Memories of Sir Geoff begin to flow

It is with sadness that I learned this morning of the death of Sir Geoffrey Henry. Sir Geoffrey was prime minister when I was appointed financial secretary and he was very supportive and helped me to understand the Cook Islands culture and financial systems. Later I worked with him when he was minister of finance and found him always prepared to listen to my point of view and to discuss issues.

Sir Geoffrey made a significant contribution to the governance of the Cook Islands and will be sadly missed. I offer my condolences and prayers to Lady Henry and to her family.

Sir Geoff epitomises all that is required of a great political leader, who stood tall amongst the best in the Pacific. His eloquence and master oratory, amongst other accomplishments, would be treasured legacies to his name. Inga atu ra e te tumu toa ki te po roroa, ki te po tangotango, ki Avaiki paraurau.

The wellbeing of the Cook Islands and its people was and always was the priority for Sir Geoffrey Henry.

He has only been with us for two and a half years. It wasn’t until he became president of CISNOC that he realised the enormity of sport as a nation building enterprise and he really became passionate about the Olympic movement.

He always strove for excellence and his vision for sport was to form an institute of sport and build an Olympic House – dreams we are still working on making a priority.

As president of CISNOC he dealt with government on all levels.

As a young man he was an outstanding sportsman.

He was a strong rugby player, loved his tennis and golf and was also a top cricketer in his day.

Protocol was import to Sir Geoffrey who in all his dealings was a gentleman.