Conway Reef
Encyclopedia
Conway Reef, known since 1976 by its Fijian
name Ceva-I-Ra or Theva-i-Ra Reef, , is a coral
reef
of atoll
type 450 km southwest of the Fiji
Islands, but part of the Republic of Fiji. It is located at 21°44′18"S 174°38′24"E. It is 2.5 km long in an east-west direction. On the middle of the reef is a small sand cay
, 1.8 meters high and about 320 meters long and 73 meters wide, with a land area of two hectare
s. A stranded wreck of a coaster lies 240 meters south of the center of the cay, and the wreck of a fishing vessel lies on the northeast end of the reef. The reef is uninhabited apart from a number of birds which appear to have almost no fear of humans. Administratively, the reef it is part of Western Division
, Fiji
, and of Nadroga-Navosa
province.
In 1838 the Royal Navy
Captain Drinkwater Bethune of first came across the reef and recorded it however it was first mapped by the British several years later by Captain Denham of HMS Herald. Three shipwreck
s (1979, 1981 and 2008) have occurred on the reef. The most recent being a Chinese fishing vessel (Shin Sheng No.165)
It was reported in 1983 that there was some vegetation on the cay, but it was bare by 1985. The cay currently has some vegetation about 3m high.
While there are no other gaps larger than 75 km between Fiji islands (except Rotuma Island, which is politically but not geographically part of Fiji), Conway Reef lies 450 km to the southwest of the main Fiji complex. The closest land to Conway Reef lies 275 km WSW
(Hunter Island in the French territory of New Caledonia
). Hunter Island is also claimed by Vanuatu
.
Access to the island should only be attempted at high tide in a shallow draft tender. Extreme care must be taken to navigate the coral heads.
Diving or snorkeling on the reef is the rare experience of an untouched underwater environment.
Fijian language
Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 450,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language...
name Ceva-I-Ra or Theva-i-Ra Reef, , is a coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
of atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
type 450 km southwest of the Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
Islands, but part of the Republic of Fiji. It is located at 21°44′18"S 174°38′24"E. It is 2.5 km long in an east-west direction. On the middle of the reef is a small sand cay
Cay
A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...
, 1.8 meters high and about 320 meters long and 73 meters wide, with a land area of two hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s. A stranded wreck of a coaster lies 240 meters south of the center of the cay, and the wreck of a fishing vessel lies on the northeast end of the reef. The reef is uninhabited apart from a number of birds which appear to have almost no fear of humans. Administratively, the reef it is part of Western Division
Western Division, Fiji
The Western Division of Fiji is one of Fiji's four divisions. It consists of the three provinces Ba, Nadroga-Navosa and Ra.The capital of the division is Lautoka. The division includes the western part of the largest island in Fiji, Viti Levu, with a few outlying islands, including the Yasawa...
, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, and of Nadroga-Navosa
Nadroga-Navosa
NADROGA NAVOSA is one of the fourteen provinces of Fiji, and one of eight based in Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. It is about 2,385 square kilometers and occupies the South-West and Central areas of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest and principal island. The province includes the Mamanuca Archipelago,...
province.
In 1838 the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Captain Drinkwater Bethune of first came across the reef and recorded it however it was first mapped by the British several years later by Captain Denham of HMS Herald. Three shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
s (1979, 1981 and 2008) have occurred on the reef. The most recent being a Chinese fishing vessel (Shin Sheng No.165)
It was reported in 1983 that there was some vegetation on the cay, but it was bare by 1985. The cay currently has some vegetation about 3m high.
While there are no other gaps larger than 75 km between Fiji islands (except Rotuma Island, which is politically but not geographically part of Fiji), Conway Reef lies 450 km to the southwest of the main Fiji complex. The closest land to Conway Reef lies 275 km WSW
WSW
WSW may refer to:*WSW, the SAME code for a Winter Storm Warning*Wall Street Week, a business show on the US Public Broadcasting Service *War§ow, a video game*West-Southwest, a compass point for "Boxing the compass"...
(Hunter Island in the French territory of New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
). Hunter Island is also claimed by Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
.
Access to the island should only be attempted at high tide in a shallow draft tender. Extreme care must be taken to navigate the coral heads.
Diving or snorkeling on the reef is the rare experience of an untouched underwater environment.