Shefa (province)

Shefa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the center of the country and including the islands of Epi and Efate and the Shepherd Islands.

The province's name is derived from the initial letters of SHepherd and EFAte.

It has a population of 78,723 people and an area of 1,455 km². Its capital is Port Vila, which is also the capital of the nation.

In the 1860s, Havanna Harbour, north Efate, was the centre of development in Shefa, with cotton plantations the focus. With dwindling prices for cotton, agricultural administrators turned to maize and coffee, before settling mainly with coconuts and cattle which are the main agricultural products today.

The French and British continued to have conflicting interests in Vanuatu (then known as New Hebrides) and decided upon a Joint Naval Commission, or Condominium, in 1887, with the Joint Court opened in 1910, it is still used today.

Shefa Province was a strategic location during World War II for the mainly American troops. Major instalments were placed on northern Efate along Havanna Harbour including Tanaliou, Siviri and Saama, and some outer Efate Islands including Moso Island.

The Shefa Islands are volcanic and limestone/raised reef in origin. The one active volcano in the Province, on Epi is only sporadically active, and other underwater and extinct volcanos are scattered throughout Shefa.

Shefa is made up of approximately 27 islands, Efate being the most populated and also the location of the Vanuatu capital, Port Vila. It is at the south end of the province and is surrounded by several smaller islands, including Iririki, Ifira, Eratap, Erakor, Erueti Lep, Eratoka (Hat), Lelepa, Moso, Nguna, Pele, Kakuhla, and Emao. To the north are the Shepherd Islands, a group that includes Naore, Etarik, Matasao, Makura, Emae, Buninga, Tongariki, Tongoa, Ewose, and Laika. At the north end is the other large island in the province, Epi, as well as nearby Tefala, Namuka and Lamen. Some of these islands are uninhabited.

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