Te ꞌAkaꞌokiꞌanga o te Pū - The Return of the Conch

For over 70 years, a conch shell (pū in Cook Islands Māori) from the Cook Islands lay on the chalkstone floor of a tunnel, 20 metres underground, outside of Arras, a town in the north of France. The conch had laid there since 1917, when the tunnels were used as the staging point for one of the largest surprise attacks of World War One.

The shell was likely left behind by one of the three Cook Islands Māori soldiers who were a part of New Zealand’s Pioneer Battallion in World War One. The trio are all recorded as having joined the New Zealand Tunnelling Company between 8 December 1916 and 25 February 1917 where they helped dig and expand the tunnels of Arras

These soldiers were Angene (Araki) Angene of Rarotonga¹ , Solomon (Solomona) Isaacs (Isaaka) of Aitutaki, and Tauiti (Tau) Kopungaiti of Mangaia. Angene and Isaacs also left their names carved into the chalkstone walls of the tunnels. Nearby the shell was an inscription of the Lord’s Prayer in Reo Tahiti², also likely left by the Cook Islands Māori soldiers.

But how did these three young men from the Cook Islands end up in these tunnels on the opposite side of the World, far from their island homes? What do their descendants, and Cook Islanders more broadly, know of their sacrifice? 

This article looks at the lives of these three Cook Islands Māori soldiers through the eyes of their descendants, who have generously agreed to share their own family stories.

_{¹ Born in Ātiu.
² The Indigenous language of Tahiti and the Society Islands. This speaks to the shared cultural history of the Cook Islands and Society Islands.}

The Hervey Islands (the islands now known as Te Pā ꞌEnua Tonga, the Southern Cook Islands) had been a British protectorate since 1888. However, it was not until 1900 that the 15 islands, under the name of the Cook Islands, were annexed by Britain, officially becoming British territory. Eight months later a transfer of annexation meant that the Cook Islands became a colony of New Zealand, one of the first additions to what would eventually become New Zealand’s small empire in the South Pacific.

World War One began on July 28, 1914. At this time, New Zealand was still a Dominion within the British Empire and was still represented internationally by Britain. As a result, the Cook Islands’ loyalty to the British Empire was also strong at this time, and it would be another 51 years before the Cook Islands became self-governing.

These 45 Cook Islands Māori soldiers, alongside 150 Niueans, arrived in Egypt to reinforce the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion in February 1916. In April, they were then sent across Mediterranean waters to northern France. After some training the Pacific Island soldiers were sent to the trenches in May 1916. Their work included trench digging at night while exposed to enemy fire and being exposed to extreme cold. Cold-related illnesses plagued the Cook Islands and Niuean soldiers who were not used to the European climate, and by September 1916 the Niueans were withdrawn to England to focus on their recovery (Manatu Taonga - Ministry for Culture and Heritage, 2019). The Cook Islanders remained in France, helping to construct ꞌTurk Lane’, an 8-kilometre-long trench which provided crucial support to the Allied Forces in the Battle of the Somme (Auckland War Memorial Museum, 2019). Of these first 45 soldiers, three died from enemy fire and at least ten more from other illnesses (Auckland War Memorial Museum, 2019).

More men were recruited from the Cook Islands, eventually forming five contingents in total. The Second and Third Contingents were not to be sent to France, but to Egypt and Palestine, where the climate was warmer. The Cook Islands men were known to be extremely efficient in their logistical work as ammunition handlers and running surf boats from supply ships (Auckland War Memorial Museum, 2019). In October 1917 the Rarotongan (Cook Islands) contingents were formed into their own Rarotongan Company, a further acknowledgement of the value of the Cook Islands Māori soldiers to the Allied Forces (Auckland War Memorial Museum, 2019). The survivors of the First Contingent in France were sent to be united with their Rarotongan Company in February 1918 (Manatu Taonga - Ministry for Culture and Heritage, 2019). With the armistice ending the war on 11 November 1918, the Fourth and Fifth Rarotongan Contingents did not leave New Zealand. In the coming years many Cook Islands soldiers across all contingents died from diseases contracted during their time overseas.

While the war was over, the struggles had not ended for the Cook Islands soldiers of First, Second and Third Contingents. On their arrival to Aotearoa New Zealand in January 1919. Rather than being welcomed back as heroes, the 268-man Rarotongan Company was quarantined on Matiu / Somes Island for about a month, to prevent them from sharing or receiving diseases such as ꞌSpanish’ influenza (Manatu Taonga - Ministry for Culture and Heritage, 2019). In a letter from the Companyꞌs Second Lieutenant Denis O’Brien to his superiors, he was concerned that the Cook Islanders had been provided with insufficient clothing for the windy and exposed island in the middle of Wellingtonꞌs Harbour (O’Brien, 1919). 

In total, around 500 Cook Islands Māori soldiers would serve in World War One. For a population of around 10,000 at the time, this was one of the highest rates of military service of any country in The Great War, making up nearly six percent of the population at the time (Tāmaki Paenga Hira, 2019). 

The Cook Islanders left a positive impression in many areas of the war, as captured Lt-Col J.L. Sleeman in The War Effort of New Zealand (1923):

“Possibly of all the royal responses in the call of Empire from every habitable portion of the globe, the most unique came from Britain's most distant possessions in the Pacific… First and foremost among these islanders must come the Rarotongans from the Cook Islands, including men from Atiu, Mangaia, Mauke, Aitutaki, Mitiaro, Manihiki, Puka Puka, Penrhyn, and Palmerston… better material for conversion into soldiers could not be found.”

The New Zealand Tunnelling Company had been formed in October 1915, and was initially composed of 446 men from around Aotearoa who had come from careers such as engineers, gold miners, railways and Public Works staff. Tunnellers underwent “mining fitness” exams which determined their ability to work in challenging conditions. They departed Tāmaki Makaurau on 18 December 1915 for England for further training, arriving on the Western Front in March 1916, where they began assisting with ꞌcounter-mining’ – using these measures the tunnellers successfully stopped the German tunnelers from undermining the Allied entrenchments.

