Coat of arms of the Cook Islands Coat of arms of the Cook Islands The coat of arms of the Cook Islands has a shield as its focal point. The shield is blue with fifteen white stars arranged in a circle, as found on the national flag, and is supported by a flying fish ("maroro") and a white tern ("kakaia"). The helmet is an ariki head-dress ("pare kura") of red feathers, symbolising the importance of the traditional rank system, and the name of the nation is on a scroll below the shield. The achievement is augmented by a cross and a Rarotongan club ("momore taringavaru") used by
History of the Cook Islands landing in the islands when he set foot on Rakahanga. 1773 — Captain James Cook explored the islands and named them the Hervey Islands. Fifty years later they are renamed in his honour by Russian Admiral Adam Johann von Krusenstern. 1821 — English and Tahitian missionaries land in Aitutaki, become the first non-Polynesian settlers. 1823 — English missionary John Williams lands in Rarotonga, converting Makea Pori Ariki to Christianity. 1858 — The Cook Islands become united as a state, the Kingdom of Rarotonga. 1862 — Peruvian slave traders took a terrible toll on the islands of Penrhyn, Rakahanga and Pukapuka