Memory Lane
‘Home where the heart is’: Beloved broadcaster laid to rest in Matavera
Monday 8 January 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Features, Local, Memory Lane, National, Weekend
Flamboyant personality, passionate advocate for the Cook Islands language, broadcaster, and producer Bernard (Bernice) Tairea, affectionately known as “Poepoe”, was laid to rest in Matavera on Saturday.
Serving the Ui Ariki - A decade of challenges and triumphs for Rakanui
Saturday 6 January 2024 | Written by Candice Luke | Published in Features, In Depth, Memory Lane, Weekend
Tupuna Rakanui, Te-O-Tari-Kura o te Are Ariki (Clerk of The House of Ariki), has resigned from his tiresome but rewarding role. But he says: ‘I’m not running away’. In an interview with Cook Islands News reporter Candice Luke, Rakanui reflects on his tenure with a mixed bag of emotions – from regret to pride, and sends well wishes to the new candidates. Although his time in the job has come to a welcomed end, his service to Te Are Ariki will continue.
Transformational work in Rarotonga earns New Zealand Navy Commander second honour
Wednesday 3 January 2024 | Written by Supplied | Published in Features, Memory Lane, Weekend
When Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) Lieutenant Commander Makoare (Mark) Kohupara Te Kani posted to the Cook Islands in January 2020 as a Maritime Surveillance Adviser, he expected to travel. Weeks into posting, lockdowns isolated Rarotonga from the world.
2023 year in review
Sunday 31 December 2023 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Features, Memory Lane, Weekend
A look back at the year’s biggest news stories.
200 years strong: Mangaia prepares for Bicentennial
Thursday 28 December 2023 | Written by Supplied | Published in Church Talk, Features, Memory Lane
Preparations are well underway on Mangaia for the celebration of the 200-year anniversary of the arrival of Christian missionaries on the island in 1824. By Pamela Steele.
Karioi – the pleasure months
Saturday 2 December 2023 | Written by Rod Dixon | Published in Features, Memory Lane
There was a time when Cook Islanders lived and worked in closer harmony with the seasons and enjoyed significantly more leisure time. Summer holidays lasted several months during which young people dedicated themselves to pleasure. By Rod Dixon.
Wheel of Fortune?: The‘revolutionary’ invention that was born on Rarotonga
Saturday 9 September 2023 | Written by Rod Dixon | Published in Art, Features, Memory Lane
For two decades Rarotonga was home to the inventor Henri Rey who partnered with local resident William McBirney to form the Rey Wheel Company of Detroit, Michigan. Story by Rod Dixon and Allan Tuara.
Christianity lands on Mangaia
Saturday 5 August 2023 | Written by Supplied | Published in Art, Church Talk, Features, In Depth, Memory Lane, Weekend
Historian and author Howard Henry has been fascinated by the birth of Christianity in the Cook Islands for many years. In a weekly series, Henry chronicles the arrival of Christianity to the Cook Islands and its role in building the nation. In this article, he talks about the arrival of Christianity on Mangaia.
Thomas Wynne: Meitaki ranuinui e kia manuia
Saturday 8 July 2023 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Features, Memory Lane, Weekend
“Just as the sea is an open and ever flowing reality, so should our oceanic identity transcend all forms of insularity, to become one that is openly searching, inventive, and welcoming.”
Rediscovering ancestral roots
Saturday 3 June 2023 | Written by Al Williams | Published in Features, Memory Lane
A Mangaia family has made new connections across thousands of kilometres of ocean through the magic of DNA, oral histories and historical records. On Rarotonga, Geoff Halston shares details of a reunion and emotional ties which now connect them.
Alf – a man who fell in love
Friday 2 June 2023 | Written by Supplied | Published in Features, Memory Lane
When the late Alfred George Manu first came to Rarotonga 22 years ago, he didn’t expect to fall in love. The original plan was to fulfill his rugby league contract as an outstanding premier player, get a few casual jobs and go where the southerly trade winds would take him. But Alf fell in love.
Raro welcomes the troops, 1919
Saturday 6 May 2023 | Written by Rod Dixon | Published in Features, Memory Lane, Weekend
Cook Islanders returned from the first world war as changed men, but they still knew how to party, as these century old photos show, writes Rod Dixon.
Cook Islands pays tribute to fallen soldiers at Anzac Day Dawn Service
Wednesday 26 April 2023 | Written by Losirene Lacanivalu | Published in Features, Local, Memory Lane, National, Weekend
Sixty-nine-year-old Remuera Rangi was among a large number of ex-servicemen who attended the 108th Anzac Day Dawn Service at the Cenotaph at the Ministry of Justice headquarters early yesterday.
Neil Dearlove – ‘A dreamer, a motivator, an adventurer’
Saturday 15 April 2023 | Written by John Woods | Published in Features, Memory Lane
Writing with deep sadness and heartfelt sympathy for the Dearlove family, Cook Islands News journalist and publisher John Woods penned this obituary for his friend and former neighbour Neil Dearlove, the well known café operator and coffee roaster who died this week and was buried at sea on Thursday.
‘Persevere always’: Tribute to Reverend Oirua Rasmussen
Thursday 13 April 2023 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Features, Memory Lane
Reverend Oirua Rasmussen was man of the cloth – a Minister who provided spiritual leadership and enlightenment to members of the Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC) Ekalesia for over 25 years. He passed away last month on March 29, aged 60.
How Mangaians helped rescue Raro’s economy
Saturday 18 February 2023 | Written by Rod Dixon | Published in Features, In Depth, Memory Lane
At the beginning of the twentieth century migrants rescued Rarotonga’s population and economy, then in apparently ‘terminal’ decline. Within a few decades these migrants had become established Rarotongan families, traditional landowners and custodians of the culture. Is a similar process currently underway?
Telling it like it is –Framhein’s 90-year journey
Saturday 11 February 2023 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Features, In Depth, Memory Lane
Sharp, witty, wizened and well groomed, 90-year-old Apai Raropua Mataiapo Tutara Tekeu Emil Framhein still tells it like it is, good naturedly with no filter. Affectionately known as Apai or Papa Keu, Framhein shares some of his life’s journey with Cook Islands News senior journalist Melina Etches.
A leader, mentor and respected man with many talents: leaving a lasting legacy
Saturday 21 January 2023 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Features, Memory Lane
Uirangi Mataiapo Rei Jack Enoka (OBE) was a respectable leader – a traditional leader, a former politician and Leader of the House, and a man with many skills including a grower, a businessman, a Boys Brigade brass band master and a boxing representative.
‘She was the glue that kept our family together’
Thursday 5 January 2023 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Features, Memory Lane, Weekend
E puera tiare kua takupe, Ki te ara tiroa o Takitumu, E tiare Maori kakara.
A year of ‘marked progress’
Saturday 31 December 2022 | Written by Cameron Scott | Published in Features, Memory Lane
A memorandum presented to the Houses of the General Assembly in New Zealand by the Minister for the Cook Islands, Maui Pomare (he had yet to receive his knighthood), gives a fascinating insight into life on Rarotonga back in 1923. A trained doctor, Pomare presented the report following his first visit to the Cook Islands for almost five years, noting the changes that had taken place since his earlier visit.
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