Free State of Te Punga
Free State of Te Punga ᚃᚏᚓᚓ ᚄᚈᚐᚈᚓ ᚑᚃ ᚈᚓ ᚚᚒᚅᚌᚐ Te Hau tiamâ o Te Punga | |||||||||
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 Flag | |||||||||
| Capital | Papara | ||||||||
| Common languages | Rarotongan | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Te Pungans | ||||||||
| Government | Unitary one-party semi-presidential republic under a military dictatorship | ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
• 1955–1964 | Ori Raihauti | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1955–1958 | Lasalo Niko | ||||||||
• 1958–1963 | Vacant | ||||||||
• 1963–1964 | Etano Lotomau | ||||||||
| Legislature | Free Council | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| 2 May 1955 | |||||||||
| 8 January 1962–30 May 1962 | |||||||||
| 13 August 1964 | |||||||||
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| Today part of |  Rotorua  Gjorka (claimed) | ||||||||
The Free State of Te Punga, commonly known as Te Punga, was the ruling government and name of Rotorua from 1955 to 1964. The country was a military dictatorship run by Ori Raihauti. The country was established following the 1955 Rotoruan coup d'état as a way to solidify military rule using Te Pungan nationalism. The period was fraught with internal conflict within the country as democratic movements attempted to resist the military's rule. As a bid to restore the military's popularity, Raihauti declared war on Gjorka in 1962 to secure the rest of the island. The war ended in a ceasefire after five months, with Te Punga failing to secure any territory from Gjorka and increasing Raihauti's unpopularity. He was eventually overthrown in a popular revolution in 1964.
