Palmerston Atoll

Palmerston Atoll, also called Avarau, atoll of the southern Cook Islands, a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean. A coral formation made up of six small islets, it has a 7-mile- (11-km-) wide lagoon that lacks clear passage to the open sea.

Covered with coconut and pandanus groves, it exports copra. Although there is evidence of a previous occupation by Polynesians, the island was uninhabited when visited by Capt. James Cook in 1774. Its current inhabitants are of mixed Polynesian and English descent; they are descendants of William Marsters, who became caretaker of Palmerston and settled the island in 1862 with his three (possibly four) Penrhynese wives. In 1891 the British government annexed Palmerston, and the following year it granted Marsters a lease on the atoll that, after being renewed, lasted until 1954. In the latter year the family was given ownership of Palmerston. Along with the other Cook Islands, the atoll came under New Zealand administration in 1901.

The people speak an unusual dialect that combines English and Penrhynese, or Tongarevan, a dialect of Cook Island Maori spoken in the northern islands. The descendants of Marsters and his wives share the governance of Palmerston Atoll through a council made up of representatives from their three constituencies. Taro, breadfruit, and fish, especially shellfish and parrot fish, are the staple diet. Area (land only) 0.8 square mile (2.1 square km). Pop. (2006) 62; (2011) 60.