From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Tubuai (Austral Islands))
Jump to: navigation, search
NASA picture of Tubuai
Tubuai is located in French Polynesia
Location Pacific Ocean
Coordinates 23°23′S 149°27′W﻿ / ﻿23.383°S 149.450°W﻿ / -23.383; -149.450
Archipelago Australes
Total islands 7
Area 85 km2 (33 sq mi)  (lagoon)
45 km2 (17 sq mi) (above water)
Highest elevation 422 m (1,385 ft)
Highest point Mt Taita'a
Overseas collectivity French Polynesia
Administrative subdivision Australes
Commune Tubuai
Largest settlement Tupua'i
Population 2170[1] (as of 2012)
Density 48 /km2 (124 /sq mi)
Flag of Tubuai
Austral isl Tubuai.PNG
Coordinates: 23°23′S 149°27′W﻿ / ﻿23.38°S 149.45°W﻿ / -23.38; -149.45Coordinates: 23°23′S 149°27′W﻿ / ﻿23.38°S 149.45°W﻿ / -23.38; -149.45
Country France
Overseas collectivity French Polynesia
 • Mayor Fernand Tahiata
Area1 45 km2 (17 sq mi)
Population (2012)2 2,170
 • Density 48/km2 (120/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 98753 / 98754



Tubuai or Tupua'i is the main island of the Tubuai Island group, located at 23°23′00″S 149°27′00″W﻿ / ﻿23.38333°S 149.45000°W﻿ / -23.38333; -149.45000, 640 km (400 mi) south of Tahiti. In addition to Tubuai, the group of islands include Rimatara, Rurutu, Raivavae and the uninhabited Îles Maria. They are part of the Austral Islands in the far southwest of French Polynesia in the south Pacific Ocean. Tubuai island sustains a population of 2,170 people on 45 km² of land.[1] Due to its southerly position, Tubuai has notably cooler weather than Tahiti.[2]

The island is ringed by a lagoon formed by an encircling coral reef. A break in the reef that enables passage for ships is located on the north side of the island.[2] Tubuai has two volcanic domes, with its highest point, Mt Taita'a, being 422 meters.[3] Six or seven islets called motus lie along the reef rim that encircles the island. These were described in the late 1700s as having an abundance of Toa trees, which the native islanders used in housebuilding and in making war clubs and spears due to the wood's density.[4][5]


Early Polynesia[edit]

The island has been inhabited for more than 2000 years.[6] Anciently a road was built that encircled the island. There exists on the island today the stone ruins of a “great number of structures, house platforms, marae complexes, and cemeteries...”[7] According to David Stanley's South Pacific Handbook:


View of Tubuai looking across the lagoon from one of its motus

Arrival of Bounty mutineers[edit]

Bounty Mutineers

Tubuai was first viewed by Europeans when it was mapped by Captain James Cook in 1777, although his party did not disembark. Cook discovered the island's name, "Toobouai", from the natives who surrounded his ship in their canoes (a Tahitian named Omai, who part of Cook's group, translated).[8]

The next Europeans to arrive were the mutineers of the HMS Bounty in 1789. Mutineer Fletcher Christian in looking for an island on which to permanently hide had "scoured" Bligh's maps and nautical charts and decided on Tubuai.[8]

Upon arrival at Tubuai, a conflict arose while the mutineers were still on their ship and several islanders were killed in their canoes. The site of this event in the lagoon on the North side of the island is called Baie Sanglant (Bloody Bay).[3]

