Te Whānau ā Ruataupare hosted more than 5,000 people at Pākirikiri Marae, East Coast over the four-day celebration of the relationship between the people of Rarotonga and Tokomaru Bay.

Pākirikiri Marae’s whare tupuna Te Hono ki Rarotonga turned 75. In 1930 Sir Apirana Ngata formalised the relationship between Rarotonga and Tokomaru Bay, and in 1934 a Rarotongan delegation attended the opening of Te Hono ki Rarotonga.

Seventy-five years later another delegation of dignitaries and whānau from Rarotonga were led onto Pākirikiri Marae by six Rarotongan ariki including Sir Terepai Maoate, the deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, to join in the jubilee celebrations.

“We are honoured that our ‘cousins’ from Te Moananui ā Kiwa attended the festivities. Our reo is similar, and our tikanga and ancient stories are also very similar,” says kaumātua Tate Pewhairangi.

“This is no more evident than in our ‘Paikea’ brothers and sisters from Maukē, whose rendition of the story of Paikea in song was a hit with Ngāti Porou,” he says.

The celebrations included exhibitions from local Tairāwhiti artists and the unveiling of a plaque, “Te Au Ki Tonga”, to commemorate the occasion.

Entertainment from Te Hokowhitu Atu and groups from Rarotonga and Maukē was also enjoyed.

Te Puni Kōkiri and the New Zealand Defence Force supported the event.