Cook Islands Archives Catalogue
A guide to historical records, genealogies, Land Court records and research collections.
The Cook Islands possess a substantial body of surviving historical records: Native Land Court minute books and title registers, High Court files, birth, death and adoption records, probate records, church records, maps, genealogies and government archives. Many of them are hard to find, not because they are lost but because a record has to be identified before it can be asked for, and a researcher who does not know that a record exists cannot request it.
The purpose of this catalogue is to identify the known Cook Islands archival records and the repositories in which they may be found. It draws on the inventory of the Cook Islands Government records prepared by Peter Hughes in 1976 and revised by William Hamill in 2009, the holdings of the University of Auckland Special Collections, the Cook Islands Ministry of Justice’s inventories and the FamilySearch catalogues. The University of Auckland collection comprises about forty-five reels of Cook Islands Government records filmed between 1972 and 1975.
The catalogue is a living research resource and will be expanded as further records and collections are identified. Use the index below to go to the part you want.
Index
Research collections and repositories
| Repository | Where | What it holds | How to reach it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook Islands Ministry of Justice, Land Division | Avarua, Rarotonga | The original Native Land Court minute books and title registers from 1902, the Appellate Court books, adoption and succession orders, and the typed copies of the 1950s; a microfilm and digital set of the Government records inventoried below | In person at the registry; the Ministry’s inventory is the basis of this catalogue |
| Cook Islands National Archives | Takuvaine, Rarotonga | The administration’s files, petitions and correspondence; the Cook Islands Gazette | In person |
| Cook Islands Library and Museum Society | Avarua, Rarotonga | Books, manuscripts and copies, including the first-edition copies of the records donated with this series | In person; members’ library |
| University of Auckland Special Collections | Auckland | MSS and Archives A-155, the Cook Islands Government records on about forty-five reels of microfilm filmed 1972 to 1975: title registers, minute books, High Court records, genealogies | Catalogue entry; reading room by appointment |
| FamilySearch (Genealogical Society of Utah) | Online, worldwide | Close to a hundred thousand digitised images: London Missionary Society church records, civil registration, adoption registers, the Land Court minute books and title registers, the Cole-Jensen oral genealogies and the manuscript collections filmed in Rarotonga in 1975 and 1976 | Cook Islands, Public Records, 1846–2022; free account |
| Alexander Turnbull Library | Wellington | Manuscripts, including Walter Gudgeon’s journal and autobiography, the Polynesian Society’s papers and the Stephen Savage papers | Pacific Islands family history guide |
| Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa | Wellington | Objects and some manuscripts and photographs | Online collections |
| Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand | Online | The Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, in which the Residents and Commissioners reported on the islands every year, and the New Zealand newspapers | paperspast.natlib.govt.nz |
Native Land Court minute books
The minute books are the most important historical records surviving in the Cook Islands. They record the proceedings of the Native Land Court from 1902 and contain the genealogies, the oral traditions, the evidence on customary title, the histories of land, the adoptions, the successions and the village histories that the court heard. Hughes’s inventory records that they were written in the courtroom during the hearings. A researcher should read the minute book with the title register for the same land. The volumes in the Ministry of Justice’s holding are those below; the reel numbers are the University of Auckland’s (AU) and the film numbers FamilySearch’s (LDS).