Mutineer James Morrison[9] wrote: "The Island is full of Inhabitants for its size and may Contain 3000 souls."[4] After only ten days on the island, the mutineers sailed for Tahiti to get women and livestock in which they were only nominally successful.[8] When they returned to Tubuai they built a fort on the Northeast part of the island at Ta'ahueia, manned with cannon and swivel gun which they named Fort George. The mutineer leader, Fletcher Christian, knew that settling on Tahiti was sure to mean the mutineer's eventual discovery and arrest, so despite being viewed as intruders, Christian was reluctant to view permanent settlement on Tubuai as unfeasible.[5] Christian favoured using diplomacy over time to eventually obtain wives, but many of the other mutineers insisted on raiding parties to take wives by force.[5] The islanders of Tubuai did not want to allow their women to stay at the mutineer camp, or to allow them to become wives.[5] They also were not disposed to trade food. It was not long before armed parties of mutineers started burning houses and desecrating marae during skirmishes to obtain women. More battles ensued and more natives were killed.[10] One mutineer, heavily-tattooed Thomas Burkett (who was later tried and hanged in England for mutiny) was speared in the side by one of islanders during one of the skirmishes.[11][12] After only two months since their first arrival on Tubuai the mutineers left for good.[2]


Increased contact with Europeans also meant more exposure to diseases to which the islanders had no immunity. This proved particularly devastating to the population of Tubuai. At some point during the 30 years from when the mutineers left the island on September 17, 1789, and the early 1820s when accounts by Christian missionaries began to be recorded, the population that was estimated by the mutineer Morrison to be 3000 was now reduced to no more than 300 people.[13][14][15] One Protestant minister when visiting a congregation on Tubuai on January 3, 1824 wrote that several islanders were still suffering from a devastating illness. He described the symptoms and noted that several hundred had died within the previous four years.[13]



It consists of two former sets of volcanic peaks on Mount Taita'a (422 m) which are separated by the collar of Huahine (35 meters). Its area is 45 km², surrounded by a large lagoon (the largest of the Austral Islands).

The barrier reef that surrounds it in effect creates a lagoon of 85 km², an area almost double that of the island. It sometimes reaches 5 km wide. Its depth is low, leading to a characteristic colour of turquoise or jade. For a large part, its depth is around 6 meters, however it can reach up to 25 meters in some parts of the south-east. The waters are constantly replenished via a rather strong and fairly constant ocean current, contributing to the preservation of the lagoon habitat and the health of the coral in the reef. The generally cooler waters and until recently very low pollution have also helped sustain this environment.


Eight islands motu in Tahitian, surround the island:

  • Motu One (also known as îlot de sable (Sandly Islet) in the North)
  • Motu Rautaro
  • Motu Toena
  • Motu Roa (also called Motu Tāpapatava'e)
  • Motu Mitihā (originally Motiha'a)
  • Motu 'Ōfa'i (also called îlot caillou (Rock Island))
  • 'Iri'iriroa
  • Îlot plat (Flat Island)




The climate of Tubuai is cooler than Tahiti, with temperatures averaging 20–25 °C (68–77 °F).[16] The climate is rather temperate although it can be quite tropical for a large part of the year. The lowest temperature measured on the island is 9.2 °C (48.6 °F), dating 31 August 1951. The highest was 32.7 °C (90.9 °F) on 25 March 1980.[17] The lagoon waters typically reach 26 °C (79 °F) in summer but only drop a few degrees in winter.


Hours of sunlight is about average for the Australs and is around 1970 hours per year,[18] one of the lowest levels in Polynesia . The humidity is lower in contrast to Tahiti in the order of a few percent, mainly due to its higher latitude and its lower altitude (thus retaining fewer clouds).

The trade winds coming from South-East are the prevailing winds. Those coming from the North or Northwest are synonymous with a change towards more sunny days.[19] The maximum recorded wind speeds, however, never exceeded 45 m/s.[17]


Average weather records on Tupua'i:[16]

Average maximum temperature (°C) 27.8 28.3 28.5 27.5 25.8 24.4 23.7 23.5 23.9 24.5 25.7 26.8 25.87
Average minimum temperature (°C) 22.8 23.3 23.0 22.1 20.4 18.5 18.1 18.0 18.0 18.9 20.3 21.5 20.41
Average temperature (°C) 25.3 25.8 25.75 24.8 23.1 21.45 20.9 20.75 20.95 21.7 23.0 24.05 23.14
Monthly average precipitation (mm) 199.2 175.3 176.3 174.2 137.5 107.8 144.9 148.7 98.7 120.1 121.8 187.7 149.35



