Nassau (Cook Islands)
Encyclopedia
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
.
Located 90 km south of Pukapuka
Pukapuka
Pukapuka is a coral atoll in the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean, with three small islets threaded on a reef that encloses a beautifully clear lagoon. It is the most remote island of the Cook Islands, situated about 1140 kilometres northwest of Rarotonga. It is a triangular atoll with three...
, the small island (1.3 mi²/0.5 km²) of Nassau is just 9 metres (28 feet) above sea level, with an oval sandy 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...
on a coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
foundation and is surrounded by a narrow reef flat. It is covered with palms, and is the only island of the Northern Group without a lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
. The surrounding reef is 90 to 130 metres wide on all but the north side where it's narrower. The village is located in the north-west. Inland there are rich taro swamps and fruit groves, and offshore there is good fishing. It has a population of 71, according to the 2006 census, and a new harbour to be built later in 2007.http://www.cook-islands.gov.ck/view_release.php?release_id=804
Nassau is governed by the Pukapuka Island Council. The Nassau Island Committee advises the Pukapuka Island Council on matters of Nassau Island.
Families live in thatched cottages called kikau. Elliot Smith, in the “Cook Islands Companion” (Pacific Publishing Company, Albany, California) describes Nassau as “a small garden of Eden”.
The island was severely damaged in February, 2005 by Cyclone Percy
Cyclone Percy
Cyclone Percy was the seventh named storm of the 2004-05 South Pacific cyclone season and the fourth and final cyclone to form during the February 2005 outbreak in the South Pacific Ocean....
. Recovery work to the islands infrastructure (Health Clinic, School, Powerhouse, Telecommunications Network and Meeting House) was completed with the kind assistance of NZAID and the Government of the Cook Islands in October of that same year, a major feat due to the remoteness of the island and infrequent shipping services. The Island now has a completely new school thanks to the NZAID Schools Refurbishment Programme, which is administered by the Cook Islands Investment Corporation.
Because there is no airport, access is limited to inter-island ship from Rarotonga
Rarotonga
Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 , out of the country's total population of 19,569.The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga...
, a voyage of three days or more, or from Pukapuka
Pukapuka
Pukapuka is a coral atoll in the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean, with three small islets threaded on a reef that encloses a beautifully clear lagoon. It is the most remote island of the Cook Islands, situated about 1140 kilometres northwest of Rarotonga. It is a triangular atoll with three...
. The service is very infrequent. The only permanent link with the outside world is a satellite earth station built in just four days by engineers from Telecom Cook Islands and in 2004 it received its first telephone system.http://www.telecom.co.ck/aboutus.htm
History
Nassau originally belonged to the islanders of nearby PukapukaPukapuka
Pukapuka is a coral atoll in the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean, with three small islets threaded on a reef that encloses a beautifully clear lagoon. It is the most remote island of the Cook Islands, situated about 1140 kilometres northwest of Rarotonga. It is a triangular atoll with three...
and was called Te Nuku-o-Ngalewu which means "Land of Ngalewu" after the Pukapukan who was put in charge of it. When the two islands fell out with each other, it was renamed "Deserted Island" (Te Motu Ngaongao) supposedly by the islanders of Manihiki
Manihiki
Manihiki is an island in the Cook Islands known as the Island of Pearls. It is a triangular atoll north of Rarotonga.- History :Polynesians are believed to have lived on Manihiki since at least 900 or 1000 AD. Kupe was the first to explore Aotea Roa. Kupe came from Manihiki, also known as...
who drifted to the island and found it deserted.
In 1803, it got yet another name - "Adele Island" - after the ship of the first discoverer. About 20 years later it was renamed "Lydra Island" by another explorer, then "Ranger Island" after the London whale ship "Ranger". An American whaler May Mitchell decided in 1834 that it should bear his name and called it "Mitchell Island".
But it wasn't until a year later it that finally got the name it is known by today. Another American whaler, John D. Sampson named it after his vessel, the Nassau. It is not known why that name finally stuck, especially as another whale ship which sighted the island the following year tried to rename it "New-Port Island". (Information verified from academic research in the Cook Islands Library and Museum)