Tararo Jane Ariki

Tararo Jane Ariki II (26 May 1910 – 23 December 1982) was a Cook Islands chiefess and politician. An ariki of Mauke island, she was also the first woman to become a member of the islands' Legislative Council.

Tararo Jane Ariki II
Tararo Ariki of Mauke
In office
1934–1982
Preceded byTararo Jane Ariki I
Succeeded byTararo Tapoki-Kiri I
Member of the Legislative Council
In office
1947–1948, 1951
ConstituencyMauke
Member of the House of Ariki
Personal details
Born26 May 1910[1]
Mauke, Cook Islands
Died23 December 1982

Biography

Tararo was born in 1910 in Mauke.[1] She became the Tararo ariki of Mauke in 1934,[1] succeeding her mother. She married George Cowan,[1] and the couple had a daughter Hilda who was born in 1937 but died the following year. During the 1930s she formed a dance group consisting of family members and other people from Oiretumu village.[2]

The first indirect elections were held for the Legislative Council in 1947, in which members were elected by island councils. A member of Mauke Island Council, Tararo was elected as the island's representative, becoming the only women in the Legislative Council. She served until the following year, and again in 1951.[3] Following its creation, she became a member of the House of Ariki.[1] She also served on the General Assembly of the Cook Islands Christian Church and worked as an adviser on Maori customs, choreographer and costume designer.[1]

In 1977 she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal and appointed Commissioner of the Cook Islands Judiciary.[1] Construction work began on a palace for her in 1982, but was abandoned due to political disputes within the Tararo group.[4]

References

  1. Who's who in Oceania, 1980–1981, p191
  2. Kalissa Alexeyeff (2009) Dancing from the Heart: Movement, Gender, and Cook Islands Globalization
  3. Cook Islands CEDAW Report: The Status of Women in the Cook Islands, p19
  4. Lonely Planet: Rarotonga and the Cook Islands, p126
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