Thio, New Caledonia

Thio
Location of the commune (in red) within New Caledonia
Coordinates: 21°37′S 166°13′E / 21.62°S 166.22°E / -21.62; 166.22Coordinates: 21°37′S 166°13′E / 21.62°S 166.22°E / -21.62; 166.22
Country	France
Sui generis collectivity	New Caledonia
Province	South Province
Government
• Mayor	Thierry Song
Area
• Land1	997.6 km2 (385.2 sq mi)
Population (2004 census)
• Population2	2,743
• Population2 Density	2.7/km2 (7.1/sq mi)
Ethnic distribution
• 1996 census	Kanaks 70.1% Europeans 16.2% Polynesians 11.4% Other 2.3%
INSEE/Postal code	98829 / 98829
Elevation	0–1,618 m (0–5,308 ft) (avg. 10 m or 33 ft)
1 New Caledonia Land Register (DITTT) data, which exclude lakes and ponds larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Thio is a commune in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.

A novel Aerial tramway existed here at the start of the 20th century to facilitate loading ore ships offshore. As there is insufficient material available for a complete article the external links below are provided as an interim focal point and a keyword hint for researchers. The link’s contents are mostly as short as the descriptions given.

• http://www.cable-car.de/bleichert.htm “1903 Sea-lift at Thio / New Caledonia” (1903 is order date)
• http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Bleichert_&_Co. “1906 Sea-lift at Thio / New Caledonia”

-ref 15 “Cable cars to transport material and nickel ores for the Société Anonyme Le Nickel from the mine to the railroad and from the railroad across the water to the ship loading dock. Was the longest over-water-lift; with cable supports, which were deeply rooted in the mud with pile foundations; illuminated at night by arc lights.”

• http://www.archive.org/details/selectedbibliogr00amerrich 1916. pg 15 “about one thousand yards long”. Refers to Scientific American Supplement November 27, 1909 and Engineering & Mining Journal February 20, 1909 5 pages, illustrated.
• Peter von Bleichert wrote a book on "Bleichert's Wire Ropeways" that contains information on the design, construction, and operation of the wire ropeway at Thio, New Caledonia, and has, on its cover, artwork depicting the ropeway: http://www.amazon.com/Bleicherts-Wire-Ropeways-ebook/dp/B00DJZ6QSI/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1373230767&sr=8-6&keywords=bleichert%27s
• http://www.zapgillou.fr/mondalazac/articleweb/partie2.htm has a postage stamp, a short short description and a Google Earth view.

v t e   Administrative divisions of New Caledonia Provinces Loyalty Islands Province North Province South Province Communes Belep Bouloupari Bourail Canala Dumbéa Farino Hienghène Houaïlou L'Île-des-Pins Kaala-Gomen Koné Kouaoua Koumac La Foa Lifou Maré Moindou Le Mont-Dore Nouméa Ouégoa Ouvéa Païta Poindimié Ponérihouen Pouébo Pouembout Poum Poya Sarraméa Thio Touho Voh Yaté