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Matthew Patay's
Note of the Month
April 2008
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Map and flag images provided by Graphic Maps
This month's featured note
is from The Cook Islands.
The denomination is 3 Dollars and the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money
(SCWPM) Number is P-7.
The note is not dated but
was issued in (1992).
In June 1995 the Government of the Cook Islands began redeeming all 10, 20 and
50 dollar notes in exchange for New Zealand currency while most coins originally
intended for circulation along with their 3 dollar notes will remain in use.
_f-550.jpg)
(front)
The banknote is lilac and green on multicolored underprint.
Worshippers are exiting a church of the Cook Islands Christian Church at center right.
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The following information
was obtained from:
Wikipedia
the online Encyclopedia
Cook Islands Christian Church
(For the full article, please refer to
the link above.)
The Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC) is the largest religious denomination in the Cook Islands. The CICC is a Christian Congregationalist church and has approximately 18,000 members, including 56% of the residents of the Cook Islands. The church also has congregations in New Zealand and Australia.
History
The CICC has its origins in the work of the London Missionary Society (LMS), which began work in the Cook Islands in 1821. In 1852, the LMS founded the Cook Islands LMS Church. The church became autonomous in 1968 with the passage of the Cook Islands Christian Church Incorporation Act by the Parliament of the Cook Islands. This Act officially changed the church's name to the Cook Islands Christian Church.
Status
In 1978, the CICC established its first congregation in Auckland in order to accommodate church members that had emigrated to New Zealand. Today, there are 19 congregations of the CICC in New Zealand and 11 in Australia. There are 24 congregations in the Cook Islands. The church employs 74 pastors, who are trained at Takamoa Theological College on Rarotonga. The CICC is a member of the World Council of Churches.
With the passage of the Cook Islands Christian Church Amendment Act by the Parliament of the Cook Islands in 2003, the CICC is permitted to alter its constitution without any action from Parliament.
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_b-550.jpg)
(back)
A seashell and map of Aitutaki are at top left. Native drummers and
dancers are at center bottom left. A Blue Lorikeet of Aitutaki and
tropical fish are at top and bottom right.
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The following information
was obtained from:
Cook Islands
Biodiversity Website
Blue
Lorikeet of Aitutaki
(For the full article, please refer to
the link above.)
The last resident landbird of special international interest is the Blue Lorikeet (Kur?mo‘o) on the almost-atoll of Aitutaki. American palaeobiologist David Steadman has fossil evidence from several islands to show that the indigenous lorikeet of the Southern Cooks was the Rimatara Lorikeet (Kura). Unfortunately, this species supplied the red feathers widely used by chiefs and in ceremonial headdresses, and excess harvesting was probably the main factor in its extirpation from the Cook Islands sometime prior to the arrival of European settlers in the 1820s.
The first mention of the Blue Lorikeet on Aitutaki was in 1899 when it was referred to as the pet of the natives. Presumably it arrived as a cage-bird in the early 1800s on one of the many sailing ships from French Polynesia, where the species was still widespread.
The Blue Lorikeet population has been surveyed several times in the last twelve years, although the lack of a standardised methodology has prevented realistic comparison of the results. The estimates of the total population typically ranging from about 750 to 1000 bird. The Natural Heritage Project developed a simplified technique for use by the students of the local high school. In March 1994 the students saw/heard 120 birds the first day, and 123 two days later - and extrapolated to a total population of 1200 birds.
The most interesting question about the Blue Lorikeet on Aitutaki is how does it survive in the presence of Ship Rat, when circumstantial evidence elsewhere indicates that the presence of the Ship Rat leads to a decline of lorikeets. In July 1993 New Zealander Kerry-Jane Wilson undertook a preliminary trapping on Aitutaki, and caught three Pacific Rat and one Housemouse. The Natural Heritage Project developed a standardised methodology and undertook an extensive survey in 1994: trapping 27 Pacific Rats and one mouse, but still no Ship Rats. More recent trappings continue to confirm the absence of Ship Rat. Aitutaki has had a busy port since the 1820s, so why the Ship Rat has not successfully colonised the island is a mystery - but good news for the Blue Lorikeet.
