The village of Port Mathurin serves as the capital of the island of

Rodrigues Rodrigues (french: Île Rodrigues, link=yes ; Creole: ) is a autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodr ...

, a dependency of

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

. Most of the population of Rodrigues settles close to or in the city. It lies on the north coast of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

island and functions as the administrative, judicial and economic centre of Rodrigues. As the name suggests, it also operates the main harbour of the island. PortMathurin

Port Mathurin has a population of around 6,000 people (2006). Sights include its

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

, while the town also has the island's only

bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is l ...

and a viewpoint on Mount Fanal, south of the town. There is a Roman Catholic church, an Anglican church, and a small mosque. Other landmarks of Port Mathurin include Marie, Queen of Rodrigues, a statue of the Virgin Mary located in Pointe Canon. The two ships of the Mauritius Cargo Handling Corporation, namely MV ''Mauritius Pride'' and ''Mauritius Trochetia'', anchor at Port Mathurin five times every month. On 1 May 1691,

François Leguat François Leguat (1637/1639 – September 1735) was a French explorer and naturalist. He was one of a small group of male French Protestant refugees who in 1691 settled on the then uninhabited island of Rodrigues in the western Indian Ocean. T ...

and the first French landed on Rodrigues at the site of the future village, which was founded by French colonists in 1735. The place takes its name from that of an early French settler, either Mathurin Bréhinier or Mathurin Morlaix. In 1901 Port Mathurin became home to offices for the

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

undersea cable Submarine cable is any electrical cable that is laid on the seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the ...

. There are 22 localities within the zone of Port Mathurin, which is one of 14 statistical subdivisions of Rodrigues, to which the population of 6,000 relates: #Baie Lascars (North) #Camp du Roi #Castor #Caverne Provert #Citronelle #Crève Coeur #Désiré #English Bay #Fond La Digue #Jentac #Mont Piton #Mont Vénus #Montagne Charlot #Montagne Fanal #Pointe Canon #Pointe Monnier #Port Mathurin #Roseaux #Solitude #Soupir #Terre Rouge #Vangar The village (locality) has a single

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Rodrigues College Rodrigues College is a secondary school for both girls and boys. It is located in Port Mathurin, Rodrigues. It is the first ecumenical educational institution on the Indian Ocean. History Rodrigues College celebrated its 30th anniversary during ...

. Other colleges operate in other villages around the island, namely Le Chou, Marechal, Grand Montagne, Mont Lubin and Citron Donis. The locality of Port Mathurin proper occupies a very small area, and neighbouring settlements (localities) include Fond La Digue, Montagne Fanal, Pointe Monier, Camp du Roi and Baie Lascar. In 1996, the Admiral Nevelskoi Yacht, ended his course in the lagoon next to Port Mathurin, after 2 years voyage crewless. This yacht, which was a property of the Russian government, was then given to Hon. Bernard Eric Typhis Degtyarenko in 2010, and also declared as a Maritime Museum by the Admiral Nevelskoi Maritime University. The yacht is now one of several historic links between Russia and Mauritius. It is important to emphasize that it is one of the most expensive yachts in the world in its category, including its historical importance, its value reaches more than several million dollars.

References

External links

Mysterra Magazine Tour of Port Mathurin (with photos)
Populated places in Rodrigues Populated places in Mauritius Populated places established in 1735 {{Mauritius-geo-stub