Rarotonga
| Volume | Dates | AU reel | LDS film | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volumes 1 and 2 | 1903–1906 | 1847 | 1084888 | 382 + 382 pp |
| Volumes 3 and 4 | 1906–1908 | 1848 | 1084889 | 334 + 386 pp; a handwritten, indexed duplicate on AU reel 1849 |
| Volumes 5 and 6 | 1908–1913 | 1850 | 1084890 | 382 + 290 pp |
| Volume 7 | 1913–1915 | 1851 | 1084891 | 382 pp |
| Volumes 8A and 8B | 1915–1917, 1917–1919 | 1852 | 1084892 | 237 + 247 pp |
| Volumes 9A, 9B and 10 | 1919–1922, 1922–1923, 1923–1933 | 1853 | 1084893 | 199 + 198 + 445 pp |
| Volumes 11 and 12 | 1933–1937, 1937–1939 | 1854 | 1084894 | 324 + 402 pp; volume 12 indexed |
| Volume 13 | 1939–1940 | 1855 | 1084895 | 370 pp, indexed |
| Volumes 14, 15 and 16 | 1940–1942, 1942–1943, 1943–1945 | 1856 | 1084896 | 402 + 370 + 401 pp, indexed |
| Volumes 17 and 18 | 1945–1947, 1947–1948 | 1857 | 1084897 | 402 + 370 pp, indexed |
| Volumes 19, 20 and 21 | 1948–1949, 1949–1951, 1951–1952 | 1858 | 1084898 | 402 + 402 + 402 pp, indexed |
| Volumes 22 and 23 | 1952–1955, 1955–1958 | 1859 | 1084899 | 402 + 402 pp, indexed |
| Volumes 24 and 25 | 1958–1960, 1960–1963 | 1860 | 1084900 | 402 + 402 pp, indexed |
| Volumes 26 and 27 | 1963–1965, 1965–1967 | 1861 | 1084901 | 402 + 386 pp, indexed |
| Volumes 28 and 29 | 1967–1969, 1969–1970 | 1862, part 1 | 1084902 | 434 + 386 pp, indexed |
| Volumes 30, 31 and 32 | 1970–1972, 1972, 1972–1974 | 1862, part 2 | 1084903 | 376 + 274 + 386 pp, indexed |
| Volume 33 | 1974–1975 | 1863 | 1084904 | 374 pp, indexed |
| Volume 34 | 1975–1976 | — | 1650436 | later Ministry of Justice filming |
| Volume 39 | 1978 | — | 1650437 | |
| Volume 44 | 1980 | — | 1650438 | |
| Volume 55 | 1983 | — | 1650439 | |
| Volume 63 | 1986 | — | 1650440 |
Aitutaki
| Volume | Dates | AU reel | LDS film | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1 | 1902–1903 | 1864 | 1084905 | 283 pp |
| Volumes 2, 3, 4 and 5 | 1903–1907, 1907–1909, 1912 | 1865 | 1084906 | 362 + 372 + 286 pp, indexed; volume 5 is within volume 4 |
| Volumes 6, 7 and 8 | 1917, 1917–1921, 1921–1939 | 1866 | 1084907 | 382 + 382 + 382 pp, indexed |
| Volumes 9, 10 and 11 | 1939, 1939–1940, 1940–1947 | 1867 | 1084908 | 398 + 370 + 370 pp, indexed |
| Volumes 12 to 15 | 1947, 1947–1950, 1950–1954, 1954–1960 | 1868 | 1084909 | 170 + 170 + 402 + 402 pp, indexed |
| Volumes 16 and 17 | 1960–1962, 1962–1964 | 1869 | 1084910 | 402 + 402 pp, indexed |
| Volumes 18, 19 and 20 | 1964–1969, 1969–1973, 1973–1975 | 1870 | 1084911 | 370 + 370 + 17 pp, indexed |
| Volume 20 (continued) | 1974–1978 | — | 1650441 | later filming |
The other islands
| Island and volume | Dates | AU reel | LDS film | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atiu, volumes 1 and 2 | 1919–1950, 1950–1955 | 1871 | 1084912 | 382 + 402 pp, indexed |
| Atiu, volumes 3 and 4 | 1955–1958, 1958–1971 | 1872 | 1084913 | 402 + 402 pp, indexed |
| Mangaia, volume 1 | 1931–1974 | 1873 | 1084914 | 90 pp, indexed |
| Mauke, volumes 1 and 2 | 1922–1952, 1952–1970 | 1873 | 1084914 | 441 + 402 pp, indexed |
| Mauke, volume 3 | 1970–1974 | 1874 | 1084915 | 274 pp, indexed; volume 4 on film 1650442 |
| Manihiki, volume 1 | 1973–1975 | 1874 | 1084915 | 9 pp |
| Mitiaro, volume 1 | 1936–1974 | 1874 | 1084915 | 32 pp, indexed |
| Penrhyn, volumes 1 and 2 | 1951–1974, 1929–1950 | 1874 | 1084915 | 312 + 165 pp; volumes 1 to 3 transposed on the film |
| Penrhyn, volume 3 | 1950–1951 | 1875 | 1084916 | 165 pp |
| Pukapuka and Nassau, volume 1 | 1924–1973 | 1875 | 1084916 | 23 pp, indexed |
| Rakahanga, volume 1 | 1924–1971 | 1875 | 1084916 | 261 pp |
Native Land Court title registers
The title registers record the orders made for every section of land: the owners found, the successions and the partitions. They are not arranged by date and their pages are not numbered as pages; the entries are arranged by the number of the section of land, so a researcher needs the section number. The later films, in the 1650000 series, are the Ministry of Justice’s own filming of the registers as they stood in 1988.
