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Upolu

Island in Samoa

Field	Value
name	Upolu
image_name	Samoa Country map.png
image_caption	Map of Samoa showing Upolu at right
map_image	Upolu - Samoa.svg
map_caption	Location of Upolu in the Samoan Islands
location	Pacific Ocean
coordinates
area_km2	1125
length_km	75
highest_mount	Mount Vaivai
elevation_m	1113
country	Samoa
country_largest_city	Apia
country_largest_city_population	~35,000
population	143,418
population_as_of	2011
density_km2	127
ethnic_groups	92.6% Samoans, 7% Euronesians (persons of European and Polynesian blood), 0.4% Europeans

Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is 75 km long and 1125 km2 in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximately 145,000 inhabitants, it is by far the most populous of the Samoan Islands. Upolu is situated to the southeast of Savai'i, the "big island". Apia, the capital, is in the middle of the north coast, and Faleolo International Airport at the western end of the island. The island has not had any historically recorded eruptions, although there is evidence of three lava flows, dating back only to between a few hundred and a few thousand years ago.

In the Samoan branch of Polynesian mythology, Upolu was the first woman on the island.

James Michener based his character Bloody Mary in Tales of the South Pacific (later a major character in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, South Pacific) on the owner of Aggie Grey's Hotel on the south end of the island. She was still running the hotel in 1960. A branch was later opened in Apia, overlooking the harbor.

History

In 1841, the island was the site of the Bombardment of Upolu, an incident during the United States Exploring Expedition.

In the late 19th century, the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson owned a 400 acre estate in the village of Vailima in Upolu. He died there in 1894 and is buried at the top of Mount Vaea overlooking his former estate. The Vailima estate was purchased in 1900 to serve as the official residence for the German governor of German Samoa. When the British/Dominion took over governance of the islands, they confiscated the estate and put it to the same use. It later served as the residence for the New Zealand administrator and, after independence, for the Samoan head of state. During World War II, the US Navy built Naval Base Upolu on the island.

2009 Samoa tsunami

Main article: 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami

The island of Upolu was hit by a tsunami at 06:48:11 local time on 29 September 2009 (17:48:11 UTC). Twenty villages on Upolu's south side were reportedly destroyed, including Lepā, the home of Samoa's prime minister, Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi. In Lepā, only the church and the village's welcome sign remained standing after the disaster.

2024 HMNZS ''Manawanui'' sinking

Main article: HMNZS Manawanui (2019)#Sinking

On 5 October 2024 the Royal New Zealand Navy ship HMNZS Manawanui ran aground and sank off the coast of Siumu on the southern coast of Upolu. The Manawanui had been surveying a nearby reef and was caught up in a storm. The sinking of the Manawanui polluted the surrounding sea and disrupted the livelihoods of local communities in the Safata district, who were unable to fish due to restrictions around the wreckage site. The Samoan and New Zealand authorities were criticised by local villagers for a lack of compensation and engagement with local communities. This led local villagers to seek financial assistance from the Chinese Embassy in Apia.

On 12 February 2025 the Samoan Government lifted a "precautionary zone" around the wreckage of HMNZS Manawanui following testing by the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa (SROS). However, a two km prohibition zone around the sunken ship remained in force.

Wildlife

The Samoan moss spider (Patu marplesi), an extremely small species of spider, lives on Upolu. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the spider is the size of a period (full stop) on a printed page.

Depictions in popular culture

Upolu was the filming location for the 1953 South Seas film Return to Paradise, starring Gary Cooper.

The island was also the filming location for several seasons of several editions of the competition reality television series, Survivor. This included:

Seven seasons of Australian Survivor: the 3rd season in 2016 and the 4th season in 2017; Australian Survivor: Heroes vs Villains in 2023 (10th season); Australian Survivor: Titans vs Rebels in 2024 (11th season); Australian Survivor: Brains vs Brawn II in 2025 (12th season); Australian Survivor: Australia V The World in 2025 (13th season); Australian Survivor: Redemption in 2026 (14th season).
Four seasons of the American version of Survivor, Survivor: Samoa (19th season); Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (20th season); Survivor: South Pacific (23rd season); and Survivor: One World (24th season).
One season of Survivor South Africa: Survivor South Africa: Island of Secrets (7th season) in 2019.

Gallery

File:Samoa upolu.jpg|Falefa Valley File:Cyclone Evan, Samoa, 2012 (10690555895).jpg|Damage from Cyclone Evan in 2012 File:USNS Richard E. Byrd sits pierside in Upolu Samoa.jpg|USNS Richard E. Byrd docked at Upolu File:View of the south-eastern coast of Upolu, Samoa - August 2016.jpg|The south-eastern coast of Upolu, Nu'utele island can be seen in the far distance.

Notes

References

{{Cite gvp | access-date = 18 December 2008 }}

References

Fuimaono Lumepa Hald. (13 May 2022). "Mt. Fito not the highest point in Upolu". Samoa Observer.
[https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Building_Bases/bases-24.html Built of US Navy bases]''US Navy''
"Straw | Operations & Codenames of WWII".
[https://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2009mdbi.php Magnitude 8.0 – Samoa Islands Region] {{webarchive. link. (7 October 2009 Report on [https://www.usgs.gov/aboutusgs/ U.S. Geological Service]'s website. Retrieved online d.d. 29 September 2009.)
Baris Atayman . (29 September 2009). "Tsunami smashes Pacific islands, over 100 feared dead". windsorstar.com.
McClean, Tamara. (2 October 2009). "Searching ruins for reason to live after the tsunami". The Daily Telegraph.
(30 September 2009). "At least seven dead after quake, tsunami hit Samoa". The New Zealand Herald.
(7 October 2024). "New Zealand loses first naval ship since WWII; vessel threatening oil spill off Samoan coast".
Sialai Sarafina Sanerivi. (6 October 2024). "NZ navy ship sinks, oil smell fills village air". Samoa Observer.
(18 October 2024). "A sunken timebomb? Samoa fears long-lasting damage from wrecked New Zealand navy ship". [[The Guardian]].
(29 November 2024). "Manawanui probe 'being done by the wrong people,' Samoan expert says". [[RNZ]].
(29 November 2024). "Manawanui probe 'being done by the wrong people,' Samoan expert says". [[RNZ]].
(6 February 2025). "Samoa communities affected by Manawanui sinking seek support from China". [[Radio New Zealand]].
(12 February 2025). "Samoa govt removes precautionary zone around Manawanui disaster site". [[Radio New Zealand]].
"Smallest spider". Guinness World Records.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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