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Sir Tom tells
students to pursue their dreams
26 July: "Whatever walk of
life you choose, pursuing your dreams will bring personal
satisfaction that you are making the world a better a place.
Your conclusions may be challenged along the way, therefore
it is important that you do all you can to ensure that the
decisions you make are the right ones."
These were the words imparted by the late Tom Davis at the
Dunedin Town Hall on 14 May 2005 in his address at the
University of Otago graduation ceremony where he was awarded
an honorary doctorate in law.
He told the packed hall that graduation day was just the
beginning.
"Learning never ends. They add to your personal worth and
what you can do for your community and for the world."
Sir Tom graduated from Otago as a medical doctor in 1945.
"It was here at Otago University that the dreams of what I
wished to do with my life were consolidated," he said. "It
was here I obtained qualifications for the dream of being
able to serve my people as a doctor of medicine."
The university's vice-chancellor Professor David Skegg said
he was delighted that the university was able to recognise
formally Sir Tom's "lifetime of outstanding achievements
spanning the spheres of medicine, science and politics".
Professor Skegg said that the university was very proud to
have had Sir Tom among its ranks of distinguished alumni.
"Politics in the Cook Islands are rumbustious at the best of
times, but Dr Davis rode the waves like the breakers at St
Clair. While leading the government, he encouraged
enterprise and a market economy, and consistently fought
corruption. There were very significant increases in
employment and in the average income of Cook Islanders, as
well as social and cultural advances," Professor Skegg said
at the graduation.
In his commentary Professor Skegg said that at the age of 12
Sir Tom was sent to King's College in Auckland where
education was modelled on the English public school system,
an approach which Sir Tom described later as "designed to
ensure that those who make it through the system will never
ever again find anything in life that cannot be taken in
one's stride with aplomb, equanimity and forbearance.
Desperately homesick at the beginning, he seemed to get
caned every day during his first year. A ruder shock was the
cold of the Auckland winter, which produced in him a
nightmare of shivering in the dormitory at night. The fact
that the local boys were not affected, and that he himself
acclimatised, led to the main research interest of his later
career: elucidating the ways in which human beings adapt to
cold and other hostile environments."
Professor Skegg said that as a medical student in Dunedin,
Sir Tom pursued this interest in an unusual fashion.
"A keen surfer at St Clair, he and his friends were tempted
by the massive winter waves - long before the advent of
wetsuits. He bought a number of rectal thermometers and
persuaded his friends to insert these five minutes before
entering the water.
"While in the cold water, they read their thermometers every
five minutes and called out the results for Sir Tom to
record in his notebook. Contrary to expectation, their body
temperatures actually rose but then declined towards
hypothermia after the students left the water.
"The thought occurs that anyone capable of persuading his
colleagues to surf with a thermometer in their rectum has
the ability to be a highly successful politician."
Otago University records that Sir Tom had gone to the
university in years of financial hardship following the
depression.
"He borrowed money from a school friend's father and took on
numerous labouring jobs, as well as becoming a licensed taxi
driver. In his autobiography he had praise for the
university town of Dunedin: "Its forbearance of students was
legendary. We, the students, can bear witness to that. Short
of arson, armed revolution and murder, our goings on were
tolerated.'"
Professor Skegg said that after experience at Auckland
Hospital, it might have been expected that Sir Tom would be
snapped up when the post of medical officer to the Cook
Islands was advertised.
"In fact, his application was turned down, even though the
position was not filled. It was only after four rounds of
advertising and four applications from Dr Davis that he was
appointed. He believed the New Zealand government at that
time had a policy of not employing educated Pacific
islanders in their home islands, lest they became
troublemakers," he said.
"When Dr Davis eventually arrived in the Cook Islands with
his wife and son, he presented himself to the resident
commissioner who said: "You are not here. I have not been
informed of your coming.'"
Over the next few years, Sir Tom transformed an antiquated
and inadequate health system.
"He restored the operating theatre and dealt with a large
backlog of surgery; he started a nursing school; and he
promoted public health measures, always being aware that
poverty underlay most of the health problems such as high
infant mortality. The assistant medical practitioners
trained in Suva were fully integrated into a modern health
service."
But by 1952, after seven years in the Cook Islands, Sir Tom
was becoming restless because he felt that he had
accomplished what he had set out to do, Professor Skegg
said.
"He was offered the opportunity for postgraduate education
at Harvard University. Typically he set off not by
conventional transport, but by sailing from Wellington to
Boston in a 44-foot yacht with his wife and two young sons."
At Harvard he graduated with a masters in public health, and
became a researcher in the department of nutrition. Then
followed a series of senior appointments to research
establishments of the United States armed forces, in Alaska,
Kentucky, and Massachusetts. -Ulamila Kurai Wragg
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A capitalist
with a heart for the little people
26 July: Sir Tom Davis was
one of the most celebrated sons of the Cook Islands.
From being an ordinary island boy, he rose to become a
highly respected NASA scientist.
There is no question in my mind that his economic policies
of the 1980s added to the shaping of our nation to what it
is today.
Sir Tom was a capitalist who believed in growing the
business sector in order for the country to be prosperous.
But he had a heart for the little people as well.
This factor was reflected in his social policies where the
aged, the infirm and our children were not forgotten.
Sir Tom had a heart for his family and he knew and supported
his Kopu Tangata.
These traits showed that he had a good balance and that is
why he was highly respected and loved by his family and
those whom he came in contact with.
Politically, he was a formidable adversary. But he also
showed respect for his peers and for his opposition.
