19 January 1986(1986-01-19) (aged 73) Mangaia, Cook Islands
Vainerere TangatapotoOBE (1 July 1912 – 19 January 1986) was a Cook Islands chief, educator and politician. He served as member of the Legislative Assembly in two spells between 1958 and 1983.
Biography
Tangatapoto was born in July 1912 in Atiu,[1] the son of Akemarae and Tangatapoto.[2] Having won the Sir Maui Pomare medal for being an outstanding pupil twice during his education on Atiu, he became a teacher at Atiu Primary School in 1927 the age of 15.[3][4][1] In 1934 he joined the Tagua ship as a cabin boy under Andy Thomson and followed him to the Tiare Taporo.[4] He returned to teaching at the primary school in 1940 and became the first local headteacher in 1951.[3][4] He also served as a church deacon,[4] founded Atiu's first youth club and public library,[4] and also established the Cook Islands branch of the Boys' and Girls' Brigades,[3] the latter in 1972.[5] He was married to Tuerei and had ten children.[2][1]
Conferred with the title of ariki, he served as speaker of the Atiu House of Ariki.[3] In the 1958 elections, the first under universal suffrage, he was elected to the Cook Islands Legislative Assembly from the Atiu constituency. He was re-elected in 1961 and the following year was elected to the Executive Committee, the islands' first cabinet, by members of the legislature.[6]
He died in Mangaia in January 1986 at the age of 73.[3] After his death the government set up the Vainerere Tangatapoto Foundation Fund for Uniformed Organisations.[9]
^Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). "Recipients of the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal 1977: nominal roll of New Zealand recipients including Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau". Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 433. ISBN0-908578-34-2.