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Story: Cook Islanders

Rarotongans at Tokomaru Bay, 1934

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Rarotongans at Tokomaru Bay, 1934

The Cook Islands are one of the most likely origins of the Māori people. In 1934 the New Zealand government paid £1, 500 for 30 Cook Islanders to attend the opening of the Treaty House at Waitangi. They also visited Tokomaru Bay, giving the Ngāti Porou marae there a second name – Te Hono ki Rarotonga (that which binds us to Rarotonga).

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Cook Islanders – Culture, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/867/rarotongans-at-tokomaru-bay-1934 (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 July 2024.