Efate (), also known as Île Vate (), is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

which is part of the

Shefa Province Shefa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the center of the country and including the islands of Epi (island), Epi and Efate and the Shepherd Islands. The province's name is derived from the initial letters of SHepherd and EFAte. It ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

Geography

It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Its geological past was heavily volcanic, meaning that a lava shelf surrounds much of the island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in

Port Vila Port Vila ( ; ), or simply Vila (), is the capital of Vanuatu and its largest city. It is on the island of Efate, in Shefa Province. The population was 49,034 as of the 2020 census. In 2020, the population of Port Vila formed 16.3% of the ...

, the national capital. Its highest mountain is Mount McDonald with a height of .

History

Captain

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

named it Sandwich Island "in honour of my noble patron, the

Earl of Sandwich Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montag ...

" on his 1774 voyage on . Coconut trees were planted on Efate in the mid-1800s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Efate served an important role as a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

military base. On March 13, 2015,

, the island's largest human settlement and the capital of Vanuatu, bore extensive damage from

Cyclone Pam Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the second List of the most intense tropical cyclones, most intense tropical cyclone of the South Pacific Ocean in terms of sustained winds and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of ...

. In December 2024, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake reportedly damaged almost every single house on Efate, resulting in 19 fatalities. The

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disaster ...

estimated that 116,000 people had been directly affected by the earthquake, equivalent to a third of Vanuatu's population.

Politics

Efate became an independent commune in 1889 when residents declared the region as

Franceville Franceville is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of 110,568 at the 2013 census. It lies on the Mpassa River and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku. Overview P ...

. However, by 1890 the commune was broken up. Efate is governed by both the Port Vila Municipality and the Shefa Provincial Council, whose governance is the town limits of Port Vila only, and rural Efate and the outer Efate Islands, respectively. The Island outside of Port Vila is represented in Parliament by the five-seat riding of Efate. Port Vila has its own five-seat riding. These ten MPs are elected through

Single non-transferable voting Single non-transferable vote or SNTV is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote. Being a semi-proportional variant of first-past-the-post voting, under SNTV small parties, as well as large parties, have a chance t ...

Small Islands off Efate

Around Efate lie many small islands, among them are

Eretoka Eretoka (also Hat Island, Érétoka, Retoka, Artok) is a small uninhabited island in Shefa Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. The island lies off the western coast of Efate Island. There is a lighthouse built in the 1960s. Geography Eret ...

(Hat) Island, Lelepa,

Nguna Nguna Island is an outer island off the north coast of Efate, Vanuatu in Undine Bay. It is neighbored to the east by Pele Island and to the west by Moso Island. Geography The island is bisected by two extinct volcano craters, the highest of ...

, Pele,

Ekapum Lep Ekapum Lep is a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, a part of the Shefa Province of Vanuatu. Geography The island lies 8 km south of Port-Vila Port Vila ( ; ), or simply Vila (), is the capital of Vanuatu and its largest cit ...

Erueti Lep Erueti Lep (also Îlot Erouéti, Éruéti) is a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, a part of the Shefa Province of Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in ...

, Ekapum Rik,

Iriwiti Lep Iriwiti Lep is a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, a part of the Shefa Province of Vanuatu. Geography The island lies off the south coast of Efate Island Efate (), also known as Île Vate (), is an island in the Pacific Ocean wh ...

Hideaway Island Mele (also known as Hideaway Island) is a Polynesian outlier and islet in Vanuatu. The island is owned by the local Mele villagers, but is leased to the owners of Hideaway Island Resort. On the seaward side of the island is a marine reserve with ...

Ifira Island Ifira is an offshore island of Efate, located in Shefa Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. Geography Ifira lies off the coast of Efate Island in Vila harbour. Ifira spans about from the north to the south and from the east to the west. ...

, and

Emao Emao is a small inhabited island in Shefa Province of Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is ...

. Eretoka Island is a small island that, when seen from a distance looks like a floppy hat. This is where the famous

Chief Roi Mata Roi Mata (or Roy Mata, Roymata) was a chiefly title in the central islands of Vanuatu. It was borne by a long dynasty of chiefs, from the 11th to the 17th century. Bessis (2023), pp.56-57, 88-90. Among the bearers of the ''Roi Mata'' title, the ...

, along with his 20 wives and many other servants, were buried.J. Maarten Troost, ''Getting Stoned with Savages'', Broadway Books, 2006 (). Nguna, Pele and Emao are

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

es, which may form the rim of a volcanic

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

to their north.

''Survivor''

Efate was used as the location for three seasons of the

reality game show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

, ''

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

''. The island was used for season 9 of the American edition of ''Survivor'' (titled '' Survivor: Vanuatu - Islands of Fire''), season 2 of ''

Australian Survivor ''Australian Survivor'' is an Australian adventure reality game show based on the international ''Survivor'' format. Following the premise of other versions of the ''Survivor'' format, the show features a group of contestants, referred to as " ...

'' (titled '' Australian Celebrity Survivor: Vanuatu'') and season 6 of the French edition (titled '' Koh-Lanta: Vanuatu''). Much of the ''Survivor: Vanuatu'' and ''Australian Celebrity Survivor'' was filmed approximately 30 minutes from Port Vila near Mangililu and Gideon's Landing, the latter of which is now a commonly visited tourist attraction.

Tourism

The capital of

is the hub of tourism in Vanuatu receiving approximately 60 000 tourists annually by air transport, cruise ships and the yachting community. Due to the British and French influence both cuisines are readily available in the capital. Budget dining include the scattered Chinese eateries across Vila and the Mummas Market downtown. Outside of Port Vila a more rustic destination awaits, with most people living a traditional lifestyle: cooking island food or 'aelan kakae', tending their gardens daily as

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occu ...

is the dominant economy in Vanuatu, and swimming at the beach. Port Vila services the domestic carrier

Air Vanuatu Air Vanuatu is an airline with its head office in Air Vanuatu House, Port Vila, Vanuatu. It is Vanuatu's national flag carrier, formerly operating to Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and points in the Oceania, South Pacific. Its main base is ...

which goes to the outer islands of Vanuatu. Popular destinations such as Tanna and Santo can be reached daily from Port Vila, while more remote locations can be reached on a less regular basis. The island is served by

Bauerfield International Airport Bauerfield International Airport () is an airport located in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The airport is relatively small in size, but its runway has the capability and length to accept jets up to the Airbus A330. It served as the hub for Vanuatu's flag ...

. Efate offers a range of tourism attractions and activities including Mele Cascades, Eton Beach, Tanalilui Road Markets, Round Island Tour, Buggy Fun Rental, Diving and Sunset Cruises.

Notable people

References

External links

Languages of Efate
- Bibliography of the island's indigenous languages *

South Efate language The Nafsan language, also known as South Efate or Erakor, is a Southern Oceanic language spoken on the island of Efate in central Vanuatu. , there are approximately 6,000 speakers who live in coastal villages from Pango to Eton. The language's g ...

Wikipedia entry. *Work on Efate is available through Paradisec'
open access collections
including collections from Arther Capell and Nick Thieburger. {{authority control Islands of Vanuatu Shefa Province Volcanoes of Vanuatu