Necker Island

Necker Island may refer to:

Necker Island (British Virgin Islands)

Necker Island is a 74-acre (300,000 m²) island in the British Virgin Islands just north of Virgin Gorda. The island's land is entirely owned by Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group and is part of the Virgin Limited Edition portfolio of luxury properties. The whole island operates like a resort and can accommodate up to 28 guests.

Location

Necker Island is located at latitude 18.55 north and longitude 64.35 west in the eastern section of the British Virgin Islands, slightly to the north of Virgin Gorda and Prickly Pear and to the north-east of Mosquito Island (sometimes spelled Moskito Island). The British Virgin Islands (BVI) are a group of islands approximately 1,100 miles south-east of Miami, Florida, 60 miles due east of Puerto Rico, and about 120 miles north-west of St. Barts.

History

The island was named after the 17th-century Dutch squadron commander Johannes de Neckere, although it remained uninhabited until the late 20th century.

In 1965 the photographer Don McCullin and the journalist Andrew Alexander, spent fourteen days on the island at the behest of The Daily Telegraph newspaper for which they worked. The magazine editor had hoped that they would survive their castaway adventure for at least three weeks, but as McCullin later recounted, "because of our gathering weakness ... out of temper, and out of water, we hoisted the red flag and were taken off in the early hours of the fifteenth day". According to McCullin, there was nothing idyllic about the desert island: "It was inhabited by snakes, scorpions and tarantulas ... The mosquitos and other insects were more venomous and persistent than any I had encountered in Vietnam or the Congo."

Necker Island (Hawaii)

Necker Island (Hawaiian: Mokumanamana) is a small island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is located at 23°34′35″N 164°42′0″W / 23.57639°N 164.70000°W / 23.57639; -164.70000Coordinates: 23°34′35″N 164°42′0″W / 23.57639°N 164.70000°W / 23.57639; -164.70000 in the Pacific Ocean, 155 miles (135 nmi; 249 km) northwest of Nihoa and 8 miles (7.0 nmi; 13 km) north of the Tropic of Cancer. It contains important prehistoric archaeological sites of the Hawaiian culture and is part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge within the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument.

The United States Census Bureau reports its land area as 45.193 acres (182,890 m²). The island is rocky with steep sides and has very little soil. Its highest elevation is 277 feet (84 m). The island is named after Jacques Necker, an important figure in the French Revolution.

Description

Few signs of long-term human habitation have been found. However, the island contains 33 stone shrines and stone artifacts much like those found in the main Hawaiian Islands. Because of this, many anthropologists believe that the island was a ceremonial and religious site. According to the myths and legends of the people of Kauai, which lies to the southeast, Necker Island was the last known refuge for a race of mythical "little people" called the Menehune. According to the legend, the Menehune settled on Necker after being chased off Kaua'i by the stronger Polynesians and subsequently built the various stone structures there. Visits to the island are said to have started a few hundred years after the main Hawaiian Islands were inhabited, and ended a few hundred years before European contact. French explorer Jean-François de La Pérouse was the first European to visit the island, in 1786. The island is named after Jacques Necker. The islands were formally annexed in 1894 by the Provisional Government of Hawaii.