Before Japan’s entry into the war not many Americans had heard of New Caledonia. Today the Stars and Stripes and the Cross of Lorraine are flying together over Noumea, and we are vitally interested in the people of New Caledonia and their American defenders. The fate of this important land is wedded to the outcome of the present war. It is certain that, whatever the fate of the French Empire, relations between New Caledonia and its Pacific neighbors will become ever closer.
New Caledonia, located about 750 miles northeast of Brisbane, Queensland, was the principal island of the French colony of that name. Lying midway between the Fijis and Australia, the island proper is about 215 miles long northwest and southeast, and 31 miles wide. It is the fourth largest island in the South Pacific, being inferior in size only to the two islands of New Zealand, and that of New Guinea. Noumea, the capital, has a municipality; other centers of population are locally administered by their municipal commissions. The dependencies of New Caledonia include the Loyalty Group to the eastward, composed of three large islands.
The first impression of the navigator, who has been accustomed to the luxuriant vegetation of most Pacific Islands, is that New Caledonia is bare and arid. The prevailing growth is a small tree, the niaouli, similar in appearance to the eucalyptus scrubs. But that is only in places. The coconut palm grows on the coast, and many of the great valleys are filled with beautiful kauri pine. The land is almost completely surrounded by a barrier reef, submerged in places, but generally nearly level with the sea, having many narrow passages through it. The distance of the reef from the mainland varies. For about 85 miles on the southeastern side the reef practically adjoins the shore; in other places it is from 1 to 15 miles off.
The mineral resources of the island are enormous. Apart from nickel and chrome areas, which are extensively worked, there are large deposits of iron, manganese, and cobalt; while antimony, cinnabar mercury, copper, silver, lead, and gold have all been obtained. The nickel ore is of unusual value, being free of arsenic. There are also considerable deposits of coal. Agricultural products include coffee, copra, cassavo, rice, vanilla, and corn. The island has 1,600 square miles of forest. Large herds of cattle are raised, and timber is being taken from forest lands. Before the war, New Caledonia had 700 miles of roads and they are steadily being extended right over the island. There are 20 miles of railroad. All of the important agricultural and mining centers are connected by telephone. The Pan American Airways Clipper to New Zealand and Australia stops at Noumea.
Lieutenant Commander Hunt was graduated from the Naval Academy in the class of 1930. Last month, in his third article for the Proceedings, he presented “Bougainville” as an island important in the naval picture of the day. This month he follows up with an interesting review of New Caledonia.
When Captain James Cook discovered New Caledonia in 1774, the great explorer noted that this place was remarkable as being the only island in the Pacific where the natives were not thieves. The majority of the aborigines are Papuan type Melanesians, similar to those from New Guinea. In the Loyalty Islands and among some mainland tribes there are words and characteristics resembling those of the Polynesians of French Oceania. One finds many native tribal dialects used in various parts of the island, although the younger generation is rapidly acquiring a smattering of English from the soldiery. Today about 28,000 natives inhabit the main island. The actual number of whites that occupy the land is only half of the present black population. Many of the natives are landowners. The French have indented large numbers of Pacific islanders and Asiatic laborers for the mines and plantations and even as house servants. Most of the indentured laborers came from Tonkin, French Indo-China, and Java. Before the war, a census of this colony, in 1935, gave the population of New Caledonia as 57,000 including 17,300 whites. It has been estimated that the land can support a white population of two million. Early clashes with the natives culminating in the revolt of 1878 are one of the chief reasons for the present low white population.
New Caledonia is situated in the corresponding south latitude to the position of Cuba and Hawaii north of the equator. With less rainfall, the climate of Noumea is much like that of Honolulu. Once the traveler leaves the coast, the hills seem surprisingly fertile with acres and acres of rolling country. Through the center of the island like an elevated spine through its length runs the “Chaine Centrale.” From these vivid blue mountains can be seen, far below, native villages in fertile valleys surrounded by clumps of bamboos and banana palms. The muggy valleys are covered in semitropical forest, with trailing vines hanging from branches of the huge banyan trees. Lantana shrubs and red flowers grow side by side with giant kauri trees. Wide leisurely rivers flow through fine pasture lands.
For twenty years after its discovery New Caledonia was not visited until D’Entrecasteaux investigated the island in 1793. France formally annexed the country in 1853. If the French had known of the riches which lay hidden beneath those barren-looking mountains they would not have delayed establishing sovereignty over the island. They couldn’t know that the hills were full of nickel, chrome, copper, antimony and other ores, and that the valleys were filled with iron and manganese. In proportion to its size, there is no country in the world as rich in minerals as New Caledonia. One mountain produces nearly 8 per cent of the world’s chrome. At the base of this mountain are located the three largest chrome mines in the colony. These three mines are owned by American, British, and Australian capital. New Caledonia chrome ore rarely contains less than 45 per cent chrome and no processing is required. Many of the beaches along the coast have a high proportion of chromite in the sand, and as fast as the sand is dug out and treated, the sea washes more up again. The presence of nickel was discovered in 1864. The result of an assay of this crude ore led to the formation of the powerful nickel company. The “Societe de Nickel” has ever since played a dominant role in the development of the colony. Mines sprang up everywhere, and, before the war, this island was second only to Canada in production.
Before Pearl Harbor, Japanese interests were represented by an active consulate. The importance of Japan’s commercial interests greatly outweighed the size of the Japanese population. New Caledonia ores were prominent in the Empire’s heavy industry.
The strategical importance of New Caledonia can scarcely be overestimated. This large body of land is located at the center of the New Guinea-Australia-New Zealand-Samoa quadrilateral. Port Noumea fulfills every essential requisite for a mercantile, naval, and air base. The reef surrounding the coast together with the central range of mountains makes the island unusually defensible. Trade with Europe and Japan has ceased, and New Caledonia’s commercial ties with the United States will become closer as times goes on. Our troops are welcome to the great majority of the people. Fear of invasion is a real thing to them. Lying athwart the trade routes from America to Australia, this new land will become increasingly prominent in world affairs.