Gaua (formerly known as ''Santa Maria Island'') is the largest and second most populous of the
Banks Islands
The Banks Islands (in Bislama ''Bankis'') are a group of islands in northern Vanuatu. Together with the Torres Islands to their northwest, they make up the northernmost province of Torba. The island group lies about north of Maewo, and include ...
in
Torba Province
Torba (or ''TorBa'') is the northernmost and least populous province of Vanuatu. It consists of the Banks Islands and the Torres Islands.
The province's name is derived from the initial letters of "''TORres''" and "''BAnks''".
Population
The ...
in northern
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
. It covers 342 km².
History
Gaua was first sighted by Europeans during the Spanish expedition of
Pedro Fernández de Quirós
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter.
The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meanin ...
, from 25 to 29 April 1606. The island’s name was then charted as ''Santa María''.
Geography
Gaua is subject to frequent earthquakes and cyclones. The climate is humid tropical; the average annual rainfall exceeds 3500 mm. It has rugged terrain, reaching up to
Mount Gharat (797 m), the peak of the active
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 pe ...
which lies at the center of the island. Its most recent eruption was in 2013. The volcano has a 6 × 9 km
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 i ...
, within which lies a
crater lake
Crater Lake (Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills ...
, known as
Lake Letas, which is the largest lake in Vanuatu. To the east of the lake is
Siri Waterfall (120 m drop).
Natural history
The upper slopes of the island have been recognised as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Inte ...
(IBA) by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
, because they support populations of
Vanuatu megapode
The Vanuatu megapode or Vanuatu scrubfowl (''Megapodius layardi'') is a species of bird in the family Megapodiidae. It was formerly known as the New Hebrides scrubfowl. It is found only in Vanuatu. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical ...
s,
Vanuatu imperial pigeons,
Tanna fruit doves,
red-bellied fruit dove
The red-bellied fruit dove (''Ptilinopus greyi'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in lowland forest in New Caledonia, Santa Cruz Islands ( Solomons), and Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Van ...
s,
palm lorikeet
The palm lorikeet (''Vini palmarum'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is found in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane fo ...
s,
cardinal myzomela
The cardinal myzomela (''Myzomela cardinalis'') is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is named for the scarlet color of the male. It is found in American Samoa, New Caledonia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, as well ...
s,
fan-tailed gerygone
The fan-tailed gerygone (''Gerygone flavolateralis'') is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is found in New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The Rennell gerygone (''G. citrina'') of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island ...
s,
long-tailed triller
The long-tailed triller (''Lalage leucopyga'') is a species of bird in the family Campephagidae. It is found in New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The Norfolk Island subspecies of the long-tailed triller, the Norfolk triller, has beco ...
s,
streaked fantails,
Melanesian flycatcher
The Melanesian flycatcher (''Myiagra caledonica'') is a species of bird in the monarch-flycatcher family Monarchidae. The species is found on islands in Melanesia.
Taxonomy and systematics
It is closely related to the Vanikoro flycatcher. Alte ...
s,
southern shrikebills,
Vanuatu white-eye
The Vanuatu white-eye or yellow-fronted white-eye (''Zosterops flavifrons'') is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus '' Zosterops'' in the white-eye family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Vanuatu, where it is one of the most common bird ...
s, and
red-headed parrotfinches. Other animals found there include
long-tailed fruit bats,
Vanuatu flying foxes, and
coconut crab
The coconut crab (''Birgus latro'') is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world, with a weight of up to . It can grow to up to in width from the tip ...
s.
Population and languages
In 2009, the island had a population of 2,491, and an annual growth rate of 2.0 percent.
The inhabitants are scattered among various coastal villages on the western, southern and northeastern sides of the island. The eastern side has a few hamlets with an immigrant community, the members of which have come from the two smaller islands
Merig
Merig is a small island located east of Gaua
Gaua (formerly known as ''Santa Maria Island'') is the largest and second most populous of the Banks Islands in Torba Province in northern Vanuatu. It covers 342 km².
History
Gaua was first ...
and
Merelava
Merelava (or ''Mere Lava'') is an island in the Banks Islands of the Torba Province of northern Vanuatu.
Names
The inhabitants of Merelava call their own island ''Mwerlap'', more accurately ''N̄wërlap'' .
The name ''Merelava'' or ''M̄ere Lava' ...
, that lie southeast of Gaua. The largest village in Gaia is ''Jolap'', on the west coast.
In addition to
Mwerlap (the language of the immigrant population), there are five languages traditionally spoken on Gaua:
Lakon (also called Vuré),
Olrat,
Koro,
Dorig, and
Nume.
Economy
The livelihood of the people of Gaua is based on the agricultural economy that is traditional throughout of
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, V ...
: a combination of fishing and horticulture.
Their principal exports are
copra
Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from cop ...
and
cacao.
Transportation
The island is served by
Gaua Airport, which is located in the northeast corner of the island.
Names
The modern name ''Gaua'' is pronounced in
Bislama
Bislama (; ; also known by its earlier French name, ) is an English-based creole language and one of the official languages of Vanuatu. It is the first language of many of the "Urban ni-Vanuatu" (citizens who live in Port Vila and Luganville ...
, the ''lingua franca'' of Vanuatu, and in
French or
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
In the local
Banks languages, the island was traditionally known not by one name, but two. One name reconstructs in
Proto-Torres-Banks as a form *''ɣaua'' , the other one as *''laᵑgona''. These respectively referred to the northeast half of the island, and its southwestern half (where one finds ''Lakona Bay'', and also where the
Lakon language is spoken).
Thus the
Mota language
Mota is an Oceanic language spoken by about 750 people on Mota island, in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu. The language (named after the island) is one of the most conservative Torres–Banks languages, and the only one to keep its inherited five-v ...
, which
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
used when naming most places in the
Banks Islands
The Banks Islands (in Bislama ''Bankis'') are a group of islands in northern Vanuatu. Together with the Torres Islands to their northwest, they make up the northernmost province of Torba. The island group lies about north of Maewo, and include ...
, has the forms ''Gaua'' and ''Lakona'' ;
Mwotlap
Mwotlap (pronounced ; formerly known as ''Motlav'') is an Oceanic language spoken by about 2,100 people in Vanuatu. The majority of speakers are found on the island of Motalava in the Banks Islands, with smaller communities in the islands of Ra ...
has respectively ''Agō'' and ''Alkon'' ;
[See entrie]
''Agō''
an
in the ''Online Mwotlap dictionary''. Olrat and
Lakon have ''Gaō'' and ''Lakon'' ;
Mwerlap has ''Gō'' and ''Lakon'' .
Some modern languages have generalised one of these two etyma to refer to the whole island. Thus it is called ''Gog'' in
Nume, ''Gō'' in
Koro (both < *''ɣaua''), ''Lkon'' in
Dorig (< *''laᵑgona'').
Gallery
File:Mount Gharat and Lake Letas.jpg, Mount Gharat and Lake Letas
File:Siri Falls Gaua Vanuatu.jpg, Siri Waterfall
File:Mbaravit Beach.jpg, Baravit Beach (east coast)
File:Gaua People.jpg, Local people
File:Gaua.jpg, Gaua as seen from space
References
External links
*
Our Forest our Future; Managing Biodiversity in the South Pacific, Gaua Island, Vanuatu, Rudolf Hahn, CTA FAO 2013, youtube video
{{Authority control
Islands of Vanuatu
Volcanoes of Vanuatu
Calderas of Oceania
Volcanic crater lakes
Torba Province
Stratovolcanoes
Important Bird Areas of Vanuatu