A delegation representing the three pillars of Cook Islands society travelled to Ngaruawahia on Monday, 2 September, to pay their respects following the passing of Te Kiingi Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII. Kiingi Tuheitia passed away in the early hours of Friday, 30 August, aged 69.
The delegation was led by Prime Minister Mark Brown and included the President of the House of Ariki, Tou Ariki, Pa Ariki of Vaka Takitumu, representatives of the Religious Advisory Council, former Prime Minister Henry Puna, and Cook Islands community and business leaders, including Acting Chief Executive of the Cook Islands Development Agency New Zealand, Caren Rangi. The delegation also included Cook Islands community representatives from Auckland, Tokoroa, Hastings, and elsewhere across New Zealand.
Prime Minister Brown was in Vava’u, Tonga, attending the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting when news was received that Kiingi Tuheitia had passed on Friday. Earlier that same morning, the Tongan Prime Minister, Hu’akavameiliku, had taken leaders and their delegations out to the seas of Vava’u, where they were able to view a Oceania humpback whale mother-calf pair swimming. Vava’u is a well-established whale-watching destination – between July and October each year, the waters around the archipelago serve as one of the most important breeding grounds for the Oceania humpback whales.
Coincidentally, Kiingi Tuheitia’s last visit to Rarotonga was in March this year. During this visit, he, along with Tou Ariki and other Pacific indigenous leaders spearheading the Hinemoana Halo Ocean Initiative, endorsed He Whakaputanga Moana (Declaration for the Ocean), which calls for the legal recognition of whales as beings with inherent rights. He Whakaputanga Moana aims to establish marine protected areas and implement dynamic raui (conservation) measures. The declaration weaves together Māori knowledge and science for a holistic approach to whale protection, emphasising the critical role of Polynesian communities and fostering regional collaboration for whale conservation.
Speaking at Turangawaewae on Monday, Prime Minister Brown paid tribute to Kiingi Tuheitia’s leadership in reviving genealogical ties between Māori of Te Kiingitanga and Māori of Te Kuki Airani through the signing of a Kawenata/Koreromotu between Te Kiingitanga and the Cook Islands Government in 2015. The Kawenata has resulted in numerous initiatives, supported by visit exchanges, with Kiingi leading delegation visits to Rarotonga and Aitutaki, and Cook Islands traditional leaders and official delegations visiting Ngaruawahia. These initiatives have included the revival of language, culture, craft, and ocean conservation.
Prime Minister Brown said of Kiingi Tuheitia: “Ko taku ka ma’ara ua rai i Te Kiingi Tuheitia – e tangata vaerua ta’aka’aka, e tangata vaerua maru, tei irinaki pakari e me taokotai tatou iti tangata Māori, iti tangata o Te Moana Nui a Kiva, te tangata whenua o Aotearoa e to te ao katoa, ka rangatira ta tatou tamariki no te au tuatau ki mua. Kua moe Te Kiingi Tuheitia – kia tatou e vai – ka tu, e ara, ka rave!”
Translated: “I remember Te Kiingi as a humble, softly spoken man, whose mana came to the fore in our exchanges and his conviction that if we, Māori of Aotearoa, Te Kuki Airani and Te Moana Nui a Kiva, hold firm to our values and work together in harmony with nature, our children will prosper. That is the challenge for all of us – Te Kiingi is at rest – we must stand, we must toil, we must work together so our people of the Blue Pacific Continent, especially our future generations, prosper.”
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The Koreromotu acknowledges the historical, ancestral, and cultural ties between Cook Islands Māori and Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand. It also recognises the shared cultural customs and values of the Māori people of both countries and confirms a commitment to advancing matters of mutual interest for the benefit of Māori, guided by shared values such as Tū Rangatira, Vaerua Taokotai, Manaakitanga e te Ta’aka’aka.
Earlier today, Tekau-mā-rua me ngā Rangatira o te Motu announced that Rangatira from across the motu have chosen Nga Wai Hono I te Pō as their Queen, successor to Kiingi Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII. The new monarch was raised up in a ceremony known as Te Whakawahinga, in front of thousands of people gathered for the tangihanga of Kiingi Tuheitia. Her designation, affirmed by iwi leaders, makes Nga Wai Hono I te Pō the eighth in an unbroken line of succession, stretching back to Waikato chief Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, who was crowned Ariki in 1858.
The Government of the Cook Islands looks forward to continuing to work closely with Kuini Nga Wai Hono I te Pō and the Te Kiingitanga movement to build on the legacy of the late Kiingi Tuheitia and the joint aspirations of both peoples, as outlined in the 2015 Kawenata/Koreromotu.