark the occasion, Dillons Bay was renamed Williams Bay. The Rev. George Nicol Gordon , of Prince Edward Island, Canada and his wife, Ellen Catherine Powell, missionaries from the Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia to the New Hebrides, were killed at Dillons Bay on May 20, 1861. A memoir of the couple appeared in book form, at Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1863. In total, six missionaries were killed on Erromango. An oral history from Unpogkor (Dillons Bay) says Rev. Williams
4300-701: The Western Front. In September 1916, the Pioneer Battalion, a combination of Cook Islanders, Māori and Pakeha soldiers, saw heavy action in the Allied attack on Flers, the first battle of the Somme. Three Cook Islanders from this first contingent died from enemy action and at least ten died of disease as they struggled to adapt to the conditions in Europe. The 2nd and 3rd Cook Island Contingents were part of
4400-459: The area is recovering, and efforts are underway to try to make the industry sustainable. With European Union support, there is a protected Happy Lands Kauri Reserve . Erromango, like most other islands of the Vanuatu archipelago, is volcanic in origin. It is composed of basalt and andesite from the late Miocene -Recent periods and is situated along a Pliocene -Recent volcanic chain that
4500-472: The article.) The pair, realizing their danger, died during a failed attempt to escape the island, being killed by natives on shore a few yards from their boat. As Williams was the first Christian martyr in the south Pacific, Erromango became a particular focus for missionisation. Another missionary, Reverend McNair and his wife, were present on the island at Dillon's Bay until the former's death from illness in 1871. A Royal Navy captain visiting in 1869 described
4600-529: The beliefs and material culture in order to target the most powerful symbols of traditional society. He collected many objects and sent them to overseas museums or used them as curios in his overseas fundraising tours to demonstrate the 'backwardness' of Erromangans. In 1902, Robertson published Erromanga: the Martyr Isle , his description of his life as a missionary on the island. It was the first popular account of Erromango and its people. It promoted to
4700-494: The believers, the most followed denomination being the Cook Islands Christian Church with 49.1%. Other Protestant Christian groups include Seventh-day Adventist 7.9%, Assemblies of God 3.7% and Apostolic Church 2.1%. The main non-Protestant group are Catholics with 17% of the population. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes up 4.4%. The economy is strongly affected by geography. It
4800-405: The centre, north and east of the island. The centre is divided into two volcanoes; Mount Melkum (758m) to the west, and Nompun Umpan (802m) to the east. In the north of the island, Mount William (682m) is a strombolian cone with a caldera 6 km wide and around 600m deep. The eastern peninsula that forms Traitor's Head, north of Cook's Bay on the east coast, is the youngest volcanic formation on
4900-582: The claims of creditors. Since 2008 the Executive Director of Cook Islands Bank has been Vaine Nooana-Arioka . There are eleven airports in the Cook Islands, including one with a paved runway, Rarotonga International Airport , served by five passenger airlines. Newspapers in the Cook Islands are usually published in English with some articles in Cook Islands Māori . The Cook Islands News has been published since 1945, although it
5000-416: The collection and use of them in decorative work has become a speciality of Mangaia. The weaving of rito is a speciality of the northern islands, Manihiki, Rakahanga and Penrhyn. A major art form in the Cook Islands is tivaevae . This is, in essence, the art of handmade Island scenery patchwork quilts. Introduced by the wives of missionaries in the 19th century, the craft grew into a communal activity, which
5100-624: The coming years. When the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948 came into effect on 1 January 1949, Cook Islanders who were British subjects automatically gained New Zealand citizenship . The islands remained a New Zealand dependent territory until the New Zealand Government decided to grant them self-governing status. On 4 August 1965, a constitution was promulgated. The first Monday in August
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#17327723359735200-461: The conditions there as difficult, with scarce supplies of flour, clouds of mosquitoes, murderous threats from natives, and a "sweltering poisonous atmosphere, accompanied by fever and ague." Canadian Presbyterian missionary H.A. Robertson, resident on Erromango from 1872–1913, succeeded in missionising the island's population. This changed the traditional society of the island. His attempts at missionisation were effective because he carefully studied
5300-403: The culture and many islanders are Christians today. The islands were a popular stop in the 19th century for whaling ships from the United States, Britain and Australia. They visited, from at least 1826, to obtain water, food, and firewood. Their favourite islands were Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Mangaia and Penrhyn. The Cook Islands became aligned to the United Kingdom in 1890, largely because of
