The municipality of Meløy was established on 1 January 1884 when the large Rødøy Municipality was separated into Rødøy in the south and Meløy in the north. The municipal borders have not changed since then.
Name
The municipality is named after the island of Meløya, since the first Meløy Church was built there. The old name of the island is probably derived from mjǫl which means "flour" or "meal". The last element øy which means "island" was added to the name around 1500. Historically, the name was spelled Melø.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 7 December 1984. The arms show a yellow poppy plant on a blue background. The village is near the second largest glacier in continental Norway, the Svartisen, and the plant is one of the plants growing closest to the ice. The colors symbolize the blue glacial ice and the yellow flowers.
Meløy has been inhabited for many centuries and still possesses various relics from the Viking Age. The Benkestok family, one of Norway's original noble families, established one of its seats at Meløy gård on the island of Meløya in the 16th century. Due to the expansion of the community during the 19th century, it was split from its southern neighbour Rødøy in 1884. Its administrative centre was originally on Meløya, but it was later moved to the mainland coastal village of Ørnes. Ørnes is one of the stops on the route of the Hurtigruten, with a notably scenic entrance via the fjord. The second largest glacier in Norway, Svartisen, is a target for passenger visits. The mountains around Glomfjord are popular for fishing and hunting as well as skiing in the winter time.
The municipal council of Meløy is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:
Geography
The municipality of Meløy is a coastal community that includes many of the surrounding islands. Many parts of the mainland were fairly isolated until road tunnels were built during the 20th century that connected them to the rest of Norway. Some of the main islands of Meløy are Åmøya, Meløya, Bolga, Mesøya, Grønøya, and Støttvær. Åmøya is connected to the mainland via the Brattsund Bridge. The other islands are all accessible by boat or ferry only. The Kalsholmen Lighthouse is located in the southwestern part of the municipality. The Vestfjorden passes Meløy in the northwest, and the Meløyfjorden, Glomfjorden, and Holandsfjorden cut into the mainland from the west. The Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park is located in the southeast in the Saltfjellet mountain range, surrounding the Svartisen glacier.
Economy
The industrial development—and thus the main contributor to the economic development and growth of the Meløy community—started around the time of World War I. It was based on electrical power production in then new Glomfjord power plant from water coming from the Svartisen glacier and the lake Storglomvatnet and gathered in the mountains. In the bottom of Glomfjorden, Norsk Hydro started out producing fertilizers in Glomfjord. A conglomerate of industries is found there today in Glomfjord Industry Park. The municipality's overall industries are some light industry, agriculture, forestry, fishing, salmon production, and tourism.
