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Palmyra Atoll
Palmyra Atoll is an uninhabited, 12 km2 (4.6 square miles) atoll in the Northern Pacific Ocean at . Palmyra is one of the Northern Line Islands (southeast of Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati Line Islands), located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly halfway between Hawai‘i and American Samoa. Its 14.5 km (9 mi) of coastline has one anchorage known as West Lagoon. It consists of an extensive reef, two shallow lagoons, and some 50 sand and reef-rock islets and bars covered with vegetation—mostly coconut trees, Scaevola, and tall Pisonia trees. Most islets are not separate, but connected. Exceptions are Sand Island in the West and Barren Island in the East. The largest island is Cooper Island in the North, followed by Kaula Island in the South. The northern arch of islets is formed by Strawn Island, Cooper Island, Aviation Island, Quail Island, Whippoorwill Island, followed in the East by Eastern Island, Papala Island, and Pelican Island, and in the South by Bird Island, Holei Island, Engineer island, Marine Island, Kaula Island, Paradise Island and Home Island (clockwise). Average annual rainfall is approximately 175 inches per year.
Palmyra is an incorporated territory of the United States, part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands, meaning that it is subject to all provisions contained in the United States Constitution and is permanently under U.S. sovereignty. It is also an unorganized territory as there is no Congressional act specifying how it should be governed; the only relevant law simply gives the President the discretion to administer the island as he sees fit (see Section 48 of the Hawaii Omnibus Act, Pub. L. 86–624, July 12, 1960, 74 Stat. 411, attached as a note to former sections 491 to 636 of Title 48, United States Code [http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/48/usc_sup_01_48_10_3notes.html]).
Of course, the issue of Palmyra's governance is a moot point, as there is now no indigenous population nor any reason to think that there will be one in the future. It is therefore currently the only unorganized, incorporated U.S. territory. It is privately owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed as a nature reserve, but administered from Washington, D.C. by the Office of Insular Affairs, United States Department of the Interior. The surrounding waters, out to the 12 mile (22.2 km) limit, were transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and designated as the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2001. Defense is the responsibility of the United States.
There is no current economic activity on the island. Many roads and causeways were built during World War II but are now unserviceable and overgrown. There is a roughly 2000 m (2200 yd) long, unpaved and unimproved airstrip. Various abandoned World War II-era structures are found on the island.
The atoll has been manned by a group of scientists and volunteers (totalling between 4 and 20 in all) for the last several years. A series of improvements in 2004 consisted of new 2-person bungalows and showers for the island's inhabitants. Water is collected from the roof of a concrete building not far from the main living area of the scientists. Communal buildings of the settlement on the north side of Cooper Island (the only one on the atoll) consist of a common cooking/dining building adjacent to the Atoll's only dock and a kayak and scuba equipment storage building next to the launch ramp.
Palmyra Atoll's location in the Pacific Ocean, where the southern and northern currents meet, means that its beautiful beaches are littered with trash and debris. Plastic mooring buoys are particularly plentiful on the beaches of Palmyra, as well as plastic bottles for soft drinks, detergents, etc.
Large parts of the Atoll are closed to any sort of public access due to the threat of uncleared World War II ordnance.
History
Palmyra was first sighted in 1798 by American sea captain, Edmund Fanning of Stonington, Connecticut, while his ship the Betsy was in transit to Asia, but it was only later—on November 7, 1802—that the first western people landed on the uninhabited atoll. On that date, Captain Sawle of the American ship Palmyra was wrecked on the atoll.
In 1859, Palmyra was claimed both by the American Guano Company and the United States Guano Company, but the following year it was awarded to the second company which however never started mining for guano in accordance with the Guano Islands Act of 1856. Most likely this was because there was no guano. Palmyra is located close to the Intertropical convergence zone; there is too much rain for guano to accumulate. In the meanwhile, on February 26, 1862, His Majesty Kamehameha IV (1834-1863), Fourth King of Hawai'i (1854-1863), issued a commission to Captain Zenas Bent and Johnson B. Wilkinson, both Hawaiian citizens, to sail to Palmyra and to take possession of the atoll in the king's name and on April 15, 1862 it was formally annexed to the Kingdom of Hawai'i.
Captain Bent sold his rights to Palmyra to Mr. Wilkinson on December 24, 1862 and from 1862 to 1885, Kalama Wilkinson owned the island which was divided in 1885 between three heirs, two of which immediately transferred their rights to a certain Wilcox (?) who, in turn, transferred them to the Pacific Navigation Company. The latter entity made an attempt to colonize the atoll by sending a married couple to live there between September 1885 and August 1886.
In 1898 Palmyra was annexed to the U.S. in conjunction with the overall U.S. annexation of Hawai'i. In the period preceding the formal annexation of the atoll by the U.S., the U.K. had shown interest for the atoll to become part of the "Guano Empire" of John T. Arundel & Co; and in 1889 the British had even formally annexed it. In order to end all further British attempts or contestations, a second, separate act of annexation of Palmyra by the U.S. was made in 1911.
Afterwards, by a series of agreements signed between 1888 and 1911, the Pacific Navigation Company transferred its interests to Henry Ernest Cooper Sr. (1857–1929). The third heir of Kalama Wilkinson transferred his rights to a Mr. Ringer, whose children in turn also transferred their rights to Henry Ernest Cooper Sr. (s.a.) in 1912 and who then became the sole owner of the atoll.
In 1922 Cooper sold the whole atoll except some minor islets (the 5 "home islands") to Leslie and Ellen Fullard-Leo on August 19 for $15,000.00. The latter party established the Palmyra Copra Company to exploit the coconuts growing on the atoll. Their heirs continued as proprietors afterwards, except for a period of Navy administration during World War II.
In 1934, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra were placed under the Department of the Navy. When the U.S. Navy took over to use the atoll as a naval air base, the atoll was owned privately by Hawaiian and American citizens. After the war, the Fullard-Leos fought for the return of Palmyra all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and won in 1947.
When Hawai‘i achieved statehood in 1959, Palmyra was explicitly separated from the new state; prior to that point in time, Palmyra Atoll was officially part of the City & County of Honolulu.
In July 1990 Peter Savio of Honolulu took a lease on the atoll until the year 2065 and formed the Palmyra Development Company. In January 2000, the atoll was purchased by The Nature Conservancy for the purposes of coral reef conservation and research.
In November 2005, a worldwide team of scientists has joined with The Nature Conservancy to launch a new research station on the Palmyra Atoll in order to study climate change, disappearing coral reefs, invasive species and other global environmental threats.
The Sea Will Tell
In 1974, San Diego yachting couple, Malcom (Mac) and Eleanor (Muff) Graham sailed to Palmyra hoping to find a deserted tropical isle on which to spend an idyllic year or so. Finding numerous other "yachties" there, the Grahams were disappointed, but decided to stay. It was a fateful decision. Among the other people on Palmyra were Buck Walker and his girlfriend from Hawai‘i. Walker was a convicted drug dealer who fled Hawai‘i for life on a broken down sailboat named the Iola. Immediately, tensions real and imagined began to mount on the Graham's boat, the Sea Wind, an impeccably outfitted and beautiful ketch. The Grahams had enough food for several years, but Walker and his girlfriend were running low on staples and were planning a sail to Fanning, a nearby atoll where they thought they could use money Mac Graham paid them for their generator in exchange for the staples they needed.
Sometime between August 28 and August 30, 1974, as later related by Walker's girlfriend, The Grahams disappeared from Palmyra and the young couple found their Zodiac dinghy upside down. On September 11, after days of searching and waiting for the Grahams to make their way back to their boat, Walker and his girlfriend scuttled their own boat, the Iola and then sailed for Hawai‘i on the Sea Wind. Once in Hawai‘i, the couple had the boat repainted on Kaua‘i with a new name, although it was quickly recognized in Honolulu as the Sea Wind by acquaintenances of the Grahams. The couple were arrested for theft of the boat. Both were convicted, and served time for that theft.
Then in 1981, Muff Graham's bones were found next to an aluminum case on Palmyra. Evidence of dismembering and burning of the body was found. Buck Walker was subsequently tried and convicted of the murder of Eleanor Graham and is currently serving time (up for parole hearing in 2006 when he will be 68 years old). The girlfriend was tried separately in San Francisco, in a change of venue, and defended by Vincent Bugliosi. She was found not guilty of the murder of Muff Graham and resumed her life in California in the telecommunications industry. Mac Graham's body has never been found. Vince Bugliosi tells the story of the murders and trials in his 1991 book, And The Sea Will Tell (ISBN 0393029190).
External links
- [http://shadow.eas.gatech.edu/~kcobb/palmyra.html Palmyra atoll]
- [http://pacificislands.fws.gov/wnwr/palmyranwr.html Palmyra Atoll NWR]
- [http://nature.org/wherewework/asiapacific/palmyra/ The Nature Conservancy in Palmyra Atoll]
- [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=331&invol=256 The Supreme Court opinion in United States v. Fullard-Leo with a thorough history of the island's ownership]
Category:Insular areas of the United States
Category:Line Islands
Category:National Wildlife Refuges in the United States
Category:Pacific Ocean atolls
zh-min-nan:Palmyra Khoân-chiau
ja:パルミラ環礁
Atoll
. Its lagoon is shallower than is the case for most atolls (thus, the light blue color in this satellite image{
Line Islands
The Line Islands are a group of atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean south of the Hawaiian Islands. The Line Islands that are part of the Republic of Kiribati are in a time zone with the earliest time in the world: UTC + 14. The time of day is the same as in Hawaii, but one day ahead; and even 25 hours ahead of some other islands in Oceania.
Northern Line Islands
The Northern Line Islands lie between the equator and 6°N, and about 160°W. A few belong to the United States, but most are now part of Kiribati. They include Kiribati possessions (two names, one in Gilbertese one in English, both constitutional):
- Kiritimati (Christmas Island)
- Tabuaeran (Fanning Island)
- Teraina (Washington Island)
Kiritimati is the largest (in terms of land area, only) atoll in the world—it is about 90 statute miles (150 km) in circuit and includes a lagoon that is now mostly dry land. Kiritimati was discovered by Captain Cook on Christmas day in 1777. The islands were annexed by Britain in 1888 with a view to laying the Pacific cable with Tabuaeran (then Fanning Island) as a relay station. That cable functioned between 1902 and 1963 except for a short period in 1914 when German naval forces landed (? They did not land) at Fanning to cut the cable.
