Нассау: Остров в Северной группе Кука

the island in the Cook Islands

Nassau is an island in the northern group of the Cook Islands. It is approximately north of the capital island of Rarotonga and from Pukapuka coral atoll. Lacking an airstrip, it is accessible only by boat. It is named after a 19th century whaling ship. Its indigenous name, Te Nuku o Ngalewu, means "Land of Ngalewu" after the Pukapukan who was put in charge of it.

Located south of Pukapuka, Nassau is just above sea level, with an oval sandy cay on a coral reef foundation and is surrounded by a narrow reef flat. It is covered with palms, and is the only island of the Northern Group without a lagoon. The surrounding reef is wide on all but the north side where it's narrower. The village is located in the north west. Inland there are rich taro swamps and fruit groves, and offshore there is good fishing. It has a population of 78, according to the 2016 census. Nassau is governed by the Pukapuka Island Council. The Nassau Island Committee advises the Pukapuka Island Council on matters of Nassau Island. Families live in thatched cottages called kikau. Elliot Smith, in the Cook Islands Companion (Pacific Publishing Company, Albany, California) describes Nassau as "a small garden of Eden".

The economy of Nassau originally depended on harvesting copra, with Pukapukan expeditions harvesting a third to a half as much as from the (much larger) Pukapuka. Because there is no airport, access is limited to inter island ship from Rarotonga, a voyage of three days or more, or from Pukapuka. The service is infrequent. A harbour was planned in 2007, and in 2010 a small boat passage and mooring wharf had been dynamited out of the reef top, and a second phase was underway in December 2010. The environmental impact was small after the initial blasting A tender for the design of an improved harbour was issued in April 2020. In January 2017 the Taio Shipping vessel ran aground on Nassau's reef. The wreck was left in place, and subsequently shifted to block access to Nassau's harbour. A contract to salvage and remove the wreck was issued in November 2019. Nassau was connected to the other islands by telephone in 2004. In 2015 a solar / battery power station was installed, replacing diesel generators and allowing 24 hour electricity.