Overview
Cook Islands girls were first employed as domestic workers in New Zealand around 1941. They were encouraged to migrate here to replace New Zealanders called into the war effort. There was also a demand for Cook Islands boys to help as farm workers.
The ‘scheme’
No formal migration scheme existed but, when the demand for domestic help grew, a standard process quickly developed. The Cook Islands Department in Wellington and the New Zealand administration in Rarotonga acted as agents between potential employers and employees.
Interest in domestic workers spread mostly by word of mouth. Many employers requested workers by name upon the recommendation of Cook Islanders already working in New Zealand.
The wellbeing of the Cook Islands girls was a priority, as correspondence between the authorities shows. Requests from the South Island were often declined because the climate was considered too severe for the girls. And employers often had to cover the cost of travel and clothing – and to guarantee to pay for the girls’ return to Rarotonga, regardless of the reason.
Unexpected problems
Employing Cook Islands house girls may have solved the domestic labour shortage in New Zealand, but it had social and economic implications in the Cook Islands. As more girls left for New Zealand, the Cook Islands lost ‘marriageable girls’ and potential nurses.
As a result of the shortages in the Cook Islands and the ‘misconduct’ of a few domestic workers here, the New Zealand Government stopped girls from coming to New Zealand between 1943 and 1946. But there was opposition to this ban, particularly because people from places such as Samoa and Niue could still travel to New Zealand. The ban on the Cook Islanders was lifted, but the government no longer facilitated domestic service enquiries, leaving people to make their own arrangements.
Text originally published in Tai Awatea, Te Papa's onfloor multimedia database.