View source for Penrhyn atoll

{{Short description|Atoll in Cook Islands}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox islands
| name          = Penrhyn
| native_name   = Tongareva
| image_name    = Penrhyn Aerial EFS 1280.jpg
| image_caption = Aerial view of Penrhyn
| image_size    = 270px
| image_alt     =
|pushpin_map=Cook Islands#Oceania#Pacific Ocean
| area_km2      = 9.8
| location      = [[Pacific Ocean|Central-Southern Pacific Ocean]]
| coordinates   = {{coord|9|00|20|S|157|58|10|W|region:ID_type:isle}}
| archipelago   = [[Cook Islands]]
| total_islands =
| major_islands =
| country       = [[Cook Islands]]
| country_admin_divisions_title =
| country_admin_divisions       =
| largest_city  =
| demonym       =
| population    = 226 (2016)
| density_km2 =
| ethnic_groups =[[Polynesians|Polynesian]]
}}'''Penrhyn''' (also called '''Tongareva''', '''Māngarongaro''', '''Hararanga''', and '''Te Pitaka''') is an atoll in the [[Northern Cook Islands|northern group]] of the [[Cook Islands]] in the south [[Pacific Ocean]]. The northernmost island in the group, it is located at {{convert|1365|km|mi|abbr=on}} north-north-east of the capital island of [[Rarotonga]], [[9th parallel south|9 degrees]] south of the [[equator]]. Its nearest neighbours are [[Rakahanga]] and [[Manihiki]], approximately {{convert|350|km|mi}} to the southwest. Once one of the most heavily populated atolls, it was almost completely depopulated by Peruvian slavers in 1864.

==Geography==
Penrhyn is a roughly circular [[coral atoll]] with a circumference of approximately {{convert|77|km|mi|abbr=on}}, enclosing a lagoon with an area of {{convert|233|sqkm|sqmi}}. The atoll is atop the highest submarine volcano in the Cook Islands, rising {{convert|4876|m|ft}} from the ocean floor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ck/penrhyn.htm|title=Tongareva (Penrhyn) Atoll – Cook Islands – Northern Group, South Pacific Ocean|website=www.ck|access-date=8 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cookislands.org.uk/penrhyn.html|title=Penrhyn, Cook Islands|website=www.cookislands.org.uk|access-date=8 May 2017|archive-date=10 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310181015/http://www.cookislands.org.uk/penrhyn.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The atoll is low-lying, with a maximum elevation of less than {{convert|5|m|ft}}. The total land area is {{convert|9.84|sqkm|sqmi}}.

The atoll rim consists of 18 major islets. Clockwise, from the northwest, these are:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geodoi.ac.cn/weben/doi.aspx?Id=1130 |title=Penrhyn Atoll |author1=Liu Chuang |author2=Shi Ruixiang |author3=Chen Lijun |publisher=Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences |date=January 2019 |access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref>
* [[Tokerau (Penrhyn)|Tokerau]]
* [[Painko]]
* [[Ruahara]]
* [[Takuua]]
* [[Veseru]]
* [[Tuirai]]
* [[Pokerekere Islet]][[File:Penrhyn.png|thumb|Map of Penrhyn Atoll|220x220px]]
* [[Kavea]]
* [[Temata (Penrhyn)|Temata]]
* [[Patanga (Penrhyn)|Patanga]]
* [[Tepuka (Penrhyn)|Tepuka]]
* [[Ahu a Miria]]
* [[Atutahi (Penrhyn)|Atutahi]]
* [[Moturakina]]
* [[Atiati]]
* [[Mangarongaro (Penrhyn)|Mangarongaro]]
* [[Moananui Islet]]
* [[Matunga (Penrhyn)|Matunga]]
* [[Tekasi]]

==History==
[[File:Otto von Kotzebue meets the inhabitants of Penrhyn.jpg|thumb|Captain [[Otto von Kotzebue]] meets the inhabitants of Penrhyn Atoll, 30 April 1816|left]]
[[Polynesians]] are believed to have lived on Penrhyn since 900 or 1000 AD.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/download/11533/10166 |last1=Chikamori |first1=Masashi |title=Development of coral reefs and human settlement: Archaeological research in the Northern Cook Islands and Rarotonga. |journal=Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association |year=1996 |volume=15 |pages=45–52 |doi=10.7152/bippa.v15i0.11533 |doi-broken-date=2 November 2024 |access-date=21 August 2020}}</ref> According to [[oral tradition]], the island was fished up by [[Vatea]], using part of his thigh as bait, and has been inhabited since the time of creation.<ref name=Kloosterman/> Other legends tell of the island being visited by various ancestors of Tangiia-nui of [[Rarotonga]] on their way from [[Samoa]] to [[Tahiti]]. Other ancestors came from [[Aitutaki]] and [[Rakahanga]].<ref name=Kloosterman>{{cite web |last=Kloosterman |first=Alphons M. J. |title=Discoverers of the Cook Islands and the Names They Gave |year=1976 |publisher=Cook Islands Library and Museum (web: Victoria University of Wellington) |url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-KloDisc-t1-body-d10.html |access-date=29 August 2013}}</ref> The Polynesians named the atoll ''Tongareva'' ("Tonga floating in space", "Tonga-in-the-skies" and "Away from the South").<ref name=Kloosterman/>