5400-472: The epidemic, which continued unabated despite their deaths. Over time, Gordon's myth grew into a collective belief amongst Erromangans that the island had been cursed by the Presbyterian Church. This caused the abandonment of forms of cultural expression not sanctioned by the church. Belief in this 'curse' endured until the 2009 reconciliation ceremony, which initiated a re-examination of Erromango's history and culture from an Erromangan point of view. According to
5500-512: The explorer of Aotearoa , came from Manihiki, also known as Fakahotu Nui, or Niiva Nui. His canoe was named by the ancient name of Tukao Village known as Te Matafourua. On his return from Aotearoa he renamed the Marae in the Village of Tukao (Te Matafourua) Te Puna Ruki o Toi Tu Rahui Te Rautea as Te Hono O Kupe Ki Aotea, shortened as Te Marae Hono. Manihiki was originally used as a food supply by
5600-405: The fear of British residents that France might occupy the islands as it already had Tahiti. On 6 September 1900, the islanders' leaders presented a petition asking that the islands (including Niue "if possible") should be annexed as British territory. On 8 and 9 October 1900, seven instruments of cession of Rarotonga and other islands were signed by their chiefs and people. A British Proclamation
5700-636: The first missionary bibles. Enyau/Yocu and Sorug/Sye merged between the 1870s and 1920s to become modern Erromangan. Some linguists call this language Sye, however on Erromango nam Eromaga ('Erromangan language') is more common. Erromangan is spoken as the first language in 90.4% of Erromango's households. Of Erromangans over the age of five, 63.6% are literate in Bislama , Vanuatu's lingua franca . 62.3% are literate in English and 19.0% are literate in French, Vanuatu's two official languages. The island
5800-883: The government was unable to secure an invitation to attend the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa. The Cook Islands Police Service polices its own waters, and shares responsibility for defence with New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands Government and at its request. The total offshore EEZ is about 2 million square kilometres. Vessels of the Royal New Zealand Navy can be employed for this task including its Protector-class offshore patrol vessels . These naval forces may also be supported by Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft, including P-8 Poseidons . However, these forces are limited in size and in 2023 were described by
5900-494: The inhabitants of nearby Rakahanga. Every few years the entire community would make the dangerous inter-atoll crossing, allowing the vacated atoll to restore. While they lived together in a single village on Rakahanga, when on Manihiki, the tribal groupings lived on separate motus under their ariki in separate villages. It is believed that Pedro Fernandes de Queirós first sighted the island in 1606 and called it Gente Hermosa (Beautiful People). However, on 13 October 1822, when it
6000-461: The island Gente Hermosa (Beautiful People). British explorer and naval officer Captain James Cook arrived in 1773 and again in 1777, giving the island of Manuae the name Hervey Island . The Hervey Islands later came to be applied to the entire southern group. The name "Cook Islands", in honour of Cook, first appeared on a Russian naval chart published by Adam Johann von Krusenstern in
6100-427: The island and consists of four stratovolcanoes (Urap, Ulenu, Rantop and Wahous). A submarine volcano between the peninsula and nearby Vetemanu last erupted in 1881. Erromango's population at the last census in 2009 was 1,959. The annual population growth rate is 2.2%, and there are a total of 325 private households on the island. The largest villages are Dillons Bay (Upogkor), Potnarvin and Ipota. Erromango
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#17327723359736200-485: The island are Rakahanga-Manihiki and English . The economy of Manihiki is dominated by the cultivation of black pearls and there are pearl farms dotted around the lagoon. Tourism provides a secondary source of income, although facilities are rudimentary. The reef provides excellent swimming and snorkeling among colourful tropical fish and coral, making scuba diving a major attraction for visitors. Visitors are allowed to snorkel or free-dive but not scuba dive without
6300-776: The island in his account of his visit, but writes later that he got the name, which he spells as 'Erromango', from Forster. Erromango was first settled by humans around 3,000 years ago, as part of the Lapita migration out of south-east Asia into island Melanesia . The Lapita people brought with them domestic animals such as pigs and chickens and food plants such as yam and breadfruit. Two sites on Erromango, Ifo and Ponamla, have yielded significant archaeological evidence of habitation by Lapita and post-Lapita peoples, including pottery sherds, adzes, marine shell artifacts and cooking stones. Erromango contains numerous caves that provided refuge from tribal warfare and cyclones . Human use of these caves has been dated to 2,800-2,400 years before
6400-546: The island of Rarotonga (10,863 in 2021). The Rarotonga International Airport , the main international gateway to the country, is located on this island. The census of 2021 put the total population at 14,987. There is also a larger population of Cook Islanders in New Zealand and Australia: in the 2018 New Zealand census , 80,532 people said they were Cook Islanders, or of Cook Islands descent. The last Australian census recorded 28,000 Cook Islanders living in Australia, many with Australian citizenship. With over 168,000 visitors to
