Islands of Oceania: Tubuai

Tubuai

Geography

Tubuai is an island that is part of the Austral Islands in French Polynesia. Tubuai is of volcanic origin. The island is ringed by a lagoon (the largest lagoon of the Austral Islands) formed by an encircling coral reef. There are eight small islets (motus) around the main island:

Motu One (îlot de sable)	North, sandy.
Motu Rautaro	East, wooded.
Motu Toena	East, wooded.
Motu Roa (Motu Tāpapatava'e)	East, wooded.
Motu Mitihā (Motiha'a)	East, wooded.
Motu 'Ōfa'i (îlot caillou)	Inside the barrier reef, composed of basalt.
'Iri'iriroa	It is often submerged.
Îlot plat	It is often submerged.

The climate is rather temperate although it can be quite tropical for a large part of the year. The lowest temperature measured on the island was 9.2 °C (48.6 °F) on 31 August 1951. The highest was 32.7 °C (90.9 °F) on 25 March 1980. The lagoon waters typically reach 26 °C (79 °F) in summer but only drop a few degrees in winter.

A considerable portion of the island is swampy, the two largest swamp areas, known as Motavahi and Mihiura, being on the north-west and south-west sides respectively. Each of these swamps has at least one stream draining into it from the mountainous area to the east.

Ather name: Tupua'i

Location: 23°23′S 149°27′W. The island is located 195 km from Ra'ivāvae, 210 km from Rurutu, 700 km from Rapa Iti and 640 km south of Tahiti.

Area: 45 km²/17 sq mi(land area)

Highest point: 422 m/1,385 ft (Mt Taita'a)

Population: 2294 (in 2016)

Main town: Tupua'i

Map of Tubuai

Tubuai

History

The island has been inhabited for more than 2000 years.

1777 – The island was discovered for Europe by James Cook.

1789 - The mutineers of the HMS Bounty tried to settle on the island. After three months of bloody conflict with the natives, however, they returned to Tahiti.

In the early 1820s, missionaries came to the island from Tahiti. The population of Tubuai that was estimated by the mutineer Morrison to be 3000 was reduced to no more than 300 people in the early 1820s. The reduction of the population was caused by diseases that had been brought by Europeans.

1881 – Tubuai was annexed by France.