Local
Luxurious cruise ship calls for Sunday visit
Sunday 22 March 2015 | Published in Local
The Queen Victoria Cruise ship is scheduled to arrive in Cook Island waters tomorrow with up to 600 passengers expected to flood into Rarotonga.
Suwarrow – jewel of the Cook Islands crown
Sunday 22 March 2015 | Published in Local
Cooks Islands journalist and writer Florence-Syme Buchanan, now currently based in New Zealand, writes of a Cook Islands national treasure – the atoll of Suwarrow. The 50th celebration organising committee have launched two campaign encouraging Cook Islanders to submit what they believe to be one of the nation’s 50 treasures and 50 milestones as a build up to main celebrations in July/August. Today we share a feature on Suwarrow by Florence-Syme Buchanan. Suwarrow truly is a National Treasure that all Cook Islanders can lay claim to. Declared a national park, Suwarrow should be named a national treasure to further ensure that the island is kept just the way it is - perfect. A low lying coral atoll that is the most southern of the northern Cook Islands, it is reputed to have had Polynesian settlers in prehistoric times. But when the Russian ship Suvorov – reportedly following clouds of birds – landed in 1814, no-one was there. And so the ship – named after General Alexander Suvorov, (who appears as “Suwarrow” in Lord Byron’s epic Don Juan) bequeathed the island its name. With one of the best harbours in the Pacific, the reef encloses a large landlocked lagoon and the pristine islets that form the island are scattered around the rim. At about one and a half times the size of Rarotonga, this is one of the most perfect islands in the Cooks but again inaccessibility makes it a haven to only the most intrepid along with its susceptibility to cyclones which often create waves that sweep right over the atoll. Today only two caretakers live there, and then only intermittently. But in between its discovery and now, the island has been made famous by many a romantic tale. One was how it came to be Treasure Island. During the mid-19th century, a ship from Tahiti salvaging the depths of the reef, unearthed an old iron chest near the shores of Anchorage Island (one of the better known on Suwarrow) with some $22,000 (now US$5million) in coins. In 1876 New Zealander Henry Mair found pieces of eight and jewellery in a turtle nest. Unfortunately he was unable to carry it, so buried it with the intent of returning; but years later he was set upon and clubbed to death by natives in the New Hebrides. The coins, which were never found, were from 100 years prior when British and Spanish ships regularly navigated the seas. In fact for 250 years Spanish galleons crossed the Pacific from the American west coast and Mexico to the Philippines and it is believed that some may have lost their way and become shipwrecked through the violent storms and cyclones, so prevalent in the Cook Islands. Proof lies in the discovery of stone walls and platforms, lime kilns, a flintlock, a musket and a skeleton during the 1870s when the tall forest and banyan trees on Anchorage Island were being cleared. However Suwarrow’s greatest fame comes through the late Kiwi recluse Tom Neale who lived on Suwarrow for a total of 15 years between 1952 and 1977 tending his garden and chickens, catching fish and coconut crabs. A New Zealand sailor who dreamed of living alone on a tropic isle, he read about Suwarrow and fell in love with it when his ship stopped there in 1945. This “hermit of Suwarrow” stayed on his dream island until he was forced through ill health, to return to Rarotonga where he died at the age of 75. His tale - An Island to Oneself - about his experience of living on this remote atoll turned the secluded haven into one of the most renowned of the Cook Islands. Fascinating and moving, no doubt fellow yachties around the world were charmed by his reasons for living this lonely life. “I chose to live in the Pacific islands because life there moves at the sort of pace which you feel God must have had in mind originally when He made the sun to keep us warm and provided the fruits of the earth for the taking". There is probably no further spur needed to be encouraged to discover Suwarrow for yourself. The great travel writer Robert John Frisbie (known in the islands as Roparti), with his children, spent almost a year living in Suwarrow. His story of their survival in one of the worst hurricanes on the tiny motu became his celebrated book ‘The Island of Desire’. Tom Neale’s publication is due to his friendship with Roparti and he credits him with being his inspiration. The treasures of Suwarrow lie not only in the land. Herbs and shrubs and beach heliotrope grow in abundance with the larger islands covered in dense tou – hence the name Motu Tou which is one of the westernmost islands of this atoll. Suwarrow is also one of the most important breeding grounds for 10 species of seabirds with thousands of them continuously gliding and swooping in the skies above. About 80,000 sooty terns nest here. But the most amazing is the Masked Booby – one of the biggest in the species. About 3per cent of all Red-Tailed Tropicbirds breed here (about 400) and at least 9 per cent of the global population of the Lesser Frigate bird (about 8500), usually on Gull Islet. For the ornithologist this is a wonderland. As well as a million seabirds, marine life is miraculous. A vital breeding spot for green turtles and coconut crabs - the lagoon is teeming with colour. Batfish, Moorish idols, starfish and grouper are to be found amongst the kaoa, which jut out of the lagoon and provide superb snorkelling sites. In the waters outside the reef are trevally, barracuda, white tip and black tip reef sharks, grey reef sharks and those gentle giants, Manta rays – swimming idly by and even the odd Orca. All this abundance was good reason to make Suwarrow a National Park of the Cooks in 1978. The island and its surrounds is Crown Land under the jurisdiction of the Cook Islands. Although it is only possible to discover these treasures through private yacht or chartering a vessel, and it is essential to let the caretakers know you are coming, venturing to these shores brings a lifetime of memories. Pearly white sand beaches, swimming and diving in crystal clear blue lagoons and sleeping under a starry night. What better treasure than that?
