Ten Pacific Island Towns from Captain Cook to the Air Age

Mahina is a commune in the north of Tahiti with 14,623 residents at the 2022 census. In 1768 Captain James Cook set up an observatory on its black sand beach at Pointe Venus to observe the Transit of Venus, which makes it a good first stop for the age of exploration.

Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, takes its name from Captain Cook's visit on December 24, 1777. Its recorded area is about 312 square kilometers, the largest atoll by land area enclosing a lagoon, and it was the site of British and American nuclear weapons tests between 1957 and 1962. It recorded 7,369 residents at the 2020 census.

Tulagi is a small island and town of about 2.08 square kilometers off Ngella Sule, with 1,481 people at the 2019 census. It was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 1896 to 1942, chosen for being isolated and healthier than the larger islands, until Japan occupied it in May 1942.

Betio lies at the southwestern corner of Tarawa Atoll in Kiribati and covers only 1.54 square kilometers, yet it held 17,356 people at the 2015 census. It was the site of the Battle of Tarawa in November 1943, and wartime relics from both the Japanese occupation and the American assault are still visible alongside its role as Kiribati's primary port.

Vaitape is the largest town on Bora Bora, with a recorded population of 4,927, about half the island's total, and it stands only about 6 meters above sea level. During the Second World War it served as a United States military supply base with an oil depot and airstrip, and today its airport and ferry services make it the island's main transportation hub.

Dededo is the most populous village in the United States territory of Guam, with 44,908 residents at the 2020 census across about 78 square kilometers. It grew after the Second World War through United States Navy housing construction and today hosts Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz and part of Andersen Air Force Base.

Tamuning, on the western shore of Guam, is the territory's economic center, with 18,489 residents at the 2020 census. It holds the tourist district of Tumon and the Harmon Industrial Park, along with the passenger terminal of Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport and Guam Memorial Hospital.

Ebeye in the Marshall Islands covers about 0.36 square kilometers and recorded a population of 8,416 in 2021. Marshallese residents were relocated there in the 1950s from elsewhere in Kwajalein Atoll to make way for United States nuclear testing and missile-range facilities, and a causeway completed in 1992 links it to the neighboring islets of Loi, Shell and Gugeegue.

Weno, formerly called Moen, lies within Chuuk Lagoon and covers about 18.9 square kilometers, with 13,856 residents at the 2010 census. It is the largest town in the Federated States of Micronesia and the capital of Chuuk State, home to the state's only airport and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral. Its highest point is Mount Teroken at 369 meters.

Faaa is a commune on Tahiti with 29,826 residents at the 2022 census, the most populous in French Polynesia since 1988 and ahead of the territorial capital Papeete. It is home to Faa'a International Airport, the territory's only international airport, which closes the path where the air age reaches the islands Cook once crossed by ship.