In November 1916 the unit was moved to Arras where they were tasked with preparing for an April 2017 surprise attack which would require connecting and expanding the chalk mine tunnels under the town, which had lay dormant since medieval times. The tunnels would eventually be made large enough to provide essential infrastructure for the Allied soldiers including sleeping quarters, kitchens, headquarters, and hospitals, capable of housing up to 24,000 soldiers.

However, they needed more hands, so, on 9 December 1916, 43 Soldiers from the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion, including the trio from the Cook Islands were sent to join the NZTC in Arras. The new recruits’ first job was to level the ground of the new tunnels. It was winter and it was snowing in northern France, which would have been a surreal experience for the Cook Islands men. The typical day was 8 hours of labour followed by 16 or 24 hours of rest. The tunnellers would work for 9 days before being allowed 3 days rest at the Company camp in Arras. 

The tunnelling work was extremely physical and the NZTC tunnellers had a reputation for hard work and dedication, values which were nothing new to the Cook Islands trio. In the raised islands of Te Pā ꞌEnua Tonga (The Southern Cook Islands), every man had grown up working on their family taro patch, where one of the most demanding tasks was to ꞌuri paꞌi, or “turn the soil” of the raised taro beds prior to each planting cycle. In addition to working in the taro patch, the early 1900s, the economy of Te Pā ꞌEnua Tonga was centred around agriculture, so the physical work cultivating dryland crops such as cassava, bananas, and oranges was also a part of everyday life for the men.  The result, were Cook Islands Māori soldiers who were already physically conditioned to digging, shovelling and other arduous tasks.

This newly strengthened NZTC unit accomplished in six months, a feat which is considered the greatest engineering achievement of World War 1 (Carrière Wellington, 2026). By January 1917 the NZTC, with support from British, had created 2,000 metres of additional tunnels large enough to house 24,000 British troops for the surprise attack, in an area known as the Ronville System.

In early 1917 the Tunnellers started digging offensive tunnels towards the enemy front line, placing mines beneath key German defences. On 9 April 1917 the surprise attack was launched, however due to German frontline pulling back a few days ago, the surprise attack was largely ineffective. After this unsuccessful offensive, the Company shifted their focus. They continued to work in the Arras area until July 1918, building accommodation and bunkers for soldiers. In total, 41 members of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company are believed to have died while in Arras (Engineering New Zealand, 2025). 

By late January 1917 the 43 soldiers attached to the NZTC were placed back with their Pioneer Battallion contingents, where they remained in the Western Front. The Cook Islands trio and all remaining Cook Islands soldiers from the First Continent on the Western Front were moved to Palestine to be united with their countrymen from the Second Rarotongan Contingent, under the banner of the newly-formed “Rarotongan Company” (Manatū Taonga, 2023). 

After the war ended, the three Cook Islands soldiers who were attached to the NZTC eventually returned to their home islands. Unfortunately, Solomon Isaacs passed away in 1923, just four years after arriving back to Aitutaki, leaving a wife and three month-old son (P. Solomona, personal communication, March 13, 2026). Angene Angene also had a family once he returned, passing away in 1956 . It is unclear whether Tau Kopungaiti had children of his own before he died in 1949. His story is kept alive by his adoptive family, the Miria family of Mangaia.

The tunnels of Arras were used again in the 1940’s during World War Two as a bomb shelter by the townspeople. After the war the tunnels were closed to the outside world until 1990 when they were rediscovered. A museum, Carrière Wellington, is now situated 20 metres underground, inside the tunnels. The Carrière Wellington now tells the story of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company’s work in Arras, and includes memorials for the three Cook Islanders who served in the tunnels.

The pū was likely brought to France and left in the tunnels by one of the three Cook Islands Māori soldiers who were attached to the New Zealand Tunnelling Company. One other Pacific soldier who also served in the NZTC was Charles Fletcher Jackson, who was from Norfolk Island and later transferred to the Rarotongan Contingent. However, that the shell lay below Solomon Isaacs and Angene Angene’s names points that the shell probably belonged to one of them. There were no other soldiers from the tropics in the NZTC at the time. 

In 2017, descendants of Solomona Isaacs and Angene Angene visited the tunnels of Arras. Isaac Solomona, a grandson of Private Solomona Isaacs, brought a shell with the names of Private Solomona’s son (named Solomona Isaac) and grandchildren, as well as their photographs. “So when people go and visit his etching... they will know that Solomona Isaacs has a family, and that they are in the Cook Islands” (Isaac Solomona in Raela, 2021). These shells were to replace the pū, which was at the time in storage with the Arras archaeological service (L. Wiart, personal communication, June 30, 2026). Since 2021 the original conch has been on public display at the Carrière Wellington Museum.

In 2023, the Mayor of Arras, Frédéric Leturque travelled to Rarotonga to commemorate and strengthen ties between the Cook Islands and the town of Arras.  In a full circle moment, the  presented the descendants of the three soldiers, with an identical replica of the pū (1News, 2023). The pū was accepted by representatives Isaac Solomona, Numangatini Tangi Ariki, and Minister George Maggie, who then donated it on behalf of the descendants, to the Cook Islands National Museum, making the pū easily accessible to Cook Islanders for viewing. 

The story of the conch has also inspired the creation of two large conch sculptures, one, made out of stone, lies across the road from the airport in Rarotonga, looking out onto Te Moana Nui o Kiva. It was created in 2017 by Cook Islands-Samoa artist Michel Tuffery with local master carvers Pāpā Mike and Māmā Awhitia Tavioni. The Rarotonga conch is not only an acknowledgement of the three soldiers who dug the tunnels in Arras, but to all the 500 Cook Islands soldiers who enlisted to protect their country in World War One. The second conch, four metres high and cast out of bronze, is at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, also designed by Michel Tuffery in partnership with Herriot, Melhuish and O’Neil Architects, and unveiled in 2021. The Whanganui-a-Tara sculpture acknowledges all soldiers of Te Moana Nui o Kiva who served in World War One.

On Rarotonga, Minister George Maggie Angene is a hard-working and charismatic individual. He is known as the “Action Man” in his constituency of Tūpapa. He is a cabinet minister in the Cook Islands government responsible for the portfolios of Corrective Services, Culture, House of Ariki [government-recognised body of Paramount Chiefs], Pūnanga Nui [the main marketplace on Rarotonga], and Head of State. 

