Matthew Island and Hunter Island
Disputed island | |
---|---|
Other names | île Matthew, Umaenupne and île Hunter, Leka, Fern/Fearn Island (Hunter Island) |
Geography | |
Coordinates | 22°22′S 171°43′E / 22.367°S 171.717°E |
Total islands | 2 |
Area | 1.3 km2 (0.50 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 242 m (794 ft) |
Highest point | unnamed peak on Hunter Island |
Administration | |
France | |
Collectivity | New Caledonia |
Claimed by | |
Collectivity | New Caledonia |
Province | Tafea |
Demographics | |
Population | 0 |
Hunter Island and Matthew Island are two small and uninhabited volcanic islands in the South Pacific, located 300 kilometres (190 mi) east of New Caledonia and south-east of Vanuatu archipelago. Hunter Island and Matthew Island, 70 km (43 mi) apart, are claimed by Vanuatu as part of Tafea Province, and considered by the people of Aneityum part of their custom ownership, and as of 2007[update] were claimed by France as part of New Caledonia.[1]
Small, arid, without fresh water and not easily accessible, the islands had no interest for Britain or France during their colonisation of the Pacific in the course of the 18th and 19th centuries. France officially annexed both islands in 1929. In 1965, the United Kingdom also claimed the two islands, as part of the New Hebrides. France conducted a symbolic occupation in 1975. In 1980, on its independence, Vanuatu claimed sovereignty, but made no occupation of the islands. In 1979, Météo-France set up an automatic weather station on one of the islands, and the French Navy regularly visits both of them.
Hunter Island
Hunter Island (
Hunter Island is symbolically claimed by a micronation, the Federal Republic of Lostisland.[4][clarification needed]
Important Bird Area
The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding population of red-tailed tropicbirds, with some 100–200 pairs estimated in 2007.[5]
Matthew Island
Matthew Island (French: île Matthew) is also known as Umaenupne island in the indigenous language of Aneityum island in southern Vanuatu, the closest inhabited island. It is 0.7 square kilometres (0.27 sq mi) in area, with a 177-metre (581 ft) high stratovolcano located at 22°21′S 171°21′E / 22.350°S 171.350°E. The volcanic island is composed of two andesitic-to-dactic volcanic cones, East Matthew and West Matthew, separated by a rocky 200-metre-wide isthmus. The island was discovered by Captain Thomas Gilbert, of Charlotte, on 27 May 1788, who named it after the owner of his ship. At the time of the discovery, only East Matthew existed and it was described as having only one peak prior to the Second World War.
East Matthew is the older part of the island, formed from
Eruptions
All known historical eruptions have come from West Matthew. After a highly seismically active period in the 1940s, construction of West Matthew began as submarine eruptions built up a new island. The new cone then emitted lava flows. The eruption was a
Important Bird Area
The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports breeding populations of brown boobies and blue noddies.[6]
Seismicity
The islands are prone to earthquakes, as they are situated near the southern arc of the South New Hebrides Trench, where the minor
Tectonics
Both Matthew Island and Hunter Island are within the Hunter Ridge part of the New Hebrides Plate and this ridge was initially formed from about 7 to 3 million years ago, when the opening of the North Fiji Basin in a north–south direction, allowed northward subduction of the South Fiji Basin part of the then Indo-Australian Plate under the North Fiji Basin.[8]: 915 From about 3 million years ago the current triple junction between the New Hebrides Plate, Australian Plate and the Conway Reef Plate became established and the southernmost propagating tip of the Central Spreading Ridge backarc-spreading centre in the North Fiji Basin over the last 2 million years has rifted westward splitting the Hunter Ridge into two halves.[9]: 3 New young subduction of the South Fiji Basin has created what has been called the Matthew and Hunter subduction zone. [9]: 3 The various processes have resulted in unusually complex volcanic composition of the island's recent eruptives, as well as the continued seismicity assigned to the area as the south western part of the Hunter Fracture Zone.[8]: 913 [9]: 3, 12
See also
- Fiji–France Maritime Delimitation Agreement
- Desert island
- Lists of islands
References
- ^ "Small Islands Voice". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ Sharp, Andrew (1962), The discovery of the Pacific Islands, Oxford University Press, p.181
- ^ .
- ^ Cortbus, Colin. "Internet Eccentrics on Expedition To Hunter Island". Vanuatu Daily Post. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- ^ "Hunter Island". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ "Matthew Island". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ "M 7.7 - southeast of Loyalty Islands". United States Geological Survey. 10 February 2021.
- ^ S2CID 67848457.
- ^ .
Bibliography
- Dunmore, John: Who's who in Pacific navigation, Honolulu: Univ. of Hawaii Pr., 1991 ISBN 0-8248-1350-2
- Sharp, Andrew: The discovery of the Pacific Islands, Oxford 1960
- "Matthew Island". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- "Matthew Island Volcano". volcanolive.com. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- Song, Lily & Mosses, Morsen: "Revisiting Ocean Boundary Disputes in the South Pacific in Light of the South China Sea Arbitration: A Legal Perspective", The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 33 (2018): 768 - 798
- Lili Song, Morsen Mosses & Geraldine Giraudeau (2023): The Ambiguous History of Matthew and Hunter Islands: Tracing the Roots of Vanuatu and French Claims, The Journal of Pacific History, DOI: 10.1080/00223344.2022.2146577
External links
- Wolfgang Schippke: Île Metthew & Île Hunter (German), (English, but much shorter)