Nassau is an island in the

northern group Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

of the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

. It is approximately north of the capital island of

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

and from

Pukapuka Pukapuka, formerly Danger Island, is a coral atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of most remote islands of the Cook Islands, situated about northwest of Rarotonga. On this small island, an ancient ...

. Lacking an airstrip, it is accessible only by boat. It is named after a 19th-century whaling ship. Its indigenous name, ''Te Nuku-o-Ngalewu'', means "Land of Ngalewu" after the Pukapukan who was put in charge of it.

Geography

Located south of Pukapuka, Nassau is just above sea level, with an oval sandy cay on a

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, wh ...

foundation and is surrounded by a narrow reef flat. It is covered with palms, and is the only island of the Northern Group without a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons ...

. The surrounding reef is 90 to 130 metres wide on all but the north side where it's narrower. The village is located in the north-west. Inland there are rich taro swamps and fruit groves, and offshore there is good fishing. It has a population of 78, according to the 2016 census. Nassau is governed by the Pukapuka Island Council. The Nassau Island Committee advises the Pukapuka Island Council on matters of Nassau Island. Families live in thatched cottages called kikau. Elliot Smith, in the ''Cook Islands Companion'' (Pacific Publishing Company, Albany, California) describes Nassau as "a small garden of Eden".

History

Nassau originally belonged to the islanders of nearby

and was called ''Te Nuku-o-Ngalewu'' which means "Land of Ngalewu" after the Pukapukan who was put in charge of it. When the two islands fell out with each other, it was renamed "Deserted Island" (''Te Motu Ngaongao''), supposedly by the islanders of Manihiki who drifted to the island and found it deserted. The first European to discover the island was Louis Coutance of the ship ''Adele'', who named it "Adele island" in 1803. Other Europeans to encounter Nassau named it "Lydra Island" (1827), "Ranger Island" (pre-1835), and "Mitchell Island" (1834). In 1835 the captain of an American whaling vessel, John D. Sampson, named it after his vessel, the ''Nassau''. The following year another American whaler named it "New-Port island". In 1876 an American occupied the island for use as a coconut plantation, employing workers from Pukapuka. From 1916 to 1926 it was leased as a copra plantation by the Samoa Shipping and Trading Company, using workers from

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

and the

Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. They were a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976. The history of the colony w ...

. It continued to be occupied intermittently until it was sold to the Cook Islands government in 1945. In 1951 it was purchased by the Island Council of Pukapuka, which sent annual expeditions to harvest copra. The island became permanently settled around 1970. The island was severely damaged in February 2005 by

Cyclone Percy Cyclone Percy was the seventh named storm of the 2004–05 South Pacific cyclone season and the fourth and final severe tropical cyclone to form during the 2004–05 South Pacific cyclone season. Cyclone Percy originated as a tropical disturbance ...

, which destroyed every home and contaminated cropland and water supplies with salt water. Recovery work to the island's infrastructure (Health Clinic, School, Powerhouse, Telecommunications Network and Meeting House) was completed with the help of NZAID and the Government of the Cook Islands in October of that same year, a major feat due to the island's remoteness and infrequent shipping services. The Island now has a completely new school thanks to the NZAID Schools Refurbishment Programme, which is administered by the Cook Islands Investment Corporation.

Economy

The economy of Nassau originally depended on harvesting

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 co ...

, with Pukapukan expeditions harvesting a third to a half as much as from the (much larger) Pukapuka. As with Pukapuka, the economy was run communally, with foremen and leaders telling the expedition members what needed to be done, and everyone sharing equally in the proceeds. Because there is no airport, access is limited to inter-island ship from

, a voyage of three days or more, or from

. The service is infrequent. A harbour was planned in 2007, and in 2010 a small boat passage and mooring wharf had been dynamited out of the reef top, and a second phase was underway in December 2010. The environmental impact was small after the initial blasting A tender for the design of an improved harbour was issued in April 2020. In January 2017 the

Taio Shipping Taio Shipping is a shipping company in the Cook Islands. It is the islands' main inter-island shipping company, and operates freight and passenger services between Rarotonga and the outer islands, with services once or twice a month to Atiu, Miti ...

vessel ''

MV Moana Nui MV may refer to: Businesses and organizations In transportation * Motor vessel, a motorized ship; used as a prefix for ship names * MV Agusta, a motorcycle manufacturer based in Cascina Costa, Italy * Armenian International Airways (IATA code M ...

'' ran aground on Nassau's reef. The wreck was left in place, and subsequently shifted to block access to Nassau's harbour. A contract to salvage and remove the wreck was issued in November 2019. Nassau was connected to the other islands by telephone in 2004. In 2015 a solar / battery power station was installed, replacing diesel generators and allowing 24-hour electricity.

References

External links

Information and pictures
{{Authority control Islands of the Cook Islands Northern Cook Islands