Suwarrow

Map of Cook Islands with Suwarrow near the middle

Suwarrow (also called Suvorov or Suvarov) is a low coral atoll in the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is about 1,300 km south of the equator and 825 km northwest of Rarotonga, from which it is administered.

It was uninhabited when discovered by the Russian ship "Suvorov", which reportedly followed clouds of birds to the island on September 17, 1814. (The ship was named after Russian general Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, who appears as "Suwarrow" in Lord Byron's epic poem Don Juan.) It has been only intermittently inhabited since. During World War II, Robert Dean Frisbie and several coast watchers lived on the largest islet, Anchorage. Frisbie wrote about his experiences in The Island of Desire. In 1942, a hurricane washed away 16 of the 22 islets in the atol. The coastwatchers left a hut with water tanks behind, and left wild pigs and chickens on the islet.

Satellite image of Suwarrow

New Zealander Tom Neale lived alone on Suvorov for a total of 16 years in three periods between 1952 and 1977. He described his experience in An Island to Oneself (1966 ISBN 0918024765).

In 1978 the island was declared a National Park of the Cook Islands due to the unique marine and bird wild life it supports.

Nowadays a caretaker resides on Anchorage Island. The only way to visit the island is with your own yacht or by chartered expedition from Rarotonga.

External links

Anchorage Island

References

Robert Dean Frisbie. The Island of Desire. ([Text online]).
Tom Neale. An Island to Oneself. 1966. ISBN 0918024765.
J. Y. Waterworth. "Siege of Suwarrow". Published in the magazine Walkabout March 1, 1954, pp 34 & 35.

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Suwarrow

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References