Renowned musician Garth Young is set to become the first non-Cook Islander to be awarded with the Tane Toa Kuki Airani on the 14th edition of the quarterly award.

A special event will be held at The Islander Hotel this evening, starting at 6pm, to honour Young who is fondly known as “Mapu”.

A special tribute written by Helen Henry will be presented tonight before Young is accorded the honour.

“Garth and his beautiful wife, Maurine, left New Zealand for the Cook Islands in 1980. Their children, Leanne, Julian and lovely Kelly, who remains forever in our hearts, accompanied them,” the tribute read.

“Older siblings Peter and Judith visited over the years. Not long after, Garth’s parents, Pop and Nana Young also relocated and lived the remainder of their lives with Garth and Maurine in the village of Arorangi.

“Garth’s long life of over 40 years, in the Cook Islands reflects why he is so deserving of Te Tane Toa award.”

Bishop Tutai Pere, the chairman of the Tane Toa Kuki Airani organisation, recalled his first meeting with Young on the very day he took up his appointment as pastor for the Titikaveka CICC in June 1981.

“On our welcoming church kaikai table was Mr Garth Young who together with the late Sonny Teatuairo were both band buddies at the Rarotongan Hotel. Mr Young since then continued associating with our Titikaveka CICC of which I was then ordained as full time Reverend in the month of August and from thereon until my last year 1988 when he remained a regular piano and organ player in our Titikaveka CICC church choir,” Bishop Pere, who is now the head of the Apostolic Church, said.

“Mr Young’s professional touch on piano, accompanied by two of his Rarotongan band buddies who were deacons in the church as well, Mr Tunuu Hosking and the late deacon Sonny Teatuairo, hugely added taste, flavour, standard and value to our choir performances both at Constitutional Celebration Choir competitions as well as in Gospel Day Biblical pageants throughout those years.

“A living legacy and memory we shall never forget, let alone wherever else he had appeared in national concerts, festive celebrations and entertainments all over Rarotonga. Both his mum and dad and beloved wife Maurine all lived and chose to lay their lives to rest in their new-found-home they loved the most, beautiful Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

“We are honoured and privileged to award you our very first PR (permanent resident) and 14^th ‘Tane Toa Kuki Airani’, with many more to come, deservingly and rightly to be recognised and honoured as having contributed over and beyond to both the state of our national economy as well as the standard and reputation that we the Cook Islands are well known regionally and internationally.”

Young, to some extent, was the soundtrack of New Zealand music in the 1960s and 70s.  A major exhibition about the history of New Zealand music, called “Volume” held at the Auckland Museum had his fingerprints all over it.

As musical director and arranger, Young provided the backing for countless hit singles and best-selling LPs.