Aoba

Aoba, also called Ambae, formerly Oba, volcanic island of Vanuatu, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, 30 miles (50 km) east of Espiritu Santo. With an area of 154 square miles (399 square km), the island is dominated by Manaro, a 4,907-foot (1,496-metre) volcanic peak with three lakes in its caldera. Aoba’s landscape inspired James Michener (who served as a naval historian in Vanuatu during World War II) in his description of the fictional Bali Ha’i in Tales of the South Pacific (1947). Manaro was dormant from the mid-19th century until 1991, when gas discharges and earthquakes began to occur under one of the lakes. In 1995 residents of nearby villages were nearly evacuated because a major eruption seemed imminent; while only a minor eruption occurred, a seismological station was built on the island to monitor ongoing activity. The volcano erupted again in 2005, spewing steam, ash, and gases and forcing the evacuation of nearby villages. The headquarters of the Anglican Diocese of Melanesia was established in 1861 at Lolowaï, a harbour on the east coast; other missionaries followed. The island exports copra and has two hospitals and several airstrips.