Teti'aroa Atoll

French Polynesia / Iles du Vent / Pirae /
Teti'aroa is an atoll in the Society Islands, French Polynesia. Traditionally it was a "get-away" place for Tahitian royalty.

In 1904, the royal family gave Teti'aroa to Dr. Johnston Walter Williams, the only dentist in Tahiti. Mr Williams later became Consul of England from 1916 to 1935. Actor Marlon Brando eventually purchased Teti'aroa's islets (motus) from one of Dr. Williams’ direct descendants, Mrs. Duran. The reef and lagoon belong to French Polynesia. Brando purchased most of the atoll in 1966 for $200,000 and the other part in 1967 for $70,000. In 2002, two years before the actor’s death, Brando signed a new will and trust agreement that left no instructions for Teti'aroa. Following his death in 2004, the executors of the estate granted development rights to Pacific Beachcomber SC, a Tahitian company that owns hotels throughout French Polynesia, who are developing a resort.

Brando at one time gave Michael Jackson lifelong private use of one of the Islets.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetiaroa
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   17°1'1"S   149°33'59"W

Comments

  • Tetiaroa Island in French Polynesia is also known as "Marlon Brando's Island". The late film star purchased the island -- more correctly, an atoll comprised of thirteen small islets (or motus) from the French Polynesian government for a total of 70,000 over 1966-1967. While the motus were his property, the government retained the rights to the coral reefs and lagoons to preserve control of marine resources. Following Brando's death in 2004, ownership of the approximately five mile (eight kilometers) wide atoll passed into other private hands, and there are now plans to build a luxury resort amongst the islets. This view illustrates the typical circular appearance of a fully-developed atoll. The ring of islands -- covered in green vegetation and white to tan sandy beaches -- develops on coral reefs, which originally form around a volcanic island. As the volcanic island gradually disappears due to subsidence and erosion, the coral reefs continue to grow upwards. Over time, the central volcanic island is completely submerged, leaving a ring of coral reefs and islands that surround a lagoon. The shallow lagoon waters appear blue-green in this image, and contrast with darker -- and deeper -- Pacific Ocean waters surrounding the atoll. One of the motus in the southern portion of the atoll, Tahuna Rahi, is a protected bird sanctuary, and is the nesting site of red- and brown-footed boobies, frigatebirds, and terns (among other species). Access to the atoll is via boat, as the airstrip was closed in 2004 due to safety and security concerns. shaur wei-news from newspaper(the star-23-02-2009)
  • great post, very informative. :)
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This article was last modified 11 years ago