The total population of the three atolls in 1900 was about 300. Currently there are about 5,300 people on Kiritimati, 1,800 on Tabuaeran, and 2,000 on Teraina (also known as Washington Island) for a total of 9,100 on the Kiribatese portion.
Copra and "Petfish" are the main export products (with seaweed).
The American possessions in the Northern Line Islands are uninhabited:
- Palmyra Atoll
- Kingman Reef
Southern Line Islands
The Southern Line Islands are all uninhabited.
Kiribati possessions:
- Malden Island
- Starbuck Island
- Flint Island
- Vostok Island
- Caroline Atoll
The one American island in this group is uninhabited:
- Jarvis Island
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Category:Archipelagoes
ja:ライン諸島
zh-min-nan:Sòaⁿ Kûn-tó
KiribatiThe Republic of Kiribati is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The country's 33 atolls are scattered over 3,500,000 km² near the equator. Its name is pronounced and is a Kiribati language rendering of "Gilberts", the English name for the main group of islands: the former Gilbert Islands.
History
Main article: History of Kiribati
Kiribati was inhabited by a single Micronesian ethnic group that spoke the same Oceanic language for 2,000 years before coming into contact with Europeans. The islands were named the Gilbert Islands in 1820 by a Russian admiral, Adam von Krusenstern, and French captain Louis Duperrey, after a British captain, Thomas Gilbert, who crossed the archipelago in 1788 ('Kiribati' is the islanders' pronunciation of plural 'Gilberts').
In 1892, the Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate together with the nearby Ellice Islands. They became a colony in 1916 and finally became autonomous in 1971. In 1943, the Battle of Tarawa was fought at Kiribati's capital Bairiki on Tarawa atoll.
In 1978, the Ellice Islands became the independent nation of Tuvalu, and Kiribati's independence followed on July 12, 1979. With independence, the United States relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix Islands and all but three of the Line Islands, which became part of Kiribati territory.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Kiribati
The parliament of Kiribati, called Maneaba ni Maungatabu is elected every four years, and consists of 42 representatives. A Maneaba is also the name given to the meeting houses in every local community.
The president is both head of state and head of government, and is called te Beretitenti (pronounced te pereseetensee).
Each of the 21 inhabited islands has a local council that takes care of the daily affairs. (3 councils on Tarawa: Betio, South-Tarawa, North-Tarawa).
The name "Kiribati" is the local language equivalent of the word "Gilberts" and is pronounced "Ki-ri-bas." The Republic of Kiribati, covering the total area of about 5 million square kilometres, is made up of three groups of islands: 1. Gilbert Group (Kiribati) - 16 islands or atolls, as well as Banaba (Ocean Island) , about 400 kilometres south-west of Tarawa, capital of the Republic of Kiribati; 2. Line Islands, (The Northern Equatorial Islands) - eight islands, 2400 kilometres east of Kiribati and include the unique and beautiful Kiritimati (Christmas Island, the world's largest atoll in land area), Fanning Island (Tabuaeran) and Millennium Island (formerly Caroline Island) so named as it was the first to greet the dawn of the new millennium; and 3. Phoenix Group - eight islands, 1120 kilometres E.S.E.of Kiribati and include Canton Island (Kanton) and Hull Island (Orona). Please come with me on a journey to the beautiful and enchanting islands of the Republic of Kiribati. This can easily be undertaken by clicking on any of the Links on the Menu to the left. For new visitors it will be the trip of a lifetime, and for old friends it will be a journey to remember and treasure once more. Also included is information on accommodation and travel to/from and within the Republic of Kiribati. KIRIBATI HISTORICAL IMAGES Over the last sixty years, it is amazing that so many aspects of Kiribati life have changed very little. So many of those fundamental things that are uniquely I-Kiribati have been preserved from one generation to the next. The material on this Web site has been extracted from a January 1943 issue of National Geographic Magazine. The photographs were taken by Dr. Raymond A. Dillon. The beauty of this young girl typifies in many ways the beauty of Kiribati. With her delicate features, she flashes a ready smile displaying clean white teeth. Her abundant hair is black and straight. In previous times, she would have worn no clothes but civilisation and the missionaries have introduced the Mother Hubbard for adult women and insisted on at least a little covering for youngsters. A Kiribati dancer in a remote village displays the style that has made Kiribati dancing the exciting and intense art form that it is. Left: Into the sunset on the vast Pacific Ocean an outrigger canoe sails for flying fish. Distance has no terrors for Kiribati navigators, who are taught in boyhood to steer by the stars. Right: A Kiribati boy enjoys a cool place in which to partake of a drink of coconut milk. The above two images highlight the dancing agilities of the athletic Kiribati men. In the image above, the backhanded stroke demonstrated here is one with which a Kiribati swimmer disembowels a shark. For a special feast, the locals cut up a roast pig. Pork is a rare treat and the regular diet consists of coconut, babai, taro, breadfruit and fish. The well-kept houses reflect the clean healthiness of the Kiribati people. No filthy litter mars the villages, and for ventilation, the houses are open tothe breezes. The building materials come from the sea with floors and walls made of coral gravel and foundations and pillars of lime from burned coral. Kite flying is a favourite sport among the Kiribati people. These 25 ft. kites, flown without tails, depend for equilibrium on perfect proportion. An expert can manipulate one so that it travels upwind and soars directly over his head or does battle with another in the clouds. Tabiteuea locals sail a swift 96 feet, three mastered outrigger canoe. Its width is five and a half feet, freeboard five feet, and draft three feet. The outrigger is a single log about 49 feet long and 2 feet in diameter lashed to the hull amidships by thirteen 20 foot pieces forming a scaffold. The masts are 40 feet high. Since the deck is only half covered, it is possible to "go below" at any point. A red flag floats from each masthead. Like the smaller craft, it is constructed without metal, all parts being tied together with coconut fibre. From the outrigger, the huge steering oar looks small. However, for the lads who clamber out on the framework to keep the speeding craft on an even keel clear vision of the steersman is vital. An unexpected puff or flaw could easily fling them overboard. The Maneaba is the central focus of social life in the village. Standing in the centre of a spacious square, this cathedral-like thatch - perhaps a 120 feet long by 80 feet wide - is the hub of Kiribati communal life. Its ridge soars 60 feet high and its sides come close to the ground so those entering must stoop. Inside, traditional places are reserved for each clan. At high tide on the ocean beach fishermen boldly launch their flimsy canoes - they brave the open sea without any thought of danger. Kiribati fishermen occasionally find pearls in oysters taken from the lagoons. Sticks edged with shark's teeth serve as weapons for the Kiribati people. With such crude knives the daring natives attack and kill tiger sharks and even the deadly "grey ghost". Kiribati people in canoes swarm about a visiting schooner. When not in use, the woven mat sails are rolled neatly on the outriggers, for there is no room for them in the slender hulls. CHRISTMAS ISLAND BOMB TESTS Christmas Island Bomb Tests Message Forum The first step in the selection of Christmas Island as the Bomb Test Base had in fact been taken in January and February of 1956, when H.M.N.Z.S. Lachlan brought a survey party to the Island to "bring information up-to-date in connection with the International Geo-Physical Year". In March a request was received for the clearing of the runways at the airport and early in April information was received that the British Government was to establish an "Air Base" at Christmas Island and the code name 'GRAPPLE' was born. The official announcement that the real purpose was the testing of nuclear weapons followed and on 19th June, 1956 the advance party for the operation arrived. By July a canvas town had appeared and there were two thousand sailors, soldiers and airmen on the Island, apart from the crews of the vessels in port and the civilian scientific personnel. Recording stations were established on Malden and Fanning Islands. At first there were suggestions from the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Government (now the Republic of Kiribati and Tuvalu) that the island should be evacuated, but this was said to be unnecessary and in fact additional workers were sent for employment by the Forces. However, in February 1957 all the women and children and most of the plantation staff were evacuated to Fanning Island where they remained until 22nd June. Three bombs in the megaton range were successfully dropped by "Valiant" bombers and exploded at about 18,000 feet some thirty miles south of the island between 15th May and 19th June. The thirty-three government staff and plantation workers, who had remained on the Island, were taken aboard a Naval Landing Craft for the explosions, which took place very early in the morning while they watched a film show below decks. Instructions provided for all doors and windows to be left open and all breakables to be placed flat on the floor. Very little damage was reported - except by those who neglected these instructions. Evacuation of the military personnel, apart from a caretaker force, began in July, but meanwhile a decision had been taken in England to develop the Island as a 5-Years Trials Base. Some materials already loaded in the port were unloaded and in August a build-up began which, over the next two years, was to produce a reconstruction of the wharf and port, the resurfacing and sealing of the main runway of the American-built airfield with the installation of hangars, control tower and many other facilities. Another 6,000-foot sealed runway was constructed at the extreme end of the south-east arm - "Aeon Field" taking its name from the former wreck. Click here for more information about Aeon... An asphalt road twenty miles long was built from London to the airfield, extending a further thirty-five miles of single-width to the south-east point. Hutted camps with power-station, piped water and sanitation and recreational facilities were built three miles west of the airfield - "Main Camp" - and at London - "Port Camp" - to house a total of about four thousand men at the peak of the constructional and operational programmes. In November of 1957 there were two further H-Bomb explosion and between April and September of 1958 a further series. There was no evacuation to Fanning Island for these tests, but all were taken to off-shore boats - except at the time of some low-power bomb detonations when even that was not considered necessary. With the prevailing easterly winds the dangers from radioactivity was said to be nil and very minimal for "blast". Only the danger to eyes from "flash" made it essential for people to be under cover. In April, 1959 H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Base during a Pacific Tour. With talks on the banning of further bomb explosions in the atmosphere beginning in Geneva, activity was minimal. Towards the end of the year it was announced that personnel would be reduced to 1700 by 1st January, 1960 and to 300 in July. Christmas Island was now being envisaged as a transit base for the Far East and R.A.F. Transport Command took over. Copra cutting resumed in November, 1959. But it was not after all to be quite the end of military activity. The Geneva talks broke down and American Defence Chiefs were pressing for a resumption of tests. President Kennedy finally approved and Britain accepted that they should be staged at Christmas Island, which now was given yet another code name - 'DOMINIC'. On 15th February, 1962 fifty men from the American firm of Holmes and Narver arrived to reactivate the Main Camp and within two weeks there were more than 800 American servicemen and civilians on the island. Numbers rose rapidly, until by the time of the first "shot" on 25th April there were 3,500 British and American personnel engaged. Between then and 11th July there was a total of twenty-four "shots" in the series. Other tests were going on at Johnston Island 1,200 miles to the north-west and on 8th July it was recorded that the midnight high-altitude explosion there was clearly visible on