All in all, I say, Sir Tom was a highly educated
"gentleman". And such persons are hard to come by.
On behalf of my colleagues in the opposition and their
families and indeed the Cook Islands Party, I extend our
condolences and sympathy to Papa Tom's grieving family.
- Tom Marsters
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The PM who once
ran wild in Ruatonga, Tupapa and Harvard
28 July: With this
biographical account of Sir Tom's upbringing and family
life, deputy editor Ulamila Kurai Wragg completes the Cook
Islands News obituary of the man many regard as the greatest
Cook Islander of the last century. The stories and tributes
portraying his latterday life, as published on Tuesday 24
July, can be found on our website at www.cookislandsnews.com
He was born Thomas Robert
Alexander Harries Davis in 1917 in Rarotonga, and thus began
a not untypical childhood for a Cook Islander of mixed
bloodlines.
His parents divorced not long after. From then his family
consisted of his mother Maryanne Tepuretu Araiti, his older
sister Mary and himself until his mother married Raitia
Tepuretu. He had two younger sisters Reureu and Tepaeru and
he and his three sisters all grew up in Rarotonga.
In his autobiography, the late Sir Tom wrote that he was
raised in two houses - with his mother's family in Ruatonga
and their home with his stepfather in Tupapa.
He recalled that in Ruatonga sea captains came "with their
peaked caps with removable white covers for tropical climes
and their white doubled breasted jackets with brass
buttons".
"When there were no boats, I took to the hills mainly with
Johnny Webb whose Tahitian mother was friends with my
family. Sometimes we were joined by Don O'Brien who was born
here and spoke Rarotongan like a native.
"When I lived in Tupapa, my friends were the Kamana boys who
were nephews of my stepfather. Tau the eldest would take me
on our horse Beauty and we ranged over the land.
"Our toys were usually home made whether by our own efforts
or with the help of a big brother or sister. Each month had
its particular toy, which was indulged in all by all and
sundry until the craze for it wore off."
At that time the playthings were in most cases traditional
in nature and Sir Tom made a list in his book - topi,
titiraina, patapata, teka, rore, ana, tupakere, pere toka,
tukutuku manu, ipana, tupe, pinipini ta'ae to name some.
His maternal grandfather was a European island trader,
Captain Thomas Harries, who operated schooners around the
islands working out of Rarotonga and Tahiti, from the 1880s
until 1918. The business kept the family in fairly good
economic circumstances after his grandfather's death in
Tahiti in 1918.
His maternal grandmother was from the Anautoa tribe in
Ruatonga and Sir Tom wrote that in his early childhood he
grew up very closely with his mother's family in Ruatonga
and his stepfather's family in Tupapa. His close ties with
Ruatonga village and its people was evident when this tapere
was the first stop for his coffin on Thursday.
In his autobiography he wrote highly of his stepfather and
referred to him as his 'Papa'. Papa Raitia raised young Tom
in a typical Polynesian household and his first language was
Rarotonga Maori. These early days instilled in Sir Tom an
interest for Polynesian history because he was fascinated by
the stories of his stepfather who was steeped in Polynesian
folklore and traditional legends.
His older sister Mary was definitely Papa's pet, according
to Sir Tom's autobiography.
Tepaeru or Paeru for short "was a real tomboy" when she was
little and was often his companion in things they could do
together. She married Jack Whitta and now lives in Rarotonga.
His older sister Mary married Ian Harvey while his baby
sister Reureu died in her 20s.
Sir Tom wrote that the special position his mother held in
society at that time exposed him to all the facets of
community life, both Maori and European, "and I seemed to
live fully in both worlds and in many smaller worlds of the
various clans and cliques, religious denominations and
occupations that confined many others to restricted
experiences".
At 12 years of age (1929) he was shipped off to King's
College in Auckland and did not return home until January
1933 with his sister Mary who had just completed her
schooling at St Cuthbert's.
"Our reception at the dock was a royal one. The elderly
ladies as was custom went down on their knees wailing real
tears on to our feet and wiping them off with their long
gray hair," he wrote.
"For me it was an unnerving and a humbling experience. The
month was filled with activity every day with feasts,
picnics, swimming in the lagoon and in the freshwater pools
of Papua."
During this visit his mum did not miss the opportunity to
spend a period of time with him to take him through his
paces and what was expected of a son of her family. "Our
respective families considered that a high school education
was all that was needed to meet their expectations of us. I
could at that time count a number of those who had gone on
before me and had come back to turn into wrecks for
seemingly no other reason that too much was expected of them
with too little grounding to achieve," Sir Tom wrote
"Our colonial masters were not much help... they did not
want educated Pacific islanders in positions of
responsibility in their own home islands."
The relatively affluent life that Sir Tom his siblings and
parents had before 1930 came to an end in the economic slump
of 1929.
Things were harder than Sir Tom realised, especially when it
was time for his sisters Reureu and Paeru to have their turn
at boarding school.
During his days at King's College, the place that became a
home away from home for him was on Mercury Island in the
Hauraki Gulf in Auckland. It also housed his wife Lydia and
son John in later years while he did his medical internship.
"Through Pat Mizen, his family became as much a family to me
as it was for Pat and his two sisters Joan and Anne. On
Mercury Island I learnt a great deal about sheep and cattle
farming, enough to appreciate it as a way for somebody else
to make a living."
His dream to become doctor was made possible with a £50 loan
from Pat's father.
Sir Tom met his first wife Lydia at medical school and they
married in 1940. They had three children - John who was born
in 1942, Tim in 1947 and Teremona in 1954.
