Ada Rongomatane Ariki

Ada Rongomatane Ariki
President of the House of Ariki
In office
2006–2008
Preceded byTou Travel Ariki
Succeeded byTou Travel Ariki
Personal details
Born20 August 1948
Died9 January 2018
NZ Governor-General Anand Satyanand with members of the Cook Islands House of Ariki, 2007. Ada Rongomatane Ariki is second from right.

Ada Rongomatane Ariki (20 August 1948 – 9 January 2018), also known as Ada Teaupurepure Tetupu Nicholls, was a Cook Islands ariki. She held the title of Rongomatane Ariki, the principal title of the Paruarangi tribe on the island of Atiu. She served as President of the House of Ariki from 2006 to December 2008.

She was the daughter of Rongomatane Tetupu Ariki, and spent her childhood between Atiu and Rarotonga. After schooling, she worked in the post office and the Philatelic Bureau.[1]

She acceded to the Rongomatene title in February 1972 and served in the House of Ariki, serving as its president between 2006 and 2008.[2] In 2008 while serving as President she was one of eight members of the House of Ariki to sign a proclamation purporting to dissolve the government. She later retracted her support.[3]

In 1977, she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.[4]

In 2007 she accompanied 27 Kuhl's lorikeets from Rimatara to Atiu,[5] leading to their successful reintroduction to the Cook Islands.[6] She also served as patron of the Cook Islands National Council of Women.

She was succeeded as Rongomatane Ariki by her son, Nicholas Nicholls.[7][8]

  1. ^ "Atiu title dates back many centuries". Cook Islands News. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Atiu unveiling for Ada Rongomatane". Cook Islands News. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  3. ^ Jonassen, Jon Tikivanotau M. (2010). "Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009". The Contemporary Pacific. 22 (1): 163. doi:10.1353/cp.2010.0045. Retrieved 20 August 2020 – via ProQuest.
  4. ^ Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). "Recipients of the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal 1977: nominal roll of New Zealand recipients including Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau". Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 432. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
  5. ^ "Saved by one Queen and Brought Home by Another: Rimatara Lorikeet Returns to the Cook Islands". BirdLife International. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Ten years later, rare bird is well established on Atiu". Cook Islands News. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Rongomatane successor". Cook Islands News. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Atiu has high hopes for Rongomatane successor". Cook Islands News. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2020.