Christmas Island. Evacuation to off-shore ships was not considered necessary, but after two heavy explosions people became nervous and voluntary arrangements were made. Almost total for the next test, evacuation soon fell below half and only about a third of the people, including all the children, were leaving the island by the end of the series. Those still on shore went to the maneabas (public meeting houses) and waited with bowed heads and closed eyes for the countdown, for "flash" was still the danger. They were then free to go outside and see for the first time the boiling flames of the "mushroom" cloud and experience the delayed shock waves and the roar of the explosion. At the beginning of 1963 there was talk of the establishment of a permanent American satellite tracking station on Christmas Island, but interest waned and by the end of September the last of the American servicemen had departed. In Britain, too, strategic imperatives were changing and the Christmas Island base was an early casualty of the withdrawal of British Forces from the Pacific theatre. In June the last inventories were made, obsolete and dangerous materials were dumped at sea, the offices were locked and at sunset on Monday 19th June, 1964 the White Ensign was lowered at the Royal Navy shore station, H.M.S. Resolution. American service personnel reappeared very briefly in April, 1970 to stand by on Christmas Island for the "splash-down", two hundred miles to the south, of the Apollo 13 crew returning from the moon. After the departure of the Forces, Operation "Hard Look" had carried out a full investigation into the possibilities of radio-active contamination, but had found none. In 1975 a further examination of Christmas Island was undertaken by American experts as part of the preparation for the establishment of a Japanese tracking station. They reported that radioactivity levels were lower than those found in most American cities and that there was nothing on the island which could lead an investigator to deduce that there had ever been an atomic detonation in the vicinity. STOP PRESS BOMB TESTS: THIS MUST BE DONE From Life Magazine, 1962. Reluctantly-forced by the bleak hostility of Russian negotiators and the competitive pressure of Russian tests-the U.S. five days ago fired nuclear bombs in the atmosphere of the Pacific. After three years of trying to get the Soviets to agree to an effective arms inspection and control system, the U.S. found itself in the position of having to test again or losing its nuclear lead. Our tests centred on British-owned Christmas Island, just north of the equator, and our own Johnston Island, 700 miles southwest of Honolulu, 100 planes and 40 ships had three main jobs to do. Although they would work in deep secrecy, their efforts would most probably enter on tasks like those shown in the drawing below. First we want to proof-test the weapons we have developed since our last atmospheric shots in 1958-for example, we have never fixed a warhead on one of our ballistic missiles. The current series will shoot the works, lobbing some warheads from planes (foreground), rocketing others from Johnston Island (left rear) and sending up a Polaris missile from the submerged submarine Ethan Allen (rear). We will also try out smaller warheads in our stockpile, such as the ship- launched antisubmarine rocket in the right foreground. Second, we want to improve the efficiency of our weapons. Efficient bombs have more violence with less weight and allow a given missile or bomber to carry more destructive force. We will try out new kinds of bombs and new concepts of them from balloons over Christmas Island, measuring their efficiency with high-flying "sniffer" aircraft and with sensitive instruments on the islands and on barges anchored at sea. Third, we want to find out the effect in atmospheric explosion has on such diverse things as missile sites, radar detection, radio communication and the functioning of delicate machinery. The Russians focused much of their test series last fall on this, and we in turn must know how seriously nuclear blasts may upset our defenses - or our enemies'. Also we will shoot warheads and packages of electronics equipment of Johnston Island to find out what happens to them when other warheads go off nearby-helping us decide whether we should spend billions of dollars trying to build an anti-missile missile. Most of the series' shots will go off far in the sky to minimize fallout; the radiation they produce should be much less than that for the last Russian tests. Our series is expected to go on for two or three months, during which 25 to 30 bombs will be set off. But the U.S. has made it very clear that we will terminate tests tomorrow if the Russians will do the same-and at last agree to a practicable way to keep anyone from cheating. Aspects of Kiribati A typical Gilbertese (Kiribati) island of the Gilbert Group shown below normally consists of a strip of land, an encircling belt of reef and a lagoon. The strip of land, covered with coconut palms is almost on the same level as the high tide. The highest points are scarcely more than a man's height and comprise sand dunes formed by a wave stronger than the others - or are shovelled-up heaps of earth left by people who have been digging a pit in which to plant babai. The islands of Makin, Kuria, Nikunau, Tamana and Arorae have no lagoon. A typical Gilbersese village is clean and tidy with the ground covered by a white layer of coral fragments. Rows of huts line each side of the road and these are sometimes concealed amongst breadfruits and pawpaw (papaya) trees. The open-sided huts are pleasant and well ventilated and are all built on the same model. Every family has three: a house, a kitchen and a store room. The house is simply a rectangular roof some six feet above the ground, thatched with pandanus leaves and supported by four posts. At about table height, there is a very springy floor made of flexible laths. Between the roof and the floor, coconut-frond mats act as blinds and wind breaks which are rolled up during the day. The maneaba is the centre of the village and next to the war canoe, it is the masterpiece of Gilbertese culture. Like the houses, it is built in a rectangular shape and the architect is normally a village elder who has learnt his trade through experience and from tradition in his family. The construction of the maneaba is undertaken in strict accordance with rites and rules which are always carefully applied. The maneaba is well adapted to the island climate and to its function. Its roof is supported on shoulder-high stone pillars and all who enter have to stoop. The Gilbertese are very comfortable in the maneaba. It is wide, cool and airy and in it the people feast, dance and sleep - sometimes all at the one time. There are no constraints in the maneaba. Here, you might even see a Gilbertese bringing in his grandfather's mummified body to honour the dancing and the skulls of defeated warriors were traditionally lined up. Villages and districts both have their maneabas. They are divided into two groups with different names for those in the south and the north. Some names, such as Maungatabu - sacred mountain - clearly indicate a Samoan origin. Each maneaba has a name, traditions and a personality. All the way around, the maneaba is divided into places and each family has a set position in officialgatherings. A stranger who is guest in another maneaba enters it under the same beam as he would in his home maneaba. Anyone, who belongs to several families, chooses the least cluttered place to sit. As far as official feasts are concerned, there is a strict code of etiquette to observe. One clan supplies heralds who announce what the shares of food will be; another family is responsible for distributing the food. The portion of honour belongs to such and such a family and in sharing out the food a fixed order of precedence is strictly followed. The least mistake for the slightest forgetfulness is taken as an insult. Fish is a very necessary part of Gilbertese life. There are no markets and each man fishes on his own account. Catching fish is a problem which is only solved through determination and use of intelligence. The well populated islands consume an enormous amount of fish with one family using up to 20 kilos in two days. The islands don't always have the same share of facilities. Some have no lagoon while others have the villages badly placed if they wish to send canoes out into the ocean. A different type of fishing is required from one day to the next as the fish are always on the move. Sometimes, there is no canoe, sometimes no net or no line. Most often, the fisherman fails in some way: in health, in determination or in courage. On some islands, many of the young men do not sail a canoe any more and all fishing is done using a net from the shore. Under these circumstances, their families are often forced to eat nothing but the smaller fish. The fishing ground might be the shore, the lagoon, or the open ocean. There are different types of fish in each place. The best place to fish is normally the rocky line of reefs around the island. In the coral chambers and grottos there are a thousand types of fish. This area is also usually the most impossible to reach because of the great breakers which constantly batter against the reef. The patches of rock scattered about the lagoon are also rich in fish. The best fishing ground, however, is in the open sea within about ten miles around the island. The farther away from the reef one goes the less chance there is of good fishing. WAR IN THE PACIFIC The following material was presented to me by Sister Helena Egan, an Australian missionary in Kiribati from 1939 to 1983 - over 44 years! Her first hand recollections of the war in the Pacific are an invaluable record of this period. Her verbatim account of what happened during this time has been broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) with her original transcript being held at the Australian National University, Canberra. I was fortunate enough, as a former student of Immaculate Heart College, Taborio, Tarawa, Kiribati, to have met Sister Helena Egan during her time in Kiribati. She very kindly made available a copy of this transcript as a record for students, historians and others who have an interest in the war in the Pacific (World War 2). It gives me great pleasure to be able to present Sister Helena Egan's record of the War In The Pacific. ... Jane Resture Previous to World War II there were no wireless stations on the outer islands of the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati). There were no such things as radio sets nor small transistors. Betio at the extreme south end of the island of Tarawa was the headquarters of the Government and Catholic mission, as well as the main shipping port for overseas vessels. Tarawa consists of a chain of small islets surrounded by a dangerous coral reef. Betio itself is about 700 yards wide and about 2 miles long. Here on Betio the British Government had installed a radio station. On all the outer islands one relied on news brought by visiting ships, but these visits were rather irregular. Gilbertese men at the top of their coconut trees, on sighting the ships would shout out ‘ sail oh sail oh ’ . This cry would be passed on by others and immediately, those who could do so, hastened to the place of landing in order to get any news and to see who was on board. