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Phoenix Islands

Coordinates:4°30′S172°0′W/ 4.500°S 172.000°W/-4.500; -172.000
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Phoenix Islands
Native name:
Rawaki
Phoenix Islands is located in Kiribati
Phoenix Islands
Phoenix Islands
Phoenix Islands is located in Oceania
Phoenix Islands
Phoenix Islands
Phoenix Islands is located in Pacific Ocean
Phoenix Islands
Phoenix Islands
Geography
LocationPacific Ocean
Coordinates4°30′S172°0′W/ 4.500°S 172.000°W/-4.500; -172.000
Area32.3 km2(12.5 sq mi)
Administrative divisionNone
Largest Island settlementCanton Island(pop. 20)
StatusUnincorporated(Howland and Baker Islands)

ThePhoenix Islands,[1]orRawaki,are a group of eightatollsand two submergedcoralreefsthat lie east of theGilbert Islandsand west of theLine Islandsin the centralPacific Ocean,north ofSamoa.They are part of theRepublic of Kiribati.Their combined land area is 28 square kilometres (11 sq mi). The only island of any commercial importance isCanton Island(also called Abariringa). The other islands are Enderbury, Rawaki (formerly Phoenix), Manra (formerly Sydney), Birnie, McKean, Nikumaroro (formerly Gardner), and Orona (formerly Hull).

ThePhoenix Islands Protected Area,established in 2008, is one of the world's largestprotected areasand is home to about 120 species of coral and more than 500 species of fish. All of the Phoenix Islands are uninhabited, except for a few families who live onCanton Island.

At various times in history, the Phoenix Islands have been considered part of the Gilberts Island group (which itself was sometimes known as theKingsmillisland group).

Geographically,Baker IslandandHowland Island,two unincorporatedterritoriesof theUnited Statesthat lie to the north of the Phoenix Islands, could be considered part of the same island group as the Phoenix Islands. However, politically, and for statistical compilation purposes, Howland and Baker are considered part of the group known as theUnited States Minor Outlying Islands.

At one time, the United States laid claim to all the Phoenix Islands under the 1856Guano Islands Act.However, when Kiribati became an independent republic in 1979, the United States and Kiribati signed theTreaty of Tarawa,under which the United States released all claims to the Phoenix Islands (except for Baker and Howland), which thenceforth became recognized as part of Kiribati.

The Phoenix Islands began to be known by that name sometime around the 1840s, as a generalization from one of the islands in the group, which had been namedPhoenix Islandearlier in the century (probably because Phoenix was a common name for the whaling ships that frequented the nearby waters at the time).

During the late 1930s, the Phoenix Islands were the site of the last colonial expansion attempted by theBritish Empire(through thePhoenix Islands Settlement Scheme).

Geography, flora and fauna

[edit]
Islands of Kiribati
Atoll/Island/Reef Land
Area
km2
Lagoon
km2
Coordinates

Phoenix Islands (Kiribati)

Canton Island(Kanton) 9.0 50 02°50′S171°43′W/ 2.833°S 171.717°W/-2.833; -171.717(Abariringa)
Enderbury Island 5.1 0.6* 03°08′S171°05′W/ 3.133°S 171.083°W/-3.133; -171.083(Enderbury)
Birnie Island 0.2 0.02* 03°35′S171°31′W/ 3.583°S 171.517°W/-3.583; -171.517(Birnie)
McKean Island 0.4 0.2* 03°36′S174°08′W/ 3.600°S 174.133°W/-3.600; -174.133(McKean)
Rawaki(Phoenix Island) 0.5 0.5 03°43′S170°43′W/ 3.717°S 170.717°W/-3.717; -170.717(Rawaki)
Manra(Sydney Island) 4.4 2.2* 04°27′S171°15′W/ 4.450°S 171.250°W/-4.450; -171.250(Manra)
Orona(Hull Island) 3.9 30 04°30′S172°10′W/ 4.500°S 172.167°W/-4.500; -172.167(Orona)
Nikumaroro(Gardner Island) 4.1 4 04°40′S174°31′W/ 4.667°S 174.517°W/-4.667; -174.517(Nikumaroro)
Phoenix Islands (Kiribati) 27.6 84.5

