Cook Islands Name Change? The 15 Islands

The Pacific nation of Cook Islands is considering changing its name to something that reflects its Polynesian culture

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rather than honouring the British explorer James Cook who named them the Hervey Islands in 1773. Strangely, the only island he set foot on was tiny, uninhabited Palmerston atoll. He never saw Rarotonga, the largest island in the group. A German navigator on a Russian ship named it the Cook Islands.  Spanish and Portuguese explorers visited the islands in the 16th century, well before Cook.

There are two groups of islands, the northern islands are atolls, and the southern ones atolls, raised atolls or "high" volcanic islands. Some are uninhabited and others are marine reserves. The Exclusive Economic Zone of the 15 islands covers 1.8 million square kilometres, about a fourth of New Zealand's.

Group	Island	Area km²	Population (2016)	Density (2016)
Northern	Penrhyn	10	226	22.6
Northern	Rakahanga	4	80	20.0
Northern	Manihiki	5	213	42.6
Northern	Pukapuka	1	444	444.0
Northern	Tema Reef (submerged)	0	0	-
Northern	Nassau	1	78	78.0
Northern	Suwarrow	0	0	0.0
Southern	Palmerston	2	58	28.0
Southern	Aitutaki	18	1,928	107.1
Southern	Manuae	6	0	0.0
Southern	Takutea	1	0	0.0
Southern	Mitiaro	22	155	7.1
Southern	Atiu	27	437	16.2
Southern	Mauke	18	297	16.5
Southern	Winslow Reef(submerged)	0	0	-
Southern	Rarotonga	67	13,044	194.7
Southern	Mangaia	52	499	9.6
Total	Total	237	17,459	73.7

The table is ordered from north to south. Population figures from the 2016 census

The southern islands were probably first settled between 900 -1200AD by Tahitians with whom they still share a similar culture, traditions and language. Rarotonga's 29km paved road Ara Metua is thought to be 1200 years old and has been described as "a considerable achievement of ancient engineering, possible unsurpassed elsewhere in Polynesia." Ngatangiia lagoon on Rarotonga's south coast was the likely departure place for the NZ Maori on their way to Aotearoa.

The Northern islands of Manihiki and Penrhyn were probably settled by outcasts from Rarotonga; the others by settlers from Samoa.

In the mid-1880s, Penrhyn, Rakahanga and Pukapuka were ravaged by Peruvian slave traders known as blackbirders.

The islands became a British protectorate in 1888. They were annexed in 1900 and included in the colony of New Zealand in 1901. They remained a dependent territory until 1965 when they became a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand which is responsible for its foreign relations and defence.

The 17,000 living in the Cook Islanders are NZ citizens. A further 61,000 now live in NZ, 70% of whom were born here.

The Cook Island Maori language is closely related to NZ Maori. My late father-in-law, a Taranaki Maori, on visiting  Rarotonga some years ago was overwhelmed  to hear his language spoken on the streets of Avarua.


--ACW