George is a person who usually speaks Māori in most areas of his life, including in Parliament. However, he spoke English in most of the interview because, as he stated, “nearly everybody speaks English”. However, he opened us with the pure (prayer) above. 

George is the grandson of Angene Angene. Angene Angene is sometimes referred to as Araki or Ariki in his service records, and perhaps this was a useful first name for him at times. Angene Angene was born on the island of Ātiu and was 19 years old when we enlisted to join the war on 29 September 1915. 
Angene Angene had two brothers who also served in World War I as part of the Rarotongan Company, Mata Angene and Tutai Pora. While Tutai had a different last name, he is the full brother of Angene and Mata. Pora was the first name of their father, Pora Angene, and in the Cook Islands it is common practice to take the father’s first name as one’s last name, leading to siblings sometimes having different last names. 

[GMA] All I know when I was born, he died in 1956 ... Maybe my older two brother and sister, they see him, but for me, I never seen him. But I heard this story. He’s from Ātiu, he’s an Ātiuan man, and he came to Rarotonga … to stay with my grandma, Maggie Brown. That’s Dick Brown’s sister, Dick Brown is a well-known owner of a ship. So, he married to my grandma, Maggie Brown. But like what you asked, his full name is Angene Angene … I never came to look after his grave all those years, until I grew older then I found out we are Ātiuan. And we succeed in the Ātiu [lands] through him. And even in Rarotonga, he was brought from Ātiu down here by Taraꞌare Mataꞌiapo³ in those days, and he was looked after, and a feeding son to Taraꞌare Mataꞌiapo.  

And like what I said 1956 he passed away, he came back from the war, I didn’t know anything then after that. All I know is, he’s my grandfather, and born my dad, his firstborn son is Angene Angene, named after his dad.

^{3 A chief in the Tūpapa area of Rarotonga.}

[LK] So that’s the second Angene Angene?  
[GMA] Yep.  
[LK] Ah so he’s your grandfather, the one that went to World War One? 
[GMA] Yep. 
Angene Angene had three children, Angene [the second], David, and Maara. 
He’s [Angene the second] born my half-brother Alec Angene, Mata Angene, and then me (George Maggie Angene). 
…
[LK] It’s interesting that [his service records] say that he had some small tattoos. 
[GMA] It’s like me, I’ve got tattoos everywhere. 

[GMA] All I believe is when his name was found in the tunnel. I always think in my heart, maybe he’s scared to go in front of the wall. Because [he] didn’t know what’s the tunnel. Or [he thought] you’re gonna die, or else he’s got a girlfriend in France, and he put the name in the tunnel, for remembrance for that girl, that lady, about him … And the shell, my grandmother told me that it came to him in those days.

[LK] So he brought the shell, the pū, from here all the way other there?

[GMA] From the Cook Islands, yeah.

…

[LK] So there wasn’t much knowledge of stories about him when he was in Europe that was passed down to you or the family?

[GMA] No … I never heard anything. But I know common sense that things happened in those days. And why he puts his name on there? Maybe he’s scared to go out to fight in the war? They were in the tunnel to make it ready for the army to come in the tunnel. They’re only there to prepare a place for shooting …
Maybe there’s other names, but it’s not a Cook Island name, it’s a New Zealand Māori name or Australian, or all these other, they’ve got their own names on the wall. Cook Island names been found, there’s only three, but there’s more names on the wall. 

…
[LK] And then at one point he inhaled poison gas, but then he recovered, so that was on 17 January 1919⁴. I saw also that he had some moments where he got pneumonia, probably because of the cold in France. But obviously he kept recovering from those. But also the poison gas, I’m not sure whether they got gas into the tunnel? 

[GMA] Yeah I found out in my family. See like that poison gas and everything. For me, I don’t believe in sick. I’m a fighter. I fight ... And I believe all my family in the Angene side. They are fighters … and we don’t [get] scared of anyone … But today, I’m not saying I’m scared to stop this thing, I want to be humble and respect the people. And this is what I found out today about me. But my power, my strength, still remain in me. No one can take it away. 

[LK] So you think that [strength] might be from your grandfather? 

[GMA] Yeah. I say from the Ātiu family. The Ātiu people are very strong people. They’re not scared of anything. They’re very strong. Even the Manihiki people. That’s my island from my mum. And those islands I found out, put them together, they’re powerful in human life. It’s like me, I’m an Ātiuan, I’m a Manihiki. I’m not scared of anyone, I’ve always said I’ve been to hell and back. I’ve seen hell. I know what’s hell like.  

^{4 This was after Angene Angene finished with the NZTC in Arras, and was by this time in service in Palestine in West Asia (New Zealand Defence Force, 2011).}

[GMA] I was very very happy for all of them. They put their life in front of the gate, for them to die or alive. For the people of the Cook Island. It’s not for his family, not for his island … All of them, I respect them all for going and defend our island, the Cook Island people …

[GMA] And I always want to go to the army or naval army, to be like my grandfather … since when I was born and then I heard about him going to the war. I always want to go to the war, to the army. And then I end up in different army groups in Arorangi [laughs], in prison. I joined that army group …

[LK] Because of your grandfather? 

[GMA] No, oh maybe, yes but I always wanted to be like that. To go, to fight people, you know. But I found out later, when I studied about Bible, after 34 years in prison, then I found out “love your neighbour”. It didn’t say “hate your neighbour”.  

[GMA] But in my heart, I always wanted to be a navy boy or army man, to go and protect and defend my people. So today I’m not in the army, but I made my dream come true to look after the people, I do it on my working experience, going around and helping the people. 

[GMA]That’s why I put that memorial in the front there. Because I love my grandfather, for what he did to the people of the Cook Island, and his two brothers [who served in World War One also]. I respect them. 

 [LK] There are three portraits on the front [of Minister Angene’s house], who are the other two? 

[GMA] That’s the two brothers from Ātiu.  

[LK] Who’s the Pora guy? Do you know why he’s got a different name? 

[GMA] That’s our Great-grandfather's name, Pora Angene from Ātiu. Tutai Pora [his son, and the oldest of the three] carries his father’s first name. But Mata Angene, Angene Angene and Tutai Pora are all brothers. 

[LK] You mentioned your brother’s name Alec, and you called him, what’s the Māori name? Ariki? 