Evolution of the population of Tupua'i since its discovery:[21][22][1]

Communes 1777 (discovery by Europeans) 1820 1895 1977 1983 1988 1996 2007 2012
Tupua'i about 3000 about 300 430 1419 1741 1846 2049 2050 2170
Mata'ura 868 954 1025
Ta'ahueia 558 552 572
Māhū 420 544 573


Tubuai is the administrative capital of the Austral Islands,[23] and the commune consists solely of this one island, including the six or seven motus surrounding it. The commune is itself the administrative regions of Mahu, Mataura and Taahuaia. Tubuai was annexed by France in 1881.

See also[edit]

Notes and references[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Population". Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française (in French). Retrieved 8 January 2015. 
  2. ^ a b c d David Stanley (1985). South Pacific Handbook. David Stanley. pp. 116–. ISBN 978-0-918373-05-2. Retrieved 25 November 2011. 
  3. ^ a b Celeste Brash (1 May 2009). Tahiti and French Polynesia. Lonely Planet. pp. 233–. ISBN 978-1-74104-316-7. Retrieved 27 November 2011. 
  4. ^ a b "Detailed description of Toobouai by James Morrison". Retrieved 2011-12-28. 
  5. ^ a b c d "Account by James Morrison: Narrative of events on Toobouai". Retrieved 2011-12-28. 
  6. ^ "Island brief". Retrieved 2011-12-28. 
  7. ^ "Tubuai archaeology". Retrieved 2011-12-28. 
  8. ^ a b c Greg Dening (1 March 1994). Mr Bligh's Bad Language: Passion, Power and Theatre on the Bounty. Cambridge University Press. pp. 88–92. ISBN 978-0-521-46718-6. Retrieved 27 November 2011. 
  9. ^ "Description of James Morrison". Retrieved 2012-01-02. 
  10. ^ Caroline Alexander (1 May 2004). The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty. Penguin. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-0-14-200469-2. Retrieved 27 November 2011. 
  11. ^ Dening pg. 36
  12. ^ "Description of Burkett". Retrieved 2011-12-28. 
  13. ^ a b Daniel Tyerman; George Bennet; London Missionary Society (1831). Journal of voyages and travels by the Rev. Daniel Tyerman and George Bennet, esq: Deputed from the London Missionary Society, to visit their various stations in the South sea islands, China, India, &c., between the years 1821 and 1829. Frederick Westley and A. H. Davis. pp. 75–. Retrieved 29 December 2011. 
  14. ^ Fragile Paradise: The Discovery of Fletcher Christian, Bounty Mutineer. 2005. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-59048-250-6. 
  15. ^ Hinz, Earl R., Howard, Jim (2006). Landfalls of Paradise: Cruising Guide to the Pacific Islands. University of Hawaii Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-8248-3037-3. 
  16. ^ a b "Tubuai, French Polynesia: Climate, Global Warming, and Daylight Charts and Data". Climate Charts. Retrieved 20 January 2009. 
  17. ^ a b c "Climat polynésien" (in French). Météo-France. Retrieved 20 January 2009. 
  18. ^ "Présentation de la Polynésie française". Scribd (in French). Retrieved 8 January 2015. 
  19. ^ "Les ÎleAustrales Tubuaï et îles Bass". cosmovisions.com (in French). Retrieved 8 January 2015. 
  20. ^ "Après avoir balayé Tahiti , le cyclone Oli gagne en puissance". Liberation. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2015. 
  21. ^ "Population des communes et des communes associées de Polynésie française". insee.fr (in French). INSEE. Retrieved 25 June 2009. 
  22. ^ "Décret n°89-41 du 26 janvier 1989 authentifiant les résultats du recensement de la population effectué en Polynésie française du 6 septembre au 15 octobre 1988". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 4 August 2009. 
  23. ^ (French) INSEE: Polynésie française

External links[edit]