Submergedcoral reefs

Winslow Reef 1 01°36′S174°57′W/ 1.600°S 174.950°W/-1.600; -174.950(Winslow Reef)
Carondelet Reef ? 05°34′S173°51′W/ 5.567°S 173.850°W/-5.567; -173.850(Carondelet Reef)

U.S. territoriesto the north

Baker Island 2.1 00°13′N176°28′W/ 0.217°N 176.467°W/0.217; -176.467(Baker Island)
Howland Island 2.6 00°48′N176°38′W/ 0.800°N 176.633°W/0.800; -176.633(Howland Island)
*(The lagoons marked with an asterisk are included in the previous column as islands because they are landlocked bodies of water completely sealed off from the sea, which is not typical of atolls).

Canton Island

[edit]
Entrance to Canton Island's Lagoon. Village site is to the left.

Canton Island(also called Abariringa), is the northernmost island in the Phoenix group, and the only inhabited one. It is a narrow ribbon of land 9 km2(3 sq mi), enclosing a lagoon of approximately 40 km2(15 sq mi). Canton is mostly bare coral, covered with herbs, bunch grasses, low shrubs and a few trees. Its lagoon teems with 153 known species of marine life, including sharks, tuna, stingrays and eels. Land fauna includes at least 23 bird species, as well as lizards, rats, hermit crabs and turtles.

In the mid-20th century, Canton had an important trans-Pacific airport and refueling station, called Langton, but its importance declined in the late 1950s with the introduction of long-range jet aircraft. After a brief stint as a U.S. missile-tracking station, the airport fell into disuse. However, today, the airport is still there, and (as of 2016) it was still home to a small military presence: 20 persons were residing there, mostly living in the buildings erected during the occupation of the island by Great Britain and the United States between 1936 and 1976.[2]

Enderbury Island

[edit]

Enderburyis a low, flat, small coral atoll lying 63 km (34 nmi; 39 mi) east-southeast of Canton. Its lagoon is rather tiny, comprising only a small percentage of the island's area. Herbs, bunchgrass, morning-glory vines and a few clumps of trees form the main vegetation on the island, while birds, rats and a species of beetle are the known fauna. Heavily mined forguanoin the late 19th century, Enderbury has seen little human impact following the evacuation of the last four residents in 1942, duringWorld War II.[3]

Birnie Island

[edit]

Birnie Islandis a small, flatcoral islandabout 20 hectares (49 acres) in area, measuring 1.2 km (0.75 mi) long by 0.5 km (0.3 mi) wide. It contains a tiny lagoon, which has all but dried up. A nesting place for flocks of seabirds, Birnie is devoid of trees and is instead covered with low shrubs and grass. Unlike most of the other Phoenix Islands, Birnie does not appear to have been worked for guano or otherwise exploited by humans.[4]It was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1975.

McKean Island

[edit]

McKean Islandis the northwesternmost island of the Phoenix group. Its area is 57 hectares (140 acres), and it is devoid of fresh water or trees, though it does have a hypersaline lagoon at its center. Carpeted with low herbs and grasses, McKean provides a sanctuary for the world's largest nesting population oflesser frigatebird(Fregata ariel), with a population of up to 85,000 birds. Actively worked for guano in the mid-19th century, it was abandoned by 1870, and no further use has been made of it.[5]

Rawaki Island

[edit]

