Atafu

Atafu
	Atafu satellite image
Waters	Pacific Ocean
archipelago	Tokelau
Geographical location	8 ° 33 ′ S , 172 ° 30 ′ W Coordinates: 8 ° 33 ′ S , 172 ° 30 ′ W
Number of islands	> 20
Main island	Atafu Island
length	6.5 km
width	5.5 km
Land area	3.5 km²
Lagoon area	17 km²
Residents	541 (2016)
	The main street of Atafu

Atafu (formerly Duke of York's Island ) is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean consisting of over forty small motus , which, together with the other two atolls Fakaofo and Nukunonu, forms the group of the Tokelau Islands politically belonging to New Zealand . According to the 2016 census, Atafu officially has 541 residents, but only 413 of them were present at the time of the census. 78.3% of those present at the census supported the Congregational Church . This is a significant decrease compared to 2006, when more than 95% of the population still belonged to this religious community.

geography

Atafu is the smallest and northernmost of the three atolls of Tokelau. At its widest point, it measures around 5.5 km in the south and up to 6.5 km from north to south. The numerous islands of the atoll are spread around the central lagoon (17 km²) and together have a land area of 3.5 km². The only settlement ( Atafu-Village ) is on a V-shaped island ( Atafu Island ) in the extreme northwest, while the largest land areas are formed by two motus in the east of the atoll.

history

John Byron , commodore of the Royal Navy and grandfather of the poet Lord Byron , sailed across the Pacific with the two British expedition ships Dolphin and Tamar in 1765 . On June 24th, 1765, a low, tree-covered island was discovered and named Duke of York's Island . A trip on land found no signs of settlement on the island.

Captain Edward Edwards (1741-1815) was with the British ship Pandora on an extensive search in the Pacific for the mutineers of the Bounty . After finding some mutineers on the Society Islands , he went in search of Duke of York's Island, which he reached on June 6, 1791. The position of the island has now been measured at 8 ° 34 'S and 172 ° 6' W. A game of land found huts and other signs of human life. In the huts there were fishing tackle and canoes, which suggested that the island was used as a temporary stop for fishermen. The fishermen probably came from other islands in the Tokelau Group before the island was permanently settled from Fakaofo. Captain Edwards left mirrors and drinking cups in the empty huts on the beach.

In 1841, when Captain William L. Hudson (1794-1862) of the Wilkes Expedition was specifically looking for this island, which has now been renamed Atafu , he found it inhabited. The locals told the Americans that they were part of Fakaofo. Nukunonu was also mentioned in the conversations. Both islands were later visited by Hudson. Subsequent contacts showed that Fakaofo and Nukunonu were inhabited well before Byron's discovery.

Web links

Commons : Atafu - collection of images, videos and audio files

Atafu Island, Tokelau. Map and historical information. In: Jane's Tokelau Islands Home Page. Jane Resture (English).
Atafu, Tokelau. Topographic map 1: 25,000. New Zealand Government - Department of Lands and Survey, 1982 (JPG; 1.67 MB, English).

Individual evidence

↑ Atafu atoll profile: 2016 Tokelau Census of Population and Dwellings. (PDF; 1.01 MB) Data from the 2016 census. In: tokelau.org.nz. Government of Tokelau - Tokelau National Statistics Office, March 13, 2017, p. 8 , accessed September 11, 2017 .
^ Profile of Tokelau: 2016 Tokelau Census of Population and Dwellings. (PDF; 2.4 MB) Religion maintains importance. In: tokelau.org.nz. Government of Tokelau - Tokelau National Statistics Office, May 2, 2017, p. 28 , accessed September 11, 2017 .
↑ Foua Toloa et al .: Traditional marine conservation in Tokelau: Can it be adapted to meet today's situation? Ed .: Pacific Community . August 1, 1991, Introduction, pp. 2 (English, online [PDF; 1.4 MB ]).
^ John Byron: An account of a voyage round the world, in the years MDCCLXIV, MDCCLXV, and MDCCLXVI . In: John Hawkesworth (Ed.): An account of the voyages undertaken by the order of His present Majesty for making discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere . Vol. I. William Strahan and Thomas Cadell, London 1773, Chap. X, S. 110-111 (English, online ).
↑ HMS Pandora - Capt. Edward's Report from Batavia, Nov 25, 1791, Part 2. In: Fateful Voyage. James Galloway, archived from the original on April 7, 2016 ; accessed on January 6, 2019 .

[1] Atafu atoll profile: 2016 Tokelau Census of Population and Dwellings. (PDF; 1.01 MB) Data from the 2016 census. In: tokelau.org.nz. Government of Tokelau - Tokelau National Statistics Office, March 13, 2017, p. 8 , accessed September 11, 2017 .

[2] Profile of Tokelau: 2016 Tokelau Census of Population and Dwellings. (PDF; 2.4 MB) Religion maintains importance. In: tokelau.org.nz. Government of Tokelau - Tokelau National Statistics Office, May 2, 2017, p. 28 , accessed September 11, 2017 .

[3] Foua Toloa et al .: Traditional marine conservation in Tokelau: Can it be adapted to meet today's situation? Ed .: Pacific Community . August 1, 1991, Introduction, pp. 2 (English, online [PDF; 1.4 MB ]).

[4] John Byron: An account of a voyage round the world, in the years MDCCLXIV, MDCCLXV, and MDCCLXVI . In: John Hawkesworth (Ed.): An account of the voyages undertaken by the order of His present Majesty for making discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere . Vol. I. William Strahan and Thomas Cadell, London 1773, Chap. X, S. 110-111 (English, online ).

[5] HMS Pandora - Capt. Edward's Report from Batavia, Nov 25, 1791, Part 2. In: Fateful Voyage. James Galloway, archived from the original on April 7, 2016 ; accessed on January 6, 2019 .