HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Vavau is an island group, consisting of one large island ( ʻUtu Vavaʻu) and 40 smaller ones, in
Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
. It is part of Vavaʻu District, which includes several other individual islands. According to tradition, the Maui god created both
Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...
and Vavau, but put a little more effort into the former. Vavau rises above sea level at
Mount Talau Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...
. The
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
is Neiafu, situated at the
Port of Refuge A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...
(Puatalefusi or Lolo-a-Halaevalu).


History


Myths and legends

In
Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...
, it is said that the islands were created by the
god In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
Maui, who reached into the bottom of the sea with his magic hook, caught something on it, and pulled it up to the sea surface, and it became the islands of Vavau.


Recorded history

Don Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa, commanding the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...
frigate ''Princesa'', was the first
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
an to come to Vavau, which he did on 4 March 1781. He charted Vavaʻu as ''
Martín de Mayorga Martín de Mayorga Ferrer (September 12, 1721 in Barcelona, Spain – 1783 in Spain) was a Spanish military officer, governor of the Captaincy General of Guatemala (from June 1773 to 1779), and interim viceroy of New Spain (from August 23, ...
'', naming it after the man who was the
Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
of
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
at that time.
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
James Cook had known about the islands a decade earlier, but the people in
Haʻapai Haʻapai is a group of islands, islets, reefs, and shoals in the central part of Tonga. It has a combined land area of . The Tongatapu island group lies to its south, and the Vavaʻu group lies to its north. Seventeen of the Haʻapai islands are ...
had told him it would be no good for him to go there; they told him there was no
harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...
. They may have told him this to dissuade him from going there; but Cook heeded their advice. As it turned out, Mourelle found excellent
anchoring An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek � ...
, in Vavau, which he desperately needed, because he had failed to find a harbour at the last two places he had tried to land,
Fonualei Fonualei is an uninhabited volcanic island in the kingdom of Tonga. It 70 km northwest of Vavaʻu and is part of the highly active Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone and its associated volcanic arc, which extends from New Zealand north-northeast ...
(Bitterness island) and
Late Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...
. He gave the harbour at Vavau the name ''Port of Refuge'', although his original port of refuge had been the bay on the west coast of the main island, near Longomapu. Twelve years later, in 1793,
Alessandro Malaspina Alejandro Malaspina (November 5, 1754 – April 9, 1810) was a Tuscan explorer who spent most of his life as a Spanish naval officer. Under a Spanish royal commission, he undertook a voyage around the world from 1786 to 1788, then, from 1789 t ...
visited the area for a month, following up on Mourelle’s investigations, and formally claiming the islands for
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
.
Whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...
vessels were among the first regular Western visitors to the islands. The first on record was the ''Fanny'', on 17 June 1823, and the last was the ''Robert Morrison'', from July through September, 1883. These vessels came for water, food, and wood - and sometimes they recruited islanders to serve as crewmen on their ships. They stimulated commerce and were significant agents for change on the islands. In 1839, the
Tuʻi Tonga The Tuʻi Tonga is a line of Tongan kings, which originated in the tenth century with the mythical ʻAhoʻeitu, and withdrew from political power in the fifteenth century by yielding to the ''Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua''. The title ended with the death ...
(chief),
George Tupou I George Tupou I (4 December 1797 – 18 February 1893), originally known as Tāufaʻāhau I, was the first king of modern Tonga. He adopted the name Siaosi (originally Jiaoji), the Tongan equivalent of '' George'', after King George III of the ...
, instituted the
Vavaʻu Code The Vavaʻu Code was instituted in Vavaʻu, Tonga in 1839, by King George Tupou I. It contained the country's first ever written laws, and formed the bases of the first constitution of the Kingdom. It delineated an ordered society where the monarch ...
in Vavau.


Geography

The Vavau island group is spread out across an area that measures about 21 km from east to west and 25 km from north to south. Vavau had 13,738 inhabitants at the 2016 census, 5,251 of whom lived in the capital, Neiafu. The islands in Vavaʻu District, outside of the
Vavaʻu Group Vavau is an island group, consisting of one large island (ʻUtu Vavaʻu) and 40 smaller ones, in Tonga. It is part of Administrative divisions of Tonga, Vavaʻu District, which includes several other individual islands. According to tradition, t ...
, are uninhabited. The main island of ’Utu Vava’u, at , is the second largest island in Tonga. Vavaʻu is a
coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...
with cliffs in the north rising to above sea level. On the south side, the island group is dispersed into many small, scattered islands and waterways. The largest of the waterways, the
fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...
-like Ava Pulepulekai channel, extends inland from the harbor of Neiafu (the capital). The north coast of ’Utu Vava’u island is a raised platform of coral cliffs. The southern coastline is low and irregular, and opens out into a network of channels, bays, and islets, forming one of the best-protected natural harbors in the Pacific. ’Utu Vava’u is also home to the
ʻEneʻio Botanical Garden The ‘Ene’io Botanical Garden (EBG) is a botanical garden in Tonga and is the first of its kind there. It has the largest and most varied plant collection in the Kingdom of Tonga. The botanical garden is located in Vava'u, 10 minutes from ...
, which is Tonga's only botanical garden. File:Neiafu church.jpg, Neiafu church File:Vaipūua bridge.jpg, Vaipūua bridge Image:Neiafu-market.jpg,
Neiafu Market Neiafu is a relatively new Saturday Market (place), market and shopping centre on Vava'u, Tonga. It is regarded as a municipal market and sells a range of items, including handicrafts, ancient headrests, kava bowls, stone adzes, old whale teeth and ...


