It is the largest, most important, and most southwesterly of the group. Avarua is the administrative seat and chief town and port of Rarotonga. Citrus fruit, copra, and pearl shell are exported.
Tourism is an important industry.
Rarotonga was discovered in 1823 by the English missionary John Williams. The island was almost completely destroyed by a hurricane in 1987. Listing from Electric Library , a pay service. No relevant pictures or maps found. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright 2000, Columbia University Press.