Chatham Islands (pop. 663) are part of New Zealand. They lie about 530 miles (850 kilometers) east of the South Island. The largest island, Chatham, or Warekauri, covers an area of 344 square miles (890 square kilometers). The other islands are Pitt, or Rangihaute; South-East, or Rangatira; and Pyramid, or Tarakoikoia, which is a bare rock 568 feet (173 meters) high. The main industries of the Chatham Islands are sheep farming and fishing. The islands are linked with New Zealand by telephone, a monthly shipping service, and occasional air services.
A Polynesian group known as the Moriori live on the Chatham Islands. The Moriori are distantly related to the Māori people of mainland New Zealand. In 1791, William Broughton, traveling with the British explorer George Vancouver, encountered more than 1,000 Moriori during a trip to the Chatham Islands. In 1840, when the German naturalist Ernest Dieffenbach visited the islands, only about 90 Moriori had survived attacks by mainland Māori.
In 1842, the Chatham Islands became part of New Zealand. A resident commissioner administered the islands until 1962, when the Department of Internal Affairs took control. In 1995, New Zealand’s government created the Chatham Islands Council to administer the region.
