Nouméa 413525 218684674 2008-06-11T18:53:08Z US - Jimmy Slade 4802550 {{redirect|Noumea|the mollusc genus|Noumea (mollusk)}} {{French commune |name=Nouméa |image=[[Image:Nouméa Centre Tjibaou.JPG|300px]] |caption=[[Renzo Piano]]'s Tjibaou Cultural Center to the north of Nouméa's city center |map_size=300px |adjustable_map =noumea.PNG |mapcaption=Location of the commune (in red) within New Caledonia |capital=(capital city) |province=[[South Province, New Caledonia|South Province]]<br>(provincial seat) |insee=98818 |cp=98800 |maire=[[Jean Lèques]] |mandat=[[1986]]-present |lat_long= |longitude= |latitude= |alt moy=20 m |alt mini=0 m |alt maxi=167 m |km²=45.7 |sans=91,386 |date-sans=2004 census |ethnic=[[Europe]]ans 50.9%<br>[[Kanak]]s 22.9%<br>[[Polynesia]]ns 12.3%<br>Other 13.9% |date-ethnic=1996 census |dens=1,999 |date-dens=2004 census }} '''Nouméa''' is the [[capital city]] of the [[France|French]] territory of [[New Caledonia]]. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's [[Europe]]an, [[Polynesia]]n ([[Wallis and Futuna|Wallisians]], [[Wallis and Futuna|Futunians]], [[Tahiti]]ans), [[Indonesia]]n, and [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]] population, as well as many [[Melanesian]] [[Demographics of Vanuatu|Ni-Vanuatu]] and [[Kanak]]s that work in one of the [[Oceania|South Pacific]]'s most [[industrialisation|industrialised]] cities. The city lies on a protected deepwater harbour which serves as the chief port for New Caledonia. The population of the city ([[commune in France|commune]]) at the Aug./Sept. [[2004]] census was 91,386 inhabitants (up from 76,293 inhabitants at the 1996 census). Including the suburbs of Nouméa, the population of the Greater Nouméa metropolitan area ([[French language|French]]: ''agglomération du Grand Nouméa'') at the 2004 census was 146,245 inhabitants (up from 118,823 inhabitants in 1996, meaning a booming 2.5% population increase per year). 63.4% of the population of New Caledonia live in Greater Nouméa, which covers the communes of Nouméa, [[Le Mont-Dore]], [[Dumbéa]] and [[Païta]]. == History == [[Image:NC Nouméa.gif|thumb|left|250px|[[Coat of arms]] of the city of Nouméa]] The area in which the city is found was not an important one for Kanaks prior to European settlement; the first European to set up a settlement nearby was a [[United Kingdom|British]] trader, [[James Paddon]], in [[1851]]. The [[France|French]], anxious to assert control of the island, established a settlement there three years later in [[1854]], originally named ''Port-de-France'', (moving from the settlement of [[Balade]] in the north of the island). The area served first as a [[penal colony]], later as a centre for the exploitation of the [[nickel]] and [[gold]] that was mined nearby. It served as the headquarters of the [[United States]] military in the Pacific during [[World War II]]. The U.S. military headquarters - a pentagonal complex - was, after the war, taken over as the base for a new regional intergovernmental development organisation: the South Pacific Commission. The [[Secretariat of the Pacific Community]], as it was later known, has become a "mini-United Nations of the South Pacific" in the words of the former President of [[Vanuatu]], [[Ati George Sokomanu]], with the additional distinction of allowing island territories equal status and voting rights with independent countries in its governing council. Even today the U.S. wartime military influence lingers, both in the warmth that many New Caledonian people feel towards the United States after experiencing the relative friendliness of American soldiers, and also in the names of several of the quartiers in Nouméa. Districts such as "Receiving" and "Robinson", or even "Motor Pool", strike the [[anglophone]] ear strangely, until the historical context becomes clear. == Geography == [[Image:Noumea-NewCaledonia-EO.JPG|280px|thumb|left|Orbital photo of Nouméa and suburbs, taken from the [[International Space Station]]. Courtesy of [[NASA]].]] == Tourism == [[Image:Noumea Market.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Woman at Noumea market]] Nouméa, the city, is the most "westernised" in the Pacific Islands region, with the exception of [[Hagåtña, Guam|Hagåtña]], [[Guam]], and is a complete contrast to the rest of New Caledonia's wide open spaces, bare jagged hills, and largely Kanak population (although there also exist important concentrations of Europeans on the northwestern coast of New Caledonia's mainland, particularly around [[Bourail]], [[Pouembout]], and [[Koumac]]). Although Nouméa probably has the "best" climate in the South Pacific, with more sunshine days than any other Pacific Island capital, and some excellent beaches not far from the city centre, it is not currently a major tourist destination. The cost of living is high, and there is no cheap air-travel from the [[Pacific Rim]]. Nouméa's international airport is at [[Tontouta]], the [[La Tontouta International Airport]], 50 kilometres from the city, although there is an airport within the city, Magenta, which services local routes. Nouméa is, as of 2007, one of the most rapidly-growing cities in the Pacific, and has experienced a major housing construction boom within the past decade. The installation of amenities has kept pace, and the municipality boasts a public works programme. Much of this construction is apparently fuelled by investment from France. It is the hope of the government that this investment, over the lifetime of the multi-decadal track towards increasing autonomy planned under the [[Matignon Agreements]] and now the [[Nouméa Accord]], will eventually become fully sustainable. (Amongst the [[Francophone]] development intelligentsia there is some criticism of the way in which the British withdrew so rapidly from their colonies in Asia, Africa and the Pacific, without first ensuring the sustainability of the new nations) [[Image:noumeacloudy.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Noumea looking north showing new housing, 2006]] == External links == * [http://www.newcaledoniatourism-south.com/ Tourism New Caledonia (South)] * [http://www.ville-noumea.nc/vivre/default.asp Nouméa's official municipal website] (in French) * [http://www.ac-noumea.nc/laperouse/site-hg/site/ Nouméa: Commune Française du Bout du Monde] - an exceptionally well-realised school project on the geography and history of Nouméa (in French) {{commons|Nouméa}} {{Administrative divisions of New Caledonia}} {{coor title dms|22|16|33|S|166|27|29|E|region:PF_type:city(91368)}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Noumea}} [[Category:Capitals in Oceania]] [[Category:Communes of New Caledonia]] [[Category:Port cities in Oceania]] [[bg:Нумеа]] [[de:Nouméa]] [[et:Nouméa]] [[es:Numea]] [[fr:Nouméa]] [[gl:Noumea]] [[ko:누메아]] [[io:Noumea]] [[it:Nouméa]] [[sw:Nouméa]] [[lij:Nouméa]] [[nl:Nouméa]] [[ja:ヌメア]] [[pl:Numea]] [[pt:Nouméa]] [[ru:Нумеа]] [[sk:Nouméa]] [[fi:Nouméa]] [[sv:Nouméa]] [[tr:Noumea]] [[zh:努美阿]]