Other than the Ship Rat and habitat destruction, the other serious threat to indigenous landbirds on isolated islands is the introduction of an exotic avian disease for which local birds lack immunity. Fortunately, successive administrations in the Cook Islands have been very conservative on introducing exotic birds. Early this century the Common Myna was introduced to several islands to control the plague-prone Coconut Stick-insect, and while there have been no stick-insect plagues in recent times, the Myna itself has reached plague proportions, especially on Rarotonga. Although its aggressive behaviour has been blamed for the demise of indigenous landbirds on Rarotonga, none have actually been lost this century, and studies have shown that the Myna does not carry any pathogens likely to damage indigenous species. Nevertheless there remains a concern that harmful pathogens could be accidentally introduced by cage-birds, despite quarantining in the country of origin, typically New Zealand.
The present indigenous landbirds of the Cook Islands are those that survived the two massive environmental upheavals: the arrival of the Polynesians about 2,000 years ago, and the arrival of Europeans since the 1820s. However, provided the Ship Rat (and maybe the Myna) can be controlled, the prognosis for their continued survival is very good. The Natural Heritage Project continues to support standardised monitoring of all species of conservation concern. With adequate forewarning of any decline, and prompt action, it is hoped that all species of special national or international interest can be maintained in their present environments.
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The following information
was obtained from:
Wikipedia the
online Encyclopedia
History of the Cook Islands
(For the full article, please refer to
the link above.)
The Cook Islands are named from a Russian naval chart of the early 1880s, after Captain James Cook, who visited the islands in 1773 and 1779. The Cook Islands became a British protectorate in 1888.
By 1900, administrative control was transferred to New Zealand; in 1965 residents chose self-government in free association with New Zealand.
The Cook Islands contain fifteen islands in the group spread over a vast area in the South Pacific. The majority of islands are low coral atolls in Northern Group, with Rarotonga, a volcanic island in the Southern Group, as the main administration and government centre. The main Cook Islands language is Rarotongan M?ori. There are some variations in dialect in the 'outer' islands.
Detailed History
The Cook Islands were first settled in the sixth century by Polynesian peoples who migrated from Tahiti.
Spanish ships visited the islands in the late sixteenth century; the first written record of contact with the Islands came with the sighting of Pukapuka by Spanish sailor Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira in 1595. Another Spaniard Pedro Fernandes de Queirós made the first recorded European landing in the islands when he set foot on Rakahanga in 1606.
British navigator Captain James Cook arrived in 1773 and 1779; Cook named the Cook Islands the Hervey Islands; the name "Cook Islands" was given by the British in honour of Cook when they published a Russian naval chart in the early 1880s.
In 1813, John Williams, a missionary on the Endeavour (not the same ship as Cook's), made the first official sighting of the Island Rarotonga. [1] The first recorded landing by Europeans was in 1814 by the Cumberland; trouble broke out between the sailors and the Islanders and many were killed on both sides.
The islands saw no more Europeans until missionaries arrived from England in 1821. Christianity quickly took hold in the culture and retains that grip today.
The Kingdom of Rarotonga was established in 1858 and in 1888 it became a British protectorate at their own request in, mainly to thwart French expansionism. Then were transferred to New Zealand in 1901. They remained a New Zealand protectorate until 1965, at which point they became a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. The first Prime Minister Sir Albert Henry led the county until 1978 when he was accused of vote-rigging.
Today, the Cook Islands are essentially independent (self-governing in free association with New Zealand), but are still officially placed under New Zealand sovereignty. New Zealand is tasked with overseeing the country's foreign relations and defence. The Cook Islands are one of four New Zealand dependencies, along with Tokelau, Niue and the Ross Dependency.
After achieving autonomy in 1965, the Cook Islands elected Albert Henry of the Cook Islands Party as their first Prime Minister. He was succeeded in 1978 by Tom Davis of the Democratic Party.
On June 11, 1980, the United States signed a treaty with New Zealand specifying the maritime border between the Cook Islands and American Samoa and also relinquishing its claim to the islands of Penrhyn, Pukapuka (Danger), Manihiki, and Rakahanga.
The emigration of skilled workers to New Zealand and government deficits are continuing problems.
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For more information about the Cook Islands visit:
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