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Pukapuka
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Pukapuka is a coral atoll in the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean, with three small islets threaded on a reef, which encloses a beautifully clear lagoon. It is one of the most remote islands of the Cook Islands 1,150 kilometres northwest of Rarotonga. It is a triangular atoll with three islets comprising little more than 3 square kilometres of land area, yet on this small island an ancient culture and distinct language developed over many centuries.
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Encyclopedia
Pukapuka is a coral atoll in the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean, with three small islets threaded on a reef, which encloses a beautifully clear lagoon. It is one of the most remote islands of the Cook Islands 1,150 kilometres northwest of Rarotonga. It is a triangular atoll with three islets comprising little more than 3 square kilometres of land area, yet on this small island an ancient culture and distinct language developed over many centuries. Archaeologists have recently discovered evidence of human settlement as early as approximately 2,000 years ago, and the closest prehistoric associations appear to be with Samoa and other islands to the west. The old name for the atoll was Te Ulu-o-te-watu (head of the rock), and the northern islet where the people normally reside is affectionately known as Wale (home).
European and South American visitors
Of the inhabited islands in the Cook group, it is one of the most isolated. It is still known as "Danger Island" and appears on some maps as such. That name originates from 21 June, 1765 when British vessels, "Dolphin" under Commodore John Byron and "Tamer" under Captain Mouat sighted the island. They named it "Island of Danger" because of the high surf that made it too dangerous to land. It was called Isle de la Loutre by Captain Peron of "La Loutre" who sighted it on 3 April, 1796. It should not be confused with Danger Island of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
Pukapuka has the distinction of being the first of the Cook Islands to be sighted by Europeans. The Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendana saw it on Saint Bernard's day, Sunday 20 August, 1595 and named it San Bernardo. Some authorities believe it to be the San Bernardo seen by Mendana, August 20, 1595.
Due to its isolation, few vessels visited it before 1857, when the London Missionary Society landed missionaries. In 1862, Rev. Wyatt W. Gill found most of the people on the island converted to Christianity. Peruvian slavers raided the island in 1863, and took off about 100 men and women. The English missionary barque "John Williams" was wrecked on the west side in May 1864.
World War II
Pukapuka is known for being the landing place of three downed U.S. Navy fliers, in February 1942. Harold Dixon, Gene Aldrich, and Tony Pastula survived 34 days on the open ocean in a tiny (4 foot by 8 foot) raft, beginning their odyssey with no food or water stores and very few tools. Shortly after their arrival a typhoon struck the island. Their story has been called "…unquestionably one of the most grueling and fantastic ordeals of World War II."
Geography
Pukapuka is shaped like a three bladed fan. There are three islets on the roughly triangular reef. Motu Ko, the biggest island is to the southeast; Motu Kotawa (Frigate Bird Island) is to the southwest; and the main island Wale is to the north. Ko and Kotawa are uninhabited and are used for growing food. The airport is on Ko.
On the crescent-shaped bay of Wale, the lagoon-ward bay of Pukapuka Islet, the northernmost islet of the atoll, three villages are located: Ngake (meaning Windward), Roto (Central), and Yato (Leeward). Roto (Toto or Loto on some older maps) is the main village, seat of Pukapuka Island Council. The traditional names for these villages are Te Langaikula, Kotipolo, and Ulekawa. In daily life, the islanders frequently call them USA, Holland, and Japan, respectively. Especially in sports competitions between the villages, the villagers use the names, flags, and national anthems of these countries.
Although the island features a well-maintained airstrip, flights are very infrequent as the island is closer to Samoa than to the rest of the Cook Islands. The five hour flight from Rarotonga operates only once every six weeks or so.
23 km southeast of Pukapuka is submerged Tema Reef.
Treaty
The United States of America gave up its claim to the island in a treaty signed with New Zealand/the Cook Islands on December 3, 1980.
Culture
Pukapuka has its own language and customs, and other Cook Islanders say its main asset is its “beautiful girls”. Its name derives from the puka tree which is commonplace.
The entire population is said to be descended from just 14 or so people who survived a catastrophic storm and tidal wave (tsunami) over 400 years ago. 664 people inhabited the island as of the 2001 census.
The late American writer Robert Dean Frisbie settled on Pukapuka in 1924 and immortalised the island in the books he wrote about it. He said at the time he was looking for a place beyond the reach of "the faintest echo from the noisy clamour of the civilised world". He found it, and to this day Pukapuka is one of the most untouched and secluded places in the Cook Islands.
The island and nearby Nassau (Cook Islands) were hit by Cyclone Percy in February 2005 — the fourth of five cyclones to hit the Cook Islands in five weeks — and reconstruction work is still going on. An assessment by the New Zealand Air Force after the cyclone reported that only 10 percent of houses on the Island survived intact.
The Pukapuka Island Council also governs Nassau Island. The Nassau Island Committee advises the Pukapuka Island Committee on matters relating to its own island.
Suwarrow is owned by Pukapuka and considered part of it, administratively.
See also
External links
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