Anzac Day in Cook Islands

A public holiday on 25 April

The Public Holidays Act 1999 lists Anzac Day among the Cook Islands’ public holidays. It falls on 25 April each year. The Cook Islands Government Public Service Manual says other public holidays move to the following Monday, and, where applicable, Tuesday, when they fall on a weekend; it expressly excludes Anzac Day from that rule. So the holiday remains on 25 April rather than moving to a substitute weekday.[1][2]

The manual describes employment entitlements when a public holiday falls on an employee’s normal working day and when an employee is required to work. It does not mean every employee has identical arrangements: the manual points to the Employment Relations Act for requirements applying to employees who work on a public holiday.[2]

A Cook Islands connection to the Anzac story

The date recalls the landing of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps troops at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. In the Cook Islands, remembrance also honours local service. In a 2025 message, the Prime Minister said that more than 500 Cook Islands men volunteered during the First World War, and described their service and sacrifice as part of the country’s national story.[3][6]

The Cook Islands commemoration has its own history. Manatū Taonga’s account records that during the Second World War, Rarotonga marked Anzac Day with a church service, without ceremonial parades. After the war, parades resumed, including a dawn service at the cenotaph, a church service, and a march to the war memorial for wreath-laying. In 1966, a Cabinet minute treated the day as a Sunday until 1 p.m., followed by an ordinary public holiday; that is a historical arrangement, not the current weekend rule.[5]

Services and remembrance

A Cook Islands Tourism Corporation listing for the Rarotonga commemoration describes a dawn parade organized with the Government and the Cook Islands Returned Services Association. Its published programme included a march to the cenotaph, prayers and a Bible reading, wreath-laying, the Ode, the Last Post, a minute of silence and Reveille. The listing also thanked the general public for attending and noted that others could lay wreaths after the service.[4]

A Prime Minister’s message has encouraged people to attend local services across Rarotonga and the Pa Enua. The documented Rarotonga programme concluded with light refreshments. Practices differ by community and year.[3][4]

Work and visitor arrangements

Anzac Day’s status as a public holiday has employment implications, but not every workplace, shop or service closes. The public service manual sets out pay arrangements for public holidays and refers to separate rules for employees who work that day. Visitors should check directly with offices, banks, shops and transport providers for their opening hours or schedules.[1][2]