Poum

Poum
Commune
Nennon Beach in Poum
Location of the commune (in red) within New Caledonia
Location of Poum
Coordinates: 20°14′29″S 164°01′01″E / 20.2415°S 164.0169°E / -20.2415; 164.0169
Country	France
Sui generis collectivity	New Caledonia
Province	North Province
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Henriette Tidjine-Hmae[1]
Area 1	469.4 km2 (181.2 sq mi)
Population  (2019 census)[2]	1,435
• Density	3.1/km2 (7.9/sq mi)
Ethnic distribution
• 2019 census	Kanaks 82.72% Europeans 6.34% Wallisians and Futunans 0.35% Mixed 5.51% Other 5.09%
Time zone	UTC+11:00
INSEE/Postal code	98826 /98826
Elevation	0–412 m (0–1,352 ft) (avg. 5 m or 16 ft)
1 New Caledonia Land Register (DITTT) data, which exclude lakes and ponds larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers.

Poum (French pronunciation: [pum]) is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The small town of Poum (Latitude: 20° 13' 59 south, longitude: 164° 1' 23 east) is located in the far northwest, located on the southern part of Banare Bay, with Mouac Island just offshore. Aside from French, the native language of the Kanak inhabitants is nêlêmwa-nixumwak, an Austronesian language spoken by about 1,100 people.^{[3][circular reference]} British fishermen came to the islands in 1855 seeking sea cucumbers, and settled and intermarried, and this is reflected in the last names of some clan members and on gravestones (e.g. Williams, Winchester). In the 1850s, a hundred Europeans lived on Mouac Island and John Henry Williams established a presence on Néba island.^[4]