Aitutaki.
Information.
AITUTAKI, (traditionally known as Araura), is one of the Cook Islands, north of Rarotonga. It has a population of approximately 2,000. Aitutaki is the second most visited island of the Cook Islands. Square - 72 sq.km. Population - 2,000. Ñapital - Arutanga. Polynesians probably first settled Aitutaki around AD 900. The first known European contact was with Captain Bligh and the crew of the "HMS Bounty" on April 11, 1789. Aitutaki was discovered by Europeans on 11 April 1789, when Captain William Bligh arrived on H.M.S. Bounty, before the mutiny. Aitutaki was the first of the Cook Islands to accept Christianity, after LMS (London Missionary Society) missionary John Williams visited in 1821. Today you can find the oldest church in the country, the CICC (Cook Islands Christian Church) in Arutanga, which was was built by missionaries Williams had left behind. In 1942 New Zealand and American forces were stationed on the island, building the two-way airstrip that can be seen today. This airport, and one on the northenmost island of Penrhyn, were to be used as bases by the Allies during the Second World War against the Japanese. The first aircraft, an American light bomber, landed on November 22, 1942. When the war ended some of the servicemen remained and married the locals. Currency : 1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents.
