Features
Makatea – hard work, harsh conditions, happy times
Saturday 23 October 2021 | Written by Supplied | Published in Features
Hundreds of Cook Islands men flocked to Makatea – an island 220km northeast of Tahiti – during a New Zealand government-initiated labour scheme between 1942 and 1956. Roughly half the size of Mangaia in Cook Islands, Makatea was one of three raised coral atolls in the Pacific which was mined for its phosphate in the 20th century. The island was also known in the past as Mangaia-te-vai-tamāe. A new book entitled ‘Makatea’ attempts to capture a bit of the history around the phosphate industry and the Cook Islanders who worked on Makatea in the last century.
Not all heroes wear capes
Saturday 23 October 2021 | Written by Alana Musselle | Published in Features
Programme manager for Autism Cook Islands Kat Jensen shares her story of how she found herself advocating for autism after moving to Rarotonga three year ago.
Aitutaki’s leap of faith
Saturday 23 October 2021 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Features
This year is a milestone for the Cook Islands Christian Church who are commemorating 200 years of the arrival of the Gospel to the Cook Islands, Christianity first arrived to the island of Aitutaki on October 26, 1821 introduced by the London Missionary Society (LMS).
CHURCHTALK: The blueprint of Christianity
Friday 22 October 2021 | Written by Supplied | Published in Church Talk, Features
We cannot deny nor dispute the fact that our forebears were at one time or another, and so were some us today, by products and fruit of the London Missionary Society, writes Bishop Tutai Pere.
93 years of Girl Guiding
Monday 18 October 2021 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Features
The Girl Guide Cook Islands Association on Friday marked its 93rd anniversary with a celebration at the Sinai hall hosted by the Avarua company. Senior journalist Melina Etches talks to some of the longtime members in a quest to discover its history.
Rod Henderson: ‘I think it’s strange behaviour’
Saturday 16 October 2021 | Written by Al Williams | Published in Features
Former Australian police officer and author Rod Henderson has his sights set on finding justice for Lissette Brito who went missing off the yacht Zangano about 40 nautical miles south-west of Rarotonga five years ago.
Mangaia’s great vaccine experiment of 1866
Saturday 16 October 2021 | Written by Rod Dixon | Published in Features, Memory Lane
The story of how Davida Numangatini’s abduction into slavery in Peru led to Mangaia’s great vaccine experiment of 1866.
CHURCH TALK: A ‘pricked’ conscience
Friday 15 October 2021 | Written by Supplied | Published in Church Talk, Features
In recent weeks in my church, the daily scripture has been concerned with the conversations between Jesus and the Pharisees. This prompted me in my last article to reflect on the accusation that Jesus called the Pharisees “hypocrites”, writes Bishop Paul Donoghue of the Catholic Church.
A truly remarkable coincidence
Saturday 9 October 2021 | Written by Al Williams | Published in Features
Former Australian police officer and author Rod Henderson has his sights set on finding justice for Lissette Brito who went missing off the yacht Zangano about 40 nautical miles south-west of Rarotonga five years ago.
CHURCH TALK: When you are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, hear Him
Friday 8 October 2021 | Written by Supplied | Published in Church Talk, Features
Our Father knows that when we are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, what will help us the most is to hear His Son, writes Russell M. Nelson, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Care for caregivers: Looking after those who look after you
Monday 4 October 2021 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Features
Te Vaerua Community Rehabilitation Services Inc held its first workshop to train people in basic caregiving skills to care for people with long term illnesses and disabilities, earlier this week. A caregiver who attended the course was moved by the stories that were expressed.
The Lissette Brito mystery ‘Australia should have been leading the investigation’
Saturday 2 October 2021 | Written by Al Williams | Published in Features
Former Australian police officer and author Rod Henderson has his sights set on finding justice for Lissette Brito who went missing off the yacht Zangano about 40 nautical miles south-west of Rarotonga five years ago.
Traveling back in time ‘The people there are so laid back’
Saturday 2 October 2021 | Written by Alana Musselle | Published in Features
Rarotonga businesswoman Akisi Mussell shares her experience of how a six-day getaway to Mitiaro taught her about realising important priorities – through the minds and lifestyles of the local people.
Home is a story
Saturday 2 October 2021 | Written by Caleb Fotheringham | Published in Features
Two times Cook Islands News journalist Emmanuel Samoglou has been on the road for close to a decade after he first left Canada. He’s now heading back and shares his views on home.
Cooks leading the way for women in business
Saturday 2 October 2021 | Written by Caleb Fotheringham | Published in Features
Cook Islands’ representation of women in business has grown by leaps and bounds from the time young local women needed a signature of their father or husband in order to take out loans at the banks. According to a new regional report, representation of women in business leadership in the Cook Islands well exceeds global and regional averages.
CHURCH TALK: Living a contagious Christian life
Friday 1 October 2021 | Written by Supplied | Published in Church Talk, Features
It’s interesting when some people smile, they ignite smiles in people around them. They have contagious smiles. If that’s what a contagious smile is, what is a contagious Christian life? Pastor Eric Toleafoa from the Seventh-day Adventist Church explains.
Stitched with love
Saturday 25 September 2021 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Features
The “exceptional” and biggest exhibition of stunning and unique Cook Islands styled tivaivai, drew more visitors through the doors of the Ruatoka Hall yesterday after a grand opening on Thursday.
Fitness ‘can be fun’ but Aitutaki Liftoff is no joke
Saturday 25 September 2021 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Features
Fitness fanatics dressed up in hula skirts and florescent tutus pushed their limits across a variety of challenging trials at the inaugural Aitutaki Liftoff Fitness Festival a fortnight ago.
The Lissette Brito mystery ‘I’m confident about where I stand on it’
Saturday 25 September 2021 | Written by Al Williams | Published in Features
Former Australian police officer and author Rod Henderson has his sights set on finding justice for Lissette Brito who went missing off the yacht Zangano about 40 nautical miles south-west of Rarotonga five years ago.
A balancing act to a healthier life
Saturday 25 September 2021 | Written by Alana Musselle | Published in Features
One of the few teachers of yoga on Rarotonga is emphasising the many hidden benefits of the discipline and how it can help bring balance and longevity to one’s life.
