History
When Abel Tasman, the first European to land on 'Eua, arrived in 1643 and named the island Middelburgh, little did he know that the demigod Maui had beaten him here and had stood on 'Eua to fish the islands of Tongatapu, Vava'u and Ha'apai out of the sea. In October 1773, Captain James Cook also stopped by, followed by several deserters from the US ship Otter who came ashore in 1796 and became the first 'European' residents of the Tongan islands.
In September 1946, the island of Niuafo'ou (in the Niuas) erupted for the 10th time in 100 years. Although no-one was killed, the Tongan government's concern about the potential danger saw the islanders evacuated and eventually resettled on 'Eua. The villages of central 'Eua are all named after the home villages of their inhabitants on faraway Niuafo'ou. Many people have now returned to Niuafo'ou, but a good proportion of 'Eua's population remains composed of evacuees and their descendants, amid 'Eua's original inhabitants and the descendants of those evacuated from 'Ata to protect them from slave traders.
