Aua is an island in the

Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km. History The first inhabitants o ...

. It is part of the Western Islands, region and

Manus Province Manus Province is the smallest province in Papua New Guinea in terms of both land area and population, with a land area of , but with more than of water, and the total population is 60,485 (2011 census). The provincial town of Manus is Lorengau. ...

of northern

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

History

The first sighting by Europeans of Aua island was by the Spanish navigator Iñigo Órtiz de Retes on 27 July 1545 when on board of the

carrack A carrack (; ; ; ) is a three- or four- masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in Portugal. Evolved from the single-masted cog, the carrack was first used for European trade fr ...

''San Juan'' tried to return from

Tidore Tidore ( id, Kota Tidore Kepulauan, lit. "City of Tidore Islands") is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. Part of North Maluku Province, the city includes the island ...

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

. He charted this island together with the nearby islands, Wuvulu and Manu, as ''La Barbada'' (the bearded island in Spanish).Sharp, Andrew ''The discovery of the Pacific Islands'' Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1960, p.31.

References

Bismarck Archipelago Manus Province Islands of Papua New Guinea Islands Region (Papua New Guinea) Spanish East Indies {{PapuaNewGuinea-island-stub

History

See also

References