Chatham Islands

Chatham Islands, small island group, New Zealand, in the southern Pacific Ocean, east of South Island. Chatham (or Wharekauri) Island, the largest of the group, is 61 km (38 mi) long and has a maximum width of 40 km (25 mi). Of volcanic origin, it has elevations up to 300 m (1,000 ft) above sea level and contains numerous small lakes. Pitt (or Rangiauria) Island, the next largest, has an area of 65 sq km (25 sq mi). Waitangi, on Chatham Island, is the chief settlement. Sheep and cattle are raised on the islands, and fishing is an important industry. Wool and frozen fish are exported. British Commander William R. Broughton located the islands in 1791 and named them after his ship Chatham. In 1831 the Maori, a Polynesian seafaring people who had begun migration to New Zealand and other islands centuries earlier, killed most of the aboriginal inhabitants, a Polynesian people known as Morioris. The present population includes Maoris, whites, and a few aborigines. Area, 963 sq km (372 sq mi); population (1991) 760.