Australian Consulate-General, Noumea Australian Consulate-General, Noumea The Australian Consulate-General in Noumea, New Caledonia represents the Commonwealth of Australia in New Caledonia, a special collectivity of France, and is also accredited to the Pacific French Overseas collectivities, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna. The Consul-General also serves as Australia's representative to the Noumea-based Secretariat of the Pacific Community. The Consulate-General, one of four in New Caledonia (alongside New Zealand, Indonesia and Vanuatu), has since 1976 had its offices at 19 avenue du Maréchal Foch, Nouméa. Since 1990, there has existed an Honorary Consulate in Papeete, French Polynesia, currently held by Marc Siu, which reports
History of the Pacific Islands now commonly known as New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands around 1500 BC. The Lapita were highly skilled navigators and agriculturists with influence over a large area of the Pacific. From about the 11th century Polynesians also arrived and mixed with the populations of the archipelago. Europeans first sighted New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands in the late 18th century. The British explorer James Cook sighted Grande Terre in 1774 and named it "New Caledonia", Caledonia being the Latin name for Scotland. During the same voyage he also named the islands to the north of New Caledonia the New Hebrides