4°31′30″S159°24′00″E / 4.52500°S 159.40000°E /-4.52500; 159.40000
 NASA picture of Nukumanu Atoll | |
  Nukumanu  Nukumanu | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 4°31′S159°24′E / 4.517°S 159.400°E /-4.517; 159.400 |
| Archipelago | Group of three atolls |
| Total islands | 22 |
| Area | 4.6 km2 (1.8 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 2 m (7 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Autonomous Region |  Bougainville |
| District | North Bougainville |
| Local-level government | Atolls Rural |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 730 (2000[1]) |
TheNukumanu Islands, formerly theTasman Islands, is anatoll ofPapua New Guinea, located in the south-westernPacific Ocean,4 degrees south of theEquator.
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 theAutonomous Region of Bougainville inPapua New Guinea, but it lies quite far away from the closest territory of Papua New Guinea proper, which is the coast ofNew Ireland island at 682 km (424 mi) to the west. The nearest land isOntong Java Atoll, located only 38 km (24 mi) to the south of Nukumanu. The border between Papua New Guinea and theSolomon Islands runs between these neighboring atolls, which form a small geographic group together with the wholly submergedRoncador Reef at the southern end.[2]
InPolynesian 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 theGerman colonial empire.[4] It was captured byAustralia in 1914 and formally transferred toAustralian administration as aLeague of Nations mandate in 1920 by theTreaty of Versailles,[5] after Germany's defeat inWorld War I.[6]
Nukumanu's most recent claim to fame is that it was the last place on the path ofAmelia Earhart before she and her co-pilotFred Noonan disappeared forever into the vastPacific 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 oftaro andbananas.Coconuts are an integral part of the islanders' diet with the soft inside being a staple food and coconut flesh being consumed withraw fish and clams. They are also competent fishermen, who dive forbêche-de-mer in the lagoon. This is exported mainly to Asia, and along withtrochus shells, used to make mother-of-pearl, they comprise the backbone of the Nukumanu economy.
This atoll has aPolynesian population whose ancestors migrated westwards out of Polynesia. Their language is classified in theSamoic–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 ethnographersErnst Sarfert andHans 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.
Media related toNukumanu at Wikimedia CommonsIslands ofPapua New Guinea | |
|---|---|
| Bismarck Archipelago | |
| Louisiade Archipelago | |
| North Solomon Islands | |