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 was heard of in this way. However, the Gilbert Islands did not feel the impact of this war until December 1941 when the Japanese entered the Pacific War. But the tiny Island of Nauru, which is part of the vicariate of theGilberts, was attacked by German raiders roaming the Pacific late December, 1940. Their tiny island was shelled by these German raiders and one of the British Phosphate ships, "Triadic" was also attacked and shelled by the Germans. In July 1941 word came from the government that all not native to the island, sisters included were to be evacuated. However, as the Sisters asked to remain, the Government at Canberra sent a second cable saying that the Sisters could remain but at their own risk. Then on the 8th of December a Japanese plane flew over Nauru. Two hours later the sisters heard that war had been declared on Japan. Early in 1942 the Administrator announced that this time all must leave Nauru - a destroyer would pick them up and take them to safety. Allowed to stay would be seven male volunteers to care for the Gilbertese. These were the two Catholic Priests together with the Administrator (Mr Chalmers) and four other men. Later on, they received the news that these five men were executed in March 1943. The two Priests were taken away with local people to the Caroline Islands. The elderly Priest, Father Kayser, later died in the Carolines as a result of harsh treatment. The younger Priest, Father Clivaz, was then sent to another island where he found himself with some Jesuit Spanish Missionaries. After the war he returned to Nauru. Now the Japanese were in Kiribati, or the Gilbert Islands as they were called until July 1979. A few months before the Japanese entered the war, the British Government, realising that the Japanese would in all likelihood try to take the Gilberts, recruited from nearby Zealand personnel as wireless operators and coast-watching guards. There were 24 in all -10 wireless operators and 14 as coast guards. These 24 men were posted to 9 of the 16 islands in the Gilbertese group. At the bombing of Pearl Harbour, war was declared on Japan. Two days later Japanese warships were at Betio, Tarawa. In November, 1941 came an order from the Administrator at Tarawa, that all Europeans, Sisters included, were to be evacuated. There were 31 Sisters - French, Irish and Australian – scattered over the group at different stations. These Sisters asked for permission to remain but the Commissioner refused. He said "You do not know what the Japanese are like" etc. A Protestant Missionary, Mr Sadd, also said to some of the Sisters: "I am a man and they can do what they like to me, but I would not like to think that my sister was in their hands." This missionary was later taken by the Japanese and he with 21 other prisoners were maltreated and beheaded or otherwise killed by the Japanese. At the beginning of December, news came that the Government ship "Nimanoa" and the mission ship, "Santa Teretia", were to bring into Betio, Tarawa all the Sisters from the outer Islands. Then on the 11th December they were to proceed to Ocean Island to await a ship to Australia. The two ships flew around the various islands gathering up the sisters. Mother M. Clementine (French), the superior, went on the Mission ship as she wanted to help the Sisters who were closing the different stations. The 6 Sisters from the Northern islands arrived at Betio, Tarawa on the "Santa Teretia", and 9 sisters with His Lordship, Bishop Terrienne came from the southern Islands on the "Nimanoa". The Bishop wished to be with all the Sisters as they prepared to evacuate. By December 9th, the only Sisters not yet in Tarawa were those at Abaiang, Abemama and Maiana. The Mission schooner again left Tarawa just before the arrival of the "Nimanoa", to collect the Sisters. However, it was too late as the Japanese were already bombing Nauru and Ocean Island. At this time the Mission ship was at Abemama to collect the three Sisters from there. From Abemama the three Sisters with their superior left for Maiana where two more Sisters awaited them but by this time it was too late - all hope of escape was gone. On Wednesday, l0th December when the Captain, Father Klipfel arrived at the Mission Station at about 9.00 p.m. they heard that the Japanese had already arrived at Betio, Tarawa. Two days after the bombing of Pearl Harbour Japanese warships were anchored off Betio. The Sisters' belongings were already in the dinghies when the New Zealand wireless operator at Maiana told Father Klipfel that the "Santa Teretia" was to sail for Suva, Fiji without delay. The two Sisters from Maiana went back to their convent while the three Abemama Sisters and Superior were put ashore on a little islet outside Abemama. On this islet were a few families who were told by the Government to watch the entrance into the lagoon. Two of the men went to the mainland to take the news that the Sisters had returned. During the day canoes went out from the Mainland to get the Sisters. "Santa Teretia" captained by Father Klipfel, Missionary of the Sacred Heart, sailed on through storms, anxiety and fright of the war to Fiji and thus saved the ship. The hurried evacuation of the Sisters, some quite elderly or sick, night after night in a small uncomfortable ship, shaken at that season by storms and angry seas, was no picnic. In the Gilberts the worst time to travel round the islands by ship is from October until about March. The seas were very rough and the currents very strong, so the Sisters would have been quite seasick. The events also showed the courage and deep faith of the Priest/Captain and also that of the Gilbertese sailors of the "Santa Teretia" who worked without pay, following their captain through dangers and into exile. The Sisters at Maiana and Abemama remained on their stations for the duration of the war as well as the Sisters at Abaiang. Those who had been taken to Betio, Tarawa to await transport to Ocean Island were all at Betio when the Japanese arrived in the early hours of December l0th 1941. At Betio on 9th December there were about 19 Sisters awaiting transport to Ocean Island. The Sisters heard Nauru and Ocean Island had been bombed, but could do nothing except to wait for the enemy's arrival. The night was dark and boisterous and thick clouds gathered overhead. At midnight lightning began to flash, followed by peal after peal of thunder. Rain fell in torrents. At about 3.00 a.m. the silence was broken and all kinds of noises could be heard - glass windows crashing, doors being blown open, chopping of wood as the radio was put out of action. Guns were fired off to bring the Gilbertese to order. During the day the destruction became greater. Drums of kerosene were poured over the boats and launches which were then set on fire. The big wooden boat sheds were burnt to the ground. It was still very dark when the Japanese first went to the hospital and then on to the mission station. They went to the presbytery where the Bishop, Father Superior and two Brothers were pushed out and marched down to the Post Office. Japanese soldiers with rifles and drawn bayonets hustled them along the wet road. After that it was the turn of the Sisters. A little Japanese arrived at the convent and said "What nationality?" "We are French, Irish and Australian". At once: "Get out that way, Australian. Get out this way, French. Get out this way, etc etc." He had forgotten how to say "Irish". So the etc. etc. were marshalled out the same way as the French. Sr M St Pierre, over 70 years old and finding it difficult to walk, was allowed by this batch of Japanese to remain at the convent. However, just after daylight other soldiers found Sister alone and made her get up and go along with the soldiers to the other Sisters. The first lot of Sisters were pushed out on to the road in the very heavy rain with the Japanese soldiers with rifles and fixed bayonets behind, in front and at the sides of them, hustling them along on the slippery pathway. Water was over their ankles, but the Japanese soldiers just pushed them along. On their arrival at the Government store they found the European male personnel of Betio sitting on the wet cement floor with broken glass strewn all over the place. The place was in shambles, not an atom of furniture left. The different nationalities were separated; all had to sit in silence from just after 3.00am until after 5 o'clock in the evening. From time to time the soldiers would poke their bayonets in their faces and cars. In the early afternoon the prisoners were given some foodstuffs and biscuits taken from the Burns Philip's store and a bucket of water to drink. At the end of the meal the Japanese made the Bishop, Priests and Sisters promise they would neither leave the island nor do anything against the Japanese Empire. Then soldiers appeared from all directions, the Rising Sun was hoisted on a flagstaff while the Japanese sang a song and then cheered. They then marched off to do elsewhere the same piece of work as the Sisters had witnessed that day. On arriving back at their mission station the Sisters found that the Japanese had used their convent for their meal hall for the day. Supplies of cotton materials had been torn into strips to polish Nipponese guns and all trunks etc. had been opened and articles carried off. At the presbytery the destruction was even greater. The following day the Sisters left Betio for another mission station at Teaoraereke, an islet a little further north of Betio. The Sisters arrived at Teaoraereke after a very rough wet trip across the lagoon where 2 other Sisters were already stationed. There were no extra beds so the Sisters had to sleep on the floor with make shift pillows. The next day the travellers had to wait for their clothes to dry before they could move around. Such is mission life. Then followed months of hardship, life underprimitive conditions, threats, fears and so forth. For two years there was no cargo or news from the rest of the world. Sisters on one Island did not know what was happening on the next island. The Japanese always told us that they were winning the war and soon there would be plenty of ships from Tokyo!! Just before Christmas, 1941 the Japanese returned to Tarawa and the northern islands. Their warships called into these islands and took away 7 New Zealand personnel - wireless operators and coast guards. These prisoners were taken to Japan and were released at the end of the war. Mother M. Clementine, the Superior, remained at Abemama until the 25th March 1942. She was then able to return to Tarawa on a small open boat with a man of mixed race, William Reiher. It was he who had built the mission ship "Santa Teretia". They travelled during the night and stayed at Maiana in the daytime. When they got ashore at Betio, Tarawa, everywhere were signs of war and the passage of the Japanese, but there where no Japanese at that time. Their first visit was early in December, then again at Christmas time. It was about midnight when Mother M. Clementine arrived at the Mission station. She woke the Sisters who were overjoyed to hear her voice as they had no idea where she was. Shortly afterwards five of the Sisters from the southern islands returned to their mission stations at Nonouti and Tabiteuea on the same small boat on which their Superior had travelled on to get from Abemama to Tarawa. Towards the end of August 1942, the Bishop decided to return to his Island of Tabiteuea so he set out from Tarawa on a small launch. He stopped first at Abemama but the Japanese had arrived there the day before. The Bishop was immediately taken into custody and taken back to Tarawa shortly afterwards. There he was kept under guard until the last week of October when he was taken to Butaritari. At Abaiang, north of Tarawa, was a Catholic boarding school, St Joseph's College, for boys from Abaiang and other Islands. They relied on the Mission ship to bring food from their islands several times a year. However, as there was no mission ship now, the Priest in charge of the College, Fr Durand, decided the Marakei boys should return to their own island. A young Priest, Father Marquis, also went to see the Swiss Priest at Marakei. Towards the end of August 1942 the two Priests with the boys and some sailors set out on a very large canoe. The trip to the east of Abaiang should have taken only a few hours. The weather was very bad and there was a strong current. They tried three times - the first time they sailed round the eastside of the island and back into the lagoon. The second time they did not get very far and on the third time sailed off. But the current was too strong and they went north instead of east. They were becalmed for three days then unfortunately were seen by a Japanese ship. Two of them, Father Durance and one of the boys were blindfolded, taken on board and questioned. They were then lowered back on to their canoe, but were not given any food by the Japanese. They then sailed further north and landed at Milli, an island in the Marshall group just north of the Gilbert. Here they found the Japanese well installed with Japanese soldiers everywhere. The Priests and others had no trouble with the guards. However, after a little more than a month these guards were changed. The second lot were far different from the first ones and after a short time the two young Priests died a lonely death at the hands of the Japanese. Some time after, two of the bigger boys tried to escape. They were caught. Later on they tried again, this time one was caught and put to death. The second boy managed to get away on a small boat and caught up with the Americans. He was taken to America by the allies, studied to be a doctor and some time later put in charge of a hospital in the Marshall Islands. After the war the other boys with some of the sailors returned to Abaiang. After the battle of Tarawa the Americans told us that they would not try and take Milli as it was so well fortified. On the 3rd of September 1942 the Japanese returned to Tarawa, this time to stay. They had 9 warships anchored off Tarawa and soldiers poured into Betio, little Tokyo as they called it, to begin strengthening the fortifications. Betio was surrounded by a 5 ft wall built up with rocks and large coconut logs. They had pillboxes, bomb shelters, gun bunkers, trenches etc. with