Tokelau

This Web site is intended to provide a brief outline of the recent history as well as the geography of the Tokelau Islands. Swains Island has been included as it is geographically, if not politically, part of the Tokelau Group.

The picture above was taken on the island of Butaritari (Republic of Kiribati) in about 1890 and is part of the Robert Louis Stevenson collection. On the left is Maka (with the cane), Mrs. Mary Maka along with Kanoa and Mrs. Maria Kanoa, Hawaiian missionaries of the American Board of Missions, Honolulu.

Of particular interest to the people of Tokelau and the many friends of Tokelau is Maka whose writings have documented for all time the atrocities committed by the Peruvian blackbirders on the innocent people of Tokelau. Please check the Link - Depopulating the Tokelaus to the left.

Talofa and Greetings Everybody!

For those interested in learning a little more about Tokelau, New Zealand’s only South Pacific island territory, Peter McQuarrie's excellent book:

TOKELAU
People, Atolls & History

provides a detailed and concise history and outline of Tokelau, as well as the people of Tokelau.

Material covered includes the colonial history, Peruvian slave trading, New Zealand administration and the RNZAF, the Second World War, Development and Aid Projects, modern Tokelau, as well as Tokelauan culture and the flora and fauna of the islands.

The book is written for Tokelauans and the many friends of Tokelau who would like to know a little more about the beautiful islands and people of Tokelau.

The book would also be of great value to those people with a wider interest in the history of the Pacific Islands, as it discusses the historical connections between Tokelau and the former British Colony of The Gilbert & Ellice Islands (now the Republic of Kiribati and Tuvalu), of which Tokelau was once a part.

This excellent publication can be purchased for NZD$35.95 directly from:

Peter McQuarrie
petermcq@clear.net.nz

Thank you everybody for your continued interest in the beautiful islands of Tokelau. There is no doubt that Peter McQuarrie's book about Tokelau will considerably enhance our knowledge and understanding of this fascinating part of the vast Pacific.

May God bless you all!

Jane Resture