[GMA] Eriki. 

[LK] I’m just wondering if there is a connection with how on Angene Angene’s papers, he sometimes goes by “Araki”. I’m wondering if Araki is Alec? 

[GMA] It’s supposed to be Alick. A-L-I-C-K.  

[LK] So do you think that was a name maybe that your grandfather might have gone by? 

[GMA] Maybe. But when you call in Māori, “Eriki”. In English, Alick. I think what is written in the court is Alick, “Angene Alick Angene” but when you call it [in Māori], “Eriki”. 

[LK] So that’s actually how you would say the name that your grandfather had there (Ariki/Araki in the records). So he actually had two names? Maybe just so that the Europeans wouldn’t be confused when he’s only giving them one name (Angene), so they wanted two names. 
[GMA] Yeah. 

Tangi Tereapii, respectfully known by his title Numangatini Ariki, is the current paramount chief of Mangaia Island. He represented the family of Tau Kopungaiti, in 2024 during the visit by the Mayor of Arras. 

Tau Kopungaiti, or Pāpā Tau as he is referred to by the family, was born on the island of Mangaia. In the service records, Tau listed Miria as his adoptive father. Miria is the great-grandfather of Numangatini Tangi Ariki, therefore Tau is a granduncle to him. Miria had two other sons who served in World War One, one of them is the grandfather of Numangatini Tangi. Just like the previous story, there were three sons from a single family who left the Cook Islands to serve in the war.

Unlike the others, Tau was older, being 36 when we enlisted for the war in September 1915. He served in the New Zealand Pioneer Battallion in France and was attached to the New Zealand Tunnelling Company on 8 December. His time as a tunneller appears to have been cut short as on December 25 was evacuated by Field Ambulance, and did not return to service, embarking for New Zealand on July 21 1917.

Meitaki nō te ꞌuiꞌanga nō runga i tēia metua tāne i ꞌa Pāpā Tau. Pāpā Tau, kua ꞌānauꞌia ꞌaia ki runga i te ꞌenua ko Mangaia. i te  rā taꞌi ngaꞌuru ma iva o Tiunu i te mataꞌiti 1878 … in the village of Oneroa. His parents are Rakaiti, the father, and the mother Vaine Maꞌiti. His adopted father is Miria, and Miria is my great-grandfather. That’s how we are connected, because, kimi rātou koꞌai te families, ākā ꞌangaꞌanga te kimi te family, nō te mea te ingoa, kāre ꞌoki te ingoa full. The names are not full, it's like Rakaiti, Vaimaꞌiti, we need to ꞌaere te kimi i te genealogy, but te ngāꞌi pūmaꞌana, kua adoptꞌia ꞌaia e tō mātou great-grandfather by the name of Miria. And Miria … it’s a common name i tēia rā i Mangaia. Because there's a person named Miria, and there's a Miria in Rarotonga too. So that's the adopted father or metua ꞌāngai tēia o Pāpā Tau Kopungaiti, i runga i tō tātou ꞌenua ki Mangaia.

Ē, i roto katoa tōna tupu maianga ki Mangaia ... nō te mea, tō mātou pāpā great-grandfather Miria, ꞌe tangata mārama tēia i tāna ꞌangaꞌanga e karanga ꞌoki tātou ē, koia te vaꞌa tara o te ariki, i roto i tēia tuātau, he was the advisor to the ariki at the time. Pāpā Miria, ꞌe rua āna tamariki kua ꞌaere ki te vaꞌeꞌau, ꞌaere rātou ki te First World War, nō te vaꞌeꞌau rātou, ē Tau … Ko Tangatakino, ko Teinakore ē Tau. Rātou te au tamariki ā te tupuna ko Miria i ꞌaere ꞌi te tamaki. Ē tō rātou rua, e taꞌi, karanga tāua, kua tano nō te ꞌaere. Kāreka tētaꞌi nō te mea nō te ꞌinangaro o tētaꞌi i te ꞌaere nei ki tamaki kua pikikaꞌa tētaꞌi tōna rā ꞌānauꞌanga nō te mea ēꞌī e taꞌi ngaꞌuru ma varu ōna mataꞌiti ꞌakatikaꞌia koe i te ꞌaere ki te tamaki. So kua pikikaꞌa tētaꞌi i tōna rā ꞌānauꞌanga, kua ō atu ꞌaia I roto i tēia pupu, i te āru i ꞌa Pāpā Tau ē Tangatakino. Ko Teinakore tēia i pikikaꞌa i tōna rā ꞌānauꞌanga, recruit ꞌaia, kua tae ꞌaia ki te tamaki. Tae rātou te tamaki i roto ra te ꞌaereꞌanga rātou ko Pāpā Tau kua ō ꞌaia i roto i te pupu o te, karanga ꞌoki ... ko rātou te aronga mua ka ꞌaere nō te kō i te tunnel, kua ō atu ꞌa Pāpā Tau ki roto i te reira. Ē ko tētaꞌi rere e rua, tei rotō rāua i te other troop, they end up in Egypt. At that time, tō tātou au vaꞌeꞌau ꞌaere, recruited under New Zealand. On their record, that’s when they specify “Kūki ꞌĀirani”.

So that’s Pāpā Tau. Tē kimi nei rāi au i tāna ꞌānau. I tāna ꞌānau tikāi. Nō te mea, mātou e au tamariki, we just adoptꞌia mai ꞌaia i roto i te family, iāku rā, mē kua adoptꞌia mai ꞌaia that means, mē pēnei kāre e ōna family, i adoptꞌia mai ꞌaia i roto i tō mātou great-grandfather i roto i tēia tuātau. So ko au, I was so proud. Pūmaꞌana mai tōku ngākau i te kiteꞌanga au ē, nā tōku great grandfather i adoptꞌia mai Pāpā Tau into the family. So as Numangatini I take ownership. I take ownership and proud of what Pāpā Tau did and where he ends up, and his recognition, I know he got some medals. And being a son of Mangaia that served all the way in France... Mataora katoa ē te pūmaꞌana i te kite that they’ve been recognised where they served during their time. So that's my appreciation and my heart warming feeling about this pāpā, Pāpā Tau.

