Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate.

Geography

It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Its geological past was heavily volcanic, meaning that a lava shelf surrounds much of the island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in Port Vila, the national capital. Its highest mountain is Mount McDonald with a height of .

History

Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

named it Sandwich Island "in honour of my noble patron, the Earl of Sandwich" on his 1774 voyage on . During World War II, Efate served an important role as a United States military base. On March 13, 2015, Port Vila, the island's largest human settlement and the capital of Vanuatu, bore extensive damage from Cyclone Pam.

Politics

Efate became an independent commune in 1889 when residents declared the region as

Franceville Franceville is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of 110,568 at the 2013 census. It lies on the Mpassa River and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku when Pierre Savor ...

. However, by 1890 the commune was broken up. Efate is governed by both the Port Vila Municipality and the Shefa Provincial Council, whose governance is the town limits of Port Vila only, and rural Efate and the outer Efate Islands, respectively. The Island outside of Port Vila is represented in Parliament by the five-seat riding of Efate. Port Vila has its own five-seat riding. These ten MPs are elected through Single non-transferable voting.

Small Islands off Efate

Around Efate lie many small islands, among them are

Eretoka Eretoka (also Hat Island, Érétoka, Retoka, Artok) is a small uninhabited island in Shefa Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. The island lies off the western coast of Efate Island. There is a lighthouse built in the 1960s. Geography Eret ...

(Hat) Island, Lelepa, Nguna, Pele,

Ekapum Lep Ekapum Lep is a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, a part of the Shefa Province of Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island ...

Erueti Lep Erueti Lep (also Îlot Erouéti, Éruéti) is a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, a part of the Shefa Province of Vanuatu. Geography The island lies 16 km south of Port-Vila in Efate Island Efate (french: Éfaté) is an islan ...

, Ekapum Rik, Iriwiti Lep,

Hideaway Island Mele Island (also known as Hideaway Island) is a Polynesian outlier and islet in Vanuatu. The island is owned by the local Mele villagers, but is leased to the owners of Hideaway Island Resort. On the seaward side of the island is a marine reserv ...

, Ifira Island, and

Emao Emao is a small inhabited island in Shefa Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. It was also previously known as Montague Island. Geography Emao is located in the southeastern part of the country, some 30 km north-east of Port-Vila ...

. Eretoka Island is a small island that, when seen from a distance looks like a floppy hat. This is where the famous

Chief Roi Mata Roi Mata (or Roy Mata, Roymata) was a powerful Melanesian chief in what is now Vanuatu. He is believed to have lived at the end of the 16th century, or the beginning of the 17th. ''Chief Roi Mata's domain'' (UNESCO report). In 2008, three sites ...

, along with his 20 wives and many other servants, were buried.J. Maarten Troost, ''Getting Stoned with Savages'', Broadway Books, 2006 (). Nguna, Pele and Emao are

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

es, which may form the rim of a volcanic

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

to their north.

''Survivor''

Efate was used as the location for three seasons of the

reality game show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

, ''

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: Actual survivors * *Last survivors of historical events Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Found ...

''. The island was used for season 9 of the American edition of ''Survivor'' (titled '' Survivor: Vanuatu - Islands of Fire''), season 2 of ''

Australian Survivor ''Australian Survivor'' is an Australian adventure reality game show based on the international ''Survivor (franchise), Survivor'' format. Following the premise of other versions of the ''Survivor'' format, the show features a group of contesta ...

'' (titled '' Australian Celebrity Survivor: Vanuatu'') and season 6 of the French edition (titled '' Koh-Lanta: Vanuatu''). Much of the ''Survivor: Vanuatu'' and ''Australian Celebrity Survivor'' was filmed approximately 30 minutes from Port Vila near Mangililu and Gideon's Landing, the latter of which is now a commonly visited tourist attraction.

Tourism

The capital of Port Vila is the hub of tourism in Vanuatu receiving approximately 60 000 tourists annually by air transport, cruise ships and the yachting community. Due to the British and French influence both cuisines are readily available in the capital. Budget dining include the scattered Chinese eateries across Vila and the Mummas Market downtown. Outside of Port Vila a more rustic destination awaits, with most people living a traditional lifestyle: cooking island food or 'aelan kakae', tending their gardens daily as

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

is the dominant economy in Vanuatu, and swimming at the beach. Port Vila services the domestic carrier Air Vanuatu which goes to the outer islands of Vanuatu. Popular destinations such as Tanna and Santo can be reached daily from Port Vila, while more remote locations can be reached on a less regular basis. The island is served by

Bauerfield International Airport Bauerfield International Airport (french: Aéroport International Bauerfield) is an airport located in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The airport is relatively small in size, but its runway has the capability and length to accept jets up to the Airbus A330. ...

. Efate offers a range of tourism attractions and activities including

Mele Cascades Mele () is a ''Comune'' (Municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about west of Genoa. Mele borders the following municipalities: Genoa, Masone Masone ( or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the ...

, Eton Beach, Tanalilui Road Markets, Round Island Tour, Buggy Fun Rental, Diving and Sunset Cruises.

Notable people

Litiana Kalsrap Litiana Kalsrap (born 1992) is a youth leader and climate activist from Vanuatu. In 2020 she was the youngest woman to contest a seat in the 2020 Vanuatu general election. In 2018 she was a recipient of a Queens Young Leader Award. Biography K ...

- climate activist and youth leader

References

External links

Languages of Efate
- Bibliography of the island's indigenous languages *

South Efate language The Nafsan language, also known as South Efate or Erakor, is a Southern Oceanic language spoken on the island of Efate in central Vanuatu. , there are approximately 6,000 speakers who live in coastal villages from Pango to Eton. The language's g ...

Wikipedia entry. *Work on Efate is available through Paradisec'
open access collections
including collections from Arther Capell and Nick Thieburger. {{authority control Islands of Vanuatu Shefa Province Volcanoes of Vanuatu