Moorea, French Polynesia

From Wiki - Moʻorea (English: Moorea, is a volcanic island in French Polynesia. It is one of the Windward Islands, a group that is part of the Society Islands, 17 kilometres (11 mi) northwest of Tahiti. The name comes from the Tahitian word Moʻoreʻa, meaning "yellow lizard": Moʻo = lizard ; Reʻa (from reʻareʻa) = yellow.[5] An older name for the island is ʻAimeho, sometimes spelled ʻAimeo or ʻEimeo (among other spellings that were used by early visitors before Tahitian spelling was standardized). Early Western colonists and voyagers also referred to Moʻorea as York Island or Santo Domingo.[6]

Geography

The island was formed as a volcano 1.5 to 2.5 million years ago, the result of the Society hotspot in the mantle under the oceanic plate that formed the whole of the Society Archipelago.[1] It is theorized that the current bays were formerly river basins that filled during the Holocene searise. Moʻorea is about 16 km (10 miles) across. There are two small, nearly symmetrical bays on the north shore. The one to the west is called ʻŌpūnohu Bay. The main surrounding communes of the bay are Pihaʻena in the east and Papetōʻai to the west. The one to the east is Cook's Bay, also called Pao Pao Bay since the largest commune of Moʻorea is at the bottom of the bay. The other communes are Pihaʻena to the west and busy Maharepa to the east. The highest point is Mount Tohivea, near the center of Moʻorea. It dominates the vista from the two bays and can be seen from Tahiti. There are also hiking trails in the mountains. Vaiʻare Bay is another small inlet, smaller than the two main bays, on the east shore. The main village is located just south of the bay.

History

According to recent archaeological evidence, the Society Islands were probably settled from Samoa and Tonga around 200 CE.[7] Nine tribal principalities emerged in the enclosed valleys, which in turn were subdivided into individual clans. The stratified society was characterized by a hierarchical leadership whose elite combined both political and religious power. The leading families of Moʻorea remained linked by marriage and kinship for centuries with those of the neighboring island of Tahiti. These connections led to important alliances, but at other times were also the source of bloody conflicts.[8]

Early European influence

The first European to sight the island was Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, in 1606.[11] The first European settlers arrived during the 18th century. The first Europeans to arrive on the island were the Englishmen Samuel Wallis and James Cook. Captain James Cook first landed on Tahiti, where he planned the 1769 Transit of Venus observed from Tahiti and Moʻorea. At Moʻorea, where Taʻaroa was chief, Cook first landed in ʻŌpūnohu Bay, Cook's Bay was later named in his honor. Spanish sailor Domingo de Bonechea visited it in 1774 and named it Santo Domingo.[6][12] It is likely that Teraura, a Polynesian woman who accompanied the Bounty mutineers to Pitcairn Island, was from Moʻorea.[13]

The island was among those visited by the United States Exploring Expedition on its tour of the South Pacific in 1839.[14] Charles Darwin found inspiration for his theory regarding the formation of coral atolls when looking down upon Moʻorea while standing on a peak on Tahiti. He described it as a "picture in a frame", referring to the barrier reef encircling the island.[15] Don the Beachcomber lived here briefly in the late 1920s. His houseboat was destroyed by tropical cyclones after he moved it from Waikiki after 1947.[15]

On October 7, 1967, construction was completed on the Moʻorea Airport, which opened the following month.[16]