Palmerston Island – The Marsters family island since 1863
Captain James Cook recorded Palmerston in 1774 and landed in 1777, finding it uninhabited apart from some ancient graves. He named it after Viscount Palmerston, a Lord of the Admiralty; its old name is said to have been Avarau, “two hundred harbours”. In 1863 William Marsters, a ship’s carpenter and barrel maker, arrived with his Polynesian wives and founded a large family whose descendants still live on the island.
As a result, Palmerston is the only island in the Cook Islands where English is the native language. It was annexed by Britain in 1891 and came under New Zealand administration in 1901. Although only a few dozen people live there today, Marsters descendants worldwide see it as home. Share your Palmerston stories with us!