After 26 years of marriage "and for probably paltry reasons"
they separated and finally divorced in 1972.
In 1951 while working in the Cook Islands as a doctor, he
received an invitation to spend time at Harvard's School of
Public Health . The offer was made at a filariasis
conference in Tahiti and because of his work in public
health, people tended to think that was his field, but his
primary area was surgery.
With his wife and two sons on board the 44-foot ketch
rigged, ocean going yacht named Miru, named after the
mythical mother of the eight lines of the Polynesian race,
Tom set sail for Boston.
While in the US Lydia made it clear that she did not want to
live in the Cook Islands where Sir Tom's own life had always
been tied. They separated in 1967 and Sir Tom lived on his
yacht at this time while he worked at NASA.
"Lydia believed that we, and particularly I, had no future
in the Cook Islands. To me it was not a matter of a future,
it was matter of obligation which if not fulfilled would
become a serious matter of conscience. This I was unable to
convey to her or for that matter to many others."
While in the US he was chief of the department of
environmental medicine, Arctic aero-medical laboratories,
Fairbanks, Alaska (1955-1956); resident physician and
director of the division of environmental medicine, army
medical research laboratory, Fort Knox 1956-1961; director
of research, institute of environmental medicine, Natick
1961-1963; executive of Arthur B Little Inc. 1963-1971; he
was intimately involved in the "biological" aspects of the
Unites States space programme, first for the army, and later
for NASA 1957-1971.
He returned to Rarotonga in November 1971 after being
invited to do so for political reasons.
"Over the years since 1968 I received audio cassettes of the
voices of my relatives and friends back home saying that the
political scene there was not good. Typically there were no
details, only some weeping and please come home and do
something about it. These 'pleases' were becoming more
insistent and were coming from individuals I could not
ignore through both rank and friendship.
"The most important was Makea Nui Teremoana Ariki, my cousin
and paramount chief of Te Au o Tonga. Also important was my
friend and former mentor Vainerere Tangatapoto from the
island of Atiu."
In the lead up to the March 1972 elections, his cousin Emily
and her husband Frank and Emily's sister Nane took care of
him "to the best of their ability and that was the best
anybody could wish for".
His half sister Tepaeru threw her weight into the
secretarial work with help from others. Frank built him an
office and made the furniture from scratch.
"This wish to return to a people who had given me a special
treatment while growing up had worked on me and returned me
amongst them as a doctor of medicine."
Sir Tom remarried in 1979 to Pa Tepaeru Ariki. He wrote that
his marriage to Pa Ariki in 1979 greatly alleviated the
loneliness that went with being at the top.
"Since our marriage, Pa as president of the House of Ariki
had problems of her own in that role as paramount chief of
the district of Takitumu. There were also problems of land
tenure, investitures of titles, settling of clan and
inter-clan problems and advice in numerous matters which
might include naming of children and where the dead should
be buried. However, she handled these roles and her role as
first lady with seeming ease and aplomb."
He was leader of the opposition for six years and prime
minister for nine years after replacing Albert Henry.
In January 1987 a coalition government fell apart and a
motion of no-confidence was moved against him when his MPs
told him he was too authoritorian.
Pupuke Robati became prime minister but in the general
elections in 1989 the Cook Islands Party ramped and Sir Tom
lost his seat.
In 1992 the Cook Islands hosted the South PAcific Arts
Festival and the defining feature of that event was a
celebration of Pacific seafarers and vakas.
Sir Tom, at the age of 73, designed and built a 60ft replica
of the famous Takitumu canoe in which our ancestors first
came to Rarotonga.
"For nine years, while I was prime minister, the free market
system took the Cook Islands out of the third world status.
Then, it lapsed back to copying economic systems that depend
on natural resources that most small island states do not
possess. Our Pacific islands people have left their homes
because of it."
Pa Tepaeru Ariki died in 1995 and Sir Tom later married
Carla Cassata.
In 1999 he was made Professor of Polynesian Migration and
Culture by Te Wananga o Aotearoa in New Zealand. He was
awarded Sportsman Achiever of the Year in Yachting (1998)
and in 1999, recognised by the New Zealand Achievers
Magazine as Pacific Islander of the Century.
Also in 1999 Time Magazine named him the Pacific Person of
the Century.
In 2004 the Pacifika Medical Association (PMA) called him
the Pacific leader of the millennium.
He was prime minister between 1978 and 1987 and in 1981 he
was knighted by the Queen. He
served as high commissioner to New Zealand in 2005. Sir Tom
received an honorary doctorate in law from the university of
Otago the same year.
TOP
Sir Tom belonged
to the world says his son
28 July: "The thing I would
like people to remember is his love of mankind - the human
spirit. What kept coming to me over these last few days are
St Paul's words 'not by word or deed, but by faith alone'.
His faith in God and the human spirit is what he was really
all about."
Papa Tom's middle son Timothy Ito Davis says this as he
looks back on his father's life.
"People remember him for all his achievements. He never
really went for all this - it just happened. He kind of fell
into everything. The space programme - no one else would do
it because it was so risky professionally - but he took it
on," says Tim.
His last living son had just flown in from Michigan City,
Indiana, three hours earlier, when he agreed to share some
of his thoughts on his father's passing.
At Papa Tom's house the family gathered round his open
casket yesterday and supported each other in their grief.
