Niuafo'ou

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Niuafoʻou (volcano)

Elevation:	260 metres
Coordinates:	15.60° S 175.63° W
Location:	Tonga, Oceania
Type:	Shield volcano
Last eruption:	1985

Niuafoʻou (meaning: new coconut) is the most northerly island in the kingdom of Tonga. It is a volcanic rim island of 15 km² and with a population of approximately 750. The island is located in the southern Pacific Ocean between Fiji and Samoa, 574 km north of Tongatapu island group and 337 kilometers northwest of Vavaʻu. It is a still active volcano.

Other names for the island are Good Hope island and Tin Can island. The latter name originated from the fact that, since the island has neither a natural harbor nor a wharf, in earlier times, mail was delivered and picked up by strong swimmers who would retrieve packages, "sealed up in a biscuit tin" and thrown overboard from passing ships. An early trader, named Walter George Quensell, acted as postmaster at that time and stamped the mail with colourfull marks which have become a collectors' item. The Tongan government took over this tradition with special Niuafoʻou stamps since 1983.

Niuafoʻou is a volcano located on an underwater ridge 190 kilometers west of the line of all the other volcanoes of Tonga. The island is a steep-sided calderas; the rim is over 120 meters high, rising to a height of 250 meters at Mokotu. The coastline is rocky and steep with only a few stony black sand beaches. The only landing place on the island is the end of a lava flow at Futu, in the west. All the villages are in the north and east. Public places like the postoffice, telecommunications station and airport are in Angahā in the north, while a highschool is located in Muʻa.

The island ring encloses two lakes. The largest, Vai Lahi, is a crater lake 23 meters above sea level, 4 kilometers wide, and 84 meters deep. The lake contains three islands and a submerged island that appears when the water level drops. Vai Lahi is separated from the smaller Vai Siʻi (or Vai Mataʻaho) by a desolate landscape of sand hills. The island is covered by forest on the inner walls of the crater lake, and the island's eastern and western slopes.

Niuafoʻou has been an active volcano for thousands of years. In 1853, the village of ʻAhau was destroyed, killing 25 people. Lava flows from eruptions in 1912 and 1929 destroyed the village of Futu, cut off the harbor, and killed all the vegetation on the western slopes of the island. Other eruptions occurred in 1935, 1936, 1943, and 1946. The 1946 eruption was a particularly violent one and in December 1946, Niuafoʻou's inhabitants were evacuated and resettled on the island of ʻEua. ʻEua and Niuafoʻou share many placesnames, (see list of cities in Tonga) showing where the resettlers went to. The first groups of inhabitants were allowed to return to the island in 1958.

[edit] History

According to the myths, Niuafoʻou originally had a mountain, rather than a lake in the middle. But the mountain was stolen one night and became Tafahi.

Niuafoʻou was put on the European maps by Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire during their famous circumnavigation of the globe in 1616. After their not so succesfull encounter with the islanders of Niuatoputapu, they approached this island with some more hope to find refreshments, so it was called Goede Hoop island. They found black cliffs, green on top, plenty coconut trees, some houses along the seaside and a whole village near a landing place. But the ship the Eendracht (Unity) could not anchor and they had to limit themselves with some trade with the indians who came along in their swift canoes. That went on fine for a short while. But when the islanders tried to get away with the small sounding boat, the Dutch had to use fire force again. After this they proceeded with their trip to the west, but veering towards the north and so happened to reach Futuna and Alofi.