Tetiꞌaroa
Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Pacific Ocean |
Coordinates | 17°0′S 149°33′W / 17.000°S 149.550°W |
Archipelago | Society Islands |
Area | 6 km2 (2.3 sq mi) |
Administration | |
France | |
Overseas collectivity | French Polynesia |
Administrative subdivision | Windward Islands |
Commune | Arue |
Tetiʻaroa (French: Tetiaroa) is an atoll in the Windward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas territorial collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. Once the vacation spot for Tahitian royalty, the islets are under a 99-year lease contracted by Marlon Brando, and are home to The Brando Resort.
Geography
Tetiꞌaroa is administratively part of the commune of Arue, whose main part is in the northeastern part of Tahiti. The atoll is located 53 kilometres (33 mi) north of Tahiti. The atoll has a total surface area of 6 square kilometres (2 sq mi); approximately 585 hectares (1,450 acres) of sand divided by 12 motus (islets) with varying surface areas. The lagoon is approximately 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) wide and 30 metres (98 ft) deep. The atoll has no reef opening, making access by boat nearly impossible.
The islets (or motus), in clockwise order starting from the southwest corner, include: Onetahi (with regulated airstrip and site of The Brando Resort), Honuea, Tiaruanu, Motu Tauvini (Tauini), Motu Ahurea (Auroa), Hiraanae, Horoatera (Oroatera), Motu 'Ā'ie, Tahuna Iti, Tahuna Rahi, Reiono, Motu One (emerging sandbank) and Rimatu'u (with an ornithology reserve).
Climate
Tetiꞌaroa has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am). The average annual temperature in Tetiꞌaroa is 26.3 °C (79.3 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,883.1 mm (74.14 in) with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in March, at around 27.3 °C (81.1 °F), and lowest in August, at around 24.9 °C (76.8 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Tetiꞌaroa was 35.5 °C (95.9 °F) on 20 March 1995; the coldest temperature ever recorded was 14.5 °C (58.1 °F) on 25 July 1987.
Climate data for Tetiꞌaroa (1981–2010 averages, extremes 1980−present) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 35.0 (95.0) |
34.8 (94.6) |
35.5 (95.9) |
35.0 (95.0) |
33.0 (91.4) |
33.0 (91.4) |
32.4 (90.3) |
32.0 (89.6) |
33.0 (91.4) |
34.5 (94.1) |
34.0 (93.2) |
35.0 (95.0) |
35.5 (95.9) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.2 (86.4) |
30.4 (86.7) |
30.4 (86.7) |
30.1 (86.2) |
29.3 (84.7) |
28.2 (82.8) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.5 (81.5) |
28.4 (83.1) |
28.7 (83.7) |
29.2 (84.6) |
29.9 (85.8) |
29.2 (84.6) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 27.0 (80.6) |
27.3 (81.1) |
27.3 (81.1) |
27.1 (80.8) |
26.4 (79.5) |
25.6 (78.1) |
25.0 (77.0) |
24.9 (76.8) |
25.7 (78.3) |
25.9 (78.6) |
26.3 (79.3) |
26.6 (79.9) |
26.3 (79.3) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.7 (74.7) |
24.1 (75.4) |
24.2 (75.6) |
24.2 (75.6) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.0 (73.4) |
22.4 (72.3) |
22.3 (72.1) |
23.0 (73.4) |
23.2 (73.8) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.4 (74.1) |
Record low °C (°F) | 16.0 (60.8) |
17.9 (64.2) |
17.6 (63.7) |
17.0 (62.6) |
17.0 (62.6) |
18.0 (64.4) |
14.5 (58.1) |
15.0 (59.0) |
17.0 (62.6) |
15.0 (59.0) |
16.0 (60.8) |
17.0 (62.6) |
14.5 (58.1) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 250.8 (9.87) |
183.8 (7.24) |
179.9 (7.08) |
178.8 (7.04) |
125.1 (4.93) |
105.2 (4.14) |
99.8 (3.93) |
73.4 (2.89) |
66.5 (2.62) |
147.0 (5.79) |
142.9 (5.63) |
329.9 (12.99) |
1,883.1 (74.14) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 16.3 | 14.1 | 14.3 | 12.2 | 11.8 | 9.7 | 10.7 | 8.3 | 7.4 | 10.4 | 12.8 | 17.7 | 145.6 |
Source: Meteociel[1] |
History
Early years
The atoll of Tetiꞌaroa was a special place for the
In 1789, William Bligh is said to have been the first European to visit the atoll while looking for early mutineers prior to the departure of HMS Bounty which eventually suffered a full mutiny. The United States Exploring Expedition visited the island on 10 September 1839.[3]
Williams and Brando
In 1904, the royal family sold Tetiꞌaroa to Johnston Walter Williams, a Canadian national and the only dentist in Tahiti. Williams later became Consul of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1935.[4] Williams managed Tetiꞌaroa as a residence and a copra plantation.
