The Austral Islands ( officially Archipel des Australes; ) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic in the South Pacific. Geographically, they consist of two separate archipelagos, namely in the northwest the Tupua'i islands () consisting of the Îles Maria, Rimatara, Rūrutu, Tupua'i Island proper and Ra'ivāvae, and in the southeast the Bass Islands () composed of the main island of Rapa Iti and the small Marotiri (also known as Bass Rocks or Îlots de Bass). Inhabitants of the islands are known for their pandanus fiber weaving skills. The islands of Maria and Marotiri are not suitable for sustained habitation. Several of the islands have uninhabited islets or rocks off their coastlines. Austral Islands' population is 6,965 on almost . The capital of the Austral Islands administrative subdivision is Tupua'i.
History Whaling vessels were among the earliest and most consistent visitors to the islands in the 19th century. The first such vessel for which a record exists is the New Hazard in 1813. These ships came for fresh drinking water, firewood and food provisions.
Prehistory The prehistory of the Austral Islands is largely in the dark, as only a few archaeological excavations have been carried out so far. The date of the earliest settlement is unclear, as radiocarbon dates are scarcely available. However, due to their peripheral location in the Polynesian Triangle, scholars suspect that the Austral Islands were colonized relatively late, possibly by visitors from the Society Islands, Mangareva, or the Cook Islands.
The Noble families of the Austral Islands and the clans of the Society Islands share kinship. For example, chief Tamatoa of Tubuai believed that he was descended from an ariki from the island of Raiatea. The American archaeologist Patrick Vinton Kirch has further suggested that the Austral Islands, the southern Cook Islands, and the Society Islands should be seen as one extended cultural family. New Zealand archaeologist Atholl John Anderson has argued similarly that the island of Rapa was settled around 1200 A.D.Atholl John Anderson et al.: Prehistoric human impacts on Rapa, French Polynesia. In: Antiquity, Vol. 80 vom Juni 2006, pp. 340–354
At Atiahara, on the north coast of Tubuai, a near-beach settlement was excavated beginning in 1995 under the direction of American archaeologist Mark Eddowes, probably from a very early settlement phase. Food remains from the waste pits suggest that the inhabitants fed mainly on shellfish (fish, mussels, crustaceans) from the lagoon. Other food animals included pigs, chickens and Pacific rat.
The processing of mussel shells, probably also for the exchange of goods with other settlements, was an integral part of the economy. Dating of charcoal remains yielded dates of 1453 (±150 years) and 1113 (±50 years).Mark Eddowes: Initial Results from Atiahara and Tetaitapu, Two Coastal Settlement Sites, Upon the Islands of Tubuai and Tahiti. In: Pataricia Vargas Casanova (ed.): Easter Island and Polynesian Prehistory, Instituto de Estudio de Isla de Pasqua, Universidad Santiago de Chile 1999, pp. 7–30 According to the current state of research, an initial settlement of the Austral Islands can be assumed at the beginning of the second millennium AD.
After initial settlement in caves and rock ledges near the coast, a stratified tribal society developed rapidly in settlements near the beach. The structure of the settlements reflected the social order. There were strictly separate dwellings, built of perishable materials, for the aristocracy, the priests, the middle class (artisans, artists), warriors, adolescents and pubescent girls.Donald Marshall: Raivavae. Doubleday & Co., New York 1961, p. 101
Due to increasing tribal warfare, the beach settlements were abandoned, probably in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. The inhabitants retreated to heavily fortified settlements in the inland hills, comparable to the Pā of New Zealand. On Rapa Island, for example, 15 such castles have been recorded.Aufstieg und Fall auf Rapa. In: Abenteuer Archäologie, Heft 4, 2006, p. 8
Rise and fall on Rapa. In: Adventure Archaeology, Issue 4, 2006, p. 8
The Norwegian archaeological expedition to Easter Island and the eastern Pacific in 1956, led by Thor Heyerdahl, determined an antiquity of between 200 and 300 years for a fortified settlement on Rapa's Morongo Uta hill and dated the Hatututi castle complex of Raivavae to 1700 AD. Numerous wars and probably also overexploitation of natural resources may have drastically reduced the population even before the arrival of Europeans.
European exploration and colonization Rurutu was the first of the Austral Islands to be discovered by Europe in 1769. James Cook reached the island, which he named Ohetiroa, during his first voyage to the Pacific on August 14, 1769. After HMS Endeavour anchored off the island for the night, Cook launched the pinnace the next day under the command of Lieutenant Gore.
