Neiafu (Vavaʻu)
Neiafu | |
|---|---|
Port of Refuge viewed from Mt. Talau | |
Location of Neiafu on Vavaʻu Island | |
| Coordinates: 18°39′03″S 173°58′59″W / 18.65083°S 173.98306°W | |
| Country | Tonga |
| Island | Vavaʻu |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 3,845 |
| Time zone | UTC+13 (–) |
| Climate | Af |
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Neiafu is the second-largest town in Tonga with a population of 3,845 in 2021. It is situated beside the Port of Refuge, a deep-water harbour on the south coast of Vavaʻu, the main island of the Vavaʻu archipelago in northern Tonga. To the north-west lies the 131-metre high (430 ft) Mt. Talau with its distinctive flat top.
Neiafu is the administrative centre of the Vavaʻu group and has government offices, banks, schools, a police station and a hospital. It is also an important centre for tourism with many yachts anchoring in the Port of Refuge.
In the late 19th century Neiafu was the location of a German coaling-station, established under the country's 1876 Treaty of Friendship with Tonga. The base was transferred to Britain in 1900 with the establishment of a British protectorate.
The town is powered by a 300kW solar PV farm with battery backup in the hamlet of Kāmeli.