6500-415: The island on the windward (eastern) side, while a combination of grassland and woodland occupies the north-west. Cloud forests exist at higher elevations. Much of the vegetation on the island is secondary growth. Formerly it was known as a source of sandalwood in the 19th century, and much of it was depleted. It is also home to the kauri and tamanu trees. There has been extensive logging, but most of
6600-497: The island was Manuhiki, or Manuhikitanga inspired by the aboriginal discoverers, Manu coming from the word Rua Manu (a kind of canoe) and Hiki meaning ashore , so the literal translation would be canoe carried ashore . The second interpretation is that the original discoverers were from Manihi, an island in Tuamotus , so the name of the island would mean Little Manihi . Manihiki is a roughly triangular-shaped coral atoll , consisting of approximately 43 islets ( motu ) surrounding
6700-437: The island was destroyed by the storm surge, 10 people were killed, and 10 more persons reported missing and were later declared dead by the Cook Islands Coroner. 360 people were evacuated to Rarotonga , with most never returning. Martin was the deadliest known tropical cyclone to affect the Cook Islands in over a century, after it caused 19 deaths within the Islands. In February 2009, the mayor of Manihiki, Kora Kora, stated that
6800-421: The island's infrastructure and permanent shelters, no drinking water. The total area of Erromango is 891.9 km . It measures approximately 48 km from the north-west tip to the south-east, and is between 20 and 30 kilometres wide. Its highest point is Mount Santop, at 886m. The island is situated between latitude 18°37'S and 18°59'S and 168°59'E and 168°20'E. Vete Manung Island is located 15 km off
6900-400: The island's large reserves of sandalwood ( Santalum austrocaledonicum ), valued in China for its aromatic oil and as a carving wood. Dillon found that his trade goods were not sufficient to entice Erromangans to cut the timber for him, so he left without gathering any sandalwood. News of his discovery brought other outsiders to Erromango to exploit the resource, and this caused conflict between
7000-421: The island. In response a ship was sent, but the missionaries on Manihiki hoisted the British flag, causing the ship to withdraw without sending a landing party. The island was claimed by the United States under the Guano Islands Act , but the United States never acted on this claim, and the island was proclaimed a British protectorate by Commander A. C. Clarke, captain of HMS Espiegle on 9 August 1889. It
7100-434: The islanders recruited were duped into taking part; some were coerced, and some volunteered. While some Erromangan names are listed in official records of Melanesian labourers in Queensland, no exact figures exist for the number of Erromangans who were blackbirded. However, 25 years after the White Australia Policy ended the Melanesian labour trade in 1906, Erromango's population had dwindled to just 381. John Williams of
7200-426: The islands in 2018, tourism is the country's main industry and leading element of its economy, ahead of offshore banking , pearls, and marine and fruit exports. The Cook Islands comprise 15 islands split between two island groups, which have been called individual names in indigenous languages including Cook Islands Māori and Pukapukan throughout the time they have been inhabited. The first name given by Europeans
7300-579: The islands. However, this situation had changed by the passage of the Cook Islands Act 1915 , which defined the Cooks' area and included all presently included islands. The islands' official name in Cook Islands Māori is Kūki 'Āirani , a transliteration of the English name. The Cook Islands were first settled around AD 1000 by Polynesian people who are thought to have migrated from Tahiti , an island 1,154 kilometres (717 mi) to
7400-656: The islands. In 2017, the Cook Islands signed the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons . On 25 September 2023, the Cook Islands and the United States of America established diplomatic relations under the leadership of Prime Minister Mark Brown at a ceremony in Washington, DC. In 2024, the Cook Islands' efforts to join the Commonwealth of Nations as a full member were "ongoing" but, despite this,
7500-542: The long arm of American justice; creditors must travel to the Cook Islands and argue their cases under Cooks law, often at prohibitive expense. Unlike other foreign jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands , the Cayman Islands and Switzerland, the Cooks "generally disregard foreign court orders" and do not require that bank accounts, real estate, or other assets protected from scrutiny (it
7600-574: The lowest level, there are village committees. Nassau , which is governed by Pukapuka , has an island committee (Nassau Island Committee), which advises the Pukapuka Island Council on matters concerning its own island. Births and deaths In the Cook Islands, the Church is separate from the state, and most of the population is Christian. The religious distribution is as follows: The various Protestant groups account for 62.8% of