plenty of barbed wire all over the place. They themselves said: "A million men will not take Tarawa in a hundred years." Two of their warships then went round the southern islands gathering up all the English speaking men they could find. They were also going to bring back all the Australian Sisters. This was a terrible anxiety as it meant that a French or an Irish Sister might be left alone on an island. However, when the warships returned to Betio there were not any Sisters on board. A Japanese commander changed the order and left the Sisters on their islands. From the 24 New Zealand personnel who had arrived over a year before, 7 had already been taken away from the northern islands. The remaining 17 were taken from their various islands, and also five other English speaking men were taken prisoners. These were the Government wireless operator, a chemist, a retired Master Mariner, a retired trader and Mr. Sadd (Protestant Missionary). On or about the l5th October 1942 these 22 men were murdered by the Japanese, in most cases after considerable maltreatment. Betio had been shelled from the sea whilst ships were bombed from the air. As soon as the raid was over, all the white men were brutally massacred by the Japanese as a reprisal. On the arrival of the prisoners from the southern islands they had been tied up to coconut trees and left there night and day in the sun and the rain. After several days they were confined in the local psychiatric asylum and then most of them were forced to work on the construction of a wharf at Betio. When the men were being collected from the various islands, the Gilbertese were threatened that if they hid the soldiers or let them escape from their islands the Japanese would shell the island. On one of the islands a young Gilbertese was tied up because he refused to show where the soldier was hiding. The Bishop had been taken to Betio on the same warship as the other prisoners. Before the massacre the Bishop had asked the Japanese commander to be allowed, as a clergyman, to visit them, he met with an unqualified refusal. The Bishop, with a French Priest and a very old Brother were guarded night and day by soldiers with drawn bayonets. On 23rd October 1942 the three were taken by ship from Tarawa further north to Brattier where the Japanese had another garrison of soldiers. From October 1942 until the arrival of the Americans in November 1943 the Sisters had many visits from the Japanese, "social" and otherwise. One sister was asked her nationality; when she said she was French he declared "France and Japan are allied together and we will pop-pop at America". As a rule most of the Japanese left the Missionaries alone but at times would take what they liked. Different things taken were clothes, knives, wine, etc. The Tabernacle key and a crucifix were taken at Abaiang. At Teaoraereke one Japanese had a tug-of-war with an old Sister when she refused to let him take her bucket. Sister won. Another Sister lost two of her frying pans, they were needed to fry their eggs! One time some Japanese took 6 bunches of bananas. The Sisters had very little in the way of food so a complaint was made to an officer. He went and looked in a Japanese small boat, found the bananas hidden under some sacks, belted the soldiers and made them return the bananas to the Sisters. The Sisters were visited another night by 3 other Japanese who went into the Sisters' store, lit a candle and ordered the Sisters to open their cupboards and trunks to get some shoes. The Bishop was told the story so he also complained to a Japanese officer. The commander was informed, the wrongdoers punished and after that no more Japanese were seen around the Convent at night time. Before the war, there were two Japanese traders with their families on the northern island of Brattier. Their children attended the Sisters' school. These two Japanese men returned to the Gilberts and acted as interpreters. Several times they were able to help us when we had trouble with the soldiers. On one occasion at Abaiang a large number of Japanese arrived with field artillery. They claimed to have shot down an American plane and the crew was supposed to have landed on our island of Abaiang. They scoured the whole island from top to bottom, but to no avail. One dapper little Japanese covered in medals even got down on his hands and knees to search under the Priest's bed! The Sisters and Father were lined up on the roadside with cannons and machine guns before them. One of the Sisters was very big, so they thought that the Americans were masquerading as missionary Sisters! However, they were saved by one of the soldiers who had previously visited them with a senior officer who had been kind to them. The same day another Mission station about 5 miles away, was also visited by the Japanese. They were all over the place, but this lot pretended they knew very little English. That evening, two Japanese again visited the Sisters but this time they spoke very good English. There were 3 Sisters here - an elderly French Sister who was in a Gilbertese house near the 2 storey brick convent, and two young Sisters upstairs in the convent. While preparing for bed they were alerted by their small dog barking. Two Japanese were in front of the Convent. The young Irish Sister went down the back stairs while I went out on to the front verandah to talk to them. They said they came to "talk and laugh" with us. While I was talking to them Sister awakened the French Sister and the two of them went across the yard to get the bigger boys. When the Japanese heard the boys approaching they realised we had people to protect us, said goodbye and left us. The following morning when the Japanese came around we complained to our trader friend. No more Japanese visited us at night time. Had we not been alerted by our dog, the two men would probably have been upstairs before we knew they were on the premises. In April 1943 the Japanese commander advised all the Sisters at Teaoraereke to move further north to the islet of Taborio. Since there was nothing to live on there we received permission from the Japanese to go across to the next island, Abaiang. Leaving Teaoraereke was a big job as we had to pack up everything belonging to Teaoraereke and Betio stations, furniture, church linen, pigs, poultry, etc. etc. How many boat loads had to go and men to man them. A French Priest and three Sisters remained at Taborio and all the other Sisters went by night to Abaiang. Six Sisters with one Priest remained at Koinawa, Abaiang and 8 Sisters with three Brothers were at Tabwiroa (St Joseph's College) 5 miles from Koinawa. Four Sisters went to the island of Marakei east of Abaiang. The trip should have taken only a few hours but owing to bad weather it took more than 24 hours. They were isolated there until after the Battle of Tarawa in November 1943. Apart from being annoying, the Japanese never ill- treated or molested us. They gave us very little, but they did not have much themselves. God is very good and looked after us well! A Japanese doctor once gave the Sisters several tins of condensed milk for a sick Sister. Another day they gave six pieces of snow-white soap to wash their "beautiful robes". At Abaiang the Sisters were given some rice that had survived the American bombardment, but the rice was mixed with glass and bits of cement. Also they were given some biscuits - very hard but sweet so had to be soaked before eating. A couple of months before the coming of the Americans 5 Japanese were sent from Betio to install themselves at Koinawa, Abaiang. They settled themselves next door to the convent. The Catholic Church has a very high tower that was used by the Japanese as a lookout. From here they could see the islands of Marakei east, Tarawa just south and Maiana a little further south. Each morning one of the guards would go up to the top of the tower to see if the enemy were approaching. These guards were rather nice men, especially the chief guard. After a month the guards were changed - they were rather a rough lot. About the l8th of November the American Navy arrived off Tarawa, with planes, warships, and submarines and started shelling Betio. They lost a lot of men. Even in Abaiang one could hear explosion after explosion. Ships could be seen in all directions. The chief guard of the Japanese dressed himself up as a Gilbertese woman in a grass skirt and with a wreath of flowers on his head, he ordered some locals to take him over to the Japanese watch tower on the north of Tarawa. On his return he said that the planes were like flies, there were so many. The Japanese put out a notice that no locals were to visit them that day - the 26th November. They gathered up at 11 a.m. the spades, picks and shovels they could find in the village and then polished up their guns, swords and bayonets. Joseph, their Gilbertese interpreter, one of our Catholic young men, was allowed to wait on their table. While lighting their cigarettes and so forth he heard the Japanese say that they would kill all the missionaries at 9 o'clock the following morning as we had given signals to the Americans. Joseph waited until his day's work was done and then obtained permission to go to a local dance. The Japanese never saw Joseph again. He borrowed a bicycle and hurried to the second mission station fivemiles away to warn us of the Japanese threat. Here there were 8 Sisters and 3 Brothers. We kept Joseph with us and seat one of the bigger boys back to the Missionaries near the Japanese with the news. We decided to get Gilbertese men to take us across to Tarawa where we might contact the Americans. We would all try to meet at the south end of the island and get across secretly in the early hours of the morning. We were running into terrible danger as we had been forbidden by the Japanese to cross the ocean stretch between Abaiang and Tarawa. The Missionaries at Koinawa could not get canoes, but travelled on a small old launch. Those at the other mission station left on canoes, two or three Missionaries with a couple of faithful Gilbertese on each canoe. We took Joseph with us. After 9.00 p.m. we all set out silently. Being low tide we had to walk out quite a distance to board our canoes and launch. Some of the elderly Sisters had difficulty in walking so far out to board their craft. But even then we were not out of danger. If the Japanese missed us we would be pursued in canoes. The odds were overwhelmingly against us. Strong winds coming in the wrong direction; rough seas, squalls, then a dead calm. Instead of all waiting at the south end as previously arranged, each craft crossed over the ocean stretch alone. Two of the canoes arrived at the Mission station of Taborio (North Tarawa) the next morning. The rest had all arrived by about 5.00 p.m. As the last canoe and the launch were approaching the shore of North Tarawa a Gilbertese shouted to us to get away as Japanese were still in their foxholes. Then about 3.00 p.m. a soldier in uniform waded out to us through the in-going tide and told us to hurry to Taborio as the Japanese could fire on us. We were so thankful to God who had protected us with His mighty protection. As the last lot of Missionaries arrived safely on the shore of Taborio, a big contingent of American marines emerged from a huge black amphibious tank. They had come across the lagoon from Betio in order to follow up the Japanese who had escaped the terrible Battle of Betio. These Japanese had run round the island, passing through many passages of water in order to reach the northern tip of Tarawa. That night the Americans left soldiers to guard over the mission station in case some Japanese came back to our place. The Americans lost about 40 men in liquidating the remaining Japanese. We received much food, medicine etc. from the American army. They were very generous both to us and to the Gilbertese people. We are very grateful to the Americans, but we owe our escape from death to the courage and resourcefulness of our faithful Gilbertese who risked their own lives to save us all from being massacred. While at Taborio we received many visits from the Americans. They could not understand how we had all got across the sea from Abaiang to Tarawa without being seen by the American guards. This is especially as several hours passed between the first and last canoes. The American General said their guards should be punished. "If you could get across, so could the Japanese. Did you use a smoke screen?" We replied that Our Lady covered us with her mantle. So the guards did not get into trouble. The Sisters remained in Taborio for a week or more and then returned on their canoes to Abaiang. In the meantime the Americans had crossed over to Abaiang and taken the Japanese who were there. The story (by the local people) goes that they were taken on board the American ship and then dumped overboard! Some of the Sisters returned to their former islands, while