The Cook Islands Progressive Association (CIPA) was the first indigenous political organisation in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , langu ...

. Initially focused on economic advancement for the islands, it came to advocate for greater self-rule. It was an ancestor of the

Cook Islands Party The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the islands' politics since 1965. From 1999 until 2005 it sometimes ...

Foundation

The Association was founded in November 1944 in Rarotonga and was primarily supported by local planters. Its initial demands were the establishment of co-operative trading stores and for a ship to enable cash-crops to be exported independently of the irregular service provided by the monopoly Union Steam-ship Company. In April 1945 Cook Island workers returning from working in the phosphate mines on

Makatea Makatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae, is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus, which is a part of the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia. It is located southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser g ...

complained of poor working conditions, low wages, insufficient food and indenture which amounted to virtual

blackbirding Blackbirding involves the coercion of people through deception or kidnapping to work as slaves or poorly paid labourers in countries distant from their native land. The term has been most commonly applied to the large-scale taking of people i ...

. Their contracts had been negotiated directly between the ''Compagnie des Phosphates de l'Océanie'' and the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

government. A petition to the

Resident Commissioner Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such ...

was not forwarded to Wellington, and the issue was taken up in New Zealand by the local Cook Islands community and the Auckland Trades Council, resulting in a government inquiry. The Auckland Cook Islands community subsequently formed an Auckland branch of the Association in October 1945, which in November 1945 elected Albert Henry as its secretary. This branch subsequently became dominant in the Association, and drew up a program demanding higher wages, improved shipping, a Cook Islands representative in the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, King of New Zealand (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is u ...

, fully elected islands councils, an elected federal islands government, and the abolition of the Resident Commissioner's power to veto legislation.

Industrial campaign

In January 1946 the CIPA organised a strike for higher wages by

Avarua Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national capital of the Cook Islands. The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport (IATA Airport Cod ...

harbour workers a few days before the Union Steamship Company's ''Maui Pomare'' arrived in Rarotonga. The strike was successful, and resulted in a significant increase in membership for the CIPA: by May 1946 it claimed 3,000 financial members, roughly half the population. The New Zealand government subsequently formed a government sponsored union, the Cook Islands Workers Union, in an effort to prevent future unrest. In December 1947 a dispute between CIPA and CIWU supporters on

Manihiki 250px, Map of Manihiki Atoll Manihiki is an atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands known informally as the "Island of Pearls". It is located in the Northern Cook Island chain, approximately north of the capital island of Rarotonga, ma ...

saw 14 people arrested and held at the local courthouse. At the same time the ''Maui Pomare'' was blacklisted by the CIPA over its use of CIWU labour. When two CIPA members were arrested, a large group of protestors marched on the administration building and forced their release. The ''Pomare'' cancelled its next visit, and subsequent ships were greeted with pickets. Fearing further strife, in March 1948 the New Zealand government sent a force of New Zealand police to maintain order, and gazetted regulations forbidding strikes. The police remained in place until November, and the CIPA gave up its industrial campaign.

Post-1948 activities

After 1948, the CIPA focused on economic development, acquiring a ship for inter-island transport and establishing a Producer's Cooperative Society. Both ventures subsequently failed. The CIPA maintained a skeleton existence for the next 14 years. It contested the 1956 Cook Islands general election, winning three of the six Maori seats on Rarotonga. In 1963, as self-government approached, it began talks with the Industrial Union of Workers and the co-operative movement on the formation of a new political group. When Albert Henry returned to the Cook Islands in March 1964, the three groups agreed to unite, leading to the formation of the Cook Islands Party.

References

{{Authority control Political parties in the Cook Islands Political parties established in 1944 1964 disestablishments