Papeete

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Papeete
PapeeteWaterfront2003.jpg
Papeete waterfront
Papeete1.png
Location of the commune (in red) within the Windward Islands
Administration
Country France
Overseas collectivity French Polynesia
Administrative subdivision Windward Islands
(administrative capital)
Mayor Michel Buillard
(1995–present)
Statistics
Elevation 0–621 m (0–2,037 ft)
Land area 17.4 km2 (6.7 sq mi)
Population1 26,017  (August 2007 census)
 - Density 1,495 /km2 (3,870 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 98735/ 98714
1 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Coordinates: 17°32′06″S 149°34′11″W / 17.535°S 149.5696°W / -17.535; -149.5696

Papeete (pronounced [papeˈʔete]) is the capital of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune (municipality) of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, of which Papeete is the administrative capital. The French High Commissioner also resides in Papeete.[1] It is the primary center of Tahitian and French Polynesian public and private governmental, commercial, industrial and financial services, the hub of French Polynesian tourism and a commonly used Port of call.[1] The Windward Islands are themselves part of the Society Islands. The name Papeete means "water from a basket".[2]

The urban area of Papeete had a total population of 131,695 inhabitants at the August 2007 census, 26,017 of whom lived in the commune of Papeete proper.[3]

Contents

[edit] History

The growth of the city was boosted by the decision to move the nuclear weapon test range from Algeria to the atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa, some 1,500 km (930 mi) at the east of Tahiti; this originated in particular in the construction of the Faa'a airport next to Pape'ete, the only international airport in French Polynesia. In 1983, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built the Papeete Tahiti Temple here because of the large number of members in the region. On 5 September 1995 the government of Jacques Chirac conducted the first of the last series of nuclear test detonations off the shores of Moruroa. A resulting riot in Papeete lasted for two days and damaged the international airport, injured 40 people, and scared away tourism for some time.[4][5] (Similar rioting occurred after another French nuclear test in the same area in 1987.)

[edit] Transportation

There are very busy streets in the town center. Sometimes traffic can be a problem since the streets are too small. There is a freeway that starts close to the town center and it starts with a street named Pomare Boulevard after the settlers that came there. By air, the people would use the Faaa International Airport. From there they could either take Air Tahiti to go to another island of the territory or take a plane like Air Tahiti Nui to go international. By sea, they would either take Moorea ferries to go to Moorea or the Bora Bora cruisline to go to Bora Bora.

[edit] Demographics

The urban area of Papeete had a total population of 131,695 inhabitants at the August 2007 census, 26,017 of whom lived in the commune of Papeete. Faaa, the largest commune in French Polynesia, is located just to the south. The commune of Papeete is subdivided into eleven quartiers (wards):[6][7][8]

  • Manu Hoe – Fare Ute – Motu Uta
  • Patutoa
  • Taunoa
  • Fariipiti
  • Titioro
  • Tepapa
  • Faiere
  • Pic Rouge
  • Tipaerui
  • Paofai
  • Mamao

[edit] Travel and tourism

Traveling tourists arrive and depart Papeete via cruise ship at Papeete Harbor or domestic airline at Faa'a International Airport, which was completed and opened in 1962.

[edit] Climate

Papeete features a tropical monsoon climate with a wet season and dry season. However, precipitation is observed even during the city's dry season. The city dry season is short, covering only the months of August and September. The rest of the year is wet, with the heaviest precipitation falling in the months of December and January. Temperatures are relatively constant throughout the course of the year, averaging around 25 degrees celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit).

Climate data for Papeete
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 32
(89)		 32
(89)		 32
(89)		 32
(89)		 31
(87)		 30
(86)		 30
(86)		 30
(86)		 30
(86)		 31
(87)		 31
(88)		 31
(88)		 30.8
(87.5)
Average low °C (°F) 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 21
(70)		 21
(69)		 20
(68)		 20
(68)		 21
(69)		 21
(70)		 22
(71)		 22
(72)		 21.3
(70.4)
Precipitation mm (inches) 335
(13.2)		 292
(11.5)		 165
(6.5)		 173
(6.8)		 124
(4.9)		 81
(3.2)		 66
(2.6)		 48
(1.9)		 58
(2.3)		 86
(3.4)		 165
(6.5)		 302
(11.9)		 1,897
(74.7)
Source: Weatherbase [9]

