Queen Makea of the Cook Islands (left) listens as New Zealand Governor Lord Ranfurly reads the annexation proclamation on 7 October 1900. In the background are British military personnel. Women were among the most powerful of the Cook Islands' ariki (chiefs). Their public role did not fit New Zealand administrators' view of appropriate behaviour, and whenever possible their authority was ignored or limited.
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Alexander Turnbull Library
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PAColl-4235
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
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