The volcano was first recorded in eruption in 1595 when Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña sailed past it during his second expedition across the Pacific Ocean.

A population was eradicated when the volcano erupted around 1840 and pyroclastic flows swept all sides of the island.

In 1951, polynesians from Nukapu and Nupani settled on the island, which reached a peak population of 130, before it had to be evacuated with the 1971 eruption.

The first recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña on 7 September 1595, when sailing towards Nendo Island where they stayed for several weeks.

The ship, it states, "... passed Volcano Island, one of the South (Santa) Cruz Group, on the 17th of October (1868).