New Caledonia currency 500 Francs banknote |
Nouméa 500 Francs bank note |
Reverse: Portrait of Marquesan man. Volcanic Rock Formations at Hienghene. (Hienghène - commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean)
New Caledonia (French: Nouvelle-Calédonie) is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,210 kilometres (750 mi) east of Australia and 16,136 kilometres (10,026 mi) east of Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. Locals refer to Grande Terre as "Le Caillou" ("the stone").
New Caledonia has a land area of 18,576 square kilometres (7,172 sq mi). The population (Jan. 2012 estimate) is 256,000. The population is a mix of Kanak people (the original inhabitants of New Caledonia), White European people (Caldoches and Metropolitan Frenchmen), Polynesian people (Wallisians essentially), and South-East Asian people. The capital of the territory is Nouméa.