Makatea

For district of the Cook Islands, see Makatea (district).

Coordinates: 15°51′S 148°15′W / 15.85°S 148.25°W / -15.85; -148.25

Map of Makatea

Satellite Image of Makatea Island

Makatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae, is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus. It is located 79 km southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser group. It is surrounded by spectacular cliffs, rising to a plateau 80 meters above the sea level. This island is 7.5 km long, with a maximum width of 7 km in the south. It is 24 km² in area. Makatea is one of the only four islands of the Tuamotu Archipelago (along with Nukutavake, Tikei, and Tepoto Nord) that do not take the form of a typical atoll.

History

Mākatea is almost the only Paumotuan island with potable water. Its native name derived from the drinking water being brought out of its dark caves by the local people. "Mā," pure, clear; used here to mean water, "Atea," light of day and "K" for euphony. The other name of the Island was Mangaia-te-vai-tamāe, meaning "Mangaia of the purified (or clear) water."

This island was called "Aurora" by Dutch mariner Jakob Roggeveen in 1722. Later, the Polynesians called it "Papa Tea" (which means "white rock").

There is a ghost town, Vaitepaua, and an adjacent abandoned port, Temao, on the northwest coast of Makatea. These are from the times of phosphate mining (1917 to 1964).^[1] Makatea is one of three important Pacific raised coral islands that had large phosphate deposits, the other two being Nauru and Banaba. The Pacific Phosphate Company Ltd, (PPC), which was founded by John T. Arundel and involved in mining at Nauru and Banaba, formed the Compagnie des Phosphates de l'Océanie with a Tahitian syndicate to mine phosphate on Makatea.^[2] In September 1909, the S.S. Ocean Queen, a ship owned by the PPC, was wreaked on the reef at Makatea; a bent connecting rod caused the engines to stop and the current carried the ship onto the reef.^[2]

Also, the island of Makatea was featured in the 1998 movie Six Days Seven Nights starring Harrison Ford, Anne Heche and David Schwimmer. To quote Quinn Harris (Harrison Ford): "It's an island, babe. If you didn't bring it here, you won't find it here." Although the name Makatea was used in the film, the movie was not filmed in Makatea and nothing about the film depicted the rugged landscape and real dangers of the island.

Phosphate mining drew hundreds of people to Makatea in the years before the French Centre d'Experimentation du Pacifique (CEP) started nuclear experiments. For over two decades or even longer, Makatea was a very active little island because of the ships arriving to load phosphate and to bring supplies and food to the many workers and their families that lived there. After the end of the phosphate exploitation, Makatea was almost totally left on its own with only a few families left to guard the island. The mining produced hundreds if not thousands of hand dug holes across the upper plateau of Makatea. Each cylindric hole is about 8 ft. in diameter and 50 to 75 ft. in depth. An unsuspecting visitor could easily fall into a hole and die while walking in the thick undergrowth that hides these holes. The once active village where the miners lived had a school, bakery, first aid medical center and all the things needed to make life comfortable. All that remains today has been destroyed by time and nature. The school and other places have been leveled to the ground and grown over by vines and jungle.

Administration and demography

Makatea Island forms a commune associée of Rangiroa commune with 93 inhabitants (2002 census). The main village is called Moumu. The islanders live off agriculture, culture of copra, some fishing and the trade of coconut crabs.

See also

• French Polynesia
• Nauru
• Banaba

References

• [1]
• Map of Makatea
• Avifauna of Makatea (Atoll Research Bulletin v.300)
• Atoll names

External links

• Atoll list (in French)
• Classification of the French Polynesian atolls by Salvat (1985)

Footnotes

1. ^ "Tahiti Heritage". Archéologie industrielle du phosphate - Makatea. http://www.tahitiheritage.pf/fiche-archologie-industrielle-du-phosphate--makatea-22493.htm. Retrieved 11 Sept. 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Maslyn Williams & Barrie Macdonald (1985). The Phosphateers. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0 522 84302 6.