Europeans first encountered the island in 1788, when the ''[[Lady Penrhyn (1786 ship)|Lady Penrhyn]],'' commanded by Captain William Crofton Sever, passed by the island on 8 August while returning from delivering the [[First Fleet|first convicts]] to [[Australia]].<ref name=Kloosterman/> It was later visited by the Russian explorer [[Otto von Kotzebue]] in April 1816,<ref name=Kloosterman/> and then by the American brig [[USS Porpoise (1836)|USS ''Porpoise'']], under command of Lieutenant Commander [[Cadwalader Ringgold]], as part of the [[United States Exploring Expedition]] in February 1841. The brig ''Chatham'' ran aground at Penrhyn during a storm in January 1853, resulting in some of the crew being stranded on the island for almost a year. One of them, the trader Edward Henry Lamont, documented his stay in ''Wild Life among the Pacific Islanders''.<ref name=Kloosterman/> The [[London Missionary Society]], which had begun missionary activities in the Cook Islands from 1821, sent a group of three Polynesian missionaries to Penrhyn in 1854.

[[Robert Louis Stevenson]] visited Penrhyn in May 1890.

===Slavery===
In the early 1860s, Penrhyn was almost completely depopulated by [[Peru]]vian [[blackbirding]] expeditions. In 1862, the ship ''Adelante'' took hundreds of Tongarevans aboard, ostensibly to transport them to a nearby island as agricultural workers.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Peruvian Slave trade in the Pacific islands |title=The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery, Volume 1; Volume 7 |author=Doug Munro |editor=Junius P. Rodriguez |publisher=ABC-Clio |location=Santa Barbara |year=1997 |pages=503–504 }}</ref> The Tongarevans went willingly: coconut blight had led to famine, while the local missionaries saw work overseas as a way of bring money to the atoll to pay for larger churches. Once on board, they were shackled in the hold and guarded day and night.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cookislandsnews.com/features/weekend/item/77636-blackbirds-shackled-inside-the-slave-ships-to-peru/77636-blackbirds-shackled-inside-the-slave-ships-to-peru |title=Blackbirds: Shackled inside the slave ships to Peru |author=Jonathan Milne |publisher=Cook Islands News |date=5 July 2020 |access-date=21 August 2020}}</ref> 253 survived the voyage to reach [[Callao]], Peru, where they were sold for between $100 and $200 each.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2017/08/04/cook-islands-language-week-language-culture-and-the-impact-of-slavers-in-paradise/ |title=Language, culture, and the impact of 'Slavers in Paradise' |author=Rachel Yates |publisher=Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa |date=4 August 2017 |access-date=21 August 2020}}</ref> Further slaving expeditions followed, and in total, 472 Tongarevans were sold in Peru.

===Foreign claims===
Penrhyn was officially annexed for Great Britain by Captain Sir William Wiseman of [[HMS Caroline|HMS ''Caroline'']] on 22 March 1888. The island was considered to have a strategic location on the route of a proposed Trans-Pacific telegraphic connection between Canada and Australia.

The Cook Islands were a British protectorate 1888 to 1900, when annexed to [[New Zealand]], until independence in 1965 when residents chose self-government in free association with New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cook-islands/ |title=Cook Islands, World Factbook |author=Central Intelligence Agency |date=13 August 2013}}</ref>

From 1856 to 1980, the [[United States]] claimed sovereignty over the island under the [[Guano Islands Act]]. That claim had never been recognised by Britain and the Cook Islands. New Zealand sovereignty was recognised during [[World War II]] U.S. military operations involving the islands. On 11 June 1980, in connection with establishing the maritime boundary between the Cook Islands and [[American Samoa]], the United States signed [[Cook Islands – United States Maritime Boundary Treaty|Cook Islands–United States Maritime Boundary Treaty]] acknowledging that Penrhyn was under Cook Islands sovereignty.<ref name=CoEWAJ>{{cite book |last=Dod |first=Karl C. |year=1987 |title=The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Japan |series=United States Army in World War II |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Center of Military History, United States Army |lccn=66060004  |pages=169, 171, 233 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Limits in the Seas No. 100; Maritime Boundaries: United States—Cook Islands and United States—New Zealand (Tokelau) |author=Office of The Geographer, Bureau of Intelligence and Research |year=2013 |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/58566.pdf |access-date=29 August 2013}}</ref>

