NOUMEA, GRAND TERRE

NEW CALEDONIA –

NOT IN POLYNESIA ANYMORE!

Saturday, February 8, 2025, 79 Degrees, 99% Humidity, W – WSW 2.2 mph

No dancers greeted us on the pier. Not a palm tree in sight! That impression is misleading. We are on the “business side” of Grand Terre. Our pier was in the commercial port in Noumea, the largest city and capital of New Caledonia. It’s a busy, modern, westernized city of high rises and traditional buildings. The other side of the island has beautiful sandy, palm-lined beaches and lush vegetation. Its lagoon is rich in marine life and, in 2008, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Lagoon.

New Caledonia is composed of dozens of islands. The first inhabitants came from Southeastern Asia 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. They are considered Melanesian rather than Polynesian and refer to themselves as “South Sea Islanders.” The islanders are from the Kanak culture, which emphasizes clans and attachment to the land. The population of New Caledonia is approximately 112,000, 41.2% Kanak and 24.1% Europeans.

In 1774, the famous world explorer James Cook landed on the island and named it New Caledonia in honor of his father's birthplace in Scotland. Today, New Caledonia is a semi-autonomous French Territory, and French is the primary spoken language. 15% of the world’s nickel is mined on this small island. New Caledonia depends on fossil fuels for its energy. It has approximately two years of imported coal on hand. We saw some of the coal as we pulled into port.

We visited two museums: the WWII Museum and the Maritime Museum.

WWII MUSEUM: World War II changed New Caledonia forever. It was a critical hub for Allied Forces, and thousands of forces (American, British, France) “invaded” the islands. The military built roads, airports, and other infrastructure. When the war was over and the forces left, the infrastructure was left behind and greatly boosted New Calendonia's development as a commercial center. John was fascinated by the dilapidated tower we saw on a distant hill. We couldn’t find anything about it, but he feels sure it was an observation tower from WWII. Most of the signage at the military museum was in French (not bi-lingual, as we’ve seen in other museums), but there was a section devoted to the Allied Forces, which was in French and English. One of the most informative videos showed the location/movement of Japanese and then Allied troops through the Pacific during the war.

MARITIME HISTORY MUSEUM: This small museum was packed with maritime artifacts reflecting New Caledonia's seafaring past. Of course, John, as a Navy man, enjoyed it all.