The arrival of the Christian missionaries, the final performance in Gospel Day celebrations in the Cook Islands.
The arrival of the Christian missionaries and the conversion of locals, depicted in the final performance in Gospel Day celebrations in the Cook Islands. Gospel Day is a public holiday and this entertainment, provided by Nikao - Ura Pau, shows the arrival of the bible and after a short while its acceptance by a chief. Entertainment provided by the 6 CICC (Cook Islands Christian Church) Ekalesias on Raratonga. It followed dedication and opening of the renovated Takamoa Mission House, which was the first European style building to be constructed in the Cook Island, built by the Missionaries in the 1830s. Building renovated in project which cost NZ$ million according to speech by project manager. He also said that the Cook Islanders had a lot for which to be thankful to the missionaries " If it hadn't been for the arrival of the Christian Missionaires (sic) we would have been french like Tahiti" (said with no apparent irony). Renovated buildings now the new administration office, CICC HQ. Takamoa was the home for the LMS missionaries until the early 1970s and is a theological college which has been training and sending out local (Cook Island) missionaries to other parts of South Pacific since first ones were sent to Samoa in 1842. (Public event with open invite to general public announced in local papers,many people taking photos and video)
Size: 3582px × 2389px
Location: CICC HQ and TAKAMOA THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Photo credit: © Mike Robinson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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