| Register | Dates | AU reel | LDS film | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arorangi, Rarotonga | 1903–1975 | 1832 | 1084641 | 2 vols, 170 + 498 pp; later filming 1650428 (sections 1 to 83E3) |
| Matavera, Rarotonga | 1903–1975 | 1833 | 1084642 | 299 pp; later filming 1650431 |
| Ngatangiia, Rarotonga | 1904–1975 | 1833 | 1084642 | 357 pp; later filming 1650430 |
| Avarua, Rarotonga | 1903–1975 | 1834, 1835 | 1084643, 1084644 | 3 vols, 379 + 359 + 338 pp; later filming 1650426 (sections 1 to 55B) and 1650427 (107A to 129N) |
| Takitumu, Rarotonga | 1903–1975 | 1836 | 1084645 | 330 pp; later filming 1650429 |
| Amuri and Anaunga, Aitutaki | 1902–1975 | 1836 | 1084645 | 1 vol |
| Tautu (Te Mata o Tane), Aitutaki | 1904–1975 | 1837 | 1084646 | 267 pp, indexed |
| Arutanga, Aitutaki | 1903–1975 | 1837 | 1084646 | 2 vols, 362 + 269 pp |
| Taravao, Aitutaki | 1902–1975 | 1838 | 1084647 | 2 vols, 266 + 327 pp |
| Vaipae and Oako, Aitutaki | 1904–1975 | 1839 | 1084648 | 329 pp, indexed |
| Vaitupa and Avanui, Aitutaki | 1904–1975 | 1839 | 1084648 | 425 pp, indexed; later filming 1650435 |
| Aitutaki, sections 1 to 372 | — | — | 1650434 | later filming |
| Mauke | 1904–1975 | 1840 | 1084649 | 2 vols, 241 + 113 pp; later filming 1650432 |
| Mangaia, Mitiaro, Palmerston, Suwarrow, Nassau, Pukapuka, Penrhyn, Rakahanga and Manihiki | 1888–1975 | 1841 | 1084650 | 1 vol, 196 pp; later filming 1650433 |
| Atiu | 1904–1975 | 1842 | 1084651 | 2 vols, 384 + 409 pp; later filming 1650431 (sections 1 to 546) and 1650432 (545 to 632) |
Native Appellate Court and group minute books
The Appellate Court heard appeals from the Land Court from 1948. Its decisions on the ariki and rangatira titles and on land are published with this series as the Cook Islands Native Appellate Court Reports.
| Record | Dates | AU reel | LDS film | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native Appellate Court minute books, 3 vols | 1948–1950, 1950–1957, 1957–1968 | 1843 | 1084918 | 402 + 400 + 81 pp, indexed; later filming 1650443 |
| Atiu minute book, land titles and court business | 1911 | 1843 | 1084918 | 43 pp |
| Registration book of ariki, Pukapuka | 1915 | 1843 | 1084918 | 28 pp, indexed |
| Group minute books, Mauke, volumes 2, 3 and 5 | 1904–1907, 1907, 1902–1968 | 1844 | 1084917 | volumes 1, 2 and 4 filmed with the Land Court books of the same number; volume 4 “does not exist” |
Genealogies
Genealogical records are the research resource Cook Islanders ask for first. The largest compiled collection is Jock MacCauley’s, drawn from the minute books by the judge who knew them best; the oldest are the family books and the manuscripts filmed in 1975 and 1976; and the Cole-Jensen collection holds the oral genealogies recorded by Latter-day Saints missionaries between 1931 and 1960.
