Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Papeari

Pape'ari is a village on the south coast of Tahiti. It is located in Tahiti-nui district, around 32 miles from Papeete.

Last revised
Jul 17, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
254 w
Citations
7
Source
Pape'ari
Location within Tahiti
Map
Location of Pape'ari
Coordinates: 17°45′S 149°21′W / 17.750°S 149.350°W / -17.750; -149.350
CountryFrance
Overseas collectivityFrench Polynesia
CommuneTeva I Uta
Population
 (2022)1
5,446
Time zoneUTC−10:00

Pape'ari is a village on the south coast of Tahiti. It is located in Tahiti-nui district,2 around 32 miles from Papeete.3

History

Papeari is attested in some accounts as Tahiti's oldest village.4

Some 19th-century sources attest that Papeari was formerly known as Vaiari (or Wyere), a name attributed to an indigenous group.5 It houses a harbor with anchorage.6

Tourist sites in and near modern Papeari include the former home of the British novelist Robert Keable, who lived there from 1922 until his death in 1927, and a museum dedicated to the French painter Paul Gauguin, also a former resident of the area (from 1891-3).4

Notable people

  • Ralph Taaviri (1954-2023) - trade unionist and environmental activist
References

References

  1. "Les résultats du recensement de la population 2022 de Polynésie française" [Results of the 2022 population census of French Polynesia] (PDF) (in French). Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française. January 2023.
  2. Crocombe, R.G. (1988). French Polynesia: a book of selected readings. p. 184. ISBN 982-02-0032-6.
  3. Young, Melanie (22 February 2004). "Pacific perals: Gauguin exhibit further polishes Tahitian islands' allure". Boston Herald.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  4. Goodwin, Bill (2010). Frommer's Tahiti and French Polynesia. Frommer's. pp. 104–105. ISBN 0-470-61828-0.
  5. Williamson, R W (1926). The social and political systems of central Polynesia. Cambridge University Press. p. 174.
  6. United States Hydrographic Office (1906). Pacific Islands pilot. US Government Print Office. p. 100.