7700-541: The most notable of which were the cyclones Martin and Percy . Two terrestrial ecoregions lie within the islands' territory: the Central Polynesian tropical moist forests and the Cook Islands tropical moist forests . Note: The table is ordered from north to south. Population figures from the 2021 census. The Cook Islands are a representative democracy with a parliamentary system in an associated state relationship with New Zealand. Executive power
7800-509: The north-east coast of Erromango. In the middle of the east coast is a promontory formed by the volcanic cone of Mount Rantop. 6 km off the east coast is an uninhabited islet named Vetemanu (English name Goat Island) of approximately 12ha in area. The island is part of the Vanuatu rainforests ecoregion , within the East Melanesian Islands biogeographic region. Dense evergreen forest covers nearly three-quarters of
7900-551: The northeast of the main island of Rarotonga. The first European contact with the islands took place in 1595 when the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira sighted the island of Pukapuka , which he named San Bernardo (Saint Bernard). Pedro Fernandes de Queirós , a Portuguese captain at the service of the Spanish Crown , made the first European landing in the islands when he set foot on Rakahanga in 1606, calling
8000-527: The olden days as Te Matafourua, is at the northern tip of Ngake or Te Paeroa motu, which runs along the northern-eastern side of the atoll. The island is politically controlled by the Island Councils and a Mayor elected every three years by the inhabitants. The atoll is inhabited by two Fakaheo tribes, the Matakeinanga and Tukufare. Each tribe has 7 subtribes or groups: The languages spoken on
8100-445: The present. Some of the caves contain rock art and petroglyphs that have been identified with clan motifs and traditional stories. Caves were also used as burial sites. James Cook was the first European to land on Erromango, landing near present-day Potnarvin in the north-east on 4 August 1774. Cook and his landing party were set upon by a group of local men, and in the scuffle that followed, several of Cook's men were injured and
8200-552: The price of sandalwood shortly after deterred most traders until the mid-1840s, but even when prices rose again, the combined risks of attack on shore, uncharted reefs, storms and hurricanes meant that sandalwood trading was a highly speculative venture. Some traders such as Robert Towns and James Paddon established stations on Erromango or nearby islands such as Aneityum and Île des Pins in New Caledonia to reduce their costs. By 1865 though, Erromango's sandalwood resource
8300-590: The reverse is not true; New Zealand citizens are not Cook Islands nationals. Despite this, as of 2018 , the Cook Islands had diplomatic relations in its own name with 52 other countries. The Cook Islands is not a United Nations member state, but, along with Niue , has had their "full treaty-making capacity" recognised by the United Nations Secretariat , and is a full member of the World Health Organization (WHO), UNESCO ,
8400-743: The sandalwood traders for the outbreaks. Erromangans sought reprisal by killing European and Polynesian missionaries such as George N. Gordon , their converts, and other visitors. Between 1863 and 1906, around 40,000 people from what was then the New Hebrides were blackbirded onto ships to work as indentured labour on cotton and sugarcane plantations in Queensland , Australia. Another 10,000 went to work in nickel mines in New Caledonia and on plantations in Fiji , Samoa and Hawaii. Many of
8500-466: The series of epidemics of the mid-19th century resulted in a linguistic realignment. Villages that were no longer viable because of population loss either relocated or amalgamated with others, and the island's population dispersed. Yocu/Enyau was the dominant language during the late 19th century, as it was the language of the Dillons Bay area where the missionaries were based, and the language used in
8600-450: The southern islands as the "Cook Islands" in his Atlas de l'Ocean Pacifique . The entire territory (including the northern island group) was not known as the "Cook Islands" until after its annexation by New Zealand in the early 20th century. In 1901, the New Zealand parliament passed the Cook and other Islands Government Act , demonstrating that the name "Cook Islands" only referred to some of
8700-639: The start of the 21st century, the Cook Islands has directed its own independent foreign and defence policy, and also has its own customs regulations. Like most members of the Pacific Islands Forum, it has no armed forces, but the Cook Islands Police Service owns a Guardian Class Patrol Boat, CIPPB Te Kukupa II , provided by Australia, in order to police its waters. In recent decades, the Cook Islands have adopted an increasingly assertive and distinct foreign policy, and
8800-631: The war to reinforce the Māori Contingents and the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Rifles. A Patriotic Fund was set up very quickly, raising funds to support the war effort. The Cook Islanders were trained at Narrow Neck Camp in Devonport , and the first recruits departed on 13 October 1915 on the SS Te Anau . The ship arrived in Egypt just as the New Zealand units were about to be transferred to
