New Caledonia: landmarks, animals & facts for kids

New Caledonia is a French territory in the southwest Pacific Ocean, about 1,200 kilometres east of Australia. It is made up of a long main island called Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Isle of Pines and many smaller islands. Its capital is Nouméa. New Caledonia has a special status within France, with its own government and Congress. It is known for one of the largest lagoons in the world, unique plants and animals, rich nickel deposits and the culture of the Indigenous Kanak people.

On My Earth Toy you can visit the Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre near Nouméa, designed by architect Renzo Piano, whose tall curved wooden shells are inspired by traditional Kanak great houses. Look for the kagu, a rare grey bird that can barely fly.

Geography and nature

Grande Terre is about 400 kilometres long, with a mountain chain down its middle; Mont Panié, 1,628 metres tall, is the highest peak. Its red soils are rich in nickel, one of the territory's main exports. A great coral barrier reef surrounds a vast lagoon, part of which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Because the islands have been isolated for millions of years, most of their plants grow nowhere else, including Amborella, a shrub from one of the oldest branches of flowering plants.

People, languages and culture

French is the official language, and around 28 Kanak languages are also spoken. The population includes Kanak people, Europeans whose families have lived there for generations, and people from Wallis and Futuna, Tahiti, Indonesia, Vietnam and elsewhere. Most people are Christian. Kanak culture centres on clans, respect for elders and the case, a round house with a tall pointed roof. A traditional dish is bougna, a mix of yam, taro, banana and chicken or seafood cooked in banana leaves on hot stones.

History in a nutshell

Austronesian voyagers settled the islands about 3,000 years ago and made decorated pottery now called Lapita. In 1774 the British explorer James Cook named the main island New Caledonia, after the Latin name for Scotland. France took possession in 1853 and used it as a prison colony for several decades. In the 1980s there were serious tensions between supporters and opponents of independence, which led to peace agreements in 1988 and the Nouméa Accord in 1998. Its future relationship with France has been the subject of several referendums.