Namotu Island is one of the few hundreds of islands that make up the country of

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. It is in the southernmost part of the chain of islands called the

Mamanuca Islands The Mamanuca Islands () of Fiji are a volcanic archipelago lying to the west of Nadi and to the south of the Yasawa Islands. The group, a popular tourist destination, consists of about 20 islands, but about seven of these are covered by the ...

, which are just west of

Nadi Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...

. Namotu is located just off the western coast of the main island of Fiji known as

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian P ...

. Namotu Island Resort, a haven for tourists, lies about five nautical miles west of Viti Levu. It is owned by Google co-founder

Larry Page Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American business magnate, computer scientist and internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin. Page was the chief executive officer of Google from 1997 unt ...

History

In July 1840 the

Wilkes Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

named this island after

Richard Russell Waldron Richard Russell Waldron was a purser "and special agent" in the Wilkes Expedition, together with younger brother Thomas Westbrook Waldron (consul). Several landmarks were named after him or his brother. After the expedition was completed Waldro ...

, purser, USS ''Vincennes''.

References

Sources

*Brown, W. G. (1993). Diving and Snorkeling Guide to Fiji. Houston, Tex.: Pisces Books. *Surfline/Wavetrak, Inc. (n.d.) About Wilkes Pass, Namotu. Surfline. Retrieved (4/20/13) http://www.surfline.com/surf-report/wilkes-pass-namotu-fiji_7285/travel/ *Subsurface Fiji. (2012) Game Fishing. Subsurface Fiji. Retrieved (4/20/13) https://web.archive.org/web/20130826191715/http://fijidiving.com/?cat=14 *Waterways Surf Adventures. (n.d.) Activities – Surfing. Namotu Island Fiji. Retrieved (4/20/13) https://web.archive.org/web/20131118210705/http://www.namotuislandfiji.com/surfing-with-map Islands of Fiji Mamanuca Islands {{Fiji-geo-stub