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This badge was worn by Caroline Munokoa Tuteru Hutton (nee Marsters) when she travelled from New Zealand to Rarotonga in order to vote in the Cook Islands General Election in 1978. The flight she was on was organised by the Premier Albert Henry, Cook Islands Party (CIP), but Hutton instead voted for the opposition, the Democratic Party (‘Demo-Way’) led by Dr Tom Davis. She was one of over a thousand voters who flew from New Zealand to vote.
Caroline Hutton was born on 7 March 1922 in Palmerston Island. She came to New Zealand on the Maui Pomare in 1942, aged 20, to work as a housemaid for the family of Dr and Mrs Rennie in Karori, Wellington.
As overseas voting was not possible, Cook Islanders had to return to the islands to vote. Special polling stations were set up at Rarotonga International Airport. Both the CIP and the Democratic Party persuaded supporters to fly from New Zealand, with six Ansett planeloads of about 800 CIP supporters travelling at a subsidised cost of $20 each (with instructions on how to vote), and two Air Nauru planeloads of Democratic Party supporters who paid the full fare (with no instructions on how to vote).
CIP won the 1978 election, but the result was challenged by the Democratic Party, claiming supporters had been given free flights to come and vote for CIP. The challenge was upheld. It was revealed that Premier Albert Henry had paid $290,000 for the flights, using a specially founded government company. He was subsequently convicted of conspiracy and misuse of public money, and later stripped of his knighthood.
Dr Davis was appointed interim Premier and held on to that position after his Democratic Party won the General Election.
The Cook Islands were administered by New Zealand from 1901 to 1965, when they became self-governed. Cook Islanders remain New Zealand citizens.
During the economic depression of the 1930s and throughout the 1940s, young single Cook Island women like Caroline Hutton came to New Zealand under a scheme that contracted domestic staff for wealthy New Zealand families.
After leaving Rarotonga in 1942, Hutton’s first visit back home didn’t happen until 1977. After that year she returned to Rarotonga several times, and in 1986 she returned to Palmerston to take her two eldest grandchildren to meet the family, staying there between boats. She died on 13 March 2002 in Lower Hutt, and her ashes were buried on Palmerston Island on 16 April 2019.