Jock MacCauley’s compiled genealogies
| Collection | Dates | AU reel | LDS film | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rarotonga, volumes 1 to 4 | 1903–1945, 1945–1948, 1948–1952, 1952–1970 | 1845 | 1084920 | 364 + 47 + 48 + 81 pp; copyright Jock MacCauley |
| Aitutaki, volumes 1 and 2 | 1902–1939, 1939–1947 | 1845 | 1084920 | 200 + 79 pp |
| Atiu | 1919–1971 | 1846 | — | 133 pp |
| Mauke | 1922–1974 | 1846 | — | 84 pp |
| Penrhyn | 1929–1974 | 1846 | — | 70 pp |
| Determination of relative interests and successions, Rarotonga | 1903–1974 | 1846 | — | 50 pp |
Family genealogy books and oral genealogies on film
| Record | LDS film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kainuku genealogy book, volume 3 | 1126510 | |
| Charlie T. Cowan’s genealogies, legends and history | 1126511, 1126512 | two films |
| Family genealogy book of Tamarua-nui, Kainuku and others | filmed 1976 | one 35 mm reel; FamilySearch catalogue 83311 |
| Cole-Jensen collection of oral genealogies, 1931 to 1960 | 1358001 to 1358009 | recorded by William Cole and Elwin Jensen; Rarotonga and wider Polynesia |
| Oral genealogies recorded in Rarotongan, 1975 to 1976 | 795886 and others | including the oral genealogies of Akaiti Pongo (795886, item 1), Maarona Kavana and Willie Tou Ariki |
| Kauraka Kauraka genealogy 1989; akapapa‘anga of Turepu 1946; Mills family; Mataroa family | 1650452 | with the lists of labourers to the Makatea mines 1943–1956 and Aitutaki land successions |
| Collection of genealogies, legends and history (FamilySearch title) | — | contents to be added from the FamilySearch catalogue |
| Genealogy of the Cook Islands (FamilySearch title) | — | contents to be added |
| Various genealogies of Cook Islands families (FamilySearch title) | — | contents to be added |
| Cook Islands miscellaneous records (FamilySearch title) | — | contents to be added |
The Stephen Savage collection, films 1084921 to 1084930
Stephen Savage, the Registrar of the Land Court and the compiler of the Cook Islands Māori dictionary, gathered the manuscripts and letters of the island historians, Samuela Terei, Maretu, Te Aia Orometua, Charles Cowan, Uka and many others, with his own notes and genealogies. The collection was filmed in ten reels, and the contents of each reel, as the FamilySearch catalogue lists them, are these.
