Atafu
Atoll has an area of 2.03 km ² and is surrounded by the inner surface of the lagoon about 15 km ². Inhabited by 575 persons (2007). The atoll of 8 major islands and dozens of small islands, of which the most important are: Motu Hakataga, Fanualoa, Atafu, Tuagafulu.
The only settlement Atafu atoll is located on the island of Atafu and inhabited by 132 people.
Fakaofo
Fakaofo formerly Bowditch Island – coral atoll in the islands of Tokelau, which belongs administratively to a dependent territory of New Zealand – Tokelau. Atoll is the same administrative unit with the same name.
Atoll has an area of 2.63 square kilometers and is surrounded by the inner lagoon with an area of about 45 square kilometers. Is inhabited by 464 persons (2007). The atoll of 26 major islands and dozens of small islands, of which the main ones are: These Lafu, Te Loto, Fenua Loa Fenua waves and waves.
Principal of the only two settlements atoll, is located on the island of Fakaofo Fenua wave and occupied by 265 people. The second village is located on the island waves.
Atoll was discovered in 1841 (at the latest throughout the archipelago of Tokelau). In 1889 United Kingdom established a protectorate over the atoll (along with the rest of Tokelau Islands), including him in 1916 to the British colony of deposits and Gilbert Islands. In 1925 the British transferred the administration of New Zealand. In the years 1926 – 1948 atoll was managed from Western Samoa (then also a dependent territory of New Zealand). Today it is still managed by New Zealand under the Tokelau Act of 1948 (as amended in 1963 and 1999). For the 1979 to claim an atoll reported the United States.
Miscellaneous
Each atoll has a school and hospital. The health services has a Director of Health based in Apia and a Chief Clinical Advisor who moves from atoll to atoll as required to assist the doctors attached to each hospital. In 2007 there was not always a doctor on each island and locums were appointed to fill the gaps. Upcoming Tokelaun medical graduates should alleviate this shortage in the coming years.
Many Tokelauan youth travel to New Zealand to further their education and the ship is full around Christmas time with students returning home and then heading off for another year of study.
Tokelau has a radio telephone service between the islands and to Samoa. In 1997, a government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok) with three satellite earth stations was established. Each atoll has a radio-broadcast station that broadcasts shipping and weather reports and every household has a radio or access to one.
History
Archaeological evidence indicates that the atolls of Tokelau — Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo — were settled about 1000 years ago, probably by voyages from Samoa, the Cook Islands and Tuvalu. Oral history traces local traditions and genealogies back several hundred years. Inhabitants followed Polynesian mythology with the local god Tui Tokelau; and developed forms of music (see Music of Tokelau) and art. The three atolls functioned largely independently while maintaining social and linguistic cohesion.
Tokelauan society was governed by chiefly clans, and there were occasional inter-atoll skirmishes and wars as well as inter-marriage. Fakaofo, the “chiefly island,” held some dominance over Atafu and Nukunonu. Life on the atolls was subsistence-based, with reliance on fish and coconut.
Etymology and consequences of name usage
The name Tokelau is a Polynesian word meaning “north wind.” The islands were officially named the Union Islands and Union Group at unknown times. Tokelau Islands was adopted in 1946, which was contracted to Tokelau on 9 December 1976.
The change in usage between Tokelau Islands and Tokelau marks a slight shift in emphasis, with consequences in regional diplomacy, in that the term Tokelau Islands clearly and substantially refers to a geographical expression, that is, a range of islands, whatever else it may connote. Thus it is not necessarily controversial to refer to a range of islands by one name, even though politically they may come under two jurisdictions. Whereas Tokelau can be taken to refer more immediately to some concept of nationhood, arguably infusing increased meaning to the draft 2006 independence constitution of Tokelau which, controversially or not, defines Swains Island, currently part of American Samoa, as part of the national territory.
When to Go
The best time to visit Tokelau is April to October, when the rain eases off a little and the easterly trade winds bring some relief from the heat. Between November and January, ships are usually full of scholarship students and other Tokelauans living abroad, returning to spend Christmas with their families. December to March is cyclone season, when the trip from Samoa could be rough.
Etymology and consequences of name usage
The change in usage between Tokelau Islands and Tokelau marks a slight shift in emphasis, with consequences in regional diplomacy, in that the term Tokelau Islands clearly and substantially refers to a geographical expression, that is, a range of islands, whatever else it may connote. Thus it is not necessarily controversial to refer to a range of islands by one name, even though politically they may come under two jurisdictions. Whereas Tokelau can be taken to refer more immediately to some concept of nationhood, arguably infusing increased meaning to the draft 2006 independence constitution of Tokelau which, controversially or not, defines Swains Island, currently part of American Samoa, as part of the national territory.
The name Tokelau is a Polynesian word meaning “north wind.” The islands were officially named the Union Islands and Union Group at unknown times. Tokelau Islands was adopted in 1946, which was contracted to Tokelau on 9 December 1976.
Tokelau
Tokelau (pronounced /ˈtoʊkəlaʊ/) is a territory of New Zealand that consists of three tropical coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean. The United Nations General Assembly designated Tokelau a Non-Self-Governing Territory.[1]
Until 1976 the official name was Tokelau Islands. Tokelau is sometimes referred to by Westerners by the older, colonial name of The Union Islands.
Tokelau Pictures 