Marguerite Nora Eikura Kitimira Story, (née Henry, 11 May 1922 – 25 September 2009), was the

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and ter ...

of the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

from 1965 to 1979. She was the first female cabinet member in the Cook Islands and the first woman in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

to become speaker of a national parliament.

Biography

Story was born in

Mangaia Mangaia (traditionally known as A'ua'u Enua, which means ''terraced'') is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. It is a roughly circular island, with an area of , from Rarotonga. Originally heavily popula ...

to Geoffrey Henry and Metua Tetaura. She was a sister to Albert Henry, the first

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

of the Cook Islands and the founder of the

Cook Islands Party The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the islands' politics since 1965. From 1999 until 2005 it sometimes ...

(CIP). She married Fred Story and resided for most of her life in

Aitutaki Aitutaki, also traditionally known as Araura and Utataki, is the second most-populated island in the Cook Islands, after Rarotonga. It is an "almost atoll", with fifteen islets in a lagoon adjacent to the main island. Total land area is , and the ...

. In the 1965 Cook Islands election, Albert Henry was not able to stand for parliament because he had not resided in the Cook Islands for the requisite three years, even though he was the leader of the CIP, which was the largest party in the Cook Islands. Story ran as a "placeholder" for her brother and was elected in the Te-au-o-Tonga constituency, one of the

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

ridings. After the election, the government—which as expected was controlled by Henry's CIP—reduced the residency requirements for a member of the Legislative Assembly from three years to three months. Story resigned her seat to allow her brother to run in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. Henry won the by-election for the Te-au-o-Tonga seat and in return the government elected Story as the

, a position she held until 1979. During the brief period of time Story was a member of the Legislative Assembly in 1965, she served in the Cabinet and was the first female member of the Cabinet in the Cook Islands. In the 1980s, Story was a community officer for the Ministry of Social Development. She was involved in

Girl Guides Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

and was the founder of the Nikao Youth Club and the Cook Islands Women's Federation. She was also a

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

umpire and coach. In 1977, Story was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

. She was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for public and community service in the Cook Islands, in the

1984 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1984 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

.''London Gazette'' (supplement), No. 49584, 30 December 1983
Retrieved 10 February 2013. Story died at the Rarotonga Hospital in

Avarua Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national capital of the Cook Islands. The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport (IATA Airport Code: R ...

and was buried in Aitutaki. Story and her husband were the parents of eight children.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Story, Marguerite 1922 births 2009 deaths Government ministers of the Cook Islands People from Aitutaki Speakers of the Cook Islands Parliament Cook Islands Party politicians Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century New Zealand politicians 20th-century New Zealand women politicians Women government ministers of the Cook Islands Women legislative speakers