Climate

Vavau’s climate is by far the warmest in Tonga (apart from the
Niuas Niua is a divisions of Tonga, division of the Kingdom of Tonga, namely the northernmost group of islands. It consists of three islands (Niuafoʻou, Niuatoputapu and Tafahi) which together have an area of 71.69 km2 and a population of 1,150. Th ...
, which are the northernmost islands in the kingdom). Its warm climate and fertile
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...
makes it a haven for growers of
vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...
,
pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centurie ...
, and other
tropical fruits A tropical fruit one that typically grows in warm climates, or equatorial areas. Tropical fruits Varieties of tropical fruit include: *Acerola ( West Indian Cherry or Barbados Cherry) *Ackee *Banana * Barbadine (granadilla; maracujá-açu i ...
.


Governors

*
Lord Fakatulolo Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ...
was appointed Governor of Vavau in 2018. * David Fulivai was appointed governor of Vavau in July 2011. *
Sione Laumanuʻuli Luani Lord Luani (18 June 1959 – 12 May 2010), born Sione Laumanuʻuli Luani, was a Tongan nobleman, Member of Parliament, and the Governor of Vavaʻu. Education The son of MP Tongaleva Luani, Luani attended Newington College in Australia between 1972 ...
was governor until he died suddenly on 12 May 2010. * Samisoni Fonomanu Tu'i'afitu was appointed acting governor of Vavaʻu in 1988, and then governor in 1991. He died on 4 October 2005. *
Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake Prince Fatafehi Tuʻipelehake (Sione Ngū Manumataongo; 7 January 1922 – 10 April 1999) was the youngest son of Queen Sālote Tupou III and was educated in Tonga and Australia. Tu'ipelehake is a traditional very high-ranking Tongan title. He ...
was governor from 1952 until 1965. * ʻAkauʻola Siosateki Tonga Veikune Faletau was governor from 1936 to 1939, before becoming the minister of police, a post he held from 1939 until 1952. *
Viliami Tungī Mailefihi Viliami Tungī Mailefihi (1 November 1888 – 20 July 1941) was a Tongan high chieftain and Prince Consort of Queen Sālote Tupou III. He served as Prime Minister of Tonga from 1923 until his death in 1941. Biography Prince Tungi was the son ...
was governor from 1912 to 1918.


Economy

Vavau is popular with sailors and other tourists, because of its scenic beauty. It is one of the most prominent
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...
sites in Tonga. From May to October, the Port of ’Utu Vava’u welcomes sailing boats from all over the world and arranges for tourists to dive with
humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hum ...
s and explore underwater
cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
s. The island is served by
Vavaʻu International Airport Vavau International Airport , also known as Lupepauu International Airport, is an airport in Vavau, Tonga. The airport is located north of the capital Neiafu. The airport has limited direct service, currently through Fiji Airways. Previously s ...
. Tourism,
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...
, and fishing are the main sources of income for the inhabitants. The vanilla beans grown here are considered among the best in the world.
Giant clam The giant clams are the members of the clam genus ''Tridacna'' that are the largest living bivalve mollusks. There are actually several species of "giant clams" in the genus ''Tridacna'', which are often misidentified for ''Tridacna gigas'', th ...
s are farmed, and
pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium ca ...
s are cultured. Vavaʻu is considered one of the best places in the world to catch
sailfish The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae (marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the s ...
.


Ecology

Vavaʻu is home to 262 specieis of plants, 11 species of lizard, 38 species of bird, and 41 species of terrestrial snail.


See also

*
2006 Tonga earthquake The 2006 Tonga earthquake occurred on 4 May at with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (very strong). One injury occurred and a non-destructive tsunami was observed. Earthquake The National Oceanic and Atmospheric ...


References


Further reading

*


External links


Web portal service for the Vavaʻu Island group of Tonga
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vavau Divisions of Tonga Islands of Tonga Former Spanish colonies