Rawaki,or Phoenix Island, measures approximately 1.2 km (0.75 mi) by 0.8 km (0.5 mi), and covers 65 hectares (160 acres) in area. Its lagoon is shallow and salty, with no connection to the ocean. It does, however, have several freshwater pools—the only known freshwater wetlands in the Phoenix Islands.[6]Treeless, Rawaki is covered with herbs and grasses, and provides another important landing site for migratory seabirds. Worked for guano from 1859 to 1871, Rawaki was abandoned and no human use seems to have been made of it thereafter.[7]

Manra Island

[edit]

Manra,or Sydney Island, measures approximately 3.2 by 2.8 km (2.0 by 1.7 mi). It has a large, salty lagoon with depths reportedly varying from between 5 and 6 metres (16 and 20 ft). The island is covered with coconut palms, scrub forest, herbs and grasses, including the speciesTournefortia,Pisonia,Morinda,Cordia,Guettarda,andScaevola.Manra contains definite evidence of prehistoric inhabitation, in the form of at least a dozen platforms and remains of enclosures in the northeast and northwest portions of the island.K. P. Emory,anethnologistatHonolulu'sBishop Museum,has estimated that two groups of people were present on Manra, one having migrated there from easternPolynesia,the other fromMicronesia.Wells and pits apparently dug by these early inhabitants were also found.[8]

Extensively worked forguanobeginning in 1884 byJohn T. Arundel& Co, Manra was developed into acopraplantation in the early 20th century. In 1938, Manra was selected as one of three atolls to be included in thePhoenix Islands Settlement Scheme,which represented the final expansion of the British Empire. Manra was subsequently plagued by drought and the death of the project's organizer. Due to these events, the effects of World War II and the declining copra market, the island was abandoned in 1963.

Nikumaroro

[edit]

Nikumaroro,or Gardner Island, is approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) long by 2 km (1.2 mi) wide, enclosing a large central lagoon. Vegetation is profuse, including scrub forest, coconut palms and herbs. Large quantities of birds nest on the island, which was once the headquarters for the British colonial officer heading up thePhoenix Islands Settlement Scheme,Gerald Gallagher.Gallagher constructed a village on the western end of the atoll, with wide, coral-paved streets, a parade ground, a cooperative store, an administrative center and residence, and a radio shack.

Gallagher died on Nikumaroro in 1941, and was buried on the island (where his empty grave monument can still be seen, though his remains were later moved toTarawa).[9]Like the other atolls in the settlement project, Nikumaroro was abandoned in 1963 due to the scarcity offresh water,together with the declining market for the copra that had been produced on the island.

Nikumaroro has appeared in media stories due to a theory thatAmelia EarhartandFred Noonanmight have landed their plane at low tide on the edge of the atoll's barrier reef during their fateful around-the-world attempt in 1937.The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery(TIGHAR) made several expeditions to Nikumaroro during the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century, finding possible evidence, but no conclusive proof, for this theory.[10]Investigation and expeditions to the island continue.[11]

Orona Island

[edit]

Orona,or Hull Island, measures approximately 8.8 by 4 km (5.5 by 2.5 mi), and, like Canton, is a narrow ribbon of land surrounding a sizable lagoon with depths of between 15 and 20 metres (49 and 66 ft). Like Manra, it is covered with coconut palms, scrub forest, and grasses; it also contains evidence of prehistoricPolynesianhabitation. An ancient stonemaraestands on the eastern tip of the island, together with ruins of shelters, graves and other platforms.[12]Unlike Manra, Orona does not seem to have been worked for guano, but it became a coconut plantation and was made a part of the British Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme. Residents were evacuated in 1963, due to drought and the declining copra market.

