Chatham Islands

The Chatham Islands form an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about Template:Convert/km east of the South Island of New Zealand. It consists of about ten islands within a Template:Convert/km radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. Some of these islands, once cleared for farming, are now preserved as nature reserves to conserve some of the unique flora and fauna. The resident population is 600 (as of 2013). The local economy is largely dependent on conservation, tourism, farming, and fishing.

The archipelago is called Rēkohu ("Misty Sun") in the indigenous Moriori language, and Wharekauri in Māori. The Moriori are indigenous to the Chatham Islands, having arrived around 1500 and developed a peaceful way of life. In 1835, the Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama tribes invaded the island and nearly exterminated the Moriori, enslaving the survivors. The Chatham Islands have officially been part of New Zealand since 1842, and in 1863, the Moriori were released from slavery.

The first Baha'i to visit the Chatham Islands was a Persian businessman who visited in 1969 for a short business trip. In 1970 a Baha'i from the South Island pioneered to the island for the first time, following a talk by Dr. Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir.

References

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Chatham Islands.