Tim's late brothers John and Teremoana are represented by
their children - Jennifer Davis (John's daughter) from New
York and Moana-Nui-A-Kiva Davis and Tamara Schuster from
Australia (Teremoana's son and daugther). Tim's own daughter
Tiare and two grandchildren Norah and Eli are back in
America. Sir Tom's youngest and only remaining sibling
Tepaeru Whitta has been by her late brother's side this
week. Tepaeru has four children, three of whom - John,
Stephen and Maryanne - have been part of the family
gathering.
Sir Tom has four grandchildren, and several great
grandchildren.
The grandchildren of Papa Tom sat beside his casket as
guests came to pay their respects.
Tim says of the three boys, he was the only one born in the
Cooks. The family left Rarotonga when he was five.
Sailing on the yacht Miru from New Zealand across the
Pacific from west to east, Tim says they ran into three
hurricanes at sea.
"He told me the 1998 Sydney to Hobart race was the second
worst weather he sailed in."
He says once the family got to Boston where Papa Tom would
be studying at Harvard for the next 18 months, they were
instant celebrities.
Tim says his father was a man of many firsts and it was his
ambition to be the first man to sail around the world 'the
wrong way'.
He says when the yacht was lost in a hurricane in 1953, the
family was 'shipwrecked' in America.
Tim remembers when Papa Tom returned to the Cook Islands in
1974 to take up politics.
"The Cook Islands was always on his mind. With his sailing -
it was all about the islands."
Tim says Papa Tom's love of sailing never really rubbed off
on him.
"Teremoana was known as the skilled seaman. When Sir Tom
started racing sports cars, John was the pit crew."
In the book Doctor to the Islands, Tim is described as the
family philosopher.
"Sir Thomas belonged to the world. I saw the enormity of his
life."
Tim says he and his father had not seen each other in a
while but they were very close in his final days.
"We had been closer these past ten months since he's been
back in the Cook Islands. The last time I spoke to him was
when I had finally tracked him down to wish him happy
birthday. I finally got him on the 16th (July), and we just
talked about stuff," says Tim with tears brimming.
Tim says his father was always busy doing something and at
the age of 90 he had to be that way. He says his father's
love of life is a quality he has taken on because that was
his legacy to him. -Helen Greig
TOP
The Pacific's
greatest hero
28 July: A little girl, old
friends and international leaders are among the many people
who have this week paid tribute to the late Sir Tom Davis.
His death has prompted untold eulogies and messages. Below
is a random, edited selection of thoughts and opinions from
a wide cross-section of people showing, as one said, that
"all of us will have our own special memories of this
amazing man, who achieved the equivalent of at least ten men
in his lifetime."
Peter and Jolene Heays
Several weeks ago we were at one of Johnny Frisbie's
farewell functions and Papa Tom, surrounded by an adoring
and adorning array of women, sang a selection of popular
songs from the 50s-60s. It was a wonderful evening and you
could tell he was enjoying himself as were his audience.
Go in peace, Papa Tom, secure in the knowledge that you
surely did make a difference to so many during your
lifetime.
Helen Henry
He certainly lived life to the fullest and achieved his
highest dreams. We will all miss the presence of this
wonderful Cook Islands icon.
Neil & Diane McKegg
When it comes to celebrating his life, there will be an
unending fund of stories to be told and retold, and I hope
someone keeps a record of them because they will cover
almost a century of life in the Cook Islands and will
involve so many aspects of events in many of which he was a
major player.
Gerald & Trish Wilson
(Former Air NZ manager, Cook Islands)
One of the highlights of our stay in Rarotonga was the
privilege of meeting and spending time with Papa Tom. He had
an aura about him but he was also a very humble man. I will
always recall sitting with him in the auditorium and
commenting about the lovely Cook Islands National Anthem. I
asked the question, "Who composed the music?" He just smiled
and said nothing. And I said, "Not you?" A very talented and
clever man. He will be sadly missed. We are so pleased that
we were able to spend a small amount of time with this very
special man.
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Donald McKegg
He was indeed a magnificent man, one of his accomplishments
being he was my godfather! He will be missed dreadfully.
Ray & Rose Percy
It's always an amazing feeling and a rare occurrence to meet
someone that holds such mana as Papa Tom. He had that
wonderful unassuming warm and interested nature that drew
you towards him.
Our hearts go out to the people of Rarotonga for their sad
loss... but we must feel happy and remember that we were all
lucky to have been able to share him for all these wonderful
90 years. RIP Sir Thomas Davis. And yes, you DID make a
difference.
Jim and Paula Stephen
What a charismatic, wonderful man - and a real gentleman.
Peter and Jude Gould
He was a hero and you are right to acknowledge this.
Dave and Val Moore
I still have an old yachting rule book in which he wrote,
"Dave, this would appear to be a fairly reasonable
translation of the early Tumutevarovaro rules of fair
sailing." And in my copy of his book "Vaka" he wrote, "Dave,
with best wishes to another sailor and member of the
Polynesian clans. Tom." They will remain proud possessions
of mine.
Vaine Nicholls
Papa Tom will be sorely missed by us here in Auckland. In
fact, he was one of the international keynote speakers
invited to speak at the Pacific Health Research Forum on 1-2
August - next week. I was so looking forward to meeting him
then, but not to be.
I with the rest of the Cook Islands people have always been
proud to hear his name being mentioned on TV, his views on
certain subjects very dear to his heart.
I remember the time we went on the biggest of all trips,
tracing the footsteps of our ancestors through many byways
of the ocean and eventually reaching Hawaii, the pinnacle of
the Pacific islands triangle. He was magnificent, and he
really showed his skill as a master boat builder but also
his knowledge of the ocean, stars and wind movement.