===World War II===
In early 1942, Japanese advances had placed the [[South Pacific air ferry route in World War II|South Pacific air ferry route's]] initial path at some risk so that an alternate route was directed. In March, [[Leif J. Sverdrup]] was determined for a tour of suitable islands for local labour that could help build an airfield. U.S. Navy [[Seabees]] began work on a runway in July 1942, with aviation gasoline storage tanks added to the completed field.<ref name=CoEWAJ /> Two additional runways were added later. During the war, U.S. Navy [[PBY Catalina|PBY ''Catalina'']] and [[USAAF]] [[B-24 Liberator]] bombers were stationed on the island, along with about a thousand support personnel. A communications link through the island was established by the [[Signal Corps (United States Army)|U.S. Army Signal Corps]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=George Raynor |last2=Harris |first2=Dixie R. |last3=Oakes |first3=Pauline M. |last4=Terrett |first4=Dulany |year=1957 |title=The Technical Services—The Signal Corps: The Test (December 1941 to July 1943) |series= United States Army in World War II |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Center of Military History, United States Army |lccn=56060003 |pages=475–476 }}</ref> American forces were withdrawn in September 1946.

The U.S. Army vessel [[Lyndonia (1920)|''Southern Seas'']] struck an uncharted reef on 22 July 1942 and was severely damaged with flooded engine rooms and abandoned in Taruia Pass while on an island charting assignment in support of the construction. The ship was later salvaged by the Navy and commissioned for naval use.<ref>{{cite web |title=Section 3 – Publications, US Army Corps of Engineers |work=U.S. Army Engineers in Hawaii |url=http://140.194.76.129/publications/eng-pamphlets/EP_870-1-51/S-3.pdf |access-date=17 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205023428/http://140.194.76.129/publications/eng-pamphlets/EP_870-1-51/S-3.pdf |archive-date=5 December 2013}}</ref><ref name=SSDANFS>{{cite web |title=Southern Seas |work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s15/southern_seas.htm |access-date=17 June 2013}}</ref>

===Cyclone Pat===
In February 2010, much of Omoka was damaged by [[Cyclone Pat]], but there were no serious casualties. The village school was demolished, and the community was left without teaching facilities. Tongareva's Women's Craft Guild loaned their meeting house; however, this meant that five classes ranging from 3 to 16 years old had to be taught in a single room. New Zealand Aid paid completely for a new school to be constructed, called Meitaki Poria.<ref name="Trade">{{cite web|url=http://www.mfat.govt.nz|title=The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade acts in the world to make New Zealanders safer and more prosperous|first=New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and|last=Trade|website=New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade|access-date=8 May 2017}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
|1906 |420
|1916 |326
|1926 |395
|1936 |467
|1951 |527
|1961 |628
|1966 |545
|1976 |531
|1986 |497
|1996 |606
|2001 |357
|2006 |255
|2011 |213
|2016 |226
|footnote=Source:<ref name="Census2016">{{cite web |url=http://www.mfem.gov.ck/images/documents/Statistics_Docs/5.Census-Surveys/6.Population-and-Dwelling_2016/2016_CENSUS_REPORT-FINAL.pdf |title=Cook Islands 2016 Census Main Report |page=46 |year=2018 |access-date=19 August 2020 |publisher=Cook Islands Statistical Office |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031062651/http://www.mfem.gov.ck/images/documents/Statistics_Docs/5.Census-Surveys/6.Population-and-Dwelling_2016/2016_CENSUS_REPORT-FINAL.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
Penrhyn was formerly one of the most densely inhabited atolls in Polynesia, with an estimated pre-European population of 2,000.<ref name=Buck>{{cite book |url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BucTong-t1-body-d1-d1-d4.html |title=Ethnology of Tongareva |author=Te Rangi Hiroa |publisher=Bernice P. Bishop Museum |location=Honolulu |date=April 1932 |page=9 |access-date=21 August 2020 |via=NZETC}}</ref> Depopulation by slavers reduced this to just 88 people,<ref name=Kloosterman/> and its population on annexation by New Zealand was just 420.<ref name="Census2016"/>

===Villages===
All of the habitable islets were previously occupied, with Moananui home to two rival settlements. Following the arrival of the missionaries, the population concentrated around the churches in four villages. Two of these villages were subsequently abandoned due to depopulation by slavers.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://authority.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-BucViki-t1-body-d1-d10.html |title=Vikings of the Sunrise |author=Te Rangi Hiroa |publisher=Whitcombe and Tombs Limited |location=Christchurch |year=1964 |pages=134–135 |access-date=21 August 2020}}</ref>

Today, Penrhyn Atoll has two villages. The main village of [[Omoka]], the seat of Penrhyn Island Council, is on [[Moananui Islet]], on the western rim of the atoll, north of the airport. The village of [[Te Tautua]] is on [[Pokerekere Islet]] (also known as Pokerere or Tautua), on the eastern rim.

