Let's Talk About Tokelau Trivia Quiz

Answer: Union Islands

The earliest European explorers named the archipelago The Union Islands, and then in 1946, the people there adopted the name Tokelau Islands. By 1976, this was officially shortened to Tokelau.
The atolls which make up Tokelau have just over ten square kilometres of land area, and archaeological evidence has been found for human habitation going back at least 1,000 years.

Answer: Tokelau for the Almighty

"Tokaelau mo te Atua" is in Tokelauan, a language spoken by less than 5,000 people worldwide nowadays. It is very closely related to Tuvaluan, and along with English, is an official language in Tokelau.
The Tokelauan alphabet has just fifteen letters.

Answer: True

Although each atoll does have a hospital, as recently as 2006-7 there was not always a qualified doctor at each one. Patients with severe medical problems are transferred to Samoa for treatment, although as medical care and facilities in Tokelau improve, this will become less and less necessary.

The Tokelau health service is managed from Apia in Samoa, and is under the Samoan health authority's jurisdiction.

Answer: Cyclone Percy

Swains Island has been owned by the Jennings family since the 1850s. The population is less than forty people, all of whom collect the coconut crop for processing into copra.
When Cyclone Percy devastated the island's only village, only the church remained standing, but fortunately, there was no loss of life.

Answer: December 31st 2011

Tokelau "moved" to the other side of the International Date Line, and changed time zone from being eleven hours behind UTC to thirteen hours ahead of UTC. This brought the islands' timekeeping closer to that of New Zealand and Samoa, which made life easier for the population in many ways. By making the change at midnight on December 29th, December 30th was lost from the calendar and the islands went straight into December 31st 2011.

Answer: The lagoon water is fresh not salt

Because the atoll is a completely closed ring, the water in the lagoon is fresh, not salty sea water. It is not drinkable, being brackish, so the only source of drinking water on the atoll comes from rainwater which is collected in large tanks.

Answer: Sharks

The designated area comprises all of Tokelau's "Exclusive Economic Zone" which is defined as the waters around a country and for 200 nautical miles out to sea.
In the case of Tokelau this area covers a little over 300,000 square kilometres.

Answer: Forest

Perhaps surprisingly, there are forested areas in Tokelau, formed when old coconut plantations were abandoned and grew wild.

There are no natural harbours or inlets anywhere on any of the three main atolls. Communications and supply deliveries from the outside world must be taken off the boat via a barge manned by locals, which can pass through narrow gaps in the surrounding reefs. The loading and unloading safely is dependent on the weather conditions, and the single shop has been known to run out of supplies when the barge has been unable to ferry things from the delivery boat.

The highest point above sea level in Tokelau is around two metres above the high tide line, and the country is among those that are incredibly vulnerable to any rise in worldwide sea levels.

Answer: Bowditch

Nathaniel Bowditch visited and named the atoll as part of the US funded Wilkes Expedition, which took place between 1838 and 1842.
Nowadays there is a small tourist industry, and even a tourist office on Fakaofo, and the islanders are famed for their intricately woven handicrafts.

Answer: True

The three atolls of Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo lie between 8 and 10 degrees south of the Equator.
They are about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii.