History of the Cook Islands History of the Cook Islands The Cook Islands are named after Captain James Cook, who visited the islands in 1773 and 1777. The Cook Islands became a British protectorate in 1888. By 1900, the islands were annexed as British territory. In 1901, the islands were included within the boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand. The Cook Islands contain 15 islands in the group spread over a vast area in the South Pacific. The majority of islands are low coral atolls in the Northern Group, with Rarotonga, a volcanic island in the Southern Group, as the main administration and government
Sport in the Cook Islands for the national side. Both players represented New Zealand internationally and played many National Rugby League games. Rugby league also receives much time on television in the Cook Islands, with four NRL games shown per week, fuelling the popularity of the sport amongst the islanders. The Cook Islands national rugby league team made their senior World Cup debut in 2000 and played in their second world cup in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. The Cook Islands is a tier-three rugby union playing nation. They began playing international rugby union in the early 1990s, and have yet to make the