Nouméa
Encyclopedia
Nouméa is the capital city
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....

 of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 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...

. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an, Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...

n (Wallisians
Wallis and Futuna
Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands , is a Polynesian French island territory in the South Pacific between Tuvalu to the northwest, Rotuma of Fiji to the west, the main part of Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast,...

, Futunians
Wallis and Futuna
Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands , is a Polynesian French island territory in the South Pacific between Tuvalu to the northwest, Rotuma of Fiji to the west, the main part of Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast,...

, Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...

ans), Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

n, and Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...

 populations, as well as many Melanesians, Ni-Vanuatu
Ni-Vanuatu
Ni-Vanuatu is a demonym used to refer to all Melanesian ethnicities originating in Vanuatu.It also refers, more generally, to nationals and citizens of Vanuatu, whatever their ethnicity....

 and Kanaks that work in one of the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

's most industrialised
Industrialisation
Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...

 cities. The city lies on a protected deepwater harbour which serves as the chief port for New Caledonia.

The population of the city (commune) at the 2009 census was 97,579 inhabitants (up from 76,293 inhabitants at the 1996 census). Including the suburbs of Nouméa, the population of the Greater Nouméa metropolitan area at the 2009 census was 163,723 inhabitants (up from 118,823 inhabitants in 1996, equating to a 2.4% population increase per year). 66.7% of the population of New Caledonia live in Greater Nouméa, which covers the communes of Nouméa, Le Mont-Dore, Dumbéa
Dumbéa
Dumbéa is a commune in the suburbs of Nouméa in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.-Twin towns: Fréjus, France, since 1985 Punaauia, France, since 1991 Bessières, France Lifou, New Caledonia...

 and Païta
Païta
Païta is a commune in the suburbs of Nouméa in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. New Caledonia's international airport, La Tontouta International Airport, is located there....

.

History

The first European to establish a settlement in the vicinity was British trader James Paddon in 1851. Anxious to assert control of the island, the French established a settlement nearby three years later in 1854, moving from Balade in the north of the island. This settlement was initially called Port-de-France and was renamed Nouméa in 1866. The area served first as a penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...

, later as a centre for the exploitation of the nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...

 and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 that was mined nearby.

During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Nouméa served as the headquarters of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 military in the South Pacific. The five-sided U.S. military headquarters complex was adopted after the war as the base for a new regional intergovernmental development organisation: the South Pacific Commission, later known as the Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, or SPC , is a regional intergovernmental organisation whose membership includes both nations and territories...

.

The city maintains much of New Caledonia's unique mix of French and old Melanesian culture. Even today the U.S. wartime military influence lingers, both in the warmth that many New Caledonian people feel towards the United States after experiencing the relative friendliness of American soldiers, and also in the names of several of the quarters in Nouméa. Districts such as "Receiving" and "Robinson", or even "Motor Pool", strike the anglophone
English-speaking world
The English-speaking world consists of those countries or regions that use the English language to one degree or another. For more information, please see:Lists:* List of countries by English-speaking population...

 ear strangely, until the historical context becomes clear.

Geography

The city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 is situated on an irregular, hilly peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

 near the southeast end 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...

, which is in the south-west Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.

Neighbourhoods of Nouméa include:
  • Rivière-salée
  • 6e km, 7e km, Normandie, and Tina
  • Ducos peninsula:
    • Ducos, Ducos industriel, Kaméré, Koumourou, Logicoop, Numbo, Tindu
  • 4e Km, Aérodrome, Haut Magenta, Magenta, Ouémo, and Portes de fer
  • Faubourg Blanchot and Vallée des Colons
  • Doniambo, Montagne coupée, Montravel, and Vallée du tir
  • Artillerie Nord, Centre ville, Nouville, Quartier Latin, Vallée du Génie
  • Anse Vata, Artillerie Sud, Baie des Citrons, Motor Pool, N'géa, Orphelinat, Receiving, Trianon, and Val Plaisance

Faaa
Faaa
Faaa is a commune in the suburbs of Papeete in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Faaa is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, themselves part of the Society Islands. Faaa has a population of 29,851, making...

, the largest commune of nearby French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...

, is located not too far away.