others took a well-needed holiday to Australia after all the privations and upsets of the past years. The famous Battle of Tarawa was fought by the Americans in November 1943. Tarawa was to be taken from the Japanese in order to have a stepping stone to Tokyo. This battle, one of the most tearful of the whole war, lasted about 4 days and ended with the killing of more than 5,000 Japanese, as well as 2,000 to 3,000 Americans being killed or wounded. In November 1993, 50 years after the battle, many Americans arrived for the celebrations. Among those present was one of the first Marines to go ashore in 1943. He said that the Battle of Tarawa marked America's first major offensive in the Pacific war. It was also the first attempt to make an amphibious assault against a highly fortified enemy position. There were many battles fought by the Americans. They were all bad, but none was remotely like Tarawa. As the Americans were approaching the bench at Betio they were overwhelmed bytargets from the Japanese hiding up the coconut trees. The Battle of Tarawa left Betio so ravaged that not one building nor even a coconut tree was left standing. What of the other Mission Stations: The Japanese did not occupy all the Gilbert Islands. They thought it sufficed, no doubt, that the Rising Sun should front over the principal ones. Away in the north in Butaritari they made a fine display of strength and activity and judged it a good secure place for the Bishop maybe because, with the exception of 2 priests and 2 brothers, he was well away from the other missionaries. But the Bishop gave the Japanese the slip. With his companions they jumped into the water and made their way to a USA ship while the Americans and the Japanese were shooting over their heads. Further south near the Equator, on the island of Abemama, the Catholic Mission had a training school for Gilbertese teachers who, during the period of three years of training, lived on this island with their wives and families. With so many young couples living at Manoku (their village on Abemama), there were many babies. Quite a number of babies had already been buried in their cemetery. However, no sooner had the Japanese installed themselves on Abemama than people of a1l ages and states began to get sick. The first to die was young French Sister, St M. Juliana. The Japanese doctor aid visited her and even sent a tin of butter and some condensed milk but Sister died in October 1942. An epidemic among the babies took many to their graves. The two Missionary Priests were sick, and when planes flew over the young Gilbertese trainees carried the two Priests to safety for fear of bombs. On the 22nd November, the American marines landed on Abemama some miles south of the training school. There were 23 Japanese on the island and when the Japanese knew they were outnumbered, they got panicky and hid in their dugout. As they were in their well-prepared trenches the American marines could make no impression with rifle fire. Then a submarine tried with shells but could not reach the enemy inside. On Friday, 26th there was a strange quietness about the dugouts. On investigating they found all 23 Japanese dead. The officer was apart from the others. Each man had a pistol shot in the throat while the chief was shot in the temple. Did the commanding officer shoot his men first and then kill himself or was the pistol passed from man to man? Thy mystery remains. Here as at Tarawa the Americans were very generous both to the Missionaries and the local people. On the Phosphate Island of Ocean Island were many Gilbertese and Chinese who had been recruited for the work. In 1942, when a Japanese invasion seemed imminent, most of the Europeans and Chinese were evacuated. Father Pujebet and Brother Brummel, MSC, chose to stay with their people. Four Europeans working with the Government and British Commission also stayed. The Japanese did arrive. Both Missionaries were taken by the Japanese to the hospital. Brother did leave the hospital, was seen walking along the beach with two Japanese but never seen again. The remains of neither Missionary have been able to be traced. The four other men also disappeared. When the Missionaries and others were all dead, there remained about 150 Gilbertese and Chinese boys, retained to work for the Japanese. All the others had been shipped off when the food question was becoming a problem. These remaining boys literally slaved, fishing, digging, planting until the fatal August 9th dawned. They were led in parties to rocks that dropped about 15 feet to the sea. There, blindfolded and with hands bound, the helpless victims were bayoneted in the back. The poor men then dropped into the sea. But one Gilbertese lad fell when he was stabbed at; he kept still until the Japanese went elsewhere. He rubbed his bound hands on a sharp rock until the cords gave way and then found a friendly cave where he hid until the British again arrived on the island. At night time he would go out to collect coconuts. He was a chief witness at the Rabaul trials. This particular atrocity by the Japanese is also mentioned in Peter McQuarrie ’ s definitive book Strategic Atolls, Tuvalu and the Second World War (Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, 1994). I have a particular interest in this happening as one of the men who was murdered was my paternal uncle Falailiva (Fly River) Resture. The man who escaped was Kabunare from Nikunau Island in the Southern Gilberts. Please check out Kabunare's verbatim account of this particular atrocitycommitted by the Japanese to innocent I-Kiribati, Tuvaluans, and others, on my Banaba Web site. ... Jane Resture Another incredible adventure story is that of a lad who was seven months at sea in a canoe. Seven Gilbertese at Ocean Island, anticipating a tragic death, slipped off one night on three canoes. It was a frightful venture, and one of the canoes disappeared the second night. Provisions and fresh water were soon finished. They caught some rainwater and then a shark at times. One time they found part of a ship's cargo of tinned food, but their troubles multiplied. The canoes overturned, a shark bit one of the men in the shoulder. At last only one man remained. He drifted and drifted until after seven months he landed upon Manus in the Admiralty Islands. Being too weak to walk ashore or call for help, he half crawled through the low water to the beach, no sooner seen than helped. These friendly locals, like those of many other races in the Pacific, all exhibit the lovely trait of tenderness for the sick and distressed. Our young Gilbertese was able to return later to his own Island and gave his version of Ocean Island during the Japanese occupation. After the war there was again peace in the Pacific, but the numbers were less than before. Many Missionaries died who, in normal times with good food and medical care would have been saved. Quite a lot of buildings had either been destroyed or badly damaged. In the case of the Sisters' Convent at Teaoraereke, the Convent was still standing, but without doors or windows and everything that could be taken was gone, and there were very few coconuts on the trees. It took some time to get rid of all the rubbish left by the Japanese and Americans. With the help of generous workers and with timber given by the U.S. army, everything was ready for the Missionaries to move in. History of Kiribati BACKGROUND Towards the end of the l8th century, two British Captains, Gilbert and Marshall, discovered the central and northern islands of the Gilberts group which they named Gilberts. A group further north were named Marshalls. These islands are fairly close to the island of Makin which is the most northern island in the Gilberts. The Gilbert islands straddling the equator are just west of the International Date Line. The Ellice Islands lie about 320km south of the Gilberts. In 1890 Great Britain took control of the Ellice Islands which consisted of 9 islands. In 1892 the Gilberts became a British Protectorate. Then in 1916 the Ellice Islands were combined with the Gilbert Islands to form the Gilbert & Ellice Islands Colony. In 1975 the two groups were separated and the Ellice group became independent in 1978, while the Gilbert Islands group became independent in July 1979. The majority of the coral islands of both Gilberts and Ellice consist of ring shaped atolls or coral reefs that surround lagoons. Since their independence the Ellice group are known as Tuvalu while the Gilberts have changed to Kiribati - the Republic of Kiribati, headed by a president. The Republic of Kiribati consists of 16 islands or atolls in the Gilberts: Ocean Island about 400 kilometres west of Tarawa (Capital of the Republic), and east of the International Dateline, the Phoenix group with 8 islands, 1120 kilometres E.S.E. and the Line Islands - 8 Islands 2400 kilometres east of the Gilberts - a total of 33 islands, the total area being about 5 million square kilometres. The Catholic Mission Diocese also includes the Republic of Nauru with Bishop Paul Mea (Gilbertese) in- charge. Kiribati, Ellice and Nauru have each their own culture and language. Kiribati consists of very small low, white coral islands or atolls, which in most cases have a number of quite small islets which are separated from one another by narrow passages of water from the lagoon side to the ocean. Not all these islets are inhabited. A typical island or atoll is simply a series of very narrow strips of land forming an arc which partially encircles a lagoon on the western side. Tarawa is the most important atoll of the group by reason of the good anchorage. Its deep lagoon provides for ocean-going vessels and it is also the headquarters of the Government, headquarters of the Catholic Mission, the main hospital, the Government Teachers' Training College, large stores and many other offices etc. This island consists of 30 or more islets which before causeways were built, were isolated from each other at high tide. In the 1960's work was commenced on building causeways thus making it much easier to get from one islet to the next. Nowadays motor vehicles can travel to many of these islets. When the Americans were preparing for the actual invasion of Tarawa they took aerial photographs and gave a special name to each of these tiny islets. Prior to World War 1 many people in Australia had never heard of the Gilberts. On a small map there was no mention of them, while a very large map would show only a number of very small dots. However, since the Pacific War and the famous Battle of Tarawa, more is known about them but one still meets people unaware of their existence. In the early days travelling to the different islands was quite difficult, but nowadays airstrips have been built on all the islands to and from Tarawa where the Tarawa air terminal is situated. THE GILBERTESE PEOPLE The Gilbertese people are of Micronesian stock, a very lovable race - very easy-going and have no regard for time. They are noted for their hospitality and will deprive themselves to welcome and feed strangers. It often happens that canoes will be taken out of their course on account of bad weather or contrary currents. They then land on another island where they are well looked after for days or weeks. In 1939 it was the drought time - seven years without any rain. In the southern part of the group small children did not know what any rain was, coconuts were getting smaller and in some cases the trees die. Often the people had very little to eat. Fish was not always easy to catch and their well water became very brackish. Some had to go on their canoes from one islet to another with their buckets or tins in order to get some drinking water. During this time some canoes arrived at their island so the villagers did all they could to welcome and feed these people. Orphanages and places for elderly or very sick people are unheard of as there is always someone to look after them. ` The Gilbertese people are of fine appearance, some among them even being very tall. They seem more vigoro
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands, once known as the Sandwich Islands, form an archipelago of nineteen islands and atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts trending northwest by southeast in the North Pacific Ocean between latitudes 19° N and 29° N. The archipelago takes its name from the largest island in the group and extends some 1500 miles (2400 km) from the Island of Hawai‘i in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. The archipelago represents the exposed peaks of a great undersea mountain range known as the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, formed by volcanic activity over a hotspot in the earth's mantle. At about 3,000 km (1,860 miles) from the nearest continent, the Hawaiian Island archipelago is the most isolated grouping of islands on Earth (Macdonald, Abbott, and Peterson, 1984).
