Tin Can Island

E774982

Tin Can Island is the former name of Niuafoʻou, a remote volcanic island in Tonga historically known for its unique mail delivery system using swimmers and canoes.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf island
administrativeDivisionOf Tonga NERFINISHED
belongsToArchipelago Tonga Islands NERFINISHED
climate tropical
country Tonga NERFINISHED
craterLakeName Vai Lahi NERFINISHED
distanceFromMainTonganIslands remote
ethnicGroup Polynesians NERFINISHED
formerNameOf Niuafoʻou NERFINISHED
governedBy Tongan monarchy NERFINISHED
hasAlternativeName Niuafoou NERFINISHED
Niuafoou Island NERFINISHED
Niuafoʻou NERFINISHED
hasCraterLake true
hasEconomicActivity fishing
subsistence agriculture
hasFeature active volcano
caldera lake
hasPopulation small population
hasVolcanicOrigin true
historicalSignificance site of one of the world’s most unusual postal systems
isInhabited true
isRemote true
knownFor tin can mail
unique mail delivery system
languageSpoken Niuafoʻou dialect of Tongan
Tongan NERFINISHED
locatedIn Niuafoʻou Island Group NERFINISHED
Pacific Ocean
Polynesia NERFINISHED
mailCollectedFrom passing ships offshore
mailDeliveryMethod canoes used to collect mail from passing ships
swimmers carrying mail in sealed tins
mailSystemEnded mid 20th century
mailSystemInvolvedRisk dangerous sea conditions for swimmers
mailSystemPopularPeriod early 20th century
mailSystemStart late 19th century
mailSystemUsedContainers sealed biscuit tins
partOf Kingdom of Tonga NERFINISHED
postalAttraction philatelic interest in tin can mail covers
postalHistoryCategory maritime mail
tin can mail covers
region northern Tonga
religion Christianity
timeZone UTC+13
timeZoneDST UTC+14
volcanicType shield volcano

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Niuafoʻou Island alsoKnownAs Tin Can Island