Punaauia is a
commune in the suburbs of
Papeete
Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The Communes of France, commune of Papeete is located on the isl ...
in
French Polynesia
)Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze")
, anthem =
, song_type = Regional anthem
, song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui"
, image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of Frenc ...
, an overseas territory of
France in the
Pacific Ocean. Punaauia is located on the island of
Tahiti, in the
administrative subdivision of the
Windward Islands, themselves part of the
Society Islands.
[Décret n° 2005-1611 du 20 décembre 2005 pris pour l'application du statut d'autonomie de la Polynésie française](_blank)
Légifrance In the late 1890s, the French painter
Paul Gauguin lived in Punaauia. Here he painted his masterpiece ''
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?''. The commune borders
Faaā on the north and
Pāea on the south.
History
Like many of the other communes and islands of
French Polynesia
)Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze")
, anthem =
, song_type = Regional anthem
, song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui"
, image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of Frenc ...
, the area was first settled by early Polynesians from
Asia around 1,000 years ago. These people have already settled on the
Marquesas Islands and then they traveled on their sea canoes to the
Society Islands. They had lived off of the fish and fruits of
Tahiti. Most of the early Polynesians had built houses on the beach. Later on, they had built houses further inland because of high tide.
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 ...
came on his expedition to chart the Pacific islands during 1770. He also came with explorer Englishman
Samuel Wallis to explore. James Cook later went to
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 ...
.
Charles Darwin came to the
Society Islands in the 1800s from the western Pacific. Punaauia experienced a major population boom in the late 1990s. At the 2017 census it had a population of 28,103, making it the second most populous commune in French Polynesia.
[Répartition de la population en Polynésie française en 2017](_blank)
Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française
Geography
Climate
Punaauia has a
tropical monsoon climate (
Köppen climate classification ''Am''). The average annual temperature in Punaauia is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in March, at around , and lowest in August, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Punaauia was on 25 March 2016; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 16 August 1997.
Transport
The Aremiti ferry is the main ferry that sails to Moorea and a few other
Society Islands. The ferry is white with red stripes. The other is the Moorea Ferry which is white on the top and blue on the bottom.
Twin towns – sister cities
Punaauia is
twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
*
Dumbéa, New Caledonia
References
Communes of French Polynesia
{{FrenchPolynesia-stub