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Nukumanu, formerly Tasman Islands, is an atoll of Papua New Guinea, located in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean, 4 degrees south of the equator.

Nukumanu

NASA picture of Nukumanu Atoll
Nukumanu
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	4°31′S 159°24′E
Archipelago	Group of three atolls
Total islands	22
Area	4.6 km2 (1.8 sq mi)
Highest elevation	2 m (7 ft)
Administration
Papua New Guinea
Autonomous Region	Bougainville
District	North Bougainville
Local-level government	Atolls Rural
Demographics
Population	730 (2000[1])

Description

Comprising a ring of more than twenty islets on a reef surrounding a large lagoon, Nukumanu's sandy islands are located on a strip of coral rising no more than 1 metre (3.3 ft) above sea level. The main inhabited islands of Nukumanu are located on the eastern end of the atoll.

Administratively Nukumanu is part of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, but it lies quite far away from the closest territory of Papua New Guinea proper, which is the coast of New Ireland island at 682 km (424 mi) to the west. The nearest land is Ontong Java Atoll, located only 38 km (24 mi) to the south of Nukumanu. The border between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands runs between these neighboring atolls, which form a small geographic group together with the wholly submerged Roncador Reef at the southern end.[2]

History

In Polynesian history, the main cultural and commercial exchanges took place with the inhabitants of neighboring Ontong Java Atoll, with whom Nukumanu people share many cultural affinities.[3]

Towards the end of the 19th century Nukumanu became part of the German colonial empire.[4] It was captured by Australia in 1914 and formally transferred to Australian administration as a League of Nations mandate in 1920 by the Treaty of Versailles,[5] after Germany's defeat in World War I.[6]

Nukumanu's most recent claim to fame is that it was the last place on the path of Amelia Earhart before she and her co-pilot Fred Noonan disappeared forever into the vast Pacific Ocean. Their last known position report was near the Nukumanu Islands, about 800 miles (1,300 km) into the flight.

The land resources of the Nukumanu people are quite few and they grow a kind of taro and bananas. Coconuts are an integral part of the islanders' diet with the soft inside being a staple food and coconut flesh being consumed with raw fish and clams. They are also competent fishermen, who dive for bêche-de-mer in the lagoon. This is exported mainly to Asia, and along with trochus shells, used to make mother-of-pearl, they comprise the backbone of the Nukumanu economy.

Anthropological studies

This atoll has a Polynesian population whose ancestors migrated westwards out of Polynesia. Their language is classified in the Samoic Outlier branch of Polynesian.[7] The Nukumanu Islands, together with neighboring Ontong Java retain a Polynesian character despite their location in the Melanesian Archipelago of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands respectively.

The first serious research on Nukumanu's inhabitants was conducted by German ethnographers Ernst Sarfert and Hans Damm, during a German scientific expedition of the Southern Seas that took place in 1908–1910. This expedition visited both Nukumanu and neighboring Ontong Java Atoll, where they also carried out their research. Their work, "Luangiua und Nukumanu" was published in 1931.

References

Bibliography

• Sarfert, Ernst, and Hans Damm. Luangiua und Nukumanu. Ergebnisse der Südsee Expedition, 1908–1910. Hamburg 1931, 2 vols.

External links

На других языках

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[de] Nukumanu-Inseln

Die Nukumanu-Inseln (früher auch „Tasman-Inseln“) sind ein Atoll im Pazifischen Ozean nördlich von Ontong Java gelegen. Sie gehören zu Papua-Neuguinea und sind politisch ein Teil Melanesiens. Kulturell zählt man das Atoll auf Grund der polynesischstämmigen Bevölkerung zu den Exklaven Polynesiens, welche außerhalb des polynesischen Dreiecks liegen. Administrativ gehört es zum Atolls Local Level Government des North Bougainville Districts in der Provinz Bougainville.

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- [en] Nukumanu Islands

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[fr] Nukumanu

Nukumanu est un atoll situé juste sous le 4e parallèle sud et qui fait partie de la Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée, à 682 km de la Nouvelle-Irlande, et se trouve à 38 km d'Ontong Java (dans les îles Salomon). C'est une exclave polynésienne. Philip Carteret l'aperçoit lors de son deuxième voyage autour du globe en août 1767 et lui donne le nom d'Isle de Gower. Il a quelques échanges avec les habitants de l'île le 11 août mais dans un premier temps, il ne parvient pas à mettre l'ancre. Revenu le lendemain à proximité de l'île, il y rencontre un grand nombre d'habitants à bord de pirogues, qu'il suppose être venus d'une île voisine. La rencontre tourne à la confrontation et Carteret met le cap sur le nord-ouest.

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[it] Nukumanu

Nukumanu (noto in passato come Isole Tasman) è un atollo corallino, il territorio più remoto di Papua Nuova Guinea, essendo distante 432 km a nord-est dall'isola di Bougainville e 38 km dall'atollo di Ontong Java, l'isola più vicina, entrambi fanno parte della Polinesia periferica.

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[ru] Нукуману

Нукуману (англ. Nukumanu Islands) — атолл среднего размера в западной части Тихого океана. Административно является частью Автономного района Бугенвиль Папуа — Новой Гвинеи, однако находится довольно далеко от основной территории страны. Так, крупный остров Новая Ирландия расположен в 682 км к западу от Нукуману. В 38 км к югу от Нукуману находится атолл Онтонг-Джава, который является уже частью Соломоновых Островов (граница проходит между этими двумя атоллами). Площадь атолла — 4,6 км².

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