Islands of the Settlement Scheme andEnderbury Island

History of the islands

[edit]

Early history

[edit]

There is evidence to suggest that Howland Island was the site of a prehistoric settlement, which may have extended down to Rawaki, Canton, Manra and Orona—probably in the form of a single community making use of several adjacent islands. Archaeological sites have been discovered on Manra and Orona that suggest there were two distinct groups of settlers, one from eastern Polynesia, and one from Micronesia.[8]The hard life on these isolated islands undoubtedly led either to the extinction or emigration of these settled peoples, in much the same way that other islands in the area (such asChristmas IslandandPitcairn) were abandoned.[13]

These ancient settlements were probably founded around 1000 BC, when easternMelanesiansare known to have travelled northwards across the water.[14]Later settlement by Polynesians, and contact with Polynesia, is evident from archaeological digs. These have yielded basalt artifacts that originated in Samoa, the Marquesas, and the Cook Islands, and were transported to the Phoenix and Line Islands during the 12th–14th centuries AD.[15]

Secondary discovery and mapping of the islands

[edit]

In 1568, when Spanish navigatorÁlvaro de Mendaña de Neirawas commanded to explore the South Pacific, he sailed between theLine Islandsand the Phoenix Islands without sighting land, ultimately discovering "Isla de Jesus" (probably one of the islands in theEllice group).[16]

The oceans of the mid-Pacific andMicronesiaopened up to new exploration in the early 19th century aswhalersfrom Europe and the Americas began arriving.[17]An influx of whaling vessels in the 1820s led to the secondary discovery and mapping of the islands between 1821 and 1825.[18]They were the last islands in the Pacific to be fully explored and charted, probably because they were predominantly small, low, and isolated.[19]

While it is clear that early 19th-century whalers were responsible for discovering most of Kiribati in the modern era, it is impossible to confirm exactly who discovered each of the islands, due to conflicting reports and inaccurate mapping.[20]Jeremiah N. Reynolds's 1828 report to the American Navy recommended an exploring expedition to the Pacific because "the English charts, and those of other countries are as yet very imperfect. Much of their information has been obtained from loose accounts from whalers who were careless in some instances, and forgetful in others, and which were seized with greediness by the makers of maps and charts, in order to be the first to make these discoveries known."[21]

This proposal came to fruition in the 1840s, whenCharles Wilkesled theUnited States Exploring Expedition,consisting of theUSSPeacockand theUSSFlying Fish.The expedition surveyed the islands under the direction ofWilliam Hudson.[22]

Identifying the secondary discoverers

[edit]
Report of JN Reynolds, 1828[21]
Island Name Location Reynold's comments
"Phenix Island"* 2°35'S, 171°39'W "small and sandy, three miles in circumference"
"Mary Balcout's
Island "*
2°47'S, 171°58'W "Surrounded by a reef twenty leagues in circum-
ference, with only four openings where boats can
enter "(this is an almost identical position to
"Mary Island" shown on Norie's map of 1825;
similar to Canton Is.)
[1]
"Barney's Island"* 3°9'S, 171°41'W "a lagoon, twenty miles in circumference"
(Possibly another sighting of Canton Is.)[1]
"Birney's Island" 3°30'S, 171°30'W "Discovered by Capt Emmert; found on charts"
"Sidney's Island" 4°25'S, 171°20'W "Discovered by Capt Emmert; found on charts"
"Sidney's Is." (2) 4°30'S, 171°20'W
"Sidney's Is." (3) 4°29'S, 171°20'W
"New Nantucket" 0°11'N, 176°20'W "Not on charts"
"Gardner's Island" 4°30'S, 174°22'W "Not on charts; discovered by Capt Coffin,
onGanges".
unnamed 3°14'S, 170°50'W
unnamed 3°33'S, 173°44'W
unnamed 3°35'S, 170°20'W
unnamed 4°45'S, 174°40'W
unnamed reef 5°30'S, 175°W "Not on the charts".(possibly Carondelet Reef)
*Reynold's suggests that since these three have similar coordinates, they "are probably the
same as Birney's Island "

Contemporary reports and later analysis provide conflicting evidence regarding the identification of the initial discoverers, a state of affairs only complicated by the numerous names given to each of the atolls.

