A church on Lifuka Island in Tonga had its roof torn off by Cyclone Ian (12041227283)

Lifuka is an island in the Kingdom of Tonga. It is located within the Haapai Group in the centre of the country, to northeast of the national capital of Nukualofa. It is the administrative centre of the Haapai group of islands with

Pangai Pangai is the administrative capital village of the Haapai Group in Tonga. Town The village is on the western shore of Lifuka and has a population of 1,026. The village center is around the Catholic Church (''Siasi Katolika'')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 ...

dubbed Tonga "The Friendly Islands".

Tofua Tofua is a volcanic island in Tonga. Located in the Haʻapai island group, it is a steep-sided composite cone with a summit caldera. It is part of the highly active Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone and its associated volcanic arc, which extends ...

is where the mutiny on the ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789; this active volcanic island lies approximately 40 nautical miles west of Lifuka. The Captain Bligh voyage stands as the longest known successful passage ever recorded in an open boat without modern navigational aids. It was successfully recreated in 2009 by the Talisker Bounty team. Lifuka Island was the final anchorage of the ill-fated ''

Port au Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defin ...

''. In 1806 the natives off the northwest coast attacked the British privateer and whaler, slaughtering the majority of the crew. One of the few survivors of the attack, William Mariner, was befriended by the King and spent the next four years in the Kingdom before being allowed to return to England. A chance meeting with the author

John Martin John Martin may refer to: Business *John Martin (businessman) (1820–1905), American lumberman and flour miller *John Charles Martin (fl. 1913–1931), American newspaper publisher *John Martin (publisher) (born 1930), American founder of Black ...

upon his return resulted in a collaboration that eventually documented the experiences of Mariner in the book ''An account of the natives of the Tongan Islands'', a now highly respected anthropological study of early civilisation in the

Kingdom of Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesia, Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has List of islands and towns in Tonga, 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its tota ...

. The anchor of the ''Port au Prince'' was rediscovered in 2009 by a dive operator based on Lifuka. In August 2012, the wreck of the ship was discovered off the coast of Foa Island, in Tonga.

Demography

It has a population of 2,968 and an area of 11.42 km².GeoHive
Tonga

Villages

Haʻatoʻu Haʻatoʻu is a settlement in Lifuka island, Tonga. See also * List of islands and towns in Tonga The following list gives all islands and cities (villages and hamlets) in Tonga in alphabetical order with many local areas and nicknames as well ...

* Holopeka *

Koulo Koulo is a settlement in Lifuka island, Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its ...

Pangai Pangai is the administrative capital village of the Haapai Group in Tonga. Town The village is on the western shore of Lifuka and has a population of 1,026. The village center is around the Catholic Church (''Siasi Katolika'')Tongoleleka Tongoleleka is a settlement in Lifuka island, Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. ...

Transportation

There is an airport, the

Lifuka Island Airport Lifuka Island Airport , also known as Salote Pilolevu Airport or Haʻapai Airport, is an airport on Lifuka in Tonga. The airport is located north of the capital Panga, and is only served domestically, roughly 40 minutes by flight to Tongatapu an ...

References

Islands of Tonga Haʻapai {{Tonga-geo-stub