A state funeral has been held in Rarotonga for a renowned Cook Islands scholar, Professor Ron Crocombe.
Professor Crocombe, who had lived and worked in the Pacific for half a century, died of a heart attack in Auckland on Monday.
He was returning from Tonga after being inducted as one of the six fellows of the 'Atenisi University.
The 79-year-old had served as director of the Australian National University's New Guinea Research Unit in the 1960s and most notably as Professor of Pacific Studies at the University of the South Pacific for 20 years beginning in the 1970s.
The Cook Islands Parliament, which began sitting this morning, was adjourned for Professor Crocombe's funeral.
