Manihiki: History
Polynesians are believed to have lived on Manihiki since at least 900 or 1000 AD. According to local folklore, the atoll was discovered by Huku, a fisherman from Rarotonga, who noted a shallow area of sea and claimed it as his fishing ground. Later, this area was fished up by Māui, becoming the atoll of Rakahanga. Huku then returned and fought Māui for the land he considered to be his. Māui was driven off, but during the struggle part of the new land broke away, becoming the atoll of Manihiki. Another legend says that Kupe, the explorer of Aotearoa, came from Manihiki, also known as Fakahotu Nui, or Niiva Nui. His canoe was named by the ancient name of Tukao Village known as Te Matafourua. On his return from Aotearoa he renamed the Marae in the Village of Tukao (Te Matafourua) Te Puna Ruki o Toi Tu Rahui Te Rautea as Te Hono O Kupe Ki Aotea, shortened as Te Marae Hono.
Manihiki was originally used as a food supply by the inhabitants of nearby Rakahanga. Every few years the entire community would make the dangerous inter-atoll crossing, allowing the vacated atoll to restore. While they lived together in a single village on Rakahanga, when on Manihiki, the tribal groupings lived on separate motus under their ariki in separate villages.
It is believed that Pedro Fernandes de Queirós first sighted the island in 1606 and called it Gente Hermosa (Beautiful People). However, on 13 October 1822, when it was sighted by the U.S. ship Good Hope it was named Humphrey Island by Captain Patrickson. In 1828 the whaleship Ganges spotted the island and named it Great Ganges Island, as other whaleships named it Liderous, Gland, Sarah Scott and Pescado. Despite repeated renaming by explorers, the island now retains its aboriginal name.
In 1889, a portion of the population opposed missionaries and made an agreement with French colonial authorities stationed in Tahiti to annex the island. In response a ship was sent, but the missionaries on Manihiki hoisted the British flag, causing the ship to withdraw without sending a landing party.
The island was claimed by the United States under the Guano Islands Act, but the United States never acted on this claim, and the island was proclaimed a British protectorate by Commander A. C. Clarke, captain of HMS Espiegle on 9 August 1889. It was placed under the administration of New Zealand with the rest of the Cook Islands in 1901. Per the 1980 Cook Islands – United States Maritime Boundary Treaty the United States recognized Cook Islands sovereignty over Manihiki and three other islands.
In August 1963, a small boat, Tearoha, set sail from Manihiki to Rakahanga for food. On leaving Rakahanga on 15 August 1963, the boat was blown off course in a storm, and eventually came to land again on 17 October 1963, at Erromango in Vanuatu. Four of the seven men on board survived to arrive at Erromango, but one of them died soon after. Teehu Makimare, of Tauhunu village, was later awarded the gold medal of the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand for his leadership and courage in this epic unintended voyage. The story has been told in Barry Wynne's book, The Man Who Refused to Die. The Original Chief (Ariki) is known to be the Whakaheo Ariki. It is believed that the Whaingaitu Ariki title were the family of which were prayer warriors of the Whakaheo. In later years, families have been fighting for positions and titles of the land. …