Pēnei paꞌa kāre āna tamariki, but I class us, ko mātou āna tamariki because kua ꞌāngai tō mātou great-grandfather i ꞌaia into the family so ko mātou tāna tamariki. I roto tēia tuātau nō te mea kua recognise mātou te ꞌānau ā Miria, including i tēia family i Rarotonga nei. We’ve been together to honour i tēia metua tāne tē vai nei rāi tēia i roto iāku, mē ꞌoki au ki Mangaia, nō te mea kāre i kiteꞌia i tanuꞌia ꞌaia ki ea. Ko te ngāꞌi tūmatetenga tēia … I runga i te record, te ꞌakapapaꞌanga, kua tanuꞌia ꞌaia ki Mangaia. I roto i tā tētaꞌi manakoꞌanga, kua tanuꞌia ki Rarotonga nei. But kāre ꞌe tangata i kiteꞌia tei ꞌea. So kua tae tēia ki āku, mē ꞌoki au ki Mangaia ka ꞌaere au ka patu i tētaꞌi toka ꞌua ꞌakamaꞌara ē tētaꞌi au plaque i te ꞌakakite, toka ꞌakamaꞌaraꞌanga ꞌua tēia nō te metua tāne. Nō te mea, my grandfather like, mē tāku e karanga atu kiā koe, Teinakore, is my grandfather on my father’s side. And my mother, her father, also went to war. So my two grandfathers, and Pāpā Tau, a granduncle, they’ve been to war.

Mei tāku e karanga atu, tō mātou pāpā i tērā uki, tōku grandfather e tōku pāpā, ꞌa Teinakore. I tērā tuātau e noꞌo ana rātou, karanga mātou ē “e noꞌo ana rātou i te kāinga” te kāinga i roto i te puna tei reira te taro, te puaka, e noꞌo ana rātou ki reira. I uta. E karanga ana ꞌoki mātou ko te kāinga tērā. Pouroa te au Pāpā, te au māpū ꞌe “taro” tō rātou. ꞌE taro tā rātou, maybe not less than three per person. Those are taro māmaꞌata. Swamp taro. And also, in the Mangaia tradition, you own a taro and also you own the dry land, piece of land, that’s where you feed your pig. Karangaꞌia i roto i tā tātou peu “ko te kīnaki tērā i tāꞌau taro”. Kite mai koe tāꞌau taro, tōna “meat” ko tērā i runga i te ꞌenua marō. So, i roto i te ꞌakanoꞌonoꞌoanga, pouroa te au māpū, “ꞌe taro tāꞌau, ꞌe kīnaki tāꞌau”.

That means, you have a swamp taro and then you have a dry piece of land where you feed your pigs, your chicken, and plants, the dry [land] foods. So, nā tēia i ꞌakakite mai, Pāpā Tau was one of them. To rātou oraꞌanga, i tērā tuātau, tō rātou oraꞌanga, they live in the puna. Not like today, they moved away from [being] right by their lands. And also, in Mangaia, there’s a corridor to walk and then you end up in the sea, walking through the makatea and then you end up in the sea. So everybody knows. That’s one common way of living in Mangaia. Saturday, people go in the sea to get the fish, through the channel, or the “upstairs” and then go down to the sea, and then come back. So nā tēia i ꞌakakite mai e, Pāpā Tau and the brothers ... that’s what they do during those days, keeping the land, using the land.

Kāre ꞌe maꞌata roa tāku i kite nō Pāpā Tau i roto i te reira tuātau, nō te mea it was a surprise when tētaꞌi tangata i tāniuniu mai ki āku i te ꞌui i tēia tangata, Pāpā Tau Kopungaiti, ki āku. Kimiꞌanga rāi au, “Adoptive father – Miria", my great-grandfather. So, iāia ki te tamaki, kāre mātou i kite ꞌe aꞌa tana, manako ꞌua nei mātou iāia ꞌaere e vaꞌeꞌau – frontline or artilleries but when the news came that he served as a tunneller, we were surprised. And, nō te au ꞌangaꞌanga i raveꞌia ana i roto i te tunnel? It fits my imagination, to Pāpā Tau, because of working in the swamp taro, working on the land, it’s physical. And also it depicts i tōna oraꞌanga [he was] used to i te noꞌo i runga i te ꞌenua. Kua riro tāna i tāmou mai ki ꞌaia, ꞌapai ꞌaia ki Nū Tirēni, kāre ꞌe tangata i kite ē, i ꞌakapēꞌea ꞌaia i ꞌikiꞌanga ē, ka ꞌaere ꞌaia ki ꞌea? Maybe the choice was given for them.

For you, artillery, this and that, but for this poor guy, maybe he was selected or he picked to be a tunneller. Pēnei kua ꞌiki ꞌaia te ngāꞌi i tōna māroꞌiroꞌi tei ꞌaere ki roto, nō te mea, mē ꞌakamaꞌara atu, it’s dangerous working in the tunnel, it’s very dangerous, it’s better for you to come on the field, so you can see the enemy! But working in the tunnel? Maybe the thing collapse and you’re buried down there. So yeah, that’s why we were surprised to see one of our relatives ending up as a tunneller.