Historical population

1956 1963 1969 1976 1983 1989 1996 2009
Nouméa (commune) 22,235 34,990 41,853 56,078 60,112 65,110 76,293 97,579
Greater Nouméa 25,204 39,996 50,488 74,335 85,098 97,581 118,823 163,723
Official figures from population censuses.

Climate

Noumea features a tropical wet and dry climate with hot summers and warm winters. Temperatures are warmer in the months of January, February and March with average highs hovering around 30 degrees Celsius and cooler during the months of July and August where average high temperatures are around 23 degrees Celsius. The capital’s dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...

 months are September and October. The rest of the year is noticeably wetter. Noumea on average receives roughly 1100 mm of precipitation annually.

Economy

Nouméa is the most "westernised" city in the Pacific Islands region, and is a complete contrast to the rest of New Caledonia's wide open spaces, bare jagged hills, and largely Kanak population (although there also exist important concentrations of Europeans on the north-western coast of New Caledonia's mainland, particularly around Bourail
Bourail
Bourail is a commune in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.- Geography :This is a rural town of Grande Terre . The municipality is located in both the mountains and along the sea beaches are tourist but remain wild, they are a place popular...

, Pouembout
Pouembout
Pouembout is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean....

, and Koumac
Koumac
Koumac is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.-History:On 5 January 1977 about 46% of the territory of Koumac was detached and became the commune of Poum. Residents are famous for their technological contribution to the wmirchi.com...

).

Although Nouméa has more sunshine days than any other Pacific Island capital, and some excellent beaches not far from the city centre, it is not currently a major tourist destination. The cost of living is high, and there is no cheap air travel from the Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim refers to places around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The term "Pacific Basin" includes the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean...

.

Nouméa is, as of 2007, one of the most rapidly growing cities in the Pacific, and has experienced a major housing construction boom within the past decade. The installation of amenities has kept pace, and the municipality boasts a public works programme. Much of this construction is apparently fuelled by investment from France. It is the hope of the government that this investment, over the lifetime of the multi-decade track towards increasing autonomy planned under the Matignon Agreements
Matignon Agreements (1988)
Matignon Agreements refers to agreements signed in the Hotel Matignon by Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Jacques Lafleur on June 26, 1988, between loyalists, who wanted to keep New Caledonia as a part of the French Fifth Republic, and separatists, who did not...

 and now the Nouméa Accord
Nouméa Accord
The Nouméa Accord of 1998 promises to grant political power to New Caledonia and its original population, the Kanaks, until the territory decides whether to remain within the French Republic or become an independent state in a referendum to be held between 2014 and 2019...

, will eventually become fully sustainable.

Aircalin
Aircalin
Société Aircalin, also known as Air Calédonie International, is the international airline of New Caledonia. It operates scheduled services to 10 regional destinations, including Japan. Its main base is La Tontouta International Airport...

, the international airline of New Caledonia, and Air Calédonie
Air Calédonie
Société Calédonienne de Transports Aériens, operating as Air Calédonie, is the domestic airline for New Caledonia, headquartered on the grounds of Magenta Airport in Nouméa. It operates scheduled passenger and cargo flights from Nouméa to 10 destinations in New Caledonia...

 (Aircal), the domestic airline, have their headquarters in the city. Aircal's headquarters are on the grounds of Magenta Airport. IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 has an office in Nouméa.

Transport

Nouméa Magenta Airport
Nouméa Magenta Airport
Nouméa Magenta Airport is a domestic airport on the main island of New Caledonia. The airport is east northeast of the centre of Nouméa, the capital, and approximately from La Tontouta International Airport...

, within the city, serves local routes. Nouméa's international airport is La Tontouta International Airport
La Tontouta International Airport
La Tontouta International Airport or Nouméa - La Tontouta International Airport is the main international airport on New Caledonia. The airport is in the municipality of Païta, approximately 52 km northwest of Nouméa. In 2006, 415,813 passengers used the airport...

, 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) from the city.

Sister cities

Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...

 (Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

) Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

 (Metropolitan
Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France is the part of France located in Europe. It can also be described as mainland France or as the French mainland and the island of Corsica...

 France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

)

External links

Nouméa's official municipal website
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