In 1828, the U.S. Navy commissioned J.N. Reynolds to compile a survey of American discoveries in the South Pacific. Reynolds interviewed severalNew Englandwhalers and inspected their logbooks, charts and documents. His report included at least 13 islands that fit roughly within the Phoenix group, but the coordinates he gave do not always compare to the now-established coordinates of that area.[1]

Other contemporary reports of the islands added to the confusion about the details of the initial discoveries. The FrenchmanLouis Tromelinreported his 1823 discovery of Phoenix island at 3°42'S, 170°43'W, while cartographerJohn Arrowsmithplotted it 12 minutes further north; a rediscovery of Sydney is at 4°26'30 ", 171°18'. The same year,James Coffinrecorded "Enderby's Island" at 3°10', 171°10.[1]

TheUnited States Exploring Expeditionseems to have been the first to use the name "Phoenix" to refer to the whole island group. It had previously been used only to refer to one of the islands within the group.[23]

McKean Island

[edit]

McKean Island was the first of the Phoenix group to be reported and named. It was discovered on May 28, 1794, by a British captain,Henry Barber,of the shipArthur.[24]Barber named itDrummond's Island,plotting it at 3°40'S, 176°51'W.[25]It was later namedArthur Islandand appeared as such in charts of the time and was recorded as located at 3°30'S, 176°0'W.[23]On August 19, 1840, CommanderCharles Wilkesof theUnited States Exploring Expeditionmapped it and renamed itMcKean Island,after a member of his crew.

Enderbury Island

[edit]

Captain James Coffin of the British whalerTransitis credited with having discovered Enderbury Island in 1823, and to have named it "Enderby's Island" after the London whaling house of that name.[26]However, when Coffin described his discoveries to Arrowsmith and other geographers, he did not mention Enderbury.[27]

Birnie Island and Manra (Sydney Island)

[edit]

Birnie and Sydney Islands are reported to have been discovered in 1823 by a “Captain Emmett”. This may have been the Captain Emmett (or "Emmert" or "Emment" ) of the British whalerSydney Packet(or theSydney), who may have named the islands after the ship and its owner, the London firm Alexander Birnie & Co. Alternatively, it may have been Captain William Emmett, fromSydney,who sailed regularly in the area and is known to have bought thebrigQueen Charlottefrom the whaler James Birnie (of the Birnie ship owning family) in 1820.[27]FrenchmanLouis Tromelincame upon Sidney's Island, either in 1823 or 1828, and placed it at 4°26'30 ", 171°18'; he went on to surveyPhoenix Island.[28]

Canton Island or Kanton or Abariringa

[edit]

Two islands that were reported and charted in 1825 with coordinates similar to those of Canton Island were referred to in those documents as "Mary Island" and "Mary Balcoutts Island".[1]In addition, Reynold's report describes a "Barney's Island" roughly at Canton's position, which may have been named and discovered by Capt. Joseph Barney ofEquator,who was whaling in the area in 1823–4.[29]The island was given the name "Canton" in 1872 by Commander Richard W. Meade ofUSSNarragansett,who named it after the whaling shipCanton,which had been wrecked there in 1854.[30]

Nikumaroro (Gardner Island)

[edit]

On January 8, 1824, Capt. Kemin, of an unnamed ship, discovered what may have been Gardner Island (at 4°45'S, 186°20'15 "E) and McKean Island, naming them the" Kemin Islands ".[30]In 1825, Captain Joshua Gardner, reportedly aboard the whalerGanges,discovered an island located at 4°20' S, 174°22' W, and named it "Gardner's Island". His discovery was reported in theNantucket Enquirerin December 1827.[31]However, Joshua Coffin (also reportedly aboard theGanges) is sometimes credited with the discovery, and is said to have named the island after his ship's owner,Gideon Gardner.[32]

During theUnited States Exploring Expeditionof 1838–1842,Charles Wilkesidentified Gardner's Island based on the previously reported position, and confirmed its existence.[33]

Rawaki (Phoenix Island)

[edit]