8900-412: Was Gente Hermosa (beautiful people) by Spanish explorers to Rakahanga in 1606. The islands as a whole are named after British Captain James Cook , who visited during the 1770s and named Manuae "Hervey Island" after Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol . The southern island group became known as the "Hervey Islands" after this. In the 1820s, Russian Admiral Adam Johann von Krusenstern referred to
9000-416: Was de jure illegal in the Cook Islands and was punishable by a maximum term of seven years imprisonment; however, the law was never enforced. In 2023, legislation was passed which legalised homosexuality. There are island councils on all of the inhabited outer islands (Outer Islands Local Government Act 1987 with amendments up to 2004, and Palmerston Island Local Government Act 1993) except Nassau , which
9100-416: Was discovered by Huku, a fisherman from Rarotonga , who noted a shallow area of sea and claimed it as his fishing ground. Later, this area was fished up by Māui , becoming the atoll of Rakahanga . Huku then returned and fought Māui for the land he considered to be his. Māui was driven off, but during the struggle part of the new land broke away, becoming the atoll of Manihiki. Another legend says that Kupe ,
9200-420: Was exhausted. Erromango's population prior to European contact is estimated at approximately 5,000, though some estimates are as high as 20,000. European visitors brought diseases such as influenza, smallpox and measles to which the local population had no immunity. Sixty percent of Erromangans died during a smallpox outbreak in 1853 and a measles epidemic in 1861. Contemporary accounts by missionaries blamed
9300-460: Was given a yam during his visit in August 1774, and was told in the (now-extinct) Sorung language armai n'go, armai n'go ('this food is good'), and mistakenly assumed this to be the name of the island. A second account is related by the naturalist Georg Forster , who accompanied Cook. He writes that he learned the name 'Irromanga' from a man named Fannòko, while visiting the neighbouring island of Tanna five days later. Cook himself does not name
9400-595: Was issued, stating that the cessions were accepted and the islands declared parts of Her Britannic Majesty's dominions. However, it did not include Aitutaki . Even though the inhabitants regarded themselves as British subjects, the Crown's title was unclear until the island was formally annexed by that Proclamation. In 1901 the islands were included within the boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand by Order in Council under
9500-406: Was killed because he disrespected an important kastom ceremony that was taking place when he landed. The Boy's Own Paper (1879) states that Rev. Williams and a Mr. Harris (identified as a man traveling to England to become a missionary) were killed because they arrived on the island shortly after an "outrage" was committed by the crew of another vessel. (The nature of this "outrage" is not stated in
9600-642: Was linguistically diverse prior to European contact. Since contact, however, Erromango has lost between 67% and 83% of its original languages. The island "has the dubious honour of having suffered the greatest amount of linguistic devastation in the region of Oceania outside of Australia", according to Pacific linguist Terry Crowley . While the original distribution of languages is not well documented, there were originally at least four distinct Erromangan languages: Enyau/Yocu, Ura (also known as Aryau), Utaha (also known as Etiyo or Ifo) and Sorug/Sye (also spelt Sie or Siye). Sorug and Utaha are now extinct and only
9700-704: Was owned by the government until 1989. Former newspapers include Te Akatauira , which was published from 1978 to 1980. The languages of the Cook Islands include English, Cook Islands Māori (or "Rarotongan"), and Pukapukan . Dialects of Cook Islands Māori include Penrhyn ; Rakahanga-Manihiki ; the Ngaputoru dialect of Atiu , Mitiaro , and Mauke ; the Aitutaki dialect; and the Mangaian dialect. Cook Islands Māori and its dialectic variants are closely related to both Tahitian and to New Zealand Māori . Pukapukan
9800-420: Was placed under the administration of New Zealand with the rest of the Cook Islands in 1901. Per the 1980 Cook Islands – United States Maritime Boundary Treaty the United States recognized Cook Islands sovereignty over Manihiki and three other islands. In August 1963, a small boat, Tearoha , set sail from Manihiki to Rakahanga for food. On leaving Rakahanga on 15 August 1963, the boat was blown off course in
9900-536: Was run by Ian George and Kay George is now Beluga Cafe. There is also Gallery Tavioni and Vananga run by Mike Tavioni and The Cook Islands National Museum also exhibits art. Erromango The endonym for Erromango in Erromangan is Nelocompne . There are several accounts of how 'Erromango' came into common usage: firstly, an oral history from the Potnarvin area tells of how Captain James Cook
10000-590: Was sighted by the U.S. ship Good Hope it was named Humphrey Island by Captain Patrickson. In 1828 the whaleship Ganges spotted the island and named it Great Ganges Island, as other whaleships named it Liderous, Gland, Sarah Scott and Pescado. Despite repeated renaming by explorers, the island now retains its aboriginal name. In 1889, a portion of the population opposed missionaries and made an agreement with French colonial authorities stationed in Tahiti to annex
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