Niuafo'ou Island, famous in ancient times for its coconut palms

In the past, Niuafo'ou Island, was the most famous island among Polynesians regarding varieties of coconut palm. But what remains of it today?

Niuafo'ou, the coconut-shaped island

The oldest description of coconut varieties in French Polynesia can be found in the book "Ancient Tahiti" by Ms. Teuira Henry, published in 1928. This book was based on oral narrative material recorded by John Muggridge Orsmond. Orsmond passed away before finishing the work so his granddaughter, Teuira, translated his recordings into book form. Its collection of oral records includes legends and chants that were told by priests, bards and other natives of Tahiti. 
That publication mentions 16 different varieties or forms of the coconut palm. Coconut varieties, which have been passed down from generation to generation of islanders, are now under threat from the globalization of trade, cultural levelling, changes in agriculture and industrialization.
Teuira Henry indicated the existence of particularly enormous coconuts growing the island of Niu-Fou (now known as Niuafo'ou). The name itself of this island was said to mean "New coconut". According to M. Keti Takitaki-Pulukamu from Fiji, the meaning of the name is even "Many new Coconut". 
Niuafo'ou is a tiny island in the Tonga group, with an area of 52 sq. km. The distance to the nearest island is 200km. It is a very active volcano that slopes steeply down to the sea floor. 
It is extremely surprising to note that the Tahitians, more than a century ago, knew this variety of Niuafo'ou, yet located nearly 2800 km from Tahiti! This shows how famous was the Niuafo'ou coconut variety among the Polynesians.
Given its unusual geography, Niuafo'ou was named « Tin can island », because a strange way of receiving its postal communications was adopted. The mail was cast into the sea in a tin box and recovered by men in pirogues.There is no safe anchorage for boats. 
Two maps of the Niuafo’ou Island,
one dated 1896 and the other recent.
The repeated eruptions of volcano (1867, 1886, 1912, 1929, 1935-36, 1943, 1946, 1985) caused the destruction of many plantations and villages. Following the eruption of 1946, Niua-fo'ou was evacuated and the government authorized the return of the islanders only in 1958. The two islands in Tonga were a different dialect is spoken are named Niuafo’ou (Many new coconut) and Niua Toputapu (Many sacred coconut).
Aerial view of the lake in Niuafo'ou Island
Various observations made since the turn of the century also show the same tendency. The most remote islands are often those where coconut diversity has best been conserved (Labouisse and Bourdeix, 2003). Polynesians have empirically used numerous small islands to conserve and breed their coconut varieties. The geographical remoteness of the islets has ensured the reproductive isolation of the coconut palms necessary for variety fixation. Once planted in a limited number on a remote island, coconut palms only crossed with each other and it became possible to create new varieties. Then, by taking seednuts from those isolated islets, the ancient Polynesians were able to reproduce, in an empirical but stable manner, the coconut varieties they had created.

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Other notes.

On Niuafo‘ou, the Fotofi li lineage was established as governors in the seventeenth century (Bott 1982:96,112-13), and Fotofi li is still today the highest aristocratic title on the island. The history of the founding of this title was recalled for the Niuafo‘ou people by Queen Sālote in a dance poem, ta‘anga lakalaka, which she composed for her visit in 1927:

Tō e folofola mei mu‘a
Fakahā ki Fonuamotu tokua
Ke ‘ave ha taha ‘o nofo fonua
‘O tauhi ‘a e motu ko Niua

The royal command given from the past ahead
Advise Fonuamotu, so it is said,
Send out a resident 
To govern Niua.

(Tupou III 1927)

R.Bourdeix, section DPP Tonga - Niuafo'ou