[edit] Sights

  • Papeete City Tour - Papeete attractions map Interactive Google map of Papeete, to discover the 30 major tourist attractions in Papeete downtown.
  • The waterfront esplanade
  • Bougainville Park (once named Albert Park, in honour of a former Belgian king and World War One hero, is now named for Louis Antoine de Bougainville, the first French explorer to circumnavigate the globe.
  • Cathedral of Notre Dame of Papeete
  • The Territorial Assembly is the heart of the Polynesian government and contains the Territorial Assembly building, the High Commissioner's residence and also a once popular clubhouse of Paul Gauguin. It was also once the site of the royal residence and palace of Queen Pomare IV of Tahiti, who ruled from 1827 to 1877.
  • Presidential palace
  • The Papeete Tahiti Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  • The Monument to Pouvanaa a Oopa (a decorated World War I hero, Tahitian nationalist, and deputy to Paris for the Tahitian Territorial Assembly)
  • The Mairie (town hall)
  • The papeete market

[edit] Gallery

  • Présidence

  • Papeete Cathédral

  • Paofai Temple

[edit] Papeete in popular culture

  • Papeete is mentioned in the song Southern Cross by Crosby, Stills & Nash.
  • Papeete is also mentioned in the song "A Warm Summer Night" by Chic.
  • Papeete is also mentioned in the Bruce Brown's groundbreaking surf film The Endless Summer as one of the surf sites visited by the two longboarders chasing the summer season around the world. The beach at Papeete is dubbed "Ins and outs" because the steep shore causes waves to break in both directions—toward the beach and out to sea.
  • Papeete is where Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Ebb Tide" begins.
  • Papeete, a schooner built by Matthew Turner, who had extensive business interests in Tahiti, was known for a fast passage from San Francisco to Tahiti of 17 days.[10]

[edit] Economy

Air Tahiti Nui has its head office in the Immueble Dexter in Papeete.[11]

[edit] Note

The name Papeete is sometimes spelled Pape’ete in Tahitian, using the apostrophe (in fact a variant of it hard to differentiate from the regular apostrophe when using small fonts) to represent the glottal stop, as promoted by the Académie Tahitienne and accepted by the territorial government.[12] This apostrophe, however, is often omitted.

[edit] See also

Portal icon Geography portal

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Kay, p. 106
  2. ^ Kay, p. 102
  3. ^ (French) Institut Statistique de Polynésie Française (ISPF). "Recensement de la population 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2007-12-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20071203110626/http://www.ispf.pf/(k1aciwf4z0fyap45ghzhgm55)/stat/demo/rp2007/pdfs/poplegales2007.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-02. 
  4. ^ ''New York Times'' coverage of Atomic tests resumption in Tahiti. New York Times (1995-10-08). Retrieved on 2011-07-03.
  5. ^ ''New York Times'' coverage of riot at Tahiti's international airport. New York Times (1995-09-07). Retrieved on 2011-07-03.
  6. ^ [1][dead link]
  7. ^ [2][dead link]
  8. ^ Arue – 12A Arahiri/Rimapp
  9. ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Papeete, French Polynesia". Weatherbase. 2011. http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=173919&refer=wikipedia.  Retrieved on November 24, 2011.
  10. ^ Gibbs, Jim (1968). West Coast Windjammers in Story and Pictures. Seattle: Superior Publishing Co. p. 42. ISBN 9780517170601. 
  11. ^ "Contacter." Air Tahiti Nui. Retrieved on 2 February 2011. "Tahiti – Siège social Immeuble Dexter – Pont de L’Est – Papeete BP 1673 – 98713 Papeete – Tahiti."
  12. ^ [3][dead link]

[edit] References

  • Kay, Robert F. Hidden Tahiti, Ulysses Press, Berkeley, California, 2001. ISBN 1-56975-222-2.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Papeete
Capitals of Oceania
Capitals of non-sovereign territories shown in SmallCaps
1 Territory of Australia.  2 Often included in Polynesia.  3 Often included in Southeast Asia.  4 Overseas collectivity of France.  5 Often included in Australasia.  6 Insular area of the United States.  7 Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom.8 In free association with New Zealand.  9 Territory of Chile.  10 U.S. state.11 New Zealand dependent territory.
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