Islands and reefs of the Hawaiian archipelago
Earth
A total of 19 islands and atolls comprise the Hawaiian Islands, with a total land area of 16,636 km2 (6,423.4 square miles).
The eight main Hawaiian islands (all inhabited except for Kaho‘olawe) are, listed here from south to north:
- Hawai‘i (also known as the Big Island)
- Maui
- Kaho‘olawe (uninhabited; temporary residential facilities)
- Lāna‘i
- Moloka‘i
- O‘ahu
- Kaua‘i
- Ni‘ihau
Smaller islands, atolls, and reefs (beyond Ni‘ihau and all uninhabited); called the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands:
- Ka‘ula
- Nihoa
- Necker (Mokumanamana)
- French Frigate Shoals (Mokupāpapa)
- Gardner Pinnacles (Pūhāhonu)
- Maro Reef (Nalukakala)
- Laysan (Kauō)
- Lisianski (Papa‘āpoho)
- Pearl and Hermes Reef (Holoikauaua)
- Midway (Pihemanu) (temporary residential facilities)
- Kure (Kānemiloha‘i)
Islets
Some information sources state that there are 137 "islands" in the Hawaiian chain. This number includes all minor islands and islets offshore of the main islands (listed above) and individual islets in each atoll. (Hawai‘i state government, undated). Following is a list of islets and small offshore islands that make up the total count beyond 19:
- Ford Island (Moku‘ume‘ume)
- Kaohikaipu
- Manana Island
- Mōkōlea Rock
- Nā Mokulua
- Molokini
Except for Midway, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States, these islands and islets are administered as the State of Hawaii — the 50th state of the United States of America.
Geology
United States of America) and blue to light gray (shallowest). Historical lava flows are shown in red, erupting from the summits and rift zones of Mauna Loa, Kilauea, and Hualalai volcanoes on Hawai‘i .]]
The chain of islands or archipelago formed as the Pacific plate moves slowly northwestward over a hotspot in the earth's crust.
Hence the islands in the northwest of the archipelago are older and typically smaller (have been eroding far longer). Because of the composition of the magma in the hotspot, the composition of Hawaiian volcanoes is basaltic. The majority of eruptions in Hawai‘i are Hawaiian-type eruptions because basaltic magma is relatively fluid compared with andesitic eruptions.
Hawai‘i (the Big Island) is the largest and youngest island in the chain, built from seven different volcanoes. Mauna Loa, comprising over half of the Big Island, is the largest shield volcano on the planet. The measurement from the base locally depressing the sea floor to its peak is about 17 km (56,000 feet; [http://wwwhvo.wr.usgs.gov/maunaloa/ USGS])
See also: List of Hawaii rivers
Ecology
:Related article: Endemism in the Hawaiian Islands.
The Hawaiian Islands are home to a large number of endemic species. The plant and animal life of the Hawaiian Islands developed in nearly complete isolation over about 70 million years. Human contact, first by Polynesians, introduced new trees, plants and animals. The growing population also brought deforestation, forest degradation, treeless grasslands, and environmental degradation. As a result, many species which depended on forest habitats and food went extinct. Agriculture began to increase, with monocultual crop production replacing multi-species systems. The arrival of the Europeans had a significant impact, with the promotion of large-scale single-species export agriculture and livestock grazing. In turn, this led to the increased clearing of forests, and the development of towns, driving more species to extinction. Today, many of the remaining endemic species are considered endangered. [http://www.agroforestry.net/afg/]
Climate
The islands receive most rainfall from the trade winds on their north and east flanks (called the windward side) as a result of orographic precipitation. Coastal areas in general and especially the south and west flanks or leeward sides, tend to be drier. Because of the frequent build-up of Tradewind clouds and potential showers, most tourist areas have been built on the leeward coasts of the islands.
In general, the Hawaiian Islands receive most of their precipitation during the winter months (October to April). Drier conditions generally prevail from May to September, but the warmer temperatures increase the risk of hurricanes (see below).
Temperatures at sea level generally range from high temperatures of 85-90°F (29-32°C) during the summer months to low temperatures of 65-70°F (18-21°C) during the winter months. Very rarely does the temperature rise above 90°F (32°C) or drop below 60°F (16°C) at lower elevations. Temperatures are lower at higher altitudes; in fact, the three highest mountains of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Haleakala sometimes receive snowfall during the winter.
Hurricanes
The hurricane season in the Hawaiian Islands is roughly from June through November, when hurricanes and tropical storms are most probable in the North Pacific. These storms tend to originate off the coast of Mexico (particularly the Baja California peninsula) and track west or northwest towards the islands. Hawai‘i is protected by the vastness of the Pacific (i.e. the improbability of a direct hit); as storms cross the Pacific they tend to lose strength if they bear northward and encounter cooler water. It is thought that the topography of the highest islands (Haleakalā on Maui, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island) may protect these islands, and certainly Kaua‘i has been hit more often in the last 50 years than the others.
Tsunamis
Baja California peninsula
The Hawaiian islands can be affected by tsunamis, great waves that strike the shore typically but not exclusively from the north. Tsunamis are movements of the surface layer of the ocean most often caused by earthquakes somewhere in the Pacific. The city of Hilo on the Big Island has historically been most impacted by tsunamis, where the inrushing water is accentuated by the shape of the bay on which the town is situated.
References
- [http://www2.hawaii.gov/DBEDT/images/User_FilesImages/databook/db02/sec05_a254.pdf Hawai‘i state government], Table 05.09 (.pdf file).
- Macdonald, G. A., A. T. Abbott, and F. L. Peterson. 1984. Volcanoes in the Sea. The Geology of Hawaii, 2nd edition. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 517 pp.
- [http://radlab.soest.hawaii.edu/atlas/ The Ocean Atlas of Hawai‘i] - SOEST at University of Hawai‘i.
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Category:Archipelagoes
ko:하와이 제도
ja:ハワイ諸島
American Samoa
American Samoa (Samoan: Amerika Samoa) is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa. The main (largest and most populous) island is Tutuila, with the Manu‘a Islands, Rose Atoll, and Swains Island also included in the territory. American Samoa is part of the Samoan Islands chain, located west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some 500 km south of Tokelau. To the west are the islands of the Wallis and Futuna group.
History
Main article: History of Samoa, History of American Samoa
Originally inhabited as early as 1000 BC, Samoa was reached by European explorers in the 18th century.
International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 Treaty of Berlin in which Germany and the U.S. divided the Samoan archipelago. The U.S. formally occupied its portion—a smaller group of eastern islands with the noted harbor of Pago Pago—the following year. The western islands are now the independent state of Samoa.
After the U.S. took possesion of American Samoa, the U.S. Navy built a coaling station on Pago Pago Bay for its Pacific Squadron and appointed a local Secretary. The navy secured a Deed of Cession of Tutuila in 1900 and a Deed of Cession of Manu‘a in 1904. The last sovereign of Manu'a, the Tui Manu'a Elisala, was forced to sign a Deed of Cession of Manu'a following a series of US Naval trials, known as the "Trial of the Ipu", in Pago Pago, Tau, and aboard a Pacific Squadron gunboat.
During World War II, U.S. Marines in American Samoa outnumbered the local population, having a huge cultural influence. After the war, Organic Act 4500, a U.S. Department of Interior-sponsored attempt to incorporate American Samoa, was defeated in Congress, primarily through the efforts of American Samoan chiefs, led by Tuiasosopo Mariota. These chiefs' efforts led to the creation of a local legislature, the American Samoa Fono.
In time, the Navy-appointed governor was replaced by a locally elected one. Although technically considered "unorganized" in that the U.S. Congress has not passed an Organic Act for the territory, American Samoa is self-governing under a constitution that became effective on July 1, 1967. The U.S. Territory of American Samoa is on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, a listing which is disputed by territorial government officials.
United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
Trivia
- American Samoa is the location of Rose Atoll, the southernmost point in the United States (if insular areas and territories are included); see extreme points for more information).
- Goods manufactured in territories or protectorates of the United States, including American Samoa, can be labeled "Made in the USA."
- About 30 ethnic Samoans, many from American Samoa, currently play in the National Football League. It has been estimated that a Samoan male (either an American Samoan, or a Samoan living in the 50 United States) is 40 times more likely to play in the NFL than a non-Samoan American. A number have also ventured into professional wrestling.
- Persons born in American Samoa are United States nationals, but not United States citizens. This is the only circumstance under which an individual would be one and not the other.
- The American Samoa national soccer team holds an unwanted world record in international soccer—the record defeat in an international match, a 31-0 crushing by Australia on April 11, 2001.
Map
2001
See also
Government
- List of American Samoa Governors
- Elections in American_Samoa
Sports
- American Samoa at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- American Samoa national rugby league team
- American Samoa national soccer team
CIA Factbook Data
From the CIA World Factbook 2000:
- Geography of American Samoa
- Demographics of American Samoa
- Politics of American Samoa
- Economy of American Samoa
- Communications in American Samoa
- Transportation in American Samoa
- Military: Defense is the responsibility of the US
External links
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/aq.html CIA - The World Factbook -- American Samoa] - CIA's Factbook on American Samoa
- [http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/bookinfo/4883.html]"The Passive Resistance of Samoans to US and Other Colonialisms", article in "Sovereignty Matters", ed. Joanne Barker, University of Nebraska Press, 2005.
- [http://www.historyofnations.net/oceania/americansamoa.html History of American Samoa]- Essay which looks at the history of the territory from ancient to more modern times.
- [http://www.janeresture.com/amsam/index.htm Jane's American Samoa Page]
- [http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/asian/americansamoa/americansamoa.html Library of Congress Portals of the World - American Samoa] - Library of Congress resource which provides links to resources on American Samoa.
- [http://www.mapsouthpacific.com/american_samoa/index.html Map of American Samoa] - Map showing the basic layout of American Samoa.
- [http://www.asbar.org/Newcode/rcas.htm Revised Constitution of American Samoa] - Provides the text of the constition of American Samoa.
- [http://www.asg-gov.net/ The Official Webpage of the American Samoa Government] - Lists information on the territorial government including officials and recent legislation.