| LDS film | Contents |
|---|---|
| 1084921 | Stephen Savage: Collection of books and articles on Aitutaki, genealogies and history of the Cook Islands: Tuatua no Aitutaki; History of Aitutaki; Tuatapapaanga enua no Aitutaki; descendants of Atea; descendants of Maine-Marae-Rua; Makea Takaia (mei Rarotonga mai); descendants of Meau; E Ngauru e, e Torea; genealogy of Rongo-Tapai-Kura; Te Paitu Vaine a Ru; descendants of Ruatapu and Ua; Tai-Teatai-Nui o Iva, his wife Upokoara and their descendants; E ara teia no Tauria; Te autara ia Ui |
| 1084922 | London Missionary Society, Aitutaki: records 1886–1945 (baptisms 1886–1926; births 1916–1945; marriages and deaths 1866–1945), the villages of Arutanga, Amuri, Reureu, Nikaupara, Vaipae and Tautu |
| 1084923, items 1 to 7 | Arekorero (folklore and a war chant); Ko te arekorero o te Pa Enua Kuki Airani (a genealogical history of the settlers of Mua Vananga); Cook Islands history (letters on the ancient gods, with genealogies); The Cook Islands trouble (a letter by Lieutenant-Colonel Gudgeon, late Resident Commissioner); sundry genealogies and akapapa; a short history of the Land Court division; the history of Iro Ariki |
| 1084923, items 8 to 17 | Mauke and Rakahanga (letters on the history of several islands); Rarotonga traditional notes; Ko te ara teia ia Rata; Samuela Te Rei, E tuatua no Mauitikitiki-a-Taranga; E buka tuatua enua; the genealogy of Ruatapu; Te tuatua no Tutarangi; John Williams; Polynesian voyagers and their canoes |
| 1084924 | Descendants of Eliakima; the book in the possession of Ben Ellis; Native Land Court, Manihiki: a land dispute, with genealogies; histories and genealogies; genealogies and traditions |
| 1084925 | Native Land Court, Rakahanga and Manihiki: minutes of land meetings, volumes 1 to 8, about 1930 to 1938; E arekorero no Rarotonga; the ariki for east and west Avarua; genealogy of Atipapa; E tuatua taito no te tapatapa o Tu-Tamaeva no Itikau; genealogies of Kainuku; a note on Kapo; E korero no te kau taunga o Rarotonga, and a second account; a letter by Terei on Keu Porakau |
| 1084926, items 1 to 42 | Kōutu and marae, and notes on them; the genealogy from Makanakura to Samuel; the Makea family; Tera nga ingoa o Makea; the succession to the title of Makea Ariki; Taputapuatea marae of Makea at Avarua; loose papers on the Makea genealogy; the genealogy of Makea Te-Pa-Atuakino; E tuatapapa tupuna no Makea; Te Ngati Makea; genealogy of Manava; Maretu’s writings; E tuatua no te mataiti, E tuatua no Miringa, 1875; the genealogy from Moetuma to Samuel Terei; the genealogy of Morea Metua; Motoro, te tama a Tangiia Nui; the sons of Naia Ariki; the genealogy of Ngati Katu; a page from a book by Pa Maretu; the genealogy of Pa Upokotaka Ariki, by Ngatamariki; the genealogy of Pa Puretu and Tangiia Ariki, by Charles Tau Puru Cowan; history concerning Pa Ariki; the genealogies of Paiaro and of Pakari (Pakiri) |
| 1084927, items 1 to 40 | Parakoti’s family genealogy book; the genealogy of Piavaka; priests and marae; the genealogy of Puta; notes on Rarotonga; Rarotonga history and genealogies by Te Aia Orometua of Ngatangiia, and as compiled by Stephen Savage; E au vananga taito no Rarotonga; Rarotonga genealogies; Samuel Terei’s manuscripts on the descendants of Terei son of Tangiia Nui and Moetuma, his ancestors and descendants; Te taeanga mai o te Evangelia ki Rarotonga nei; Te kapuanga o te tuatua a te Atua ki te enua ko Tumu te Varovaro; history and descendants of Tangiiau; Tangi Taura; Te-Tika Mata‘iapo, by Uka, with letters; Tinomana Temutu and the Tinomana genealogies; descendants of Tokao a Utiuti; the genealogy of Tuirarotonga; Tufulemataafa; Tai Nuku te Anga Nuku; descendants of Tamakaro; the family genealogy book of Tamarua Nui of Pouara, with the descendants of Vaere; Te au peu i taoiia mai e Tangiia nei Avaiki mai; E tuatua ui tupuna no Tangiia Mata Vai; the history of Tangiia Ariki, and the ancient history of Tangiia by Stephen Savage and Tamuera Terei; Ko te korero no te matenga o Tangiia Nui; descendants of Tangiiau te Pamanu, of Tukaiiamanu, of Ua and of Uenuku |
