TOKELAU

TOKELAU.

Map of Nukunonu Atoll.
Second stamp in a set of 3, issued on 22.06.1948.
Face value: 1 New Zealand penny.
Printing: Recess.
Size: 41 x 25 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 2.
- Scott No. 2.
- StampWorld No. 2.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2.

Tokelau (Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand from January 1, 1948. It is located in the southern Pacific Ocean, and consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo.

Nukunonu (formerly, Nukunono) is the largest atoll within Tokelau. It comprises 30 islets surrounding a central lagoon, with about 5.5 km² (2.1 sq mi) of land area and a lagoon surface area of 109 km² (42 sq mi). The first European vessel known to have come upon Nukunonu was the Royal Navy ship HMS Pandora, in 1791, whose captain, Edward Edwards, named Duke of Clarence Island in honor of Prince William, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, the third son of King George III and later king himself, as William IV. Between 1856 and 1979, the United States claimed that it held sovereignty over the island and the other Tokelauan atolls. In 1979, the U.S. conceded that Tokelau was under New Zealand sovereignty, and a maritime boundary between Tokelau and American Samoa was established by the Treaty of Tokehega. Local administration consists of a Taupulega (Council of Elders), made up of heads of family groups and two elected members. In 2013, some 400 people live on Nukunonu, of which more than 95% belong to the Catholic Church.