Suwarrow – A Treasure Island, For Real

The atoll of Suwarrow is a special place in the Northern group of the Cook Islands. The government declared this atoll a marine sanctuary in 1978. It is home to hundreds of species of plants and animals from the land to the ocean. The only human inhabitants are a caretaker and his wife, John and Veronica Samuelson. They live there six months out of the year during the off-season for tropical cyclones. Occasional visitors come to the island on private yachts and charters to visit and take in the spectacular beauty of the atoll.

Suwarrow is a corruption of the last name of Russian general Alexander Suvorov. A Russian ship bearing his name made the first documented sighting of the island by Europeans in 1814. At that time, no humans occupied the island. However, there is evidence that shows native populations inhabited the island at different times in the past. Over the years, a few people have attempted habitation on the island. The most noted was likely Tom Neale who lived there off and on between the 1950’s and the 1970’s. He wrote a book about his experiences called An Island to Oneself.

The lagoon in the middle of the Suwarrow atoll is a natural harbor for boats. There is a natural opening at the northern end of the atoll and the lagoon itself is about 12 miles long by eight miles wide. The low-lying reefs along the edge allow large waves to go over the rim of that atoll, but for the most part, it is calm waters in the lagoon. With the naming of it as a marine sanctuary, strong regulations are in place on where boats can anchor in the lagoon. This prevents too much disturbance of native wildlife in the lagoon as well as protecting boats from the large waves that penetrate the harbor during rough weather.

There is an intriguing story that goes along with Suwarrow. A salvage crew uncovered a treasure chest of $15,000 in coins in the mid 1800’s. In 1876, a New Zealander, Henry Mair, discovered some pieces of eight buried in a turtle’s nest. In addition, around that time, excavations found the remains of a skeleton holding an iron bolt as well as a flintlock and a musket. No one is quite sure where this skeleton comes from and where the money originated. The most likely theories are tales of shipwrecked crews from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries.