Utupua Island is an island in the Santa Cruz Islands, located 66 km to the Southeast of the main Santa Cruz group, between Vanikoro and Santa Cruz proper. This island belongs administratively to the Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands.
Contents
Map of Utupua, Solomon Islands
Utupua is a high island surrounded by a coral reef. Its land surface is 69.0 square kilometres (26.6 square miles) and its highest point 380 metres (1,247 feet).
Utupua has a population of 848 inhabitants (1999 census) scattered in small villages. The main villages in the island are: Avita, Malombo, Tanimbili, Apakho and Nembao.
Languages
Three Oceanic languages are spoken on Utupua:
History
First sighting by Europeans was in September 1595 by the second Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña. More precisely it was sighted by Lorenzo Barreto while in command of one of the smaller vessels on a local voyage round the then called Santa Cruz, which is today's Nendo Island.