Kermadec Islands
The Kermadec Islands are an island arc in the Pacific Ocean. They have been a dependency of New Zealand since 1887 and lie over 750km north east of North Island.
The group divides into the northern islands: Raoul or Sunday Island, the largest, and the Macauley Island, Curtis, Cheeseman Island, Haszard Islet and L'Esperance Rock.
The islands are a nature reserve, and the sea around them is a marine reserve. They are known for their birdlife. Raoul and Curtis are both active volcanoes, and they experience many earthquakes.
The Kermadec Islands were settled in around the fourteenth century (and perhaps previously in the tenth century) by Polynesian people, but were uninhabited when they were reached by Europeans in 1788. They were inhabited by settlers from the early nineteenth century until 1937, since when the only habitation has been a government meterological and radio station.
