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Suwarrow
 

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Suwarrow




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 Russia n ship "Suvorov", which reportedly followed clouds of birds to the island on September 17 , 1814 . (The ship was named after Russia n 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.

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.


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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.