History of the Cook Islands

The Cook Islands are made up of 15 islands and atolls, with a surprisingly small land area of only 240 square km. What they lack in size, however, they more than make up for geographical location over the Pacific Ocean, taking up more than1.83 million square km. Considering it's 1,433 km from Penrhyn to Mangaia, for example, it’s no surprise!

Geologically, the Cook Islands are a scientist’s dream, with every different type of oceanic island being found there. Rarotonga is the only high volcanic island of the Tahiti type. Aitutaki, like Bora Bora, is made up of a middle-aged volcanic island surrounded by a barrier reef.  It is actually quite similar to an atoll with many tiny islets defining its lagoon.

Atiu, Mangaia, Mauke, and Mitiaro are raised atolls with a high cave-studded outer coral ring (makatea) enclosing volcanic soil at the centre. There are low rolling hills in the interiors of both Atiu and Mangaia, while Mauke and Mitiaro are flat. The rich, fertile southern islands account for 89% of the Cooks' land area and population. Manihiki, Manuae, Palmerston, Penrhyn, Pukapuka, Rakahanga, and Suwarrow are typical lagoon atolls, while tiny Takutea and Nassau are sand cays without lagoons.
All of the northern atolls are so low that waves roll right across them during the rare hurricanes that hit them. These colonisers were believed to have been the last wave of the Polynesian Migration from Asia that began in 1500BC. Pukapuka in the north was the first island discovered by Europeans, sighted by the Spaniard Captain Alvaro de Mendana on August 20, 1595.

Another Spaniard, Captain Pedro Fernandez de Quiros on March 2, 1606, stopped for provisions at Rakahanga. There was no further European contact for over 150 years until the voyages of English explorer and Naval Captain James Cook, after whom the island group takes its name. While he only ever landed at Palmerston island, in 1824 Russian cartographer Von Krusentstern changed the existing name of Hervey's Islands to honour Cook, who had been killed in Hawaii in 1779. Reverend John Williams of the London Missionary Society arrived in Aitutaki in 1821 and in Rarotonga in 1823 and set about converting the natives to Christianity.

An Imperial Order in Council in the New Zealand Parliament on May 13, 1901, permitted the annexation of the Cook Islands to New Zealand and came into effect on June 11, 1901.

On August 4, 1965, after adoption of a Report by the Cook Islands Legislative Assembly, the Administrator of the Government of New Zealand at the time signed the Proclamation to declare the Cook Islands a Self Governing State.

Today the Cook Islands continues it cultural mindset of friendly inhabitants warmly surrounded by the magnificent beauty of its landscape and its people.