Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme
The Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme was begun in 1938 in the western
Pacific Ocean and was the last attempt at human colonisation within the British Empire
.
History
Conceived by
High Commissioner of the Western Pacific. The goal of the project was to reduce overpopulation in the southern Gilbert Islands by developing three mostly uninhabited atolls in the Phoenix Islands archipelago
:
- Nikumaroro (Gardner)
- Manra (Sydney)
- Orona (Hull)
A secondary goal was to enhance the British presence in the western Pacific in response to growing
Kanton), where a commercial seaplane
base was being established.
The three atolls, Sydney, Hull, and Gardner, were renamed in Gilbertese as
Second World War, the islands' isolation and the 1941 death on Nikumaroro of the project's officer in charge, 29-year-old civil servant Gerald Gallagher
.
Abandonment
After 1945 the three settlements continued to struggle with supply problems, limited markets for
Kanton Island (census
population 61 in 2000 and 41 in 2005).
See also
References
- ^ Maude, HE (1937). "Report - Colonization of the Phoenix Islands". University of Adelaide. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ Resture, Jane. "Sydney - Phoenix group". Jane Resture. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "History of the Phoenix Islands". Government of Kiribati. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
External links
- Maude, H. E. (1968). "The Colonization of the Phoenix Islands". Of Islands and Men: Studies in Pacific History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195501773. 30.
- King, Thomas F. (Aug 1, 2000). "Gallagher of Nikumaroro: The Last Expansion of the British Empire". Earhart Project Research Bulletin. TIGHAR.