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

Rodrigues Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...

, a dependency of

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. Most of the population of Rodrigues is settled 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 approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

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 *Marketing, the act of sat ...

, while the town also has the island's only

bus station A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

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 Marie, Queen of Rodrigues (Marie, Reine de Rodrigues) is a six-foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Chr ...

, 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 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: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

undersea cable Submarine cable is any electrical cable that is laid on the seabed, although the term is often extended to encompass cables laid on the bottom of large freshwater bodies of water. Examples include: *Submarine communications cable A submarine ...

. 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, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

: Rodrigues College. 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 Expedition yacht Admiral Nevelskoi, 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 one of the most expensive yachts in the world in its category, including its historical importance, its value reaches more than several million dollars.

Climate

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