Cook Islands Government records.
Scope and Contents
The collection comprises 45 reels of microfilm, arranged into five series:
1) The Native Land Court Titles Registers (Reels 1832–1842).
2) The Native Land Court Minute-books (Reels 1844, 1847–1875).
3) Miscellaneous land records (Reels 1843, 1845, 1846).
These reels comprise a Registration book of arikis; a history of Pukapuka; and Registration of divorces in Pukapuka.
4) Genealogies compiled by Jock MacCauley, a former Cook Islands Land Court judge.
5) Cook Islands High Court Records: Births (Reels 1630 and 1631)
Note that the original records consisted of the following:
1) The block files and registers
2) The Native Land Court Minute Books
3) The Native Land Court Title Registers
4) Title files
5) Adoption certificates and register
6) Books of Deeds.
The Block files and registers and the Books of Deeds were not filmed at all, while the Title files and Adoption certificates and register were filmed but never available to the Library.
Dates
- 1888 - 1975
Conditions Governing Access
Not restricted.
Biographical / Historical
In 1971 members of the Anthropology Department at the University of Auckland drew attention to the condition of the government records of the Cook Islands held in Rarotonga. In May 1971 the University Library Committee resolved to support the acquisition of copying equipment to microfilm these records. An agreement was reached with Mr. S. M. Sadaraka, then Secretary of the Premier’s Department, for the University to supply a camera and the Cook Islands Government an operator.
Financing the project proved difficult; approaches to UNESCO and the Department of Maori and Island Affairs were unsuccessful but the camera was eventually purchased in 1972 and despatched to the Cook Islands in September of that year.
From October 1972 to October 1974 several attempts were made to get the project under way and the University received a number of unsatisfactory test films.
In October 1974 the University agreed to a proposal by the Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to supply an operator in exchange for permission to use the University’s camera to film other records. In June 1975 filming was completed and in December the microfilms were received from Salt Lake City.
Extent
1.35 metres (45 microfilm reels)
Language of Materials
English
Existence and Location of Originals
Cook Islands Government Offices, Rarotonga.
Further Reading
General
NRAM A792.
- Title
- Inventory of the Cook Islands government records.
- Author
- Peter Hughes
- Date
- 1976
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Revision Statements
- December 2015.: Revised by Stephen Innes
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections, University of Auckland Repository
5 Alfred Street
Private Bag 92019
Auckland 1142 New Zealand
specialcollections@auckland.ac.nz