The FrenchmanLouis Tromelin,aboard thecorvetteBayonnaise,came across Phoenix Island, (as well as Sydney Island, discussed above), probably in 1828[29](but some sources give 1823 as the date).[1]and 1826.[34]Tromelin placed the island at 3°42'S, 189°17'E, and noted his belief that it had already been reported on Norie's map.[29]Reynold's report also mentions an island referred to as "Phenix", as well as other unnamed islands, at similar coordinates. The island's discoverer and the origin of its name are unknown, but there are several possible candidates: the whaling shipPhoenixofNantucket, Massachusetts,which was active in the area and was the discoverer ofWinslow Reef;[35]the London whalerPhoenix,owned by Daniel Bennett (W. Bennett & Co), which was whaling in the Pacific in 1815;[29]thePhoenix,under the command of John Palmer in 1824; and another vessel named thePhoenix,under the command of a Captain Moore, which was in the Pacific in 1794.[36]

Orona (Hull Island)

[edit]

Little is known about the discovery of Hull Island, but its existence was confirmed by theUnited States Exploring Expeditionin 1841, which found it to be inhabited), and it was named byCharles Wilkes,after CommodoreIsaac Hull.[37]

Winslow Reef

[edit]

The reef was discovered in 1851 by the whalerPhoenix.Perry Winslowwas the master of the ship on that occasion.[38]Some have speculated this could have been the ship after which the Phoenix Island group is named, but several other whaling ships of the time were also named Phoenix,[39]and one of the individual islands in the group had already been reported at an earlier date to bear the name “Phoenix Island”.

Carondelet Reef

[edit]

Reynold's report of 1828 included an unnamed reef at coordinates similar to those of Carondelet Reef.[21]

Baker Island

[edit]

In August 1825, CaptainObed Starbuckof the whalerLopersighted a low, barren island at 0°11'N, 176°20'W, which he named "New Nantucket" after his home (Nantucket, Massachusetts). Starbuck had previously discovered islands in theEllice group.The island was later named after Capt. Michael Baker, who had discoveredguanodeposits on the island in 1839.[30]Today, Baker Island is a United States territory; it is one of theU.S. Minor Outlying Islands.

Howland Island

[edit]

Howland Island is United States territory, and one of theU.S. Minor Outlying Islands.The discovery of Howland Island is sometimes credited to Captain George B Worth of the Nantucket whalerOeno,around 1822, who called it "Worth Island".[1]Daniel MacKenzie of the American whalerMinerva Smith,charted the island in 1828, and, believing it to be a new discovery, named it after his ship's owners.[30]

Later history

[edit]

Most of the Phoenix Islands were annexed by Great Britain in the late 19th century. The United States claimedHowland and Baker Islandsin 1935. In 1937, Britain incorporated all the islands in the Phoenix group, except for Howland and Baker islands, into theGilbert and Ellice Islandscolony. The United States claimed sovereignty over Canton and Enderbury in 1938, but in 1939 entered into an agreement with Britain to form theCanton and Enderbury Islandscondominiumand exercise joint control over the two islands for a term of 50 years.[40](The agreement continued in force until 1979, when it was nullified by Kiribati independence.)[41]During this period of joint U.S.-British control, Canton was extensively developed, first as a seaplane-landing site, then later as a refueling station for trans-Pacific civilian and military aircraft. It remained in use until 1958.

Although shelled and bombed a few times during World War II, neither Canton nor any of the Phoenix Islands was ever occupied by Japanese forces.