| 1084928 | A translation from Savage’s book by Apera Uriarau; the genealogy of Uriarau, from his book; the history of Uritaua; Rangi a Uriia and the Uritaua clan; E tuatua tupuna no Vaikai te Amaru Ariki, and the descendants of Vaikai Matua; a letter on Vakapora by Samuela Terei; an extract from Vakatini’s memorandum; Papatupuna o Ngati Vakatini |
| 1084929 | Births, deaths, marriages and the family record of Ngorio Makea, 1869–1917, with the wills of Ngatoio son of Makea (6 July 1868) and of Tinomana (22 May 1868); histories and genealogies 1876–1906, with New Zealand genealogies, the Atiu census, Atiu, Mauke, Mitiaro, Mangaia, Penrhyn and Pukapuka history and Stephen Savage’s ancestry; E tuatua teia no te tamakianga a Atiu ia Mauke; Parua and lands, with the Ngamaru Ariki genealogy; E tuatapapaanga no te tua o te ui tupuna, 1905–1938, recorded by Samuela Mana from the elders of Mauke |
| 1084930 | Maretu’s life in Mangaia; the origin of Mitiaro; High Court census of Palmerston, 1926; genealogies, and genealogies by Stephen Savage; Stephen Savage’s New Zealand Māori and Cook Islands Māori ancestry |
Births, marriages, deaths, adoptions and probates
Civil registration began under the High Court; before it the London Missionary Society kept the registers, and the earliest births, marriages and deaths are in the mission’s books. The adoption registers and orders are the record of every legal adoption from 1903.
| Record | Dates | AU reel | LDS film |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Court birth records, 9 vols (registry books 1 to 5, 10A, 10B, 11, 12) | 1916–1954 | 1630 | — |
| High Court birth records, 7 vols (registry books 12 to 18) | 1953–1961 | 1631 | — |
| Rarotonga birth registration, volumes 1, 5, 8, 10A, 11, 14, 20 and 25 | 1908–1969 | — | 1085055 to 1085062 |
| Rarotonga birth registers | 1974–1988 | — | 1650421, 1650422 |
| Births index cards | 1917–1975 | — | 1085029, 1085037 to 1085051 |
| Aitutaki births register, volume 4; Manihiki births register, volume 2 | — | — | 1650424, 1650425 |
| Rarotonga deaths register, volume 15 | — | — | 1650423 |
| Marriages: Mauke volume 1 1917–1952; Penrhyn volume 1 1916–1968; Pukapuka volume 1 1918–1956 | 1916–1968 | — | 1084958, 1084959, 1084960 |
| London Missionary Society, Rarotonga: birth records 1904–1929; marriage and baptism records 1879–1900; Avarua births, deaths and marriages; Avarua deaths register 1879–1904; marriage certificates 1912 and 1915 | 1879–1929 | — | 1126508, 1126509, 1129921, 1129922, 1129923 |
| Adoption index cards 1905–1975; Rarotonga adoption register 1905–1970 | 1905–1975 | — | 1085030, 1085031 |
| Adoption orders: Aitutaki 1905–1960 and 1962–1988; Atiu, Mauke, Mitiaro; Rarotonga 1903–1988 | 1903–1988 | — | 1650444 to 1650447 |
| Personal estates 1951–1977; letters of administration 1962–1977; probate 1963–1979; wills 1877–1985 | 1877–1985 | — | 1650448, 1650449 |
| Church marriage officers 1908–1979; late registrations of births, marriages and deaths | 1908–1979 | — | 1650449, 1650450 |
Other government records, gazettes and newspapers
| Record | Dates | LDS film |
|---|---|---|
| Chiefly title files, volumes 57, 103 and 131 | — | 1085052, 1085053, 1085054 |
| Cook Islands Gazette | 1899–1985 | 1650451 |
| Te Karere | July 1898–January 1911 | 0449197 |
| Karanga Maori newspaper | 1898–1901 | 0449199 |
| Fruit Advisory Committee file 1937–1957; election of European members to the Island Council 1953–1956; election of Oneroa, Mangaia, members 1899–1901; inquiry into a public road; sundry succession orders | 1899–1957 | 1650450 |
| Lists of labourers from the Cook Islands to the Makatea mines | 1943–1956 | 1650452 |
| W. W. Gill, From Darkness to Light in Polynesia | 1894 | 1130688 |
University of Auckland collection, MSS and Archives A-155
In 1971 the University of Auckland’s anthropologists drew attention to the condition of the Government records in Rarotonga; the University bought a camera in 1972, the Genealogical Society of Utah supplied an operator from 1974, and the records were filmed between 1972 and 1975. Peter Hughes inventoried the reels in 1976 and William Hamill revised the inventory in 2009. The collection is about forty-five reels.
