Banks Islands
The Banks Islands (in Bislama Bankis) are a group of islands in northern Vanuatu. Together with the Torres Islands to their northwest, they make up the northernmost province of Torba. The island group lies about 40 km (25 mi) north of Maewo, and includes Gaua and Vanua Lava, two of the 13 largest islands in Vanuatu. In 2009, the islands had a population of 8,533.[1] The island group's combined land area is 780 km2.
Geography
The largest island is Gaua (formerly called Santa Maria), which has a rugged terrain, rising to Mount Gharat, an active volcano at the centre of the island, at 797 m (2,615 ft). Gaua's freshwater Lake Letas, in its volcanic crater, is the largest lake in Vanuatu. A slightly smaller island in the group, Vanua Lava, is higher, at 946 m (3,104 ft); it too has an active volcano:
To the east of these larger islands lie a number of smaller ones. The furthest north of them, 50 km (31 mi) northeast of Ureparapara, is
Islands
Island name | Area (km2) |
Population | Capital | Peak | Height (meter) |
Municipality | Coordinates |
Vot Tande | 0.24 | - | - | ... | 76 | Mota Lava | 13°15′33″S 167°38′34″E / 13.25917°S 167.64278°E |
Ureparapara | 39 | 437 | Ley (Lesereplag) | Mt Towlap | 764 | Ureparapara | 13°32′S 167°20′E / 13.533°S 167.333°E |
Vanua Lava | 330 | 2623 | Sola | Mt Suretamate | 921 | Vanua Lava | 13°48′S 167°28′E / 13.800°S 167.467°E |
Mota
|
9.5 | 683 | Veverao | Mt Tawe | 411 | Mota | 13°51′S 167°42′E / 13.850°S 167.700°E |
Mota Lava | 31 | 1451 | Lahlap | Mt Tuntog | 243 | Mota Lava | 13°39′S 167°42′E / 13.650°S 167.700°E |
Ra (Aya) | 0.5 | 189 | Ra | ... | ... | Mota Lava | 13°43′S 167°37′E / 13.717°S 167.617°E |
Mere Lava
|
15 | 647 | Tasmate | Mt Teu (Star Peak) | 833 | Mere Lava | 14°27′S 168°4′E / 14.450°S 168.067°E |
Gaua | 330 | 2491 | Jolap | Mt Gharat | 767 | Gaua | 14°15′54″S 167°31′12″E / 14.26500°S 167.52000°E |
Merig | 0.5 | 12 | Levolvol | ... | 125 | Mere Lava | 14°19′S 167°48′E / 14.317°S 167.800°E |
Rowa (Reef Islands) | 0.1 | - | - | ... | 2 | Mota Lava | 13°37′S 167°31′E / 13.617°S 167.517°E |
Banks Islands | 780 | 8.533 | Sola | Mt Suretamate | 921 | 6 municipalities[2] | 13°55′S 167°34′E / 13.917°S 167.567°E |
Economy
The principal economic activity is subsistence agriculture, although copra, coffee and (on Gaua) cacao are grown for export. The sulphur deposits of Mount Suretamate on Vanua Lava were formerly worked by a French company. Tourism is increasingly important on the islands, which can be reached by airplane.
Transport
There are airports on Mota Lava, Vanua Lava and Gaua, served by Air Vanuatu, which operates a few flights each week and Air Taxi Vanuatu as requested. Ships come to these islands, principally to pick up the products being exported, but they will also take passengers.
History
Like the
Between 25 and 29 April 1606, the Banks Islands became the first part of Vanuatu to be discovered by a European explorer: A Spanish expedition led by the Portuguese explorer
Captain
Languages
Island | Language | # speakers |
---|---|---|
Ureparapara | Lehali | 200 |
Ureparapara | Löyöp | 240 |
Motalava
|
Volow | 1 |
Motalava
|
Mwotlap | 2100 |
Vanua Lava | Lemerig | 2 |
Vanua Lava | Vera'a | 500 |
Vanua Lava | Vurës | 2000 |
Vanua Lava | Mwesen | 10 |
Mota | Mota | 750 |
Gaua | Nume | 700 |
Gaua | Dorig | 300 |
Gaua | Koro | 250 |
Gaua | Olrat | 3 |
Gaua | Lakon | 800 |
Merelava | Mwerlap | 1100 |
The inhabitants of the Banks Islands speak 15 different languages.
All of these languages belong to the Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian language family.[8]
Notes
- ^ "2009 National Census of Population and Housing: Summary Release" (PDF). Vanuatu National Statistics Office. 2009. Retrieved Nov 23, 2010.
- ^ Citypopulation: Vanuatu: Verwaltungsgliederung
- ^ Bedford & Spriggs (2008)
- ^ Reepmeyer (2009:86)
- ^ Kelly, Celsus, O.F.M. La Austrialia del Espiritu Santo. The Journal of Fray Martín de Munilla O.F.M. and other documents relating to the Voyage of Pedro Fernández de Quirós to the South Sea (1605-1606) and the Franciscan Missionary Plan (1617-1627) Cambridge, 1966, p.39, 62.
- ^ See François (2012).
- ^ Detailed list and map of the Banks and Torres languages.
- ^ See François (2011).
References
- Bedford, Stuart; S2CID 53485887. Retrieved 2019-02-01..
- hdl:1885/29283.
- François, Alexandre (2012), "The dynamics of linguistic diversity: Egalitarian multilingualism and power imbalance among northern Vanuatu languages" (PDF), International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2012 (214): 85–110, S2CID 145208588.
- Reepmeyer, Christian (2009). "The obsidian sources and distribution systems emanating from Gaua and Vanua Lava in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu". Canberra, ACT: Australian National University..