Attention Romance Fans

A HUGE shipment of over 500 Harlequin / Mills and Boons Romances have just arrived. We'd like to thank Barbara's Books of Manukau City, Auckland, New Zealand, for the huge price discount and the additional gift of 100 free books.

The library wishes to thank Brian Mason for covering the airfreight costs.

This genre is the most read by local Cook Islands women.

Printing Press

This printing press and guillotine were brought to Rarotonga in the mid-1800s by LMS missionaries for publication of church newsletters and the first Cook Islands Maori language Bible.

These were salvaged from outdoors in 2000. The Society built an extension on the library verandah specifically to house the press and guillotine.

Volunteer

The Library and Museum is staffed by 2 fulltime staff and several volunteers. We are very appreciative of their time, services and skills. Anyone wishing to volunteer would be most welcome.

Museum Collection - Captain Cook Portrait

This is an oil on canvas painting based on the famous portrait of Captain James Cook R.N.
by Nathaniel Dance. Purchased by the Minister of Tourism of the Cook Islands, Hon. Tupuiariki Henry in 1972, it used to be housed in the conference room at the Prime Minister's office.
In the late 1980s it was gifted to the Library and Museum Society.

It was painted by Ray Penman, 'weekend artist' (which the NZ Women's Weekly called him in a 1972 article), late of Auckland, New Zealand.