- Dorice Reid
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- For other uses, see Dorice Reid (baseball).
Dorice Reid, also known by the chiefly title of Te Tika Mataiapo Dorice Reid, (June 1943 - June 16, 2011) was a Cook Islander tourism official, businesswoman and judge.[1][2] Reid enjoyed a long career in Cook Island business, politics and tourism from the 1970s until her death in 2011.[2]
Dorice Reid was born to parents Leo Morrel and Ruby Peyroux (nee Matamua), on Rarotonga, Cook Islands.[1] She moved from Rarotonga to New Zealand when she was eight years old.[1]
Reid became very influential among Cook Islanders living in Auckland, New Zealand.[1] She initially worked as a sales representative for Air New Zealand, a Radio Pacific talk show host and a journalist and reporter for South Pacific Television.[1] Reid later became the first woman of Pacific Island descent to be nominated for a seat in the New Zealand Parliament by a national political party.[1]
Reid moved back from New Zealand to her birthplace of Rarotonga in 1983.[1] She took a position with the Cook Islands Tourist Authority as a sales manager and marketer.[1] In 1985 she and her sister, Jeannine Peyroux, acquired the Little Polynesian Resort in Rarotonga. The renovated the small resort, which won two World Travel Awards.[1]
The members of the Takitumu council, one of the three Vaka councils on Rarotonga, bestowed the chiefly title of Te Tika Mataiapo on Reid during the late 1980s.[1] The title, which is named for the Cook Islands warrior Te Tika, was granted to Reid at a ceremony in Marae Te Pou Toru.[1] As a result of her title, Reid declined multiple requests to run for the Cook Islands Parliament during her life, concluding that she should not mix her traditional title with politics.[1]
Reid became an advocate for tourism and the preservation of Cook Island culture. Reid made several pilgrimages to Taputapuatea marae, a traditional religious center of eastern Polynesia located in the commune of Taputapuatea, Raiatea, with other Polynesian chiefs.[1] She was also an active member of the Cook Islands Voyaging Society. In 1995, Reid served as the only female crew member on board the Te Au O Tonga, which sailed to Raiatea, Tahiti, Nuku Hiva and Hawaii during a three and a half month voyage.[1] In 2002, she completed a second sailing voyage aboard the Te Moana Nui O Kiva from her home in Rarotonga to Tahiti, Huahine, Raiatea, Tahaa, Bora Bora and Mitiaro.[1]
Additionally, Reid was a member five separate Cook Islands environmental agencies and served as a judge for the country.[1] She is credits with the reintroduction of the raui system to the Cook Islands.[1] The raui system is a traditional system used in the Cook Islands, where access or use of a particular resource, such as a fishing lagoon or shellfish, is forbidden for a certain period of time.[3] The system is traditionally used to preserve scarce food resources, but also encourages the protection of the environment as well.[3]
In April 2011, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tom Marsters announced Reid's appointment as High Commissioner of the Cook Islands to New Zealand, based in Wellington.[4] She would have taken office to succeeded High Commissioner Mike Mitchell in July 2011.[1][4]
Dorice Reid collapsed while attending a tourism conference in Auckland, New Zealand.[2] She died unexpectedly at Auckland Hospital at 1 A.M. on June 16, 2011, at the age of 67.[1] She would have turned 68 the following week.[1] A resident of Kauare, Rarotonga, was survived by two nieces and a nephew.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Te Tika dies suddenly, Influential woman leaders death shocks Polynesia". Cook Islands News. 2011-06-17. http://www3.cookislandsnews.com/2011/June/Wed15/te-tika.php. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ a b c Field, Michael (2011-06-17). "Star Cook Islander dies". Stuff.co.nz. http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/5159318/Star-Cook-Islander-dies. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ a b "SNational Parks and Conservation Areas". Cook Islands National Environment Service. http://www.environment.gov.ck/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72&Itemid=95. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ a b "Cook Islands appoints new High Commissioner to New Zealand". Radio New Zealand International. 2011-04-29. http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=60299. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
External links
Categories:- 1943 births
- 2011 deaths
- Cook Island businesspeople
- Cook Island judges
- People from Rarotonga
- People from Auckland
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