Nouméa is the capital city of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia’s main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island’s European, Polynesian (Wallisians, Futunians, Tahitians), Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians, Ni-Vanuatu and Kanaks that work in one of the South Pacific‘s most industrialised cities. The city lies on a protected deepwater harbour which serves as the chief port for New Caledonia. There are 180,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Greater Nouméa (French: agglomération du Grand Nouméa), 100,000 of whom lived in the city (commune) of Nouméa proper.
The first European to establish a settlement in the vicinity was British trader James Paddon in 1851. Anxious to assert control of the island, the French established a settlement nearby three years later in 1854, moving from Balade in the north of the island. This settlement was initially called Port-de-France and was renamed Nouméa in 1866. The area served first as a penal colony, later as a centre for the exploitation of the nickel and gold that was mined nearby.
During World War II, Nouméa served as the headquarters of the United States military in the South Pacific. The five-sided U.S. military headquarters complex was adopted after the war as the base for a new regional intergovernmental development organisation: the South Pacific Commission, later known as the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. The city maintains much of New Caledonia’s unique mix of French and old Melanesian culture. Even today the U.S. wartime military influence lingers, both with the warmth that many New Caledonian people feel towards the United States after experiencing the relative friendliness of American soldiers and also with the names of several of the quarters in Nouméa. Districts such as “Receiving” and “Robinson”, or even “Motor Pool”, strike the anglophone ear strangely, until the historical context becomes clear.
Although Nouméa has more sunshine days than any other Pacific Island capital and some excellent beaches not far from the city centre, it is not currently a major tourist destination. The cost of living is high and the air travel there is not discounted as much as that to other destinations on the Pacific Rim. Nouméa is one of the most rapidly growing cities in the Pacific and has experienced a major housing construction boom in the preceding decade. The installation of amenities has kept pace and the municipality boasts a public works programme. Much of this construction is fuelled by investment from France and it is hoped that over the lifetime of this multi-decade track towards increased autonomy planned under the Matignon Agreements and now the Nouméa Accord, the local economy will become independently sustainable.
