Weekend
Paying close attention to the warning signs
Saturday 7 January 2023 | Written by Matthew Littlewood | Published in Features, Go Local, Weekend
Brent Fisher has been at the forefront of water safety in the Cook Islands for nearly a decade.
‘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.
Making her voice heard
Saturday 26 November 2022 | Written by Matthew Littlewood | Published in Features, Weekend
Teherenui Koteka wants Cook Islands and Pasifika people to survive and thrive in the topsy-turvy world of creative arts both here and abroad. The playwright talks to senior journalist Matthew Littlewood about her latest work and her aspirations for the future.
A life on the water: Setting sail on Serenity
Saturday 22 October 2022 | Written by Al Williams | Published in Features, Weekend
Kiwi skipper Scott Farrand has lost count of the countries he’s visited, although it’s his first time in the Cook Islands. He is aboard one of several leisure yachts docked at the port in Avarua.
‘Scurrilous rags’ and ‘brimstone belchers’ – Cook Islands’ early newspapers
Saturday 8 October 2022 | Written by Rod Dixon | Published in Features, Weekend
An ‘insatiable lust’ for reading matter among Cook Islanders led to the appearance of Rarotonga’s first newspaper Te Punavai in 1843, printed with the help of the Sydney Morning Herald. Later in the century came Te Manu Rere, Te Torea and Ioi Karanga, all generating controversy and landing one local editor in prison – the first inmate of Rarotonga’s newest jail. By Rod Dixon.
Connecting people, places and possibilities
Saturday 20 August 2022 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Features, Weekend
The resumption of commercial flights between Rarotonga and Tahiti a week ago has opened doors to opportunities other than tourism as Cook Islands looks for closer ties with traditional allies French Polynesia.
Humpbacks return to Cook Islands for a whale of a time
Saturday 20 August 2022 | Written by Sian Solomon | Published in Features, Weekend
Whales in the Southern Ocean have been spotted returning to the Cook Islands, with a number giving birth as early as a couple of months ago, and using the country as a passage to migrate to their traditional breeding ground in Tonga.
Dream come true
Saturday 13 August 2022 | Written by Supplied | Published in Features, Weekend
Cook Islander Angelina Thomson’s dream of starring in the Australian television soap opera Home And Away has finally come true after she made her Summer Bay debut as Kirby, one of four newcomers who make up the band Lyrik.
Young doctors return home to serve
Saturday 13 August 2022 | Written by Sian Solomon | Published in Features, Weekend
Doctor Hannah Cummings always knew she wanted to work in medicine, but she never thought she would return home to the Cook Islands so soon.
Te Leo Wale - One of the most unusual languages in the world
Saturday 6 August 2022 | Written by Sian Solomon | Published in Features, Weekend
The dialect of Pukapuka, which is one of the world’s most unusual languages, is spoken by around only 200 people in Rarotonga.
Blue lagoons for the Middle East
Saturday 6 August 2022 | Written by Caleb Fotheringham | Published in Features, Weekend
Cook Islands’ first Australian High Commissioner is trading blue lagoons and warm weather for the extreme temperatures of the Middle East.
What is our excuse for the loss of our language and cultural values?
Saturday 30 July 2022 | Written by Supplied | Published in Features, Weekend
Curator and manager of the Cook Islands Library and Museum, Jean Tekura Mason recently returned from Tahiti where she attended the country’s 141st Heiva.
Spain and Russia in Cook Islands
Saturday 23 July 2022 | Written by Rod Dixon | Published in Features, Weekend
Four hundred years after it was settled by Polynesians, Rakahanga was visited by a Spanish Expedition searching for Terra Australis, then two centuries later by Russia’s First Antarctic Expedition.
Graduate firefighters show burning passion
Saturday 23 July 2022 | Written by Caleb Fotheringham | Published in Features, Weekend
‘Climb the ladder’ was the message to the graduating Cook Islands Rescue Fire Service firefighters who yesterday received Basic Firefighters and Senior Firefighters certificates.
Politicians are out of touch, say young voters
Saturday 23 July 2022 | Written by Sian Solomon | Published in Features, Weekend
With the General Election just around the corner, young voters say they are ready for some younger blood and new ideas.
‘One of the most devastating weather events to hit Raro’
Saturday 16 July 2022 | Written by Matthew Littlewood | Published in Features, Weekend
The heavy swells which battered the Southern Coast of Rarotonga were one of the most destructive weather events the island has ever seen. Matthew Littlewood talks to the authorities about the response.
‘Art is not just about painting or sculpting, it’s everything we do’
Saturday 16 July 2022 | Written by Supplied | Published in Features, Weekend
Pacific artist of Samoan origin Fatu Feu’u returned to exhibition in the Cook Islands accompanied by contemporaries and fellow Samoans Andy Leleisi’uao and Raymond Sagapolutele with a new series of work including paintings, prints and photography at the Bergman Gallery.
Teaching at the edge of the world
Saturday 9 July 2022 | Written by Matthew Littlewood | Published in Features, Weekend
Sherrin Hibbard will soon say goodbye to Palmerston Island Lucky School and go on another nautical adventure.
A passion for boil-up and barbecue
Saturday 9 July 2022 | Written by Caleb Fotheringham | Published in Features, Weekend
Barbecue social media star Stefan Apiata who’s better known as ‘Stef the Maori’ and Iti Stafford talk to Cook Islands News journalist Caleb Fotheringham about followers, food and a potential new TV series.
Bringing the Cook Islands to the stage
Saturday 9 July 2022 | Written by Supplied | Published in Features, Weekend
Growing up in the Cook Islands, Master of Fine Arts (Creative Practice) (MFA(CP)) in Theatre student Poe Tiare Ruhe-Tararo says she didn’t have much experience with theatre.