Aere e Papa Tom, aere ki tou akangaroianga roa. Nate Atua
koe e tiaki e nana e arataki I toou takaianga vaevae.
TOP
Paul Brown
But what a magnificent life the man had, and ripe old age.
God rest his soul for sure.
Bernice Lidgard
I remember Jim meeting him and saying what a lovely man he
was, what a wonderful life he had and a great age.
My darling papa...
My darling papa, lifelong friend, father and my guiding
light.
What a great void for me to fill now you have left.
My memories of our discussions will always remain as one of
my most treasured memories.
You were chosen to be a titled nobleman and what a great
choice it was for a most distinguished gentleman, who
belonged to the ages, to science, to history. You were not
only loved and admired by me but by all your own people.
These few words by me only express a small portion of the
love and feelings I have for you.
Rest in peace, my darling Papa Tom.
Penny (black pearl) Maich
"Te Marama O Te Are Mango"
Memories from Norway
I first met Sir Tom Davis in 1980 on my first visit to the
Cook Islands, and I am happy to say we remained friends
thereafter. On my many visits I have had to Rarotonga since
then, I will remember the many drinks and good conversations
we have had together, and I specially will remember my last
meeting with him two years ago in Rarotonga when we both
were there to celebrate the country's 40th year of
independence.
In my memory will also be his short visit to Norway years
ago while he was prime minister of the Cook Islands, and we
both after a busy day visiting various offices and a dinner
at my house in the evening, sat down - he on the piano and I
on my electric organ - and we both played and sang all night
until he and his then wife had to rush to the airport to
take the plane back to Rarotonga.
Good memories of a great man who predicted to all of us that
the sky is no limit - and in the future he will surely have
a distinguished place in the history of the Cook Islands.
Hallbjorn Hareide
Cook Islands Honorary Consul in Norway
TOP
Chamber of Commerce
Sir Thomas Davis was a great inspiration to the business
sector of the Cook Islands.
Members of the chamber can recall many lively discussions
with him during the 1980s when he was prime minister,
wherein he promoted his ideas and we either agreed or
parried.
Papa Tom introduced turnover tax to the Cook Islands in
1981, which was the forerunner of our current successful
value added tax (VAT).
We will always admire him for his tenacity in insisting that
the private sector would always be the key to a prosperous
economy, and whenever he could Papa Tom always encouraged
people to engage in business and the economy.
He was highly respected by all the community, and we pay
tribute to a great Cook Islander.
On behalf of all the members we extend our sympathies to the
family, and to Sir Tom "peace and fair sailing".
Cook Islands Chamber of Commerce
French Polynesia's president
French Polynesia's president Gaston Tong Sang said he had
heard with "great sadness" about the passing of Sir Thomas
Davis - "an eminent physician who has devoted his whole
career to the good of the Cook Islands".
"During his whole life, Sir Thomas has served his people and
his country with competence and devotion.
"He will be remembered as a remarkable figure within the
greater Polynesian family and also a faithful friend of
French Polynesia."
TOP
Dr Joe Williams, former prime
minister
The passing of Papa Tom marks the closing of an era in Cook
Island and Pacific leadership.
He lead a full life packed with productivity, creativity,
innovations and high quality leadership, probably unmatched
by any other Pacific personality.
Sir Thomas was a great leader and a close professional
colleague of mine. He has served his country and people
well.
RAMSI offers condolences
RAMSI special coordinator Tim George has offered his
condolences to the people and government of Cook Islands at
the death of Sir Thomas Davis.
"On behalf of all the members of the regional assistance
mission, I would like to extend our condolences to the
people and government of Cook Islands at the sad passing
away of Sir Thomas Davis," George said.
"The late Sir Thomas contributed much to Cook Islands in his
time, as a politician and diplomat, but was most
instrumental in improving health standards in Cook Islands
on his return from New Zealand as Cook Island's first
qualified doctor."
George said the contribution of Cook Islands was greatly
valued by all members of the Regional Assistance Mission.
"We greatly appreciate the Cook Islands government's strong
commitment to RAMSI which it has demonstrated since RAMSI's
deployment in 2003," George said
"At this time of national mourning, we would like to extend
our condolences to our fellow mission members from Cook
Islands as they mourn the passing of their country's first
prime minister while they are far from home."
Cook Islands was among one of the first Pacific countries to
contribute police officers to the mission in July 2003.
"The participation of personnel from Pacific countries like
Cook Islands are essential to the mission's success," George
said. -RAMSI
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Author says Sir Tom was a 'true
polymath'
Graeme Lay, the celebrated Kiwi author, six of whose books
are set in the Cook Islands, is among the well-wishers who
sent messages on the passing of Sir Tom Davis.
"While reshelving some of my books this weekend," he wrote
to Cook Islands News yesterday, "I came across my 'Sir Tom
Davis section'. Included here was his best book, the
autobiography 'Island Boy' (1992) by Tom Davis - Pa
Tuterangi Ariki.
"Illustrated effectively by Sir Tom himself, it tells the
extraordinary story of the boy from Rarotonga who became the
first Cook Islander to qualify as a physician in New
Zealand, then went on to become a true polymath: medical
researcher, sportsman, navigator, politician and writer.
"It is a unique and captivating story. Sir Tom had inscribed
my Island Boy copy for me, when I bought it. The year was
1996, and I was researching the text for the book The Cook
Islands, which I wrote for publisher-photographer Ewan Smith
of Air Rarotonga."
