MANUAE

Dese​rted

Uninhabited for more than 50 years
Managed as a national park with restricted access

LOCATION: ​​199 kms/124 mls North North East of Rarotonga      
ACCESS: ​Restricted. Trespassers prosecuted   POPULATION: 0   
LAND AREA: ​ 6.17 sq.kms/2.4 sq. mls

GETTING THERE

There are no scheduled flights or commercial boat services to either islet and you need a permit from the Committee of Management of the Proprietors for Manuae Incorporated (PMI) to visit. They represent the descendants of the original population. Unauthorised visitors face arrest and prosecution 

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Captain Cook first sighted the atoll in 1773 on his second voyage and returned (but didn't land) on his third voyage in April, 1777. He named it Sandwich Island, but decided later to give that name to Hawaii! So he rechristened it Hervey Island after a Lord of the Admiralty. That then appeared on maps as Hervey's Isle. The whole of the Southern group was subsequently known as the Hervey (or Harvey) Islands until the distinguished Russian cartographer, Admiral Adam Johann von Krusenstern changed the name in his "Atlas de l'Ocean Pacifique" (published between 1824 and 1835) to honour Cook. Some maps still show Manuae as Hervey's Island.

OFFICIALLY DESERTED SINCE 1971

London Missionary, the Rev. John Williams visited the island in 1823 and found sixty people living there. Six or seven years later, that was down to just eight adults and some children. Missionaries took them to Aitutaki, leaving the island deserted. In the 20th century, the population peaked at 29 in 1911. The last time there was a permanent population was  in 1971 when two people  were recorded as living there.

Manuae from the air Marooned on Manuae

The island was briefly populated again - though not by choice - in May, 2010. Four men spent 10 days marooned on Manuae after they came ashore illegally to catch crayfish. But their fishing boat disappeared into the night when a wind came up. The New Zealand Air Force eventually located them after a costly search and rescue operation    Pictures  Aerial, Air Rarotonga; stranded men, NZ Defence Force

CONSERVE AND SUSTAIN

In October 2022 the Island's Management Committee established the not-for-profit Manuae Enua Conservation Trust (MECT) to represent the landowners’ interests in managing Manuae for conservation and sustainable development. Only landowners and their descendants can be trustees.  Its major concerns are the large-scale illegal poaching of paua (clams) and coconut crabs from Manuae, increasing levels of rubbish and pollution both on land and in the lagoon, and ongoing serious impacts on native biodiversity by invasive species such as rats and weeds

Foreground: Te Au O Tu Motu. Background:  Manuae Motu 

Freshwater pond on Manuae Motu

Photos by Nick Henry

The Trust has set out a five point action plan: 
 1) Best practice management of our land and marine resources
2) Active biodiversity conservation
3) Support for environmental educatio​n
4) Protecting sites of cultural and historical significance
5) Making our island more accessible to our families, scientific researchers, and ecotourists

Some landowners are concerned about the idea of ecotourism

You can find out more at the  Manuae Enua Conservation Trust website  here

THE DAY MANUAE STAMPED ITS NAME ON HISTORY

Manuae stamps

On 30 May, 1965, Manuae attracted what at the time was the largest gathering ever of solar astronomers to observe a total eclipse from a single site. New Zealand, Australia, the UK, USA, Germany, Japan and Russia all sent teams of scientists. It was considered to be the best place on earth to witness the phenomenon. The skies were clear at first, but just before totality (when the sun is totally obscured by the moon's shadow), a large cloud appeared.

On 31 May, the Cook Islands Administration (the government of the time) issued stamps to commemorate the eclipse. And a post office was set up on Manuae so the scientists could, in those pre-internet days, tell the world about what they'd seen and speed their correspondence on its way with an appropriate reminder!
(The price on each stamp - one shilling and nine pence and sixpence is in the pre-decimal currency of New Zealand which was in use in the Cook Islands at the time)

AND A FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF THAT DAY...

from Raemotu Bates who grew up in Aitutaki and remembers watching the eclipse from there as a child

"At school, we were told that we could watch the eclipse by various means. It was a novelty and a very new and exciting event. We watched by looking at the reflection of the eclipse in a big tub of water, through black film of used polaroid rolls or shades if you had any. It happened in the afternoon and it got dark. Strange to see the chickens hopping on to their roosts and some crowing as if they were preparing for the night. Unforgettable."

MORE MANUAE

Deserted beach on Manuae Bristle Thighed Curlew

Manuae was used as a penal colony after Britain took over the islands in 1888. Prisoners worked for the Cook Islands Trading Company which leased the island for copra production. That ceased in 1915 when a prison was opened on Rarotonga 

The Bristle Thighed Curlew  is a rare "near threatened" species of bird which flies all the way from its home in Alaska each southern hemisphere summer to visit  the motu, Te Au Otu

Sunset over Manuae Cluster of crown of thorns starfish

Meanwhile, Manuae's pristine reef is facing a different kind of threat. A survey found huge numbers of the crown of thorns starfish attacking it. These are just a few of 1259 removed in a three day diving expedition in 2022 organised by marine scientists. Natural predators were left to help control the population

The island's future is under serious threat from global warming. Its highest point is just five metres (16 feet) above sea level

William Marsters

A unique Cook Islands dynasty has its origins on Manuae. In 1863, a merchant vessel found William Marsters and his "wives" on the island and hired them as caretakers for Palmerston island, which to this day is owned  and inhabited by his descendants
The Marsters story

EXPLORE ANOTHER DESERTED ISLAND

DISCOVER TAKUTEA