NZDF throws weight into Cook Islands infrastructure work

The Royal New Zealand Air Force  C-130J-30 Hercules delivered the main body of personnel from 25 Engineer Support Squadron, 2 Engineer Regiment (2ER) on Monday, local time. 

A large proportion of Ma’uke’s 240 residents were at the airport to welcome the aircraft and personnel with speeches and songs. 

Exercise Tropic Twilight is a long-running annual exercise in various South West Pacific countries. It is funded by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and delivered by the New Zealand Defence Force. 

This year, more than 30 personnel will carry out maintenance and improvements on Ma’uke’s solar farm, water infrastructure, school and halls. 

Serving tradespeople from Australia, Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu will contribute to work, and they will be backed up by medical and logistics teams.

Troop Commander Lieutenant Jarrod Wilson said the key tasks were repairs and upgrades to the island’s solar-powered water bores, the solar farm and work on Apii Ma’uke - the only school on the island. 

“The water and power improvements will be quite far-reaching but even the smaller tasks, such as at the school, will mean things like the students won’t have to walk in the rain to go between classes.”

Tropic Twilight was a good opportunity to get offshore and for the military tradespeople to practice their craft in an expeditionary environment, Lieutenant Wilson said. 

“2ER has a long history of this sort of work. Already this year our personnel have deployed around the Pacific, to places such as Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga. 

“We are confident that we can get everything done, we’ve got some pretty skilled people here.” 

Lieutenant Wilson, who has been part of the advanced party on Ma’uke for a week, said the locals had already been fantastic hosts, and especially generous with food.

The soldiers had also been invited to a rare aka’uru’uru’anga ceremony, where three family members were invested as elders.

“It’s a welcome like I’ve never received before. They are really showing how hospitable they are.” 

Mau’ke Mayor Joanne Rongoape Stephens said she was delighted Tropic Twilight was able to help maintain the island’s assets.

Ma’uke’s water supply, which is sourced from an aquifer and reticulated to users, was very important to the island, she said. 

 “Our water is pure and we want to maintain that to make sure it keeps going for the next generation.”

She was also thrilled to have so many more people on the island and said it brought back memories. 

“The last time I saw the Hercules was in 1985. Seeing it again is amazing. This is a joyful time.” 

Tropic Twilight is also the first overseas exercise and a great experience for Sapper Killian Ansell, who has about one month of his four-year electrical apprenticeship to go. 

It was an honour and privilege to be on Ma’uke and the locals had been very welcoming, he said. 

The solar plant, which started in 2019, will have air conditioning units installed in the battery room to help stop the inverters overheating, allowing the batteries to operate efficiently, Sapper Ansell said. 

“Normally we work on residential solar. The solar farm would be a big step up. It will be challenging once we get into it properly.”