Gerard Hindmarsh on Rarotonga’s pub "Trader Jack" Cooper

There's a saying in the Cook Islands that anything decided by the government was hashed out at Trader Jacks. The legendary bar and eatery, opened in 1986 by Jack Cooper, is known to virtually every Kiwi who visits Rarotonga. Jack died a year ago but his life and the bar's many wild and wonderful times are celebrated in 40 Years Behind Bars: A Publican in Paradise. a book completed with the help of Golden Bay based journalist Gerard Hindmarsh.