Tongatapu, like Tahiti, was visited by many early
European navigators and was one of the first of the South
Pacific islands to be charted in any detail. Though it was
discovered (and named Amsterdam Island) by Tasman in
January 1643 (Sharp 1968, 152-158), the first comments on
the sand cays of the surrounding reefs were made by Cook
during his second voyage, with the Resolution and Adventure,
in October 1773. On this occasion Cook spent less than a
week at Tongatapu, anchored in the northwest, and commented
that "it would have taken up more time than I could spare
to have surveyed these parts Minutely as there are a number
of small Islots and reefs of rocks extending to the NE even
further than we could see" (1961, 261). His naturalists,
the Forsters, did not describe the cays, though Georg
Forster remarked on the emersion of reef limestones on
Tongatapu and its similarity to the continuing emergence of
the land in Scandinavia (1777, I, 453). Cook returned on
his last voyage in 1777, with the Resolution and Discovery,
and stayed for a month. He anchored near modern Nuku'alofa
and landed on Pangaimotu and possibly other islands (1967,
124-125, 155, 890). He charted the area but gave no
description of the cays.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 18 p.