I tōku manako, mei tei raveꞌia ki Nū Tirēni, i tō rātou ꞌakaepaepaꞌanga i te 500 soldiers tei ꞌaere ki te tamaki. And iāku, ia tātou i te Kūki ꞌĀirani nei. Karanga au ē kāre ꞌe māruarua, kāre ꞌe māruarua rava ana tā tātou i tā tēia au metua i rave i tō rātou tuātau i riro mai ei tātou te Kūki ꞌĀirani i tēia rā. Ko tōku manako tēia, kāre i rangarangatū mei tei raveꞌia ki Nū Tirēni. E tika, kua mātau tātou i te au ANZAC parade, kua ꞌaere tātou nō te ꞌakamaꞌara. Iāku, ae kua ꞌakakite au tēia ki Mangaia i te taeꞌanga mai te nūti nō Pāpā Tau. Kua ꞌakakite au ki Mangaia on the ANZAC Day. Mei tēia rā e ꞌaere ꞌua atu, ka ꞌinangaro au, te au vaꞌeꞌau Mangaia tei ꞌaere, te au family e noꞌo nei ki runga i te ꞌenua, kia tomo mai rātou i roto i te parade, to honour i tō rātou metua. Nō te mea i tā tātou, ko te au aronga ꞌua e ora nei plus i tētaꞌi au family e ꞌaere nei … So ko tōku manako tēia. When it comes to the parade, because, not only the 500 soldiers kua ꞌaere atu muri atu, muri atu, but we dont see them at our ANZAC parades, i te ꞌakamaꞌara. Ko tētaꞌi rā maꞌata nō tō tātou bāsileia i roto i tēia tuātau. So ko tēia tāku e ꞌinangaro nei kia raveꞌia tēia ꞌakamaꞌaraꞌanga nā tātou, kāre nō te au kōpū tangata ꞌua tē ora nei tō rātou au kōpū tangata. Ē te au kōpū tangata kua takakē. Tōna ꞌāiteꞌanga ꞌoki kua takakē, kāre rātou e ꞌaere mai e mata. Mē kāre ꞌe kōpū tangata i runga i te ꞌenua ei mata ia rātou. Iāku rā, kāre ꞌe tano. ꞌE kōpū tangata tō te rima ꞌānere, e ora nei i runga i tō tātou ꞌenua i roto i tēia tuātau.

So ko tōku manako tēia i te ꞌakarārangi i tēia, tā tō tātou metua i ꞌaere ki te tamaki. I rave i tēia tuātau. Kua kite au, ka ngatā, inārā ꞌe mea tau kia ꞌakamaꞌaraꞌia kia ꞌakaoraoraꞌia tēia i roto i te kōpū tangata pēnei kua kite au ē kua rave nei te au vaꞌeꞌau i tā rātou tuꞌanga, ꞌe mea tau katoa e te kōpū tangata, nā rātou te tuꞌanga meitaki atu i te komakoma ki te au kōpū tangata, mē raveꞌia te ANZAC ꞌaere mai tātou, ꞌaere mai tātou nō te ꞌakamaꞌaraꞌanga. So ko tēia te mea mānea nō te mea, e kite ana au i Mangaia te tamariki arā rāi au, te ora rā tōku grandfather e toru rāi rātou at that time surviving, and yet maꞌata rātou te noꞌo rāi te family but rātou [tokotoru] ꞌua tei ꞌakamaꞌaraia, ko rātou ꞌua tei ꞌakamaꞌaraia. I tēia taime i Mangaia kua ꞌakakite au ki te kōpū tangata ē te au ANZAC, rātou kāre koe e māti, ꞌapai mai tāꞌau wreath, ꞌapai mai tāꞌau tiare nō te ꞌakamaꞌara ꞌua anga i te metua tane. Kua pati rā au te au tamariki ꞌaere mai kia tomo i roto i te parade kia tuku katoa ko tētaꞌi ꞌapinga tēia, te numero [service number] ē te ingoa, kia kite te reira tērā tangata “oh, tē mata nei tēia tamaiti” pēnei paꞌa ꞌe mokopuna, e ꞌina, so ꞌe ꞌakairo tēia nō te family i roto i tēia tuātau. Ko tētaꞌi ꞌangaꞌanga tēia ꞌinangaroꞌia kia vai tēia ꞌakamātūtūꞌanga, ꞌakamaꞌaraꞌanga i tō tātou au tupuna tei ꞌaere i te tamaki.

Te raveꞌia ana tēia parade i Mangaia, e toru ꞌua rāi e ora i tērā taime, it looked like they were the guests of the day, ꞌe ꞌakangāteitei nō rātou but forgetting the maꞌataꞌanga. But in this case, because kura ngarongaro rātou, eā? And tē vai nei tētaꞌi aronga, they've been in the service, living on the island, and they are the ones that join the parade. So, ꞌe mea mānea i te ꞌapai mai i te families kia tomo ki roto i te parade, i te ꞌakamaꞌara tō rātou tupuna i takakē.

[NTA] I te tae maiꞌanga te nūti, I ignited this thing, seeing “adopted father” on his profile, “Miria”. And there’s only one Miria, that’s our great-grandfather. So I ignited the news, I sent the news to the families “Hey Pāpā Tau Kopungaiti, adopted son by our great-grandfather. Arras, the Mayor of Arras will be coming to honour them, we have to do something.” So the family came in and pulled us together. And we greet and thank-you the people from Arras, the Mayor from Arras. In recognising Pāpā Tau being one of the servicemen in France.

So like I said, we will put tētaꞌi mēnema and a plaque to commemorate Pāpā Tau for his service and being part of the family as well. So ko tētaꞌi tuꞌanga tēia. And I want to do this in line with ANZAC Day. So like normal, after we can have a kaikai and ꞌakamaꞌaraꞌanga. 

[LK]ꞌE tūtū nēneꞌi tōna?

[NTA] Ngatā te kimi i te tūtū, iāku rā, ꞌe tūtū tā te vaꞌeꞌau i roto i tērā 500 soldiers, te tūtū? Very difficult to identify. He’s one of them [in the photo of the Rarotongan Contingent soldiers]. So there must be an individual photo. Because i tērā tuātau kāre ꞌe nēneꞌi, very rare in Mangaia i tērā tuātau to have a photo. The photo, only, you’ve probably heard Don Marshall when he was there and the Pāpāꞌā connection.

One of the things we need to understand in the Cook Islands culture, some families they continue the first name of their grandfather or their father or whatever, in our case we still continue the first name of our great-grandfather Solomona Isaaka. That’s why our last name is Solomona. If not, we would have been Isaaka instead of Solomona in the line.

Kia tau ki tau ki tāku i kite nō tō mātou tupuna ko Pāpā Solomona Isaaka, nō roto mai ꞌaia i te ꞌoire Tautu i Aitutaki nei. Kia tau ki tei ꞌakakiteꞌia mai kia mātou nā roto i tō mātou uncle Isaac, e 19 rāi o tō mātou pāpā rūꞌau mataꞌiti i tomo atu ei ꞌaia ki roto i te pupu tamaki tei ꞌaere atu ki te tamaki atupaka. Kua tōpiri iatu ꞌaia ki te pupu tānara (tunnellers) o Nū Tirēni i Arras I Varāni.

