A small collection of 8mm cine footage (silent) taken by Wes Graham, a NZ government administrator, during his tenure in the Cook Islands, late 1920s to mid 1950s. Most of these films feature footage from the Cook Islands (Rarotonga, Avarua, Atiu, Mangaia, Ngatangiia, Ma’uke).
Auckland zoo visit. Rarotonga (Cook Islands). Avarua, Avatiu (Cook Islands). Sailing ship. Taro patches. Caves. Processing lime in the makatea. Processing ‘homebrew’ (tumunu, an Atiu tradition). Loading oranges on trading vessel. Rarotonga, horses on beach, probably Ngatangiia. Cat.
"1920s – 1940s showing aspects of daily life on Rarotonga and outer islands (Mangaia, Atiu, Mauke, Aitutaki and possibly elsewhere) including visits of trading vessels and packing and loading of oranges from the village plantations. They also show a royal visit in the 1930s. They are, as far as I am aware, the earliest movies from the Cook Islands... There is one sequence from Samoa showing girls juggling. This is a weird performing-art form for which Samoans were once famous. It shows some girls juggling and is a record of a unique traditional pastime that is now probably lost. Samoan girls used to juggle in a very difficult way, by sending the balls up in a continuous circle. Samoan girls could keep up to 9 balls in the air... which is more than professional jugglers in the West ever attempted using this method."
Dr Richard Walter, Dept of Archeology and Anthropology, Otago University (November 2014)