AUSTRAL ISLANDS

French les Australes, also called Tubuai Islands, southernmost archipelago of French Polynesia. Volcanic in origin, they are part of a vast submerged mountain chain (probably a southeasterly extension of the Cook Islands) in the central South Pacific. Scattered for 800 miles (1,300 km), they comprise five inhabited islandsRaivavae (6 square miles [16 square km]), Rapa (15 square miles [39 square km]), Rimatara, (3 square miles [8 square km]), Rurutu (11 square miles [29 square km]), and Tubuai (18 square miles [47 square km])as well as the uninhabited Marotiri Rocks and Maria Island. Four of the islands were sighted by Captain James CookRimatara and Rurutu in 1769 and Raivavae and Tubuai eight years later. In 1791 George Vancouver sighted the southernmost island, Rapa, the broken rim of a former volcano curved around the harbour of Ahurei Bay. The whole group was brought under French protection between 1880 and 1889. Major settlements include Mataura on Tubuai, Amaru on Raivavae, Ahurei on Rapa, and Moerai on Rurutu. The inhabitants are predominantly Protestant. Polynesian traditions are unusually well preserved in the Australs because of their comparative isolation. Principal resources are fish, coffee, taros, copra, and oranges. Pop. (1988 est.) 6,509.