Red Cross radio appeal to help cyclone victims
Friday 20 March 2015 | Published in Local
The Cook Islands Red Cross Society is supporting international efforts to help Pacific countries hit by Cyclone Pam by broadcasting an Appeal on Radio Cook Islands today (March 20) from 12 o’clock till 6pm.
Archbishop presents credentials
Friday 20 March 2015 | Published in Local
On Wednesday this week the Apostolic Nuncio of the Vatican State, His Excellency Archbishop Martin Krebs, presented his credentials to the Queen’s Representative.
Flight delay explained
Thursday 19 March 2015 | Published in Local
An Air New Zealand flight travelling from Auckland to Rarotonga on Tuesday afternoon turned back mid-flight because of a possible ‘engineering issue’.
Papal nuncio finds paradise
Thursday 19 March 2015 | Published in Local
The Pope’s representative to the Pacific says he has discovered paradise on earth this week while on an official visit to the Cook Islands.
Chance to recognise national 'treasures'
Thursday 19 March 2015 | Published in Local
Don’t let a momentous moment in the history of the nation or a standout citizen worthy of the status of ‘treasure’ of the nation go unrecognised.
Public push to halt purse seine fishing
Wednesday 18 March 2015 | Published in Local
The public has come out swinging against plans to allocate more fishing days to international purse seine vessels in Cook Islands, calling for negotiations to halt until their concerns have been addressed.
MMR plans to use fishing feedback
Wednesday 18 March 2015 | Published in Local
Ministry of Marine Resources secretary Ben Ponia says feedback from a public meeting held at the New Hope conference centre on Monday night will help the Ministry to keep the public well informed about the purse seine fishery and guide its future development.
About purse seining
Wednesday 18 March 2015 | Published in Local
Purse seining involves a massive net set vertically in the water.
Bank to sponsor tourism exchange
Wednesday 18 March 2015 | Published in Local
ANZ has partnered with the South Pacific Tourism Exchange (SPTE) as the major sponsor for the regional event to be held in Melbourne, Australia in June.
Twenty years of inspiring vaka voyaging
Tuesday 17 March 2015 | Published in Local
Twenty years ago today, double-hulled voyaging vaka Te Au O Tonga set off on her maiden voyage.
Call for increased fish conservation
Tuesday 17 March 2015 | Published in Local
THE Ministry of Marine Resources’ push to allocate more fishing days to purse seine operations must be offset by conservation efforts.
Harbour shelter plan welcomed
Tuesday 17 March 2015 | Published in Local
Companies involved in the cruise ship industry on Rarotonga have welcomed plans to build an Are Tapaeanga or shelter at Avatiu harbour.
Week of heavy rain keeps road crews busy
Monday 16 March 2015 | Published in Local
The heavy rain which hit Rarotonga last week has kept Infrastructure Cook Islands’ road maintenance crews busy.
Top online stories - By-election candidate's story tops list
Monday 16 March 2015 | Published in Local
With stories uploaded to the Cook Islands News website daily, our online readers around the world can stay current with what’s happening back home.
Machinery users rewarded for hard work at workshop
Monday 16 March 2015 | Published in Local
Hard work on the part of government workers from around the Cook Islands has paid off, with heavy machinery operators wrapping up a two week training workshop with a special ceremony.
Blarneys St Patricks Day hash
Monday 16 March 2015 | Published in Local
Hash House Harriers celebrate St Patricks Day on their run this evening.
Special visitor makes big news on Niue
Monday 16 March 2015 | Published in Local
After making a return visit to Rarotonga recently, former CINews reporter Jonathon Harwood travelled to Niue for a week. His stay on the island coincided with the arrival of a special visitor – one who was earlier turned away from the Cook Islands. This is his account of the arrival of an animal never seen on Niue before – an elephant.
Tribe links Taiwan with Polynesia
Monday 16 March 2015 | Published in Local
Te Matatini, the world’s largest kapa haka festival was held in Christchurch recently, providing an opportunity for thousands of New Zealand Maori to reconnect and reaffirm their ‘Maoriness.’ At the same time, writer Derek Fox was thousands of kilometres away at another reaffirmation, at the home base of the Tsou people in the central mountains of Taiwan. He says these intriguing people in fact have many similarities not just with New Zealand Maori, but with all Polynesian people, including Cook Islanders.
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