In 1960,
Wanting to live on the atoll, Brando built a small village on Motu Onetahi in 1970. It consisted of an airstrip to arrive without breaching the reef, 12 simple bungalows, a kitchen hut, dining hall and bar, all built from local materials: coconut wood, thatch roofs and even large sea shells for sinks. The village became a place for friends, family and researchers studying the atoll's ecology and archaeology. Over the years, Brando spent as much time on the atoll as he could, and valued it as a getaway from his hectic life in Hollywood. Although, ultimately, he didn't spend as much time there as he'd wished to, it is said that he always cherished his moments on Tetiꞌaroa. During his stays on the island, he was often visited by his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Upon his death, Brando's son Teihotu lived on the island for some time. Eventually the village became a modest hotel managed by his Tahitian wife, Tarita Teriipaia, who had played his on-screen love in Mutiny on the Bounty. The hotel operated for more than 25 years, even after Brando had to leave French Polynesia to return to Los Angeles. Many hotel guests, arriving with higher expectations, lamented the lack of amenities normally found at an island "resort".[6]
In 1980, the maxi yacht SY Condor of Bermuda ran aground on the Onetahi reef, which caused it to be shipwrecked and written off by insurers. Purportedly, Brando and the owner of the yacht engaged in a brief bidding-war over rights to the vessel's polished mahogany hull (as reported by the owner in the New Zealand yachting magazine Sail, in 1981), which Brando (allegedly) wanted to use as a bar at a new resort he planned to build on the island. The yacht was salvaged, and sent to New Zealand for repair. In 2002, two years before the actor's death, Brando signed a new will and trust agreement that left no instructions for Tetiꞌaroa. Following his death in 2004, the Tetiaroa Village Hotel was closed and the staff evicted from the atoll.[7] The atoll was closed to tourism.[8] In August 2004, French Polynesian vice-president Hiro Tefaarerea advocated for the atoll to be declared a nature reserve to prevent development.[9] Eventually, executors of the estate granted development rights to Pacific Beachcomber SC, a Tahitian company that owns hotels throughout French Polynesia. The Brando Resort was opened in July 2014.[10][11]
Flora and fauna
The island provides habitat for the following seabird species:
Teti’aroa hosts five of the seven marine species of turtle, namely the
Teti’aroa hosts numerous marine mammals, including the humpback whale, short-finned pilot whale, rough-toothed dolphin, spinner dolphin, Risso's dolphin, melon-headed whale, Blainville's beaked whale, Cuvier's beaked whale, and even some migrating pods of orca.[14]
Numerous
Plants include the
Conservation and restoration
The presence of two invasive rat species significantly impacted the native vegetation, nesting seabird populations, sea turtle hatchlings, and
References
- ^ "Normales et records pour Tetiaroa 1 (987)". Meteociel. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ISBN 9780520261143.
- ISBN 0520025571.
- ^ The Tahiti Traveler Archived 28 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ NASA Earth Observatory. Earthobservatory.nasa.gov. Retrieved on 2021-12-23.
- ^ Heller, Matthew (23 October 2005) "Trouble in Paradise", Los Angeles Times
- ^ "French Polynesian hotel on Tetiaroa closes". RNZ. 10 March 2004. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "French Polynesian Tetiaroa closed to all tourism". RNZ. 12 March 2004. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "Call to create reserve of Brando's French Polynesian atoll". RNZ. 3 August 2004. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "Brando luxury resort open in French Polynesia". RNZ. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "Marlon Brando's private-island escape in Polynesia". How to spend it. 16 February 2014. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014.
- ^ "Birds". Tetiaroa Society.
- ^ "Turtles". Tetiaroa Society.
- ^ "marine-mammals". Tetiaroa Society.
- ^ "fish". Tetiaroa Society.
- ^ "Plants". Tetiaroa Society.
- ^ "The rats evicted from paradise". BBC.
- ^ "Tetiaroa Atoll Restoration Project". Tetiaroa Society.
- ^ "Rats took over this Pacific island. Now drones are leading the fightback". Wired.
- ^ Samaniego, A.; Griffiths, R.; Gronwald, M.; Murphy, F.; Le Rohellec, M.; Oppel, S.; Meyer, J-Y; Russell, J. C. (2020). "A successful Pacific rat Rattus exulans eradication on tropical Reiono Island (Tetiaroa Atoll, French Polynesia) despite low baiting rates". Conservation Evidence (17): 12–14.
- ^ "Tetiaroa Restoration to Benefit Multiple Linked Ecosystems". Island Conservation.
- ^ "Tetiaroa Atoll Restoration Project". Island Conservation.