Independent Society established in 1963 with initial New Zealand Government support.

1. Shipping Notes compiled by W.G. Coppell, 1962-67, nos. 1-149 (MS 72).<BR>Typescript research notes consisting of extracts from various primary and secondary sources referring to ships which have visited the Cook Islands.<BR>2. A.B. Donald and Co. Cook Islands Shipping Register, May 1949 to November 1970.<BR>3. Narrative of Charles James Ward (born 1856, died 1933) of Rarotonga, prepared by G.H. Davis, Postmaster, 1933 - typescript, 11 pages (MS 16). Ward first visited Rarotonga in 1881. He later settled there, working initially as a skipper of island schooners and later as a storekeeper.<BR>4. Correspondence of William McBirney (born c.1871, died 1956), 1947-55, relating to the introduction of plants to the Cook Islands (MS 15).