- [http://www.un.org/Depts/dpi/decolonization/docs.htm United Nations Decolonization Papers] - Online United Nations Decolonization Documents including current and past Working Papers on American Samoa
- [http://www.choohoo.com/ ChooHoo!] - An online community for Samoans. Features include forums, chat, blogs, etc.
- [http://www.rulers.org/rula1.html#american_samoa Rulers.org — American_samoa] List of rulers for American Samoa
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Category:Insular areas of the United States
Category:Oceanic dependencies
zh-min-nan:Bí-kok Samoa
ms:Samoa Amerika
ja:アメリカ領サモア
simple:American Samoa
Lagoon
This article is about natural lagoons. For articial "lagoons" used to treat waste water, please see Anaerobic lagoons and Aerated lagoon.
A lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow salt water separated from the deeper sea by a shallow or exposed sandbank, coral reef, or similar feature. Thus, the enclosed body of water behind a barrier reef or barrier islands or enclosed by an atoll reef is called a lagoon. This application of lagoon in English dates from 1769. It adapted and extended the sense of the Venetian laguna (cf Latin lacuna, 'empty space'), which specifically referred to Venice's shallow, island-studded stretch of salt water, protected from the Adriatic by the barrier beaches of the Lido (see Venetian Lagoon). Lagoon refers to both coastal lagoons formed by the buildup of sandbanks or reefs along shallow coastal waters, and the lagoons in atolls, formed by the grow of coral reefs on slowly sinking cental islands.
Coastal lagoons are usually found on coasts with relatively small tidal ranges. They constitute approximately 13 percent of all coastlines. They generally extend parallel to the coastland, separated from the sea by barrier islands, sand and shingle bars or coral reefs. Non-reef lagoon barriers are formed by wave-action or longshore currents piling up coarser sediments off shore of the beach. Once a lagoon barrier has formed, finer sediments can settle out in the relatively quiet water behind the barrier, including sediments brought into the lagoon by rivers. Coastal lagoons typically have only constricted openings to the sea. As a result, water conditions in the lagoon can differ significantly from the open water of the sea in temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and sediment load.
In many English-speaking countries, coastal lagoons often are called sounds, bays, rivers, or lakes. Albemarle Sound in North Carolina, Great South Bay, between Long Island and the barrier beaches of Fire Island in New York, Banana River in Florida and Lake Illawarra in New South Wales are all lagoons.
In Mexico often the use of "laguna", which lagoon translates to, is used to describe a lake, such as Laguna Catemaco.
See also
- Atoll
- :Category:Atolls
- :Category:Lagoons
References
- Encyclopedia Britannica. 2005. Lagoon. Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service. [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9046833] - accessed December 7, 2005.
External links
- [http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Whatsa_lagoon.htm What is a lagoon?] - accessed December 7, 2005.
Category:Landforms
ja:ラグーン
Coconut
The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family). It is the only species in the Genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaves 4-6 m long, pinnae 60-90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth. The term coconut refers to the fruit of the coconut palm.
Origins and Cultivation
The origin of this plant are the subject of controversy with some authorities claiming it is native to southeast Asia, while others claim its origin is in northwestern South America. Fossil records from New Zealand indicate that small, coconut-like plants grew there as far back 15 million years ago. Even older fossils have been uncovered in Rajasthan, India. Regardless of its origin, the coconut has spread across much of the tropics, probably aided in many cases by sea-faring peoples. The fruit is light and buoyant and presumably spread significant distances by marine currents: fruits collected from the sea as far north as Norway have been found to be viable (subsequently germinated under the right conditions). In the Hawaiian Islands, the coconut is regarded as a Polynesian introduction, first brought to the Islands by early Polynesian voyagers from their homelands in the South Pacific.
The coconut palm thrives on sandy soils and is highly tolerant of salinity and prefers areas with abundant sunlight and regular rainfall (750 to 2,000 mm annually), which makes colonising shorelines of the tropics relatively straightforward. Coconuts also need high humidity (70–80%+) for optimum growth, which is why they are rarely seen in areas with low humidity (e.g. the Mediterranean), even where temperatures are high enough. They are very hard to establish and grow in dry climates.
The flowers of the coconut palm are polygamomonoecious, with both male and female flowers in the same inflorescence. Flowering occurs continuously, with female flowers producing seeds. Coconut palms are believed to be largely cross-pollinated, although some dwarf varieties are self-pollinating.
The fruit
pollinated
Botanically, a coconut is a simple dry fruit known as a fibrous drupe (not a true nut). The husk (mesocarp) is composed of fibres called coir and there is an inner "stone" (the endocarp). This hard endocarp (the coconut as sold in the shops of non-tropical countries) has three germination pores that are clearly visible on the outside surface once the husk is removed. It is through one of these that the radicle emerges when the embryo germinates. Adhering inside wall of endocarp is the testa with a thick albuminous endosperm, the coconut meat, the white and fleshy edible part of the seed.
When viewed on end, the endocarp and germination pores resemble the face of a monkey, the Portuguese word for which is macaco, sometimes abbreviated to coco, whence the name of the fruit. The specific name nucifera is Latin for nut bearing.
To open a coconut, remove the outer husk (if not purchased already removed) and pierce two of the three eyes of the fruit (one for the juice to come out of, one to enable air to go in); drain the juice from the fruit. Since coconuts have a naturally-forming fracture point, they can be opened by taking a heavy knife, such as a meat cleaver, and striking the coconut with the flat edge of the knife. Or you can use a flat-bladed screwdriver and a hammer (which is easier, and may be safer then using a cleaver). After inserting the screwdriver slightly, twist it to crack the shell. The coconut should then be turned, and this process repeated until there is a contiguous crack in the shell around the entire fruit. Afterwards, the fruit can be separated at this fracture point.
Coconuts falling from trees have been known to cause fatalities, and was the subject of a paper published in 1984 that won the Ig Nobel Prize in 2001. Falling coconut deaths are often used as a comparison to shark attacks, making the claim that it is more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than by a shark ([http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020719.html column from The Straight Dope]).
In some parts of the world, trained monkeys are used to harvest coconuts. Training schools for monkeys still exist in southern Thailand. Competitions are held each year to discover the fastest harvester.
Uses
Thailand
All parts of the coconut palm are useful, and the trees have a comparatively high yield (up to 75 "nuts" per year); it therefore has significant economic value. The name for the coconut palm in Sanskrit is kalpa vriksha, which translates as "the tree which provides all the necessities of life". In Malay, the coconut is known as pokok seribu guna, "the tree of a thousand uses". In the Philippines, the coconut is commonly given the title "Tree of Life".
Uses of the various parts of the palm include:
#The white, fleshy part of the seed is edible and used fresh or dried (desiccated) in cooking.
#The cavity is filled with "coconut water" containing sugars, fibre, proteins, anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals, which provide excellent isotonic electrolyte balance, and an exceptional nutritional food source, which is why it is used as a refreshing drink throughout the humid tropics. It is also used in the making of the gelatinous dessert Nata de Coco. Mature fruits have significantly less liquid than young immature coconuts. Coconut water is sterile until the coconut is opened (unless the coconut is spoiled).
#Coconut milk (which is approximately 17% fat) is made by processing grated coconut with hot water or hot milk which extracts the oil and aromatic compounds from the fibre.
#Coconut cream is what rises to the top when coconut milk is refrigerated and left to set.
#The leftover fibre from coconut milk production is used as livestock feed.
#The sap derived from incising the flower clusters of the coconut form a drink known as "toddy" or, in the Philippines, tuba.
#Apical buds of adult plants are edible and are known as "palm-cabbage" (though harvest of this kills the tree).
#The interior of the growing tip may be harvested as heart-of-palm and is considered a rare delicacy. Harvesting this also kills the tree. Hearts of palm are often eaten in salads; such a salad is sometimes called "millionaire's salad".
#The coir (the fibre from the husk of the coconut) is used in ropes, mats, brushes, caulking boats and as stuffing fibre; it is also used extensively in horticulture for making potting compost.
#Copra is the dried meat of the seed which is the source of coconut oil.
#The trunks provide building timbers.
#The leaves provide materials for baskets and roofing thatch.
#The husk and shells can be used for fuel and are a good source of charcoal.
#Hawaiians hollowed the trunk to form a drum, a container, or even small canoes.
#The wood can be used for specialized construction (notably in Manila's Coconut Palace).
#Coconut sap is fermented to produce toddy.
#The stiff leaflet midribs make cooking skewers, kindling arrows, or bound into bundles, brooms and brushes.
#The roots are used as a dye, a mouthwash, or a medicine for dysentery. A frayed-out piece of root makes a poor man's toothbrush.
#Half coconut shells are used in theatres, banged together to create the sound effect of a horse hoofbeats.
#Dried half coconut shells are used to buff floors.
#In fairgrounds, a coconut shy is a popular target practice game, and coconuts are commonly given as prizes.
#A coconut can be hollowed out and used as a home for a rodent or small bird.
#Coconut water can be used as a replacement for blood plasma during a transfusion.
Cultural aspects
Coconuts are extensively used in Hindu religious rites. Coconuts are usually offered to the gods, and a coconut is smashed on the ground or on some object as part of an initiation or inauguration of building projects, facility, ship, etc., taking the place of Champagne in western culture.
The Indonesian tale of Hainuwele tells the story of the introduction of coconuts to Seram.
The word "coconut" is also used as a derogatory slang word referring to a person of Latino descent who emulates a Caucasian (brown on the outside, white on the inside).
"Coconut" is also the title of a song by Harry Nilsson.
External links
- [http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/ Coconut Research Center]
- [http://www.kokonutpacific.com.au Kokonut Pacific] Developers of Direct Micro Expelling (DME) technology that enables Islanders to produce pure cold-pressed virgin coconut oil
- [http://www.mysabah.com/2005_coconut-fest/ Coconut Festival]
- [http://cocos.arecaceae.com/ Coconut Time Line]
- [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Cocos_nucifera.html Purdue University crop pages: Cocos nucifera]
Category:Nuts and seeds
Category:Palms
ms:Kelapa
ja:ココヤシ
ja:ココナッツ
zh-min-nan:Iâ-á
Incorporated territoryAn incorporated territory of the United States is a specific area under the jurisdiction of the United States, over which the | | |
