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Niue: New Zealand
built 629 days ago
Niue is a small island 300 miles southeast of Samoa. The first Latter-day Saint missionaries arrived there in 1952, baptizing 65 converts by the end of that year. The first meetinghouse built by labor missionaries was dedicated in 1958. The Church in Niue is administered by the New Zealand Auckland mission. By the year 2000 Niue had 230 Latter-day Saints living in four branches.
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Niue is an isolated island located 480km (298 miles) east of Tonga, 560km (348 miles) southeast of Western Samoa, 980km (609 miles) west of Rarotonga and 2400 (1500 miles) northeast of New Zealand. Affectionately known as 'the rock', Niue is reputedly the largest upraised coral atoll in the world. It has 2500 hectares of the most undisturbed forests in the world, designated tapu areas by the locals, where no humans were allowed to set foot for centuries. Now all the tapu forests, except the one controlled by Hakupu village, are penetrable. These forests are full of lush undergrowth, coconut palms and some of the oldest ebony trees known. Light and scattered forest covers approximately 14,000 hectares.
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In September 2002 Niue became the seventh country to ratify the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER), enabling the agreement to come into force. The PACER is a framework agreement that sets an outline for future development of trade and economic relations across the whole of the Forum region. It does not contain substantive liberalisation provisions. It envisages a step-by-step process of trade liberalisation, starting with a subsidiary free trade agreement in goods among Pacific Island countries and foreshadows the future negotiation of Forum-wide reciprocal free trade arrangements (ie an FTA arrangement including Australia and New Zealand). The PACER ... includes provisions on trade facilitation and on financial and technical assistance.top of page
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European involvement in Niue began in 1774 with Captain James Cook's sighting (landing was refused) of what he named Savage Island. The next major arrival was the London Missionary Society in 1846. Niue was briefly a protectorate, the UK's involvement transpiring in 1901 when New Zealand annexed the island.
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Overview: With its tiny economic base, declining population and limited potential for exports, Niue is dependent on aid from New Zealandwhich gradually declined during the 1990s. Despite attempts to diversify the economy - for example into offshore finance - it remains fragile and self-sufficiency is not likely.
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Niue is situated in the South Pacific Ocean on the eastern side of the date line, in the heart of Polynesia. A short flight from New Zealand, it shares approximately the same time zone as Hong Kong and other key Far East locations.
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