The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Topic:

An ocean of Islands

Sataua, Savai’i, Western Samoa, 1982. From the series: Polynesia here and there
Sataua, Savai’i, Western Samoa, 1982. From the series: Polynesia here and there, 1982, Sataua. Jowitt, Glenn. Purchased 1983 with Lindsay Buick Bequest funds. Te Papa

Scattered across the Pacific are many different kinds of islands, formed in different ways, and offering different resources to the people who live there.

In the past, for an island to be habitable by humans, it needed:
• a supply of fresh water
• soil in which food crops could grow
• plentiful marine resources, such as fish and other seafood, to provide a supply of protein in the diet
• raw materials for making tools.

Pacific settlers found diverse and ingenious ways to use these precious resources. Take a look at the different types islands Pacific people settled and the uses they made of the available resources. Read their island origin stories.

Is part of topic Voyagers: Discovering the Pacific (Te Papa exhibition June 2002 - January 2003)
Niue: a raised coral atoll

Niue: a raised coral atoll

A raised coral atoll forms when a coral reef grows on an underwater volcanic peak, which is then raised above sea level. This can happen from both earth movements and falls in sea level. Niue consists of coral limestone – old, dead coral that now makes up both the central bedrock and the coastal cliffs. The volcano on which Niue is formed is extinct. more>

Tokelau: three low coral atolls

Tokelau: three low coral atolls

A low coral atoll is formed from a coral reef that has grown on top of a submerged volcano. The actual land rises only a few metres above sea level. This land consists of sand and coral that has built up on the surface of the reef. The three main islands of Tokelau all sit on extinct volcanic peaks. more>

New Caledonia: a continental island

New Caledonia: a continental island

A continental island is a fragment of land that has broken away from a larger continent. New Caledonia split from the ancient supercontinent Gondwanaland about eighty-five million years ago. Continental islands have a wide range of rock and soil types. Because of that, they are home to many different native plants. more>

Samoa: a group of high volcanic islands

Samoa: a group of high volcanic islands

A high volcanic island is rugged and mountainous – formed by volcanic activity. Samoa is made up of volcanic islands that have formed over the last two million years. Some of its volcanoes are still active. The last eruption was on Savai‘i in 1911. more>

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