Iaia i te tamaki i Varāni Kua rokoꞌia ꞌaia e te maki ē kua ꞌapaina iatu ꞌaia ki Aiviti e kia meitaki mai ꞌaia kia ꞌoki atu ꞌaia ki Arras. Te atu anga tātou i te tamaki kua ꞌoki mai ꞌaia ki Aitutaki nei.

Kua noꞌo ꞌaia ki tō mātou māmā rūꞌau ko Teremoana nō Reureu mai ē kua ꞌakaipoipo rāua ē kua noꞌo ki Tautu. Kāre i roa ana kua nui tō mātou Māmā Teremoana i tō mātou Pāpā i ꞌa Solomona. Te ꞌānau maiꞌanga tō mātou Māmā Teremoana i tā rāua tamaiti kua ꞌaere tō mātou Pāpā Solomona Isaac ki tai i te tautai ika e kai nā tō mātou Māmā Teremoana. Iaia e tautai ara kua takaꞌi ꞌaia ki runga i te noꞌu (stonefish). Nō te mea kāre ꞌaia i meitaki tikāi nō te maki nīmonia (pneumonia), tāku i kite kāre rā i pāpū iāku, iaia i te tamaki i Arras. Kua ꞌāpikepike ꞌaia ē kua tiaki tō mātou māmā rūꞌau ē kia ꞌakaꞌaiai kua ꞌaere atu ꞌaia ki taꞌatai tēia tō mātou pāpā rūꞌau kua ꞌakangāroꞌi. Tēia tāku i kite nō tō mātou Pāpā Rūꞌau ko Solomona Isaac.

Kua ꞌakangāroꞌi atu tō mātou Pāpā Rūꞌau ꞌa Solomona Isaac i te rā toru o Tepetema mataꞌiti 1923 e rua ngaꞌuru ma iva ōna mataꞌiti. ꞌĀnauꞌia ꞌaia i te  rā rua ngaꞌuru ma taꞌi o Tītema mataꞌiti 1894. Te ꞌakangāroꞌiꞌanga tō mātou Pāpā Rūꞌau ꞌa Solomona Isaac, Kua ꞌoki mai tō mātou Māmā Rūꞌau ꞌa Māmā Teremoana ki Reureu e noꞌo mai i te rua o tāna tāne ko Pāpā Tetevano. Kua ꞌakariro tō mātou Pāpā Rūꞌau ꞌa Pāpā Tetevano i tō mātou Pāpā Solomona e tamaiti nānā ē kua ꞌānau mai rāua te au teina ē te au tuaꞌine nō Pāpā Solomona Tetevano. Tē vai mai rāi te mēnema o tō mātou pāpā Solomona Isaac i Tautu i tēia rā.

[LK] Where was Solomon Isaacsꞌ father from?

[PS] Ka ꞌakakite atu au te tika. Kāre au i kite ē koꞌai te Metua tāne o tō mātou Pāpā. Tetaꞌi tara tāku i ꞌakarongo inārā kāre au i kite mē e tika, nō Rarotonga mai ꞌaia. ꞌAere mai ꞌaia te tamariki ara rāi ki Aitutaki mei Rarotonga mai. ꞌĀngaiꞌia ꞌaia e tō mātou ꞌuānga i Tautu. Kia tau ki tā uncle Sabati i tōna oraꞌanga, e kimi ꞌōꞌonu atu ana ꞌaia nō tō mātou pāpā ē kua ꞌirinaki ꞌaia ē nō roto mai ꞌa Solomona Isaac te kōpū Vakatini. Mē e tika tēia autara kāre au i kite. Tāku rā i pāpū iāku, nō Tautu mai tō mātou Pāpā ꞌa Solomona Isaac nō roto mai te ꞌuānga Isaaka.

Nō te mea, ꞌānauꞌia mai mātou, e tō mātou metua tāne kāre rāi mātou e kite ꞌe aꞌa te tara tikāi. Tā mātou i kite, te ꞌuānga i Tautu, tō mātou ꞌuānga Ioane, ko te reira te kōpū tangata o Pāpā Solomona Isaac. Ko rātou rāi te ꞌuānga tā mātou e ꞌaere ana te ꞌārāvei i te tuatau te ora ara rāi tō mātou Pāpā Solomona Tetevano.

Tā mātou i ꞌakakiteꞌia mai kia mātou. Noꞌo ꞌaia ki Tautu. ꞌAtupaka mai ki Tautu ē te tae maiꞌanga rāi o te tamaki, there’s something wrong, mē poto rava ꞌaia mē kāre, ꞌe pākau kē. Kāre ꞌoki ꞌaia, but he still went and tried to get in and finally he got enlisted into the war … it’s limited what we know about his history. It’s because our grandfather didn’t tell us more about him because he didn’t know as well nō te mea ꞌe toru rāi ōna marama i ꞌakangāroꞌi ei tōna pāpā. To us, we didnt think it’s that important i te kimi ꞌōꞌonu atu nō runga i tōna tara. Kia tupu mai tēia ꞌinangaro nā roto mai i te ꞌakamaꞌaraꞌanga i tōna tuatau i te tamaki, i kite ꞌei mātou, kaore, ꞌe puꞌapinga tōna tara nō runga i tāna i rave i te tamaki. Kua riro tēia i te ꞌakamāroꞌiroꞌi ia mātou kia ꞌaere kia kimi ꞌōꞌonu atu i tōna tara. Ka riro ꞌoki te reira i te ꞌakapāpū mai ē nōꞌea mai mātou ē kia pāpū ia mātou te autara tikāi o tō mātou Pāpā Solomona Isaac.

Mei ā tāua e taratara nei it’s making me want to find out more about where our great-grandfather is actually from. All we ever know is, ꞌe Aitutaki mātou, but are we really full Aitutakians? Maybe on my mum’s side. On my dad? ꞌAkanamunamu meitaki ē, ꞌe aꞌa te connection. 

ꞌAkakite mai tō mātou Pāpā Rūꞌau ē, ꞌatupaka mai ꞌaia i Tautu, ē oti, he lived with the family, he had a happy life, inārā kia tae mai te tuatau o te tamaki kua inangaro ꞌaia i te ꞌaere ki te Tamariki ... he wanted to go into the war so he enlisted in the war. 

