Today I have some spare time before I commence work at 1315hrs. The tour today is to take tourists to the part of Noume where it all began. On the island in the bay that forms the natural deep water port. The first European settlement was by an Englishman named James Paddon who brought all what was needed from Vanuatu to create a traiding post on this particular island. One has to understand that in the South Pacific at that time Canibalism was practiced and to have a chance of survival European settlements were on islands. At that time there was a market created from Australian Sandlewood collectors and American Whalers. When the French arrived in 1854 they offered an exchange to James Paddon of prime rural land for the traiding post which was accepted. These days there is an out of town suburb known as Paddon. Meanwhile the French developed the island as a Penal Colony where Convicts and Military lived separately. Many of the old buildings have been resored to their original glory. Further on towards one of the few beaches here is an old resort that has a sad history. Like many other resorts, there are many sad stories. Also in the same area the French built a fortification that can be visited. In the early days the French built 10 fortifications with cannons to protect Noumea. Only two are accessable these days. All for today.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 00:00:04 +0000
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