Sir Tom's inscription in Lay's copy of Island Boy reads:
"To Graeme, with best wishes, and I look forward to your
writings, especially the ones that deal with my country,
which needs all the help at this time."
Lay says this, no doubt, was a veiled reference by Sir Tom
to some political troubles which the Cook Islands was
undergoing at the time. "The precise nature of those
troubles I cannot recall. But the country overcame them,
obviously."
Graeme Lay's books set in the Cook Islands include: The Cook
Islands (with Ewan Smith), Passages - Journeys in Polynesia,
Leaving One Foot Island, Return to One Foot Island, The
Pearl of One Foot Island, The Miss Tutti Frutti Contest -
Travel Tales of the South Pacific. -JW
A great, tenacious leader
Thank you for advising me of the sad news of the death of
Sir Thomas Davis, the distinguished former prime minister.
I send to the family of Sir Thomas my sincere sympathy and
to you and to the people of the Cook Islands my condolences
on the passing of a great Cook Islands leader.
I first came to know Sir Thomas during the famous Cook
Islands fly-in voter case when I served as assistant to the
then Chief Justice Sir Gaven Donne. The tenacious fight by
Sir Thomas for his and his party's political beliefs marked
him as a great defender of the rights of the people.
His vindication by the court and the peaceful transfer of
power to a new government led by him were momentous events
in the history and development of the Cook Islands. In great
contrast to other Pacific territories these events
demonstrated that through committed and responsible leaders
like Sir Thomas, the Cook Islands could uphold the rule of
law and preserve democratic institutions in even the most
difficult and unsettled circumstances.
Sir Thomas' role in those troubled times as well as his many
other splendid contributions to the Cook Islands will not
soon be forgotten.
David Williams
Chief Justice
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NZ Maori Party whanau salute
rangatira
From Dr Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia, co-leaders of the
New Zealand Maori Party:
The Maori Party acknowledges the loss to the people of the
Cook Islands of a great Pacific leader, a great voyager, a
scholar, and a health advocate.
Sir Thomas Davis, Pa Tuterangi Ariki, was a distinguished
statesman who will be greatly mourned by the peoples of
Rarotonga.
We remember him as a committed health practitioner - having
the honour of being the first Cook Islands medical graduate
(from Otago University in 1945). He then went on to complete
a masters degree in public health at Harvard before
achieving significant heights as a research physiologist.
His legacy is demonstrated in the way he influenced the
health system in the Cooks.
His spirit of adventure was evident in his decision to work
with NASA to work on the space programme. And we are
particularly proud that in more recent times he became an
honorary Professor of Polynesian Migration and Culture with
Te Wananga o Aotearoa.
It was at this time that Sir Davis designed and supervised
the construction of a 24 metre voyaging canoe for Te Wananga
o Aotearoa.
It seemed that whatever he turned his mind to, he would
achieve great things. He was awarded Sportsman Achiever of
the Year in Yachting (1998) and in 1999 was recognised by
the New Zealand Achievers Magazine as Pacific Islander of
the Century.
His leadership was in many spheres of influence. After his
time as prime minister, when others would think about
retiring, he became high commissioner of the Cook Islands
and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2005.
And of course the significance of Sir Thomas Davis will be
long remembered in founding the Cook Islands Democratic
Party.
We express our most sincere sympathies to all of his whanau
in Rarotonga and across the world.
E te Rangatira, haere ki to iwi, haere ki o tatou tupuna,
haere ki to whanau. Haere ki te Kainga tuturu mo te tangata.
Aue! Te Pouri! Te Tangi e! Haere, Haere, Haere!
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A shining star gone - South
Aucklanders
Tulou, tulou, tulouna lava.
A shining star has been removed from the Pacific sky.
The Otara communities are deeply saddened by the loss of the
Cook Islands' most famous son, Sir Thomas Davis.
We join with the people of the Cook Islands in mourning a
Pacific leader who achieved significant heights in both his
medical and political career, even becoming space surgeon
for America's NASA programme, and later prime minister of
the Cook Islands from 1978 to 1987 after he had founded the
Cook Islands Democratic Party in 1971.
Sir Thomas Davis' eminent contribution were not confined to
the fields of medicine and politics. He was passionate about
Polynesian voyaging and yachting and was awarded Sportsman
Achiever of the Year in Yachting 1998, and was later
recognized by the NZ Achievers Magazine as Pacific Islander
of the Century in 1999.
His many achievements speak loud to each of us that Pacific
people have so much potential to reach greatness as he did,
through serving people. His life is an example of service
not just to the Cook Islands people but to the world.
We farewell Sir Thomas Davis and thank him for setting such
a strong example for all future Pacific generations to
follow.
We convey our sincerest condolences to the family of Sir
Thomas Davis, and we convey our deepest sorrow to the people
of the 15 main islands of the Cook Islands, and those
throughout the world. We will forever remember him
affectionately as Papa Tom.
We wish Sir Thomas Davis a permanent place in the heavens.
Japan's Pacific Society
Japan's Pacific Society, of which Sir Tom Davis was a
member, relayed this message to his family via Professor Ron
Crocombe, who is also a member of the society.
Hiroshi Nakajima, the senior executive director of the
society, wrote: "With very deep regret we have learned the
passing away of Sir Thomas Davis who was a really great man.
We wish to extend our heartfelt sympathy in your sad
bereavement.
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CIP share ups
and downs
28 July: Cook Islands Party
people paid their last respects to Sir Tom at his home in
Muri, Ngatangiia, yesterday.
