A groundbreaking effort to preserve the Cook Islands rich voyaging heritage is underway. Rare footage has been discovered and digitized, providing a glimpse into Vaka Te Au O Tonga’s glory days.
Originally captured by Nick Henry, the footage is of the 2008 voyage to the Pacific Arts Festival held in Pago Pago, American Samoa. There is also footage of a sail to Tahiti in 2002 with traditional leader Ariki Te Tika Matapo on board.
The recovery of these 5 hours of film is just the beginning. Twelve of an estimated 200 tapes have been digitized so far in a partnership with 88FM.
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES TO PRESERVE HISTORY
The digitisation project has already tackled significant technical hurdles. Running against the clock as the shelf life of these tapes ran out, the team has had to move fast. The 200 tapes require a specific DVCAM video hub in order to digitize the footage. Unfortunately the original hub was lost, the backup hub malfunctioned, and the one purchased online was incompatible. The Society recently invested in a functioning DVCAM video hub for $1,000 which was compatible and thus the first 12 tapes were digitized.
HISTORY REBORN
The Cook Islands Voyaging Society look forward to sharing these archival gems with the world. These unseen recordings will soon be uploaded to the CIVS Youtube channel for the public to enjoy. Copies will also be backed up online in cloud storage for future generations to access. There are also plans to transform the footage into documentaries, inviting the original crew members to retell the stories of these historic voyages as seen through Nick Henrys camera lens.
By releasing this footage online, CIVS will document key dates in voyaging history, identifying the crew members involved, and preserving their stories for posterity.
A striking difference in the footage is the age of the voyagers—mostly adults in their late 20s to 60s—compared to today’s younger crews, reflecting an evolution in the voyaging community. Notably, some individuals featured have since passed away, adding emotional weight to this rediscovery.
“This footage has been kept in great condition waiting to be brought back to life,” says Byron Brown, Secretary of the CIVS.
“Bringing it to life honours those who paved the way for today’s voyagers and will inspire future generations to take up the challenge of voyaging.”
Brown says the team are also actively searching for any footage of the 1994 launch of the Vaka Te Au O Tonga at Avarua Harbour. This vital day in Cook Islands voyaging history remains a missing piece of this legacy. He invites members of the public to get in touch if they have any footage.
A TEAM EFFORT (Background: A Partnership Rooted in Preservation)
Like sailing a vaka, this project would not have been possible without a crew of dedicated collaborators. Key partners and contributors play a crucial role in making this cultural treasure accessible to the public.
The CIVS extends heartfelt thanks to 88FM – GDub and staff who are processing the digitizations – a time consuming but invaluable task. An akameitakianga also goes out to John Tierney who provided the tapes, granting permission to digitize and release Nick Henry’s historic footage.
This initiative builds on a longstanding partnership between Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision, supported by Manatū Taonga (New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage), and two Cook Islands organizations: The Cook Islands Ministry of Cultural Development (MOCD) and The Cook Islands Voyaging Society.
In 2023, Ngā Taonga provided two Rokirokitia digitization kits to the Cook Islands to preserve at-risk audiovisual taonga, such as VHS and audio cassettes, which are prone to degradation and reliant on obsolete hardware.
The collaboration traces back to 2013, when the audiovisual collections of the National Archives of the Cook Islands (NACI) were deposited with Ngā Taonga, totalling 6,000 items.
A 2022 deposit agreement solidified this relationship, integrating the NACI collection into the Utaina Magnetic Media Digitisation Project.
To build local capacity, three representatives—Tui Tupa, Archivist from MOCD, and Byron Brown and Tiana Haxton from CIVS—attended Rokirokitia training workshops in Wellington from May 15-18, 2023.
The trip included visits to Ngā Taonga’s Motutawa Vault in Avalon, Te Papa, Heritage NZ, and the Alexander Turnbull Library.
Rokirokitia is dedicated to safeguarding mātauranga (knowledge) held in magnetic media, ensuring kōrero (stories) and images remain accessible for future generations.
The kits and training empower the Cook Islands to preserve their cultural heritage independently, a commitment Ngā Taonga continues to uphold.
This collaborative spirit is vital to preserving the Cook Islands’ voyaging legacy.
Funding Needed to Complete the Vision
While progress is promising, the project requires additional resources.
Digitizing, post-editing, uploading, and cloud storage costs approximately $100 per tape, totalling $18,000 for the remaining 188 tapes.
“We’re passionate about sharing this heritage, but we can’t do it alone,” says Brown.
“We’re seeking donors to help us finish this work and inspire others to voyage in the future and applying for grant funds to help with the process. We are lucky enough that we have workers there, but this project takes up peoples time and paid software to post edit.”
“We are hoping that if people donate we can attribute that video to the donors and it can be acknowledged online when the video is completed.”
Supporters can contribute via a donation link on the CIVS website or email cookivs@gmail.com for more information.
With over five hours of visual treasures like the Pago Pago and Tahiti voyages already digitized, and the search ongoing for the 1994 Vaka Te Au O Tonga launch footage, the project promises to deliver a captivating window into Pacific history.
Stay tuned for updates as this cultural journey unfolds, reviving the legacy of voyagers past to ignite the explorers of tomorrow
