The earliest evidence of human presence in the Southern Cook Islands has been dated to around AD 1000. Oral tradition tells that Rarotonga was settled by various groups, including Ata-i-te-kura, Apopo-te-akatinatina and Apopo-te-ivi-roa in the ninth century, and Tangi'ia Nui from Tahiti and Karika from Samoa in 1250. An early
ariki, Toi, is said to have built
Te Ara Nui o Toi or
Ara Metua, a paved road that encircles the island, though the sites adjacent to it are dated to 1530. Trading contact was maintained with the Austral Islands, Samoa and the Marquesas to import basalt that was used for making local adze heads, while a pottery fragment found on Ma'uke has been traced to
Tongatapu to the west, the main island of Tonga. The ultimate origin of almost all the islanders’ settlement cargo can be traced back to Southeast Asia: not just their chickens, Pacific rats, Polynesian pigs, Pacific dogs and crops, but also several kinds of lizards and snails. Among the species that are understood to have reached Rarotonga by this means are at least two species of geckos and three of skinks. Likewise, the ultimate origin of almost 30 of their crops lies in the west. According to New Zealand
Māori tradition,
Kupe, the discoverer of
Aotearoa, visited Rarotonga, and the
Māori migration canoes Tākitimu, Te Arawa, Tainui, Mātaatua, Tokomaru, Aotea, and
Kurahaupō passed through on their way to Aotearoa. On 25 July 1823, while transporting the missionary Reverend
John Williams, the
Endeavour returned to Rarotonga.
Papeiha, a
London Missionary Society evangelist from
Bora Bora, went ashore to teach his religion. Despite a further ban on foreign settlement in 1848, European traders began to settle. In 1865, driven by rumours that France planned to annex the islands, the
ariki of Rarotonga unsuccessfully petitioned Governor
George Grey of New Zealand for British protection. By this time
Makea Takau Ariki had become paramount among the
ariki, and was recognised as the "Queen of Rarotonga" on a visit to New Zealand. In 1901, it was annexed by New Zealand. Oranges had been introduced by the
Bounty mutineers, and after annexation developed into a major export crop, though exports had been disrupted by poor shipping. In 1945 the industry was revived with a government-led citrus replanting scheme, and in 1961 a canning factory was opened to allow the export of juice. The industry survived until the 1980s, An airstrip was built in 1944, leading to regular flights to
Fiji,
Tonga,
Samoa and
Aitutaki. Emigration increased further in the early 1970s when the airport was upgraded, but this was balanced by immigration from elsewhere in the Cook Islands. Flooding in April and May 1967 damaged bridges on the island and caused widespread crop losses, raising risks of a food shortage. An unnamed tropical cyclone in December of that year left hundreds homeless and caused widespread devastation after demolishing homes and offices in Avarua. In December 1976 80% of the island's banana crop was destroyed by
tropical cyclone Kim. In January 1987 Tropical Cyclone Sally made a thousand people homeless and damaged 80% of the buildings in Avarua. ==Demographics and settlements==