Between 1938 and 1940, in an effort to reduce overcrowding on theGilbert Islands,the previously uninhabited Orona (Hull), Manra (Sydney), and Nikumaroro (Gardner) islands were colonised, as part of thePhoenix Islands Settlement Scheme.[42]By 1963, however, the settlements on these three islands were deemed to be unworkable, and the entire population was moved to the Solomon Islands.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, the United States used Canton as a missile-tracking station. The island was before abandoned altogether in 1976, but then later resettled by members of theI-Kiribaticommunity, who continue to reside there today. In 2008, the government of Kiribati designated the islands the “Phoenix Islands Protected Area”,which was at the time the world's largestmarine protected area.Collaborations between Kiribati, theNew England Aquarium,and Conservation International have allowed scientific expeditions to explore the Phoenix Islands in order to quantify the ocean's flora and fauna. This area is of particular scientific interest because it has been relatively untouched by human activity.[43]

The Phoenix Islands have been surveyed byTIGHARin an attempt to determine whether they may have been the landing site ofAmelia EarhartandFred Noonan,who disappeared in 1937 over the central Pacific Ocean nearHowland Islandwhile attempting acircumnavigationalflight of the globe.[44]

In May 2010, it was reported that a British sailor, Alex Bond, from Penryn, Cornwall, had saved a group of "desperate and starving" Kanton islanders after chancing upon them on his way to Australia. He happened to pull into a lagoon nearCanton Island(which is the only habitable island in the Phoenix Islands chain, and lies to the northeast of Australia), whereupon he discovered that its 24 residents were destitute. A supply ship that had been expected to bring them food four months earlier had never arrived, and the 10 children and 14 adults had been surviving on fish and coconuts. At the time, Bond was reportedly working for a UK-based disaster-relief charity,ShelterBox,which provides emergency aid to people in need. He contacted the coast guard inFalmouth,England, using his satellite phone, and they in turn arranged for the U.S. Coast Guard to send supplies to the islanders from Honolulu, Hawaii.[45]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdefghSharp, pp. 210–13
  2. ^"Line & Phoenix Group (Kiribati): Islands & Major Villages – Population Statistics in Maps and Charts".www.citypopulation.de.RetrievedNovember 4,2018.
  3. ^"Enderbury Island, Phoenix Group, Republic of Kiribati".Jane's Oceania Home Page.Jane Resture. September 28, 2008.RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  4. ^"Birnie Island, Phoenix Group, Republic of Kiribati".Jane's Oceania Home Page.Jane Resture. September 28, 2008.RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  5. ^"McKean Island, Phoenix Group".Jane's Oceania Home Page.Jane Resture. September 28, 2008.RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  6. ^"Rawaki Islands – Rawaki".Oceandots.com. July 24, 2001. Archived fromthe originalon December 23, 2010.RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  7. ^"Phoenix Island, Phoenix Group, Republic of Kiribati".Jane's Oceania Home Page.Jane Resture.RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  8. ^ab"Sydney Island, Phoenix Group, Republic of Kiribati".Jane's Oceania Home Page.Jane Resture. September 28, 2008.RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  9. ^King, Thomas F. (August 1, 2000)."Gallagher of Nikumaroro: The Last Expansion of the British Empire".Earhart Project Research Bulletin.TIGHAR.RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  10. ^"The Earhart Project".TIGHAR. Archived fromthe originalon January 15, 2008.RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  11. ^"The 70th Anniversary Expedition".TIGHAR.RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  12. ^"Hull Island, Phoenix Group, Republic of Kiribati".Jane's Oceania Home Page.Jane Resture.RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  13. ^Irwin, pp. 176–9.
  14. ^Suárez, p 17.
  15. ^Di Piazza and Pearthree. Voyaging and basalt exchange in the Phoenix and Line archipelagoes: the viewpoint from three mystery islands. Archaeol. Oceania 36 (2001) 146–152