The inhabitants of the island are [[Christians]], with 92% of the population belonging to the [[Cook Islands Christian Church]], while the remaining 8% adhere to the [[Roman Catholic Church]].

==Economy and resources==
[[File:Tongareava-Lagoon-01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Aerial view of Tongareva|left]]
The World War II airstrip is still used today as [[Tongareva Airport]], with its initial 3,000-meter runway reduced to 1,700 meters. Weekly flights to the atoll by [[Air Rarotonga]] are subject to frequent cancellations due to a lack of passengers or lack of fuel on Penrhyn for the return flight.

A large passage in the lagoon allows inter-island ships to enter the lagoon, and the island has become popular as a stopover for yachts crossing the Pacific from [[Panama]] to [[New Zealand]]. The inter-island [[Taio Shipping]] company visits the island approximately every three months.

The locally produced Rito hats are woven from fibre from young coconut leaves, which are stripped, boiled and dried, resulting in a fine white leaf. Called rito weaving, the traditional items woven are Sunday church fans, small baskets and hats, the hats originally being copies of the ones the sailors wore.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mahina.com/pacific.html|title=Mahina Expeditions – Offshore Cruising Instruction|website=www.mahina.com|access-date=8 May 2017}}</ref> Weaving is an economic activity in both villages; both traditional and artificial dyes may be used.

===Black pearl farming===
[[Tahitian pearl|Black pearl]] farming, together with [[mother of pearl]], was previously the only significant economic activity on the island.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cook-islands.gov.ck/cook-islands.php|title=Cook Islands Government Online: Pearls|website=cook-islands.gov.ck|access-date=8 May 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723210735/http://www.cook-islands.gov.ck/cook-islands.php|archive-date=23 July 2008}}</ref> Pearl farming began in 1997–1998. In 2000, [[algal blooms]] spread around the lagoon, and a virus killed the pearl oysters. The stocks never recovered, and the final harvest was in 2003, resulting in significant losses of equipment, outlay and resources.<ref>Ru Taime, formerly Ministry of Marine Resources at Tongareva</ref>

===Food===
The present population of the island relies on the ocean for most of their food as well as locally grown plants such as coconut, pawpaw, breadfruit and ''puraka'' (yam). Every morning (except on Sundays), men from the island head out in small tin boats to spear or trawl for fish for their families. The islanders' diet is supplemented with imported rice and flour shipped in from [[Rarotonga]] or Hawai'i. The boats are infrequent (usually every 3 months).{{Cn|date=March 2024}}

===Energy===
Electricity has been supplied by a generator in each village (Omoka 65 KVA, Te Tautua 35 KVA); these have been installed by [[Australian Aid]]. Provision of diesel fuel required two long sea voyages: Auckland to Rarotonga, then onwards to the northern Cooks Islands (ships travelled 7,000&nbsp;km each way). To save fuel, electricity was always turned off overnight (11 pm to 6 am). The New Zealand Government ([[Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade]])<ref name="Trade"/> decided to assist the Cook Islands Government by funding solar power arrays in all the northern atolls. The Aid programme ''Uira Natura ko Tokerau'' was for NZ$20 million. The build was by PowerSmart Solar of New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.powersmartsolar.com|title=Commercial Solar Power – Off-Grid Solar – Solar Power Systems|website=Powersmart Solar|access-date=8 May 2017}}</ref> Construction began on 23 February 2015, each village was solar powered by the end of May 2015. Some work is possibly still ongoing for all northern atolls to be on renewable energy.{{Needs update|date=March 2024}}

The Omoka solar farm and Te Tautua solar farm now provide 126&nbsp;kW and 42&nbsp;kW, respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1505/S00214/cook-islands-solar-energy-projects-opened.htm |title=Cook Islands solar energy projects opened |publisher=Scoop |date=13 May 2015 |access-date=16 July 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Guano Island claims]]
* [[Tongareva triple junction]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Penrhyn Island}}
*[http://www.cookislands.org.uk/penrhyn.html Photos and information about Penrhyn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310181015/http://www.cookislands.org.uk/penrhyn.html |date=10 March 2012 }}
*[http://www.janeresture.com/tongareva/ Tongareva Island info]
*[https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/BucTong-fig-BucTong005a.html Older map, but with more details]

{{Coord|9|00|20|S|157|58|10|W|region:CK_type:isle|display=title}}

{{Cook Islands}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Atolls of the Cook Islands]]
[[Category:Pacific islands claimed under the Guano Islands Act]]
[[Category:Former regions and territories of the United States]]
[[Category:Penrhyn atoll|*]]
[[Category:Cook Islands–United States relations]]
[[Category:Former disputed islands]]
[[Category:Seabees]]
[[Category:Northern Cook Islands]]