Party leaders Tom Marsters and Henry Puna talked about the
CIP's struggles under Sir Tom's political power.
Puna said Sir Tom's life could be viewed as many journeys
made in a lifelong journey.
Atiu MP and former speaker Norman George said he'd had a
long friendship with 'Papa Tom', both in and out of
politics.
George said he had come around with his fellow MP Nandi
Glassie to visit their old friend only weeks ago.
He said at the time Papa Tom was composing a song on his
ukulele.
George said he'd known Papa Tom mostly during his own time
as a Demo Party member. He said he didn't think Papa Tom
ever minded that George had become a member of the CIP.
Their friendship, he said, was much more than politics.
"He was a true taunga and a scientist as well," he said
chuckling.
George said Sir Tom toppled Albert Henry's government, but
had a fondness for Henry.
"He saw Arapati as his equal in politics," said George.
Addressing Sir Tom's family, the CIP members of parliament
shared their memories of a man they describe as 'great'.
In response, Sir Tom's youngest sister Tepaeru Whitta told
them that she was grateful to them for coming and that they
loved hearing about a side of him that they didn't know
well.
Whitta said New Zealand Maori carver and vaka sailor Te
Aturangi Nepia-Clamp was considered a son of Papa Tom and
invited him to speak.
"He was such a rounded man. Papa Tom cared about this
nation. At the end of the day he didn't really care what
party was in politics as long as it was good politics,"
Nepia-Clamp said.
Sir Tom's son Tim said his father's lessons were all about
statistics because throughout his career he had always
weighed things up and tested them.
CIP president Rau Nga closed their visit in prayer before
they personally offered their condolences to the family. -
Helen Greig
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Good old
mates...
28 July: A good old sing-song
around the piano was one of the favourite pastimes of Sir
Tom Davis right up to his dying day.
He liked nothing better than to play his ukulele and to sing
- as this picture of him with his bosom buddy Mike Mitchell
on the piano shows. The photo was taken by writer and mutual
friend Graeme Lay, who has written several books about the
Cook Islands.
On Monday solicitor-general Mike Mitchell penned a potent,
heartfelt tribute to his old friend after sitting with Sir
Tom during the brief illness that led to his death in the
early hours of Monday morning. Unfortunately the last line
of Mitchell's obituary in CINews was omitted because of a
layout mistake.
The ending of Mitchell's eulogy should have read like this:
"It is often said that a person's character can be
determined by the way he or she treats animals. Tom always
had one or more pets - dogs, or cats, and sometimes both -
and his affection for them was evident.
"My own treasured cat died a few years ago, when I was
overseas. On my return I found a touching note of condolence
on my office desk.
"It was from Tom." -JW
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Taeake Tavini
28 July: This verse was
penned by Mrs Niotangi Heather in 1987 after prime minister
Tom Davis was removed from office by a vote of no confidence
in his leadership. It alludes to his prior call to come home
to enter politics, sacrificing his lifestyle abroad, to the
things he achieved, to the scorn he received and to the
people who scorned him.
Taeake Tavini
Kia rokoia koe e te tumatetenga
Kua kapiki tauturu koe
Ki tei noo i te enua mamao
Tei roto matou i te kino maata
Akaruke ei au - i taku au
mekemeka
Taku turanga teitei
Taku puapinga
Taku inangaro
I te ariki i to reo kapiki
Oki mai tauturu ia matou
Kua pou nga mataiti i te
tautaanga
Kua autu
Kua meitaki
Kua mataora
Kua rave i te angaanga
Kia tau no te katoatoa
Kare ia i tau ia kotou e aku
au taeake
Teia mai kotou
Kare teia
Auraka tera
Eiaa koia
Rave koe i ta matou i anoano
I na e aku au taeake e
Kua rave au i ta kotou i inangaro
Teia akaou mai kotou
Kotou tikai e aku au taeake
Eaa oki teia?
Eaa i pera ei?
Eaa a mea i mea ai?
Kare e tika ia matou
Aue teia tu o te taeake e
I teianei kua atea mai kotou
Mei roto i te ngutuare i tavini ei
Teia akaou mai kotou e aku au taeake
Kare o matou irinaki akaou ia koe
E tavini pikikaa
E tavini kino
E tavini noinoi
Aue! Te tangi i te tu o te taeake
Kare i maara i tei arataki mai ia ratou
Mei roto mai i te enua i tavini ei
Tataia e: Niotangi Heather
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Humble Friend
In times of sorrows
You called out for help
To whom lived faraway
That we are in deep trouble
I then left - My comfort
zones
My high status
My business
My love
To hearken to your plea
Come back, help us
Years gone by with striving
Have succeeded
Have excelled
Have been fun
Duties accomplished
For the sake of the people
Not satisfactory to you my
friends
Here you are
Not these
Not those
Not them
Did what we ask for
Therefore my dear friends
Have accomplished what you requested
Here we are
Especially you my dear friends
What's happening?
Why did it happen?
Why did he do it?
We don't agree
Oh the thoughts of the people
Now you have departed
From the house you've served
Here you are again my friends
We have no more faith in you
A dishonest worker
An evil worker
A greedy worker
Oh how sad, my friend
No remembrance of who was in charge
From the land they toiled
Written by: Niotangi Heather
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Aere Ra, Papa
Tom, from your friends, family and countrymen
30 July: The funeral service
for Sir Tom Davis was filled with heartfelt tributes from
his family and friends.