  16. ^Maude, pp. 53–56.
  17. ^Langdon, Robert (1984)Where the whalers went: an index to the Pacific ports and islands visited by American whalers (and some other ships) in the 19th century,Canberra, Pacific Manuscripts Bureau, pp.203-05.ISBN086784471X
  18. ^Maude, p. 123.
  19. ^Suárez, p. 178.
  20. ^Sharp, p. 212
  21. ^abc"Reynold's Report to the House of Representatives".Mysite.du.edu.RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  22. ^Stanton, William (1975).The Great United States Exploring Expedition.Berkeley: University of California Press. pp.232–233.ISBN0520025571.
  23. ^abSharp, p 210
  24. ^Quanchi & Robson, p. 11
  25. ^Maude, p. 109
  26. ^Polynesian Society, p. 104
  27. ^abMaude, p. 129
  28. ^Sharp, p. 211
  29. ^abcdMaude, p. 131
  30. ^abcdMaude, p. 130
  31. ^Dunmore, p. 115
  32. ^Stackpole, p (missing page number)
  33. ^Sharp, p. 213
  34. ^Quanchi & Robson, p xviii–xix
  35. ^Otto Degener, Edwin Gillaspy (August 15, 1955)."Canton Island, South Pacific".Atoll Research Bulletin(41).RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  36. ^Bryan, p (missing page number)
  37. ^Maude, p. 132
  38. ^Ships' Log Collection,Phoenix,November 7, 1848 – February 5, 1853. In the Nantucket Historical Association, Resource Library and Archives.
  39. ^Atoll Research Bulletin 41, page 6, Issued by the Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, Washington DC, August 15, 1955.
  40. ^[Chronology: 1937: August 31. HMSLeithlands two radio operators on Canton Island to maintain British sovereignty claims to the island. During this Year, the Colonial Development Fund provides £16,000 which is used to transfer 2,000 settlers from the overcrowded Gilberts to the previously uninhabited islands of Hull, Sydney and Gardener in the Phoenix Group. HMSLeithvisits each of the islands in the Phoenix Group and lands an official party on Canton Island. 1938. March 3. President Roosevelt signs an executive order placing Canton and Enderbury Islands in the Phoenix Group under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of the Interior. March 6 The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Taney lands a party of American colonists on Enderbury Island. March 7 A seven man party of American surveyors and colonists lands on Canton Island and establishes camp alongside the British. 1939 April Canton and Enderbury Islands are placed under an Anglo-American condominium for 50 years and "thereafter until such time as it may be modified or terminated by mutual consent". 1940 July 14 Pan American Airways’ Samoa Clipper lands in Canton Island, during a flight from Honolulu to Auckland. ]
  41. ^The Columbia Encyclopedia,Sixth Edition. 2001–05
  42. ^Maude, pp. 315–342
  43. ^"Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA)".Phoenixislands.org.RetrievedJuly 15,2011.
  44. ^Jacobson, Randall S."The American Equatorial and Phoenix Islands".TIGHAR.RetrievedMarch 23,2013.
  45. ^"The accidental hero – how Cornish sailor saved islanders".The Independent.May 11, 2010.Archivedfrom the original on May 26, 2022.RetrievedAugust 24,2020.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Bryan, E. H. (1942),American Polynesia and the Hawaiian Chain,Honolulu: Tongg Publishing
  • Dunmore, John (1992),Who's Who in Pacific Navigation,Melbourne, Australia: Melbourne University Press,ISBN0-522-84488-X
  • Irwin, Geoffrey(1992),The Prehistroric Exploration and Colonisation of the Pacific,Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,ISBN0-521-47651-8
  • Maude, H. E.(1961),Post-Spanish Discoveries in the Central Pacific,The Journal of the Polynesian Society, p. 67
  • Maude, H. E.(1968),Of Islands and Men: Studies in Pacific History,Melbourne: Oxford University Press
  • Quanchi, Max; Robson, John (2005),Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands,Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press,ISBN0-8108-5395-7
  • Sharp, Andrew (1960),The Discovery of the Pacific Islands,Oxford: Oxford University Press
  • Stackpole, Edouard A. (1953),The Sea Hunters: The New England Whalemen During Two Centuries, 1635–1835,Philadelphia: Lippincott
  • Suárez, Thomas (2004),Early Mapping of the Pacific,Singapore: Periplus Editions,ISBN0-7946-0092-1