1942 FRANCE (New Caledonia) - Spearfishing on the island of Maré

Spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing (maybe the first) that has been used throughout the world for millennia. One could say that it is the most selective fishing method, because uses no bait and has no by-catch. It may be conducted with an ordinary spear or a specialised variant such as an eel spear. Today modern spearfishing makes use of elastic powered spearguns and slings, or compressed gas pneumatic powered spearguns, to strike the hunted fish.

1721 FRANCE (New Caledonia) - Fusiliers in the waters of Ouvéa Island

Ouvéa, one of the Loyalty Islands, has rich marine resources and is home to many sea turtles, species of fish, and coral. A common fish is the blue fusilier (Caesio caerulaurea), which is found in coastal areas on coral reefs throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific area. It is a cylindrical, streamlined fish, of up to 60 cm. Its upper jaws are extensible, and adapted for picking plankton.

1707 FRANCE (New Caledonia) - Western coast of Lifou Island

Lifou Island or Drehu in the local language is the largest (81km long and 16 to 24km wide), most populous and most important island of the Loyalty Islands, in the archipelago of New Caledonia. Irregular in shape, it is flat with no hills or rivers, but has abundant vegetation, dense interior jungles, fertile soils, terraced cliffs and breath taking reefs and corals. The coast is cut by long and deep bays alternating with long white sandy beaches and cliffs trenches. Actually Lifou Island is a former coral atoll that was part of a submerged volcano. The freshwater comes from rain that seeps through the calcareous soil and forms freshwater ponds.

1678 FRANCE (New Caledonia) - Totems at Saint Maurice Bay, in Isle of Pines

Saint Maurice Bay is named after the statue of Saint Maurice, which has been erected right here to commemorate the first Catholic service ever to take place on the Isle of Pines, on the 15th of August 1848, three days after two missionaries set foot onto the island. The statue is surrounded by tribal carvings, totems that depict wild animals and birds. Each one of them is a gift from the different tribes and families around the island, the wood sculpture representing the spirit of Kanak culture. They surround the statue of the saint like a palisade, protecting it from the outside world. More totems can be found closer to the water, forming a fence or a barricade which acts both as a backdrop and a protective border. The wood is weathered and pale, creating a lovely contrast to the bright colours of the rainforest and the deep blue sky.

1446 FRANCE (New Caledonia) - Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems (UNESCO WHS)

Your sumptuous lagoon that the world courts

And your jungle where our first flower was born

Sing in the universe this exquisite romance

Of a victorious island and a triumphant lagoon.

When the nature, inventing a new mode of reproduction, created the first flower, did it in New Caledonia, located back then in the middle of a continent called Gondwana, 130 milion years ago. The chosen plant, Amborella trichopoda, a primitive flower, even today devoid of perfume, is the mother of all the flowers of the planet; she met the dinosaurs. The Caledonian archipelago is a paradise for botanists; it is the third country in the world for its endemic flora; and number one worldwide for biodiversity of plants. As for its lagoon, the largest in the world, ranked among the most beautiful, is one of the three inscribed in humanity's heritage for its richness and exceptional beauty. Feather stars, sea whips, corals, soft corals are also like the flowers. It is the triumph of New Caledonia on land and in the sea.

1205 FRANCE (New Caledonia) - A traditional hut in Maré Island

Maré Island is the second-largest of the Loyalty Islands, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The population of Maré is about 6900, of mainly Melanesian heritage (less than 2% of the population is of European ancestry), more specifically Kanak. The traditional hut is architecturally representative of the Kanak culture, its features representing the organization and lifestyle of the tribes. Fitting perfectly into the landscape, enhanced by neatly trimmed grass and coconut palms, the island hut has lasted through the centuries. It is found everywhere: there are no inhabited places without a hut.

1182 FRANCE (New Caledonia) - A Kunie child ready to dance in Isle of Pines

New Caledonia, a special collectivity of France, consists in an archipelago located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, in Melanesia, at mid-way between Australia and New Zealand. Among its islands is the Isle of Pines (French: Île des Pins; Kanak name: Kunyié), nicknamed "l'île la plus proche du paradis" (the closest island to Paradise). The inhabitants of the island are mainly native Melanesian Kanaks and the population is 2,000 (estimated 2006). The origin of Kanak people is unclear, but ethnographic research has shown that Polynesian seafarers have intermarried with the Kanaks over the centuries.