Cook Islanders Cannot
p. 32 · Read in the full issue
Enlist
ALTHOUGH at least 2,000 Cook Islands natives desire to enlist in the New Zealand Forces, the NZ Government has decided against their acceptance.
Reporting on a petition received from Rarotonga, the NZ Native Affairs Com mittee paid a tribute to the Cook Is landers’ willingness to fight for the Empire, but said that in the last war when about 500 Cl natives served in the Army, the mortality among them was fairly high. Mr. J. O’Brien, chairman of the Committee, stated that the matter of bringing natives from tropical latitudes to be trained in NZ and sent overseas to a totally different climate involved a question of Government policy and the natives’ offer reluctantly had to be refused.
Cook Islanders are among the Empire’s most loyal subjects, and so far have con tributed about £1,500 from their slender resources to war funds.