Naturalist Joseph Banks was also on the ship. A large number of armed warriors were walking along the shore. As Cook had ordered to avoid any risk, the Pinasse returned to the ship without having attempted a landing.Captain Cook’s Journal during his first voyage round the world made in H.M. Bark “Endeavour” 1768–71. A Literal Transcription of the Original Mss. with Notes and Introduction edited by Captain W.J.L. Wharton, R.N., F.R.S. Hydrographer of the Admiralty. Elliot Stock, London 1893
The Spaniard Tomás de Gayangos was the first European to reach the island of Raivavae on February 5, 1775, with the ships Águila and Júpiter as part of an expedition to Tahiti initiated by Manuel de Amat y Junyent. The next day Gayangos had a ship leave Tahiti with Lieutenant Benarcosi and two translators, but they were prevented from landing in Mahanatoa Bay by several war canoes.Jacques-Antoine Moerenhout: Voyages aux îles du Grand Océan. Bertrand, Paris 1837; englische Übersetzung: Arthur R. Borden: Travels to the Islands of the Pacific Ocean. University Press of America, Lanham (MD) 1993
James Cook discovered the island of Tubuai in March 1777 during his third voyage, but also failed to set foot on the island. His report was known to Fletcher Christian, the leader of the mutineers on HMS Bounty. After the mutiny of the Bounty on April 28, 1789, off Tofua, the ship first headed for Tubuai, but only stayed there for a week before sailing for Tahiti. Armed with provisions and several Tahitian women, the mutineers returned to Tubuai to settle. However, internal disputes and bloody clashes with the islanders, in which 66 Tubuans were killed, caused the Bounty to depart only three months later.Caroline Alexander: Die Bounty. Berlin Verlag, Berlin 2003, pp. 26–28
Rapa Iti was discovered in 1791 by George Vancouver, Marotiri in 1800 by George Bass, Rimatara in 1811 by British Tahitian sandalwood trader Samuel Pinder Henry, and Maria Atoll was finally discovered for the Western Hemisphere in 1824John Dunmore: Who´s Who in Pacific Navigation. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 1991 by Nantucket whaling captain George Washington Gardner.Max Quanchi & John Robson: Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands. The Scarecrow Press, Lanham (MD) 2005, p. XX
After the Pomaré dynasty consolidated its rule in Tahiti with British support and Pomaré II was crowned king in 1819, it decided to extend its sphere of influence to the Austral Islands. Captain Lewis' American brig brought the king, his court and several missionaries from the London Missionary Society (LMS) to the Austral Islands in October 1819. Lewis was rewarded with Raivavae sandalwood. The clans were engaged in one of their usual tribal wars. Pomaré managed to mediate between the warring parties and resolve the conflict diplomatically.
He left as governor one of his Tahitian chiefs, who prepared the ground for the LMS Protestant missionaries who followed from Moorea a year later. The conversion to Christianity was peaceful, as the chiefs assimilated the new religion quickly and without resistance. Christianization put an end to tribal warfare, but brought about decisive changes in the stratified tribal society. The omnipotence of the tribal leaders had been broken. The Austral Islands initially remained under Tahitian hegemony.
In 1862, a two-year incursion of the so-called "Blackbirders" began, who took more than 3500 South Pacific islanders to Peru and Chile as slave labor. In December 1862, a fleet of five ships anchored in Rapa's Ahurei Bay. A strong group of armed men was put ashore to capture workers by force. But the inhabitants retreated to the mountain forts and the occupants had to leave without having achieved anything. A few days later, the Chilean schooner Cora arrived at Rapa. Thirteen chiefs met and decided to capture the ship and crew and hand them over to the French authorities in Tahiti. A group of warriors sneaked aboard the Cora and seized the captain. The crew surrendered without resistance. Five sailors decided to stay on the island as guests. A subsequent attempt by the barque Misti to capture the work was abandoned when the captain learned of the Cora's fate.Henry Evans Maude: Slavers in Paradise. University of the South Pacific Press, Suva (Fidschi) 1986, pp. 39–41
Queen Pomaré IV of Tahiti ceded part of her sovereignty to France. As a result, France formally declared a protectorate over Tubuai in 1874 and Raivavae in 1876. With the end of the Pomaré dynasty-the last king of Tahiti was Pomaré V-the islands were annexed in 1880 and became a French colony.Steven Roger Fischer: A History of the Pacific Islands. Palgrave, New York 2002, p. 135 One exception was two small islands that the colonial powers of France and Britain had apparently overlooked. Rurutu, under King Teuruarii IV, and Rimatara, under Queen Tamaeva IV, initially remained independent kingdoms. After an exchange of diplomatic notes and after Britain expressed no interest in the islands, Rurutu came under French suzerainty on March 27, 1889, and Rimatara on March 29, 1889, The final annexation took place in 1900, Rimatara and Rurutu also became French colonies.Jean-Louis Tamatoa Candelot: Opera-bouffe sous les tropiques – Lorsque deux petits royaumes voulurent devenir anglais (Histoire de Rurutu et Rimatara). In: Tahiti-Pacifique Magazine vom Juli 1999
Jean-Louis Tamatoa Candelot: Opera-bouffe in the tropics – When two small kingdoms wanted to become English (History of Rurutu and Rimatara). In: Tahiti-Pacific Magazine vom Juli 1999
Geography The Tuha'a Pae or Austral Islands ( or ) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the South Pacific. Geographically, the Austral Islands consist of two separate archipelagos. From northwest to southeast they are: The Tupua'i Islands (), named for one of the main islands. They consist of: Îles Maria () in the northwest, part of Rimatara municipality Rimatara (), Rūrutu (), Tupua'i (), Ra'ivāvae (), The Bass Islands () comprise: the main island of Rapa Iti (), the small Marotiri island () in the southeast, part of Rapa municipality The islands of Maria and Marotiri are not suitable for sustained habitation. Several of the islands have uninhabited islets or rocks off their coastlines.
The chain is associated with the Macdonald hotspot. The only active volcano is the Macdonald seamount (40m depth).