Kia ꞌakakite atu au te tika, te tamarikiꞌanga mātou, there’s a case with our great-grandfather's medals in it. It didn’t hit us as kids about the value of, how important those medals are, because he represented us in the war. 

We played with it, and our grandfather always told us off when we take it out, and we lost a few of them. And the New Zealand Government gave the family again a newer copy of the medals so that we can have them. Tōku Tētī e taru ana ꞌaia i te au mētera i te au rā ꞌakamaꞌaraꞌanga ANZAC Day.  E ꞌaere ana mātou ki raro nō te tuꞌanga o te ANZAC, nānā e taru ana, ē pērā katoa te tamariki ā tōku tuakana te au nephew-neice, rātou e taru ana i te  au mētera o Pāpā Solomona Isaac. And lately when I see our kids walking in the march, it makes me think about not appreciating our great-grandfather, for what he did. Because we thought his medals were just nothing. And we played with it, and you know, you’re asking that question. It saddened me, it’s making me emotional, because kāre mātou i kite te puꞌapinga o tāna i rave, nō mātou ē nō tō tātou bāsileia. Because kāre tātou i ꞌaere i te tamaki, i te tauturu i te tamaki i te reira tuātau. Tōku manako kua peke tātou i tēia au bāsileia i raro, i te ꞌaere te ꞌapai atu ia tātou te Kūki ꞌĀirani nō rātou. 

So I’ll say right now, I’ve been proud since I found the history, the small history of our great-grandfather, I am very proud now that he has represented and every time now that ka raveꞌia te ANZAC, te ꞌakamaꞌaraꞌanga o te au aronga tamaki, e ꞌāmani ana mātou tā mātou au tiare pūkē, ꞌapai ana ki raro because before that I can tell you, when my dad says “ꞌāmaniꞌia mai tētaꞌi tiare kia ꞌapai nō Pāpā ki raro i te pae o te poꞌaki” oh we get angry because, we think “what’s the point?”. But coming out of this and then now with your interview it has made me think again, yes, I thank him for it, and what he’s done, and we do go to his grave and check on his grave and I thank our family that lives in Tautu that cleans around the graves and keeps it tidy for us, so yep I’m proud. 

Ngākau parau au i tōku tupuna i tāna i rave i te tauturu ia tātou i tae mai tātou ki tēia tuātau. 

I think what I can honestly say is, I think we people need to be told of the dedication. Tō rātou tū i te tamaki nō tō tātou tikaꞌanga. You know, for our rights as the people of the Cook Islands. I think that’s one of the things that our people overseas need to know as well. Even because I have an ex-student Thomas Harrison [also the co-founder of Kuki Learning], he’s now in the army in New Zealand. When he comes back and, there’s a couple of times we talked about my great-grandfather, and then he’s been passionate about having more Aitutakians to join into the military, kia ꞌaere kia ꞌōronga i tā rātou rareꞌanga i te tauturu i tō tātou bāsileia. Kāre e nō Nū Tirēni ꞌua ē nō tō tātou bāsileia. Nō te mea mē ō tātou i te manamanatā, ka ꞌaere mai te Nū Tirēni i te tauturu ia tātou i roto i tēia au tuꞌanga. Nō reira ꞌirinaki au ē, tō tātou ꞌiti tangata i te Kūki ꞌĀirani nei, tō tātou ꞌiti tangata i Nū Tirēni, ē Ozi ē te ngāꞌi atu wherever they are. Ka ꞌinangaroꞌia tātou i te tū māroꞌiroꞌi ē te tumu toa o tēia au metua e toru, kua kite au ko tētaꞌi ko te Pāpā o te Minita ko George Angene, tō rātou māroꞌiroꞌi. Kāre nō rātou ꞌua, ē ko tētaꞌi aronga ke atu tei ꞌaere nō tātou, kāre nō te tamaki ꞌua o te reira tuātau, the World War One, World War Two, ē pērā katoa tētaꞌi au tamaki kē atu. Nō te mea tētaꞌi ngā pāpā i konei, koia rāua i te tuꞌanga o te Vietnam ē te vai atu ra. But our people need to understand that these heroes have done so much for our rights as a Cook Islander to stand as a people in this world. 

To me, being Cook Islanders is very important, we need to stand as a people as well. But now, we also have that relationship with New Zealand, we can still work on that relationship by, you know if any of our young people want to go and join the army and all that stuff. We should encourage that instead of saying no... because seeing through the ex-student Thomas, when he talks about his passion on trying to do his part to protect the people and all that stuff, it made me think of the time of my own great-grandfather. Even though he didn’t marry before he went, I’m sure in his mind he’s thinking about protecting the people, so that if he does come back from the war, he will have a family and things like that and I thank them for that opportunity to allow us to continue as a country and as a nation. 

I can honestly say for a lot of us, the grandchildren and then the great grandchildren, we have a fair idea of our great-grandfather, or great-great grandfather, because our children are starting to have children as well. Tē ꞌakamāroꞌiroꞌi nei mātou i tēia au tamariki ā mātou kia ꞌāpiꞌi, kia kite rātou ē, nō ꞌea mai mātou. Nō reira mē ꞌaere mai tētaꞌi o tō mātou kōpū tangata nō Nū Tirēni mai ē Ozi ꞌe mea ꞌōu nō mātou, tētaꞌi rā ka ꞌaere mātou ki Tautu te ngāꞌi o te mēnema, ki te ꞌakaāri i te mēnema o tō mātou Pāpā. 

But most of the time we celebrate him more on ANZAC Day where we bring out his medal and we share what we know about him and even teach it to our kids, it’s gotten to a stage where my brothers and my sisters, we teach their kids about the history, they know about their great-great grandfather, they know and when we go to Tautu they go “oh Pāpā’s grave is at the back, over there” yeah so they know. Even the younger ones now they say “Oh uncle where are we going? Are we going to Tautu? Are we going to Pāpā’s grave? Oh no not today”. But yeah they have a fair idea. And I can honestly say thank you to the New Zealand Government for bringing it alive because like I said before it didn’t really hit me like the importance of what my great-grandfather has done for me, and for our family and for the nation as well. And when the New Zealand came up with the stamp and stuff, that’s when Uncle Isaac researched stuff and then he tells us and we tell our kids.