Tetiꞌaroa

Tetiaroa

Tetiaroa, one of the Society Islands, is an atoll located 59 km (36.5 miles) due north of Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia located on the island of Tahiti. Tetiaroa is administratively part of the commune (municipality) of Arue. Tetiaroa has one inhabitant: Marlon Brando's son Teihotu Brando

In 1789, three deserters from the Bounty became the first Europeans to visit the island during the ship's 23 week stay in Tahiti. It was after departure that the famous mutiny on the Bounty took place.

In 1904, the royal Pomare family of Tahiti gave the island to dentist Johnston Walter Williams. As a private island it passed through the hands of other owners until 1965, when Marlon Brando, after filming Mutiny on the Bounty, leased it from its current owner for 99 years.

Brando lived on the island on and off until 1990. At various times he talked of plans to develop a resort on the island, but the enormous costs involved made it financially impossible for him to carry through on his ideas.

In June 2003, Brando granted his friend Michael Jackson "in consideration of gratitude and affection", the lifelong use of 2000 m² (a half-acre) on the islet of Onetahi, in the west of Tetiaroa.

While earlier revisions of Brando's will had included provisions putting the island into a trust, his will as it existed in 2004 included no specific provision for the island. In 2005, the executors of the Brando estate sold development rights for $2 million to Richard Bailey, a property developer based in Tahiti. A new luxury resort is currently being built on the atoll. The planned per night price for accommodations is rumored to be $1500. Air Moorea put a claim on the island saying it is owed $460,000 for the service it provided in bringing people to and from the island. At the moment, the atoll's "airport" is closed for violating safety regulations; the airstrip is not currently long enough.

References

17°0′S 149°33′W