While there weren't many dry eyes on the sad occasion, there
was a lot of laughter, spontaneous applause and lighter
moments with the relaying of some hilarious memories about
the man.
Former prime minister Dr Joe Williams gave a eulogy after
explaining that he had asked to speak at the service because
it didn't seem right that a member of the medical profession
did not pay tribute to him.
"His career began as a doctor and he died as a practising
doctor."
Papa Tom, he said, set the trend for those Cook Islands
doctors who would follow in his footsteps.
"He set up the first private practice in the Cook Islands at
Ingram House."
Williams said he was the second to graduate from Otago
University after Sir Tom and later took over the clinic.
While they were in politics, they were divided by parties,
said Williams.
"Papa Tom told me I was a great doctor but as a politician I
was a conniving son of a bitch. I told him - likewise."
When his close friend Mike Mitchell gave his eulogy
suggesting the Cooks adopt a new political system in light
of Sir Tom's vision for a more positive and creative
government, there was instant applause.
His step-daughter Pa Marie Ariki gave one of the first
eulogies saying that Sir Tom was ahead of his time.
"There were no boundaries for you on land, sea and sky -
because you set out to conquer them all. You never lost
sight of your culture and your heritage."
She said the last time she had visited him in April, he had
told her about a song he had written called 'Aere Ra'.
Curly George was present to sing Sir Tom's song for him,
fresh from launching her new album which includes the Tom
Davis track.
Sir Tom's youngest surviving sister, Tepaeru Whitta, told
those gathered that they were all his friends.
"Your presence is a comfort to me and my family, thank you.
You have all heard and learnt about Papa Tom's achievements,
but not about his childhood. If I go through his whole
childhood, we would still be here tomorrow."
"Papa Tom was born into two cultures, the Polynesian and the
papa'a. As he grew he never favoured one over the other. He
absorbed more than his three sisters."
Tepaeru said when her brother passed away last Monday, she
sat at his bedside and thought back about where the signs
had been in his life that he would become a great doctor.
"I mean, a boy born here just reached out to the United
States, the most powerful country in the world! The first
sign was his love of guinea pigs - he used to breed them.
When he left to go to school in New Zealand, we let them go.
They took to the mountains and never came back."
She went on to describe the second sign - his rocking horse.
"He had a lovely rocking horse. He was about six or seven
years old. He got out a pocket knife and operated on the
horse. The stuffing came out and that was the end of the
horse."
She said another time had been when he wanted to go outside
the reef.
"He got four dried coconuts, tied them together in pairs,
and then put a pair under each arm and away he went."
Tepaeru said after being rescued by a canoe he realised
there was a better way.
"Another time he pinched a canoe."
What had the guests at the service in fits of laughter was
her recollection of one of her relatives, a small girl, who
had written an essay about the monkey sent into space. She
said the girl had described Sir Tom as 'the nasty man who
sent the poor monkey out to space'.
Sir Tom's grandson Moana-Nui-A-Kiva Davis read a passage
from Sir Tom's autobiography where he wrote about his
mother's funeral.
Granddaughter Jennifer Davis talked about the far flung
Davis family. She said she recently read from Sir Tom's book
Doctor to the Island where her grandmother wrote, 'Tom knew
where he was going.'
"He really was a renaissance man," Jennifer said, echoing
the description by Professor Ron Crocombe.
Jennifer said she had no childhood memories of her
grandfather as theirs was a family separated by great
distances and strong willed personalities.
"The best memories I have were at home, being a family.
Another was how he looked on the vaka at sea, how it
transformed him. We will each carry on various parts of his
legacy."
"We ask each of you to keep his memory alive by how you live
your life. Use his achievements as your inspiration," she
said.
Jennifer said Papa Tom had told her the best part of his
90th birthday earlier this month was that everyone had said
they were glad he came back to the Cooks. - Helen Greig
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Tom tells how
to make a dream come true
30 July: Mike Mitchell,
solicitor-general and close friend of Sir Tom Davis, says
that despite his many achievements, he suspects that Sir Tom
will be best remembered for his building of and voyaging in
traditional canoes.
In his oral eulogy at Saturday's state funeral, Mitchell
said:
I recall on one voyage, to Hawaii, after several days, a
young crew member on seeing a large number of sea birds said
to Tom, "We must be near land, Papa Tom."
"Why is that?" said Tom.
"Well, look at all the birds. I read that if you see birds
like that, land cannot be far away."
Tom said, "Well, the problem is the birds don't read the
books."
Although Tom was in government for many years, I never felt
he really had much time for party politics. He was much more
interested in seeing his projects and theories come to life,
and in exploring his economic theses.
The rough and tumble of parliament, and party politicking, I
know, he saw as non-productive, negative and divisive.
We are a nation of less than 20,000 people. We all come
together as one on occasions like this. Is it too much to
suggest we could effectively honour Tom's memory by doing
away with the costly and divisive political system that we
have, and adopting a mechanism of government that is forward
looking, positive rather than negative, and creative rather
than divisive? And which - Tom would have approved - brings
out the best in individuals?
I leave Sir Tom with the last word.
A few years a go, a group of people interested in sailing
got together with the scheme of entering a yacht in the
Volvo around the world race. It would have cost some
millions of dollars. Tom was enthusiastic. A meeting was
held at Trader Jack's to launch the project. I was
sceptical.
"You're dreaming, Tom," I said. "Too expensive."
In a line I had not heard before, Tom rejoined, "Listen,
fella. If you don't have a dream, how can you make a dream
come true." - JW
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