Tautira
| Tautira | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
Tautira Beach
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 Tautira
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| Coordinates: 17°44′50″S 149°9′40″W / 17.74722°S 149.16111°WCoordinates: 17°44′50″S 149°9′40″W / 17.74722°S 149.16111°W | |
| Country |
France French Polynesia Tahiti |
| Commune | Taiarapu-Est |
| District | Tautira |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Juliette Nuurpure |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 2,338 |
| Time zone | French Polynesia Time (UTC-11) |
Tautira is a Polynesian beach village, valley, and point on the south-east coast of the island of Tahiti in the Pacific. It is part of the commune Taiarapu-Est. With a population of 2338 (in 2007), it is located 49 kilometres southeast of the Tahitian capital of Papeete on the coast of Tautira Bay, at the end of what is the largest valley of the Taiarapu Peninsula. Domingo de Bonechea visited the area in 1772 and attempted to spread Christianity here; James Cook landed at Tautira Bay during his voyage. Robert Louis Stevenson referred to the village as “The Garden of the World”, staying here to recover from illness in 1886. The village contains a Catholic church.
Tautira is where Catholic missionaries first landed which eventually led to the takeover of Tahiti by the French people, and which also ended Protestants hold on Tahiti. Earlier, in 1772, Domingo de Bonechea, the Spanish captain landed at Aguilla near the Aiurua River, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Tautira. He had left two missionaries to try convert the indigenous people to Christianity, in 1772. However, when he returned from Peru in 1775 he found that the two missionaries he had left behind on Tahiti failed to convert the natives, and eventually they preferred to return to Peru. However, de Bonechea died on Tahiti during this campaign and he is buried in the Catholic Church in Tautira, which is now named after him. James Cook had landed at Tautira Bay (or "Cooks Anchorage") during his voyage. The chiefs of Tautira were reportedly once replaced by the chiefs of Teahupo'o after conflict.
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