Utupua Island

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.

Utupua is a high island surrounded by a coral reef. Its land surface is 69.0 square kilometres and its highest point 380 metres.

Utupua has a population of 848 inhabitants 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:

Amba, or Nembao
Asumboa, or Asubuo
Tanimbili, or Tanibili

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.

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