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Takapoto,
which was discovered by Le Maire and Schouten, is situated 14°32'08"
south and 145°14'30" west.
The lagoon does not communicate with the open sea, but it
is possible to reach Takapoto by whale-boat.
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The
calm waters of the Takopoto lagoon, which is
approximately 16 km in length, are the natural home of
the famous black pearl oysters Pinctada Margaritifera. |
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This
island was the scene of a shipwreck when the "African
Galley" commanded by the explorer Jacob Roggeveen
came to grief in 1722. This event led to the Paumotu
people learning how to make use of iron before the
inhabitants of Tahiti. |
From
1880 to 1965, Takapoto was one of the main oyster-diving
centres.
Takapoto
and Takaroa are joint communes (depending on the same
administratrive center), and each of these islands
has its own aerodrome.
The
village of Fakatopatere is only 1 km
from the airport. Pearl farming has been a flourishing
activity on this island since 1978. Most of the island's
612 inhabitants (based on the 1996 census) live in
Fakatopatere and earn a comfortable living by working on the
pearl farms.
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Systematic
archeological digs have been carried out on this island,
as the result of which more than twenty
"marae" and 215 disused culture pits covering
a total area of 45 000 m2 have been
discovered. |
From :
Ministère
des Archipels (1998), Les Tuamotu Gambier : recueil de données
essentielles, décembre 1998, Service de l'administration
et du développement des archipels, PAPEETE.
Norman&Ngaire,
Douglas (1994), Pacific Islands Yearbook,
17° édition, Fiji Times Ltd, 767p. |
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