Haruku Island

Haruku Island is an island in Central Maluku Regency, Maluku Province, Indonesia - lying east of Ambon Island, off the southern coast of Seram and just west of Saparua. It is administered as a single district, Haruku Island District (Kecamatan Pulau Haruku), with a land area of 150 km2 and a population of 24,207 at the 2010 census and 27,390 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 26,551. The inhabitants of Haruku speak the Haruku language, as well as Indonesian and Ambonese Malay. There are six Christian (Aboru, Haruku, Hulaliu, Kariu, Oma and Wassu) and five Muslim (Kabauw, Kailolo, Pelauw, Rohomoni and Sameth) villages (desa) on the island. The areas (in km2) and 2020 Census populations of each of these, together with the official estimates as at mid 2022, are as follows:

As on most of the islands of the Moluccas, spices such as nutmeg, cloves, cumin and ginger are grown as cash crops. In 1527, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach the island. The Dutch followed in 1590 and established Fort New Zealand, whose ruins are now a tourist attraction. During World War II, the Japanese established a Prisoner-of-war camp for captive British and Dutch forces on the island, who were used as forced labour to build an airstrip.

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