Tararo Jane Ariki

Tararo Jane Ariki II was a Cook Islands chiefess and politician. An ariki of Mauke island, she was also the first woman to become a member of the islands' Legislative Council.

Biography

Tararo was born in 1910 in Mauke. She became the Tararo ariki of Mauke in 1934, succeeding her mother. She married George Cowan, and the couple had a daughter Hilda who was born in 1937 but died the following year. During the 1930s she formed a dance group consisting of family members and other people from Oiretumu village.
The [1947 Cook Islands Parliament of the Cook Islands|Legislative Council election|first indirect elections] were held for the Legislative Council in 1947, in which members were elected by island councils. A member of Mauke Island Council, Tararo was elected as the island's representative, becoming the only women in the Legislative Council. She served until the following year, and again in 1951. Following its creation, she became a member of the House of Ariki. She also served on the General Assembly of the Cook Islands Christian Church and worked as an adviser on Maori customs, choreographer and costume designer.
In 1977 she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal and appointed Commissioner of the Cook Islands Judiciary. Construction work began on a palace for her in 1982, but was abandoned due to political disputes within the Tararo group.