Saparua

Saparua is an island east of Ambon Island in the Indonesian province of Maluku; the island of Haruku lies between Saparua and Ambon. The main port is in the south at Kota Saparua. The small and uninhabited island of Maolana is located near its southwestern side and Nusa Laut off its southeastern tip. Saparua was administered as a single eponymous district (kecamatan) of Central Maluku Regency (Kabupaten Maluku Tengah), but in 2012 an additional district of East Saparua was formed from the eastern peninsula of the original district. Kota Saparua (Saparua town) is the administrative centre of the residual (western) district, while Tuhaha is the administrative centre of the new district. The island (including Maolana island) covers a land area of 168.1 km2, and had a population of 32,312 as of the 2010 census and 36,022 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 34,480. The inhabitants of Saparua speak the Saparua language, while Indonesian and Ambonese Malay are also spoken. Saparua was the location of Indonesian national hero, Pattimura's rebellion against Dutch forces in 1817. It was also the birthplace of Gerrit Augustinus Siwabessy, a prominent politician who was Indonesia's Minister of Health during the 1960s and 1970s.