Land “Fished” From The Sea

Except for a narrow coastal strip and a plateau on Taiarapu Peninsula, Tahiti has no natural flat land on which its rapidly increasing population can spread themselves.

But it does have this recently-created, man-made area at Fare-Ute, on the edge of Papeete, which was “ fished” from the sea by reclaiming the coral reef. The area, which will be an industrial zone, covers about 35 acres.

The work of reclamation was started in July, 1962, and was com pleted in August last year at a cost of £A600,000. The money was provided by SETIL (Societe d’Equipment de Tahiti et des lies), an organisation in which the capital is partly held by the Government and partly by private concerns.

The reclaimed site has been divided into 65 building lots, all of which have been sold. Six hundred trees have been planted, and about a mile and a half of roads laid down. —Photo: Courtesy of South Pacific Commission