Hikueru
Encyclopedia
Hikueru, Tiveru, or Te Kārena, is one of the Central Tuamotu atoll
s. The closest land to Hikueru is Tekokota
Atoll, located 22 km to the north.
Hikueru Atoll's shape is roughly oval
and it is 15 km in length and 9.5 km in width. It covers a total surface of 107 km². There are many motu
on its reef with a combined land area of about 25 km². Its lagoon is deep, with numerous coral heads. It has no pass to enter it.
The most important village on Hikueru is Tupapati, located in an island at the north-western end of the atoll. There is a territorial airport on Hikueru which was opened in 2000.
Hikueru was the setting for Armstrong Sperry
's novel Call It Courage
, which won the Newbery Medal in 1940.
in 1768.
Spanish navigator Domingo de Boenechea sighted Hikueru in 1774 on ship Aguila. He named this atoll "San Juan".
Like Marokau
, Hikueru used to be a large natural pearl oyster
reserve
. The 1903 cyclone
wrought considerable damage, however, and caused the death of 377 people, including 261 from the island of Hao
. In his "South Sea Tales", Jack London
gives a vivid description of this disastrous hurricane.
In the 1988 census
, only 123 inhabitants were found to be still living on Hikueru. The population of this island makes a living by collecting copra
. Up to the 1970s
, it was one of the main deep-sea diving centres in the Tuamotu atolls.
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...
s. The closest land to Hikueru is Tekokota
Tekokota
Tekokota is one of the Central Tuamotu atolls, located close to the geographic center of the archipelago.Tekokota Atoll is one of the smallest atolls of the Tuamotus. Its islands have a total land mass of only 0.9 km²....
Atoll, located 22 km to the north.
Hikueru Atoll's shape is roughly oval
Oval (geometry)
In technical drawing, an oval is a figure constructed from two pairs of arcs, with two different radii . The arcs are joined at a point, in which lines tangential to both joining arcs lie on the same line, thus making the joint smooth...
and it is 15 km in length and 9.5 km in width. It covers a total surface of 107 km². There are many motu
Motu
Motu may refer to:*Motu language, a language of Papua New Guinea*Motu proprio, a type of Papal document*MOTU, also known as "Mark of the Unicorn", a maker of professional audio hardware and software...
on its reef with a combined land area of about 25 km². Its lagoon is deep, with numerous coral heads. It has no pass to enter it.
The most important village on Hikueru is Tupapati, located in an island at the north-western end of the atoll. There is a territorial airport on Hikueru which was opened in 2000.
Hikueru was the setting for Armstrong Sperry
Armstrong Sperry
Armstrong Wells Sperry was an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. His books include historical fiction and biography, often set on sailing ships, and stories of boys from Polynesia, Asia and indigenous American cultures...
's novel Call It Courage
Call It Courage
Call It Courage is a book in English written and illustrated by Armstrong Sperry that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1941....
, which won the Newbery Medal in 1940.
History
Hikueru Atoll was discovered by BougainvilleLouis Antoine de Bougainville
Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of James Cook, he took part in the French and Indian War and the unsuccessful French attempt to defend Canada from Britain...
in 1768.
Spanish navigator Domingo de Boenechea sighted Hikueru in 1774 on ship Aguila. He named this atoll "San Juan".
Like Marokau
Marokau
Marokau is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It lies 53 km southeast of Hikueru Atoll and it is separated by a 2 km wide sound from Ravahere, its closest neighbor in the south....
, Hikueru used to be a large natural pearl oyster
Pearl oyster
Pearl oysters are saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs of the genus Pinctada in the family Pteriidae. They have a strong inner shell layer composed of nacre, also known as "mother of pearl"....
reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
. The 1903 cyclone
Cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
wrought considerable damage, however, and caused the death of 377 people, including 261 from the island of Hao
Hao
Hao or HAO may refer to:* Hào, a form of Chinese pseudonym* Hao , a Chinese surname* Hao * Hao , Hao or HAO may refer to:* Hào, a form of Chinese pseudonym* Hao (Chinese surname) (郝), a Chinese surname* Hao (French Polynesia)* Hao (city), Hao or HAO may refer to:* Hào, a form of Chinese pseudonym*...
. In his "South Sea Tales", Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
gives a vivid description of this disastrous hurricane.
In the 1988 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, only 123 inhabitants were found to be still living on Hikueru. The population of this island makes a living by collecting copra
Copra
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...
. Up to the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
, it was one of the main deep-sea diving centres in the Tuamotu atolls.