- Erromango
Erromango (coord|18|48|S|169|4|E) is the largest island in
Tafea , the southernmost province ofVanuatu . Its highest point isMount Santop , at 886 m. Its largest villages arePort Narvin (Potnarvin) andDillons Bay (Upongkor). The total area of Erromango is 888 km².It was formerly known as Martyr's Island by the
Presbyterian missionaries in the 19th century, because of the risk attached to missionary activity there—notably the death of John Williams of the London Missionary Society at Dillon Bay in 1839.The youngest volcanoes on the island are the three
stratovolcano es that form the Traitor's Head peninsula, north of Cook Bay on the eastern coast. A submarine vent between the peninsula and nearbyGoat Island erupted in 1881.Formerly it was known as a source of
sandalwood in the 19th century, and much of it was depleted. It is also home to thekauri andtamanu trees. There has been extensive logging, but most of the area is recovering, and efforts are underway to try to make the industry sustainable. WithEuropean Union support, there is a protectedHappy Lands Kauri Reserve .Erromango was one of the more important sources of workers for the
blackbirding crews. At one time the population of Erromango exceeded 10,000, today it is approximately 1500.Historically there have been four languages of Erromango, Sie, Sorung, Ura, and Utaha (Ifo), but Sorung and Utaha are now extinct, and there are very few speakers of Ura. They constitute the
Erromanga languages branch ofSouth Vanuatu languages .References
*
External links
* [http://www.pacificislandtravel.com/vanuatu/about_destin/eremango.asp Walking on Erromango]
* [http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/VAN/erromango.html Languages of Erromango]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
