The Mangaian book Vaka E Te Poti Tari Kako that recalls the lost era of surf boat lighterage on Mangaia, bringing it to life through the memories of one of the boatmen and visually through 150 historic photos, was launched in Mangaia yesterday morning.

Metua Vaiimene, who attended the launch, said: “Mangaia has a rich history both documented and undocumented, and as a newer member of the Mangaia Historical and Cultural Society, I look forward to being able to contribute to more resources like this, that can be used by future generations of Mangaians to rediscover this history and document our culture.”

The book is written in a dual language text in Cook Islands Maori and English, written by the late Charlie Rani Senior, who as a young man worked on his father’s flat bottomed lighter, and translated by his son Ngateina Rani.

It has an introduction and additional chapters on canoe companies, canoe-men’s unions, reef passages and accounts of “shooting the reef” by Rod Dixon.

Until the opening of its airport in 1977, the only way in or out of Mangaia – it’s lifeline to the world – was across an extremely treacherous reef. 

This new book records that lost era, bringing it to life in Rani’s memories, augmented by the recollections of surviving boatmen and visually with 150 historic photos covering the years 1890 to the late 1970s, Dixon had noted.

The Mangaia Historical and Cultural Society published the book and a limited number of copies are available from the Cook Islands Library and Museum Society, Takamoa.