- Vavaʻu
:"Vavau redirects here. For the village in Samoa, see
Vavau, Samoa "Vavaokinau is an island chain of one large island and 40 smaller ones in
Tonga . According to tradition Maui fished bothTongatapu and Vavaokinau but put a little more effort into the former. Vavaokinau rises 204 meters above sea level. The capital is Neiafu, which is the second largest city inTonga , situated at one of the best harbours of the world, the Port of Refuge (Puatalefusi or Lolo-okinaa-Halaevalu).Vavaokinau is a prime fishing destination with its beautiful harbour and untouched seas.
History
Don
Francisco Antonio Mourelle was the first European to come to Vavaokinau, in February 1781. CaptainJames Cook knew about the island a decennium before, but the people in Haokinaapai told him it would be no good for him to go there as there was no harbour. Apparently they did not want him to come. And Cook heeded their advice.But Mourelle found excellent anchoring, of which he was in desperate need after having failed on Fonualei (Bitterness island) and Late, and he gave the spot the name Port of Refuge. But his original Port of Refuge was the bay on the west coast of the main island, near
Longomapu .In 1793
Alessandro Malaspina visited for a month, following up on Maurelle and claiming the islands for Spain.Tuokinai Tonga George Tupou I instituted the Vavaokinau Code in Vavaokinau in
1839 .New island
In 2006, [http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?content=archive&year=2006&week=nov_8-14_06#homereef eruptions] of the previously submarine
volcano Home Reef caused it to rise above sea level, forming a new island to the southwest of the Vavaokinau archipelago.ee also
*
2006 Tonga earthquake References
* D. Gerstle; Gentle people, into the heart of Vavaokinau 1781-1973; Tofua press 1973
External links
* [http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/maiken.asp Photos showing the birth of the new island]
* [http://www.vavau.to Vavau.to - Online Guide and local news from Vava'u]
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