A Great Cook Island Leader Has Passed Away

new-zealand-first-party

Wed Jul 25 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

A Great Cook Island Leader Has Passed Away

Wednesday, 25 July 2007, 4:32 pm
Press Release: New Zealand First Party

Media Release

25 July 2007

The passing away yesterday of Sir Thomas Davis will be grieved by all Cook Islanders says New Zealand First Pacific Island affairs spokesperson Brian Donnelly.

“Sir Tom was a truly remarkable man,” said Mr Donnelly. “One has only to look at the breadth of his achievements to understand what a phenomenal range of talents he had.

“The first Cook Island doctor, graduating from Otago University in 1945, he returned to Rarotonga to become Chief Medical Officer and the tidiness of villages which visitors still remark upon are directly attributable to Sir Tom.

“When he won a scholarship to Harvard, he bought a yacht and sailed with his wife and two children eastward into the roaring forties all the way to Boston.

“Qualifications gained at Harvard won him the position of Head of Medical Research at NASA where he undertook remarkable studies into human physiology at extremes of heat and cold.

“He responded to a call from his people to lead the opposition Democratic Party. In 1978 he became Prime Minister, a position he held until 1987. He espoused the need to respond to a global economy long before Roger Douglas became Finance Minister in New Zealand.

“He then concentrated on Polynesian navigation, building several ocean going canoes which used Polynesian methods to sail as far as Hawaii and New Zealand. He became a world expert in this field.

“Sir Tom also had the common touch, kicking off the first official rugby league match to be played in the Cooks, even if he supported the Avatiu Rugby Club, arch rival of my team.

“My heart goes out to all Cook Islanders who will be grieving the loss of “Papa” Tom,” concluded Mr Donnelly.

ENDS

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