| Reels | Contents |
|---|---|
| 1630 to 1631 | High Court birth records |
| 1832 to 1842 | Native Land Court title registers |
| 1843 | Appellate Court minute books; Atiu minute book 1911; Pukapuka registration book of ariki |
| 1844 | Mauke group minute books |
| 1845 to 1846 | Jock MacCauley’s compiled genealogies |
| 1847 to 1875 | Native Land Court minute books, Rarotonga, Aitutaki and the other islands |
FamilySearch online: what is digitised
Close to a hundred thousand images of Cook Islands records were filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah with the Ministry of Justice and the London Missionary Society, and most of the microfilms have since been converted to digital folders. Physical microfilm lending ended in 2017; the images and the searchable indexes are on FamilySearch, free with an account. The records fall into three groups.
London Missionary Society church and genealogy records. The Rarotonga church records, 1838 to 1954, with the registers from the Blackrock mission home and the Rarotonga archives, baptisms, marriages and community events; the Rarotonga birth registers, 1849 to 1939; and the family genealogy book of Tamarua-nui, Kainuku and others, filmed in 1976.
Civil registration and public records, 1846 to 2022. Birth registers 1914 to 1975 with an index from 1917; marriage registers 1896 to 1989; death registers 1933 to 1975; the register of adoptions 1905 to 1974, on seven reels; and school registration birth records 1904 to 1928. The originals are at the Land and Survey Office and the Ministry of Justice in Avarua.
Native Land Court records and oral genealogies. The Rarotonga minute books 1903 to 1975 and title registers 1903 to 1974; the Cole-Jensen collection of oral genealogies gathered by William Cole and Elwin Jensen between 1931 and 1960, films 1358001 to 1358009; and the individual oral genealogies recorded in Rarotongan in 1975 and 1976, among them Akaiti Pongo, Maarona Kavana and Willie Tou Ariki.
| Collection | Link |
|---|---|
| Cook Islands, Public Records, 1846–2022 (the indexed collection) | familysearch.org, collection 2731435 |
| The catalogue entry for the collection | catalog 2731435 |
| Cook Islands church records (research wiki) | wiki: Cook Islands church records |
| Cook Islands compiled genealogies (research wiki) | wiki: Cook Islands compiled genealogies |
National Library of New Zealand and other guides
The National Library’s guide to Pacific Islands family history has a section on the Cook Islands, with the Turnbull Library’s manuscript holdings and the published sources; it is the place to begin for records held in New Zealand.
Editorial note and disclaimer
The Cook Islands Archives Catalogue is a living research resource. Future revisions will add the expanded University of Auckland reel inventories, the FamilySearch film inventories, repository updates, manuscript collections and corrections as they become available. The principal source for the Auckland collection remains the Inventory of the Cook Islands Government Records compiled by Peter Hughes in 1976, revised by William Hamill in 2009, and the collection MSS and Archives A-155 at the University of Auckland Special Collections; for the Ministry of Justice’s holding, the Ministry’s own inventory compiled from it.
This catalogue has been prepared as a research aid only. Researchers should verify every reference with the repository holding the original records before relying on it. The catalogue is a finding aid and not a legal record.
© Ross Holmes 2026. Corrections and additions are welcome through the Corrections page.