'Ata
ʻAta is a small, rocky island in the far south of the Tonga archipelago, situated on 22°20′30″S 176°12′30″W / 22.34167°S 176.20833°W. It is also known as Pylstaart island. It should not be confused with ʻAtā, which is an uninhabited, low coral island in the string of small atolls along the Piha passage along the northside of Tongatapu, nor should it be confused with Ata, a traditional chiefly title from Kolovai.
Although ʻAta must have been known to Tongans from times immemorial, as it features in old myths, it may have been mixed up with ʻAtā, and it is alleged not to have been remembered until the Tongans were told about it by the Europeans. In fact the following myth is rather from the original Tongans in the Lau Islands (Fiji) than from Tonga proper itself.
According to these myths it was, together with ʻEua the first island hauled up by (one of) the Maui brothers from the bottom of the sea. Having not much experience in this type of fishing yet, these two islands became quite hilly. It had originally 7 hills, but Maui stamped on the highest mountain until it was flattened into its surrounding valleys, and he did likewise with the next mountains. By the time only 3 hills were left over he was weary and went away. With the following islands he hauled up, starting with Tongatapu, he was more careful to keep them flat. The sub-god Laufakanaʻa was the first ruler of ʻAta.
The first European to discover ʻAta was Abel Tasman on 19 January 1643. Because of the many tropic birds he saw near the island, he gave it the name of Pylstaert Eylant or in modern Dutch Pijlstaart, meaning arrowtail, an apt description for, and in that time the name of the Tropic Bird. Adverse winds prohibited him from coming closer and no natives coming to him in their canoes were seen either. From his vantage point (looking towards the northeast), the shape of the island resembled to him the breasts of a woman.
...
Wikipedia