Ureparapara
The first recorded European who arrived to Ureparapara was the Spanish explorer Pedro Fernández de Quirós on 15 June 1606.[10] Oral history on Ureparapara, as cited by various sources, reports that the current population of the Bay (Löyöp speakers) includes descendants of refugees who were native to the nearby Reef islands: they were forced to migrate to Ureparapara by an event that is described sometimes as a tsunami in the 1930s,[11] or a cyclone in the 1950s.Other names for the island include Mwotlap Nōybaybay [nʊjpajˈpaj], Vurës Ōrbarbar [orᵐbarˈᵐbar], Vera'a Urbarbara [urᵐbarᵐbara], and Lakon Ōlpaapaa [ʊlpaːˈpaː].Ureparapara is known to host historical sites made of coral stone, named nowon and votwos in Lehali.These ancestral villages, located inland in the forest, were abandoned in the 19th century, yet have been preserved under the vegetation; they have been proposed for inclusion amongst the World Heritage sites of UNESCO.