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46-595: Abemama ( Apamama ) is an atoll, one of the Gilberts group in Kiribati , and is located 152 kilometres (94 miles) southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator. Abemama has an area of 27.37 square kilometres (10.57 square miles) and a population of 3,299 as of 2015. The islets surround a deep lagoon. The eastern part of the atoll of Abemama is linked together by causeways making automobile traffic possible between

92-451: A 4,000-foot (1,200 m) long by 150-foot (46 m) wide coral runway for fighter planes . The Apemama Airfield was named, O’Hare Field . The coral-paved runway was completed on December 10, with the first plane landing on December 13. The runway was extended to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) to support bombers by December 21. Later, it was extended to 7,700 feet (2,300 m) and widened to 200 feet (61 m) to support heavy bombers, like

138-555: A chief who lived on Butaritari (called Makin or Great Makin). This chief had all the powers and authority to make and impose decisions on the Islanders, a system very different from the Southern Gilbert Islands where power was wielded collectively by the unimwane or old men of the island. The northern Gilberts have a greater mean rainfall in comparison to the southern and central Gilberts allowing cultivation of

184-694: A subset of the northern Gilbert islands was known as Scarborough Islands and a subset of the southern Gilberts as the Kingsmill Group ; in some 19th century texts, this last name of Kingsmills was applied to the entire Gilberts group. Geologically, the Gilberts and the Ratak chain of the Marshall Islands to their north together form a continuous chain of seamounts . In official north–south order (grouped by former administrative district),

230-455: A wider crop range. Butaritari and Makin supply most of the bananas sold in Kiribati. The cultivation of taro or babai ( Cyrtosperma merkusii ) has been historically easier in the northern Gilberts due to a higher water table and regular rainfall. The Central Gilberts or nuka have traditionally included Maiana , Abemama , Kuria and Aranuka . However, the latter three are considered

276-466: A width varying from 50 metres (160 feet) to 2 kilometres (1.2 miles). The island has 3 main islets; the largest and main islet has 11 villages and is home to most of the population. Abatiku, an islet located at the north-western reef, and Biike just south of it, have much smaller populations. The island has a lagoon area and an abundance of lagoon fish, shellfish, and worms. There are also some seaweed farms. Causeways were constructed to link all villages on

322-727: Is the dividing line between the northern and southern Gilbert Islands. However, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) considers the entire Gilbert islands group to be in the South Pacific Ocean . Another way to group the Gilbert Islands is according to their former administrative districts , which were known as the Northern, Central, and Southern Gilberts. (Tarawa was once a separate district as well). At one time,

368-655: Is the tomb of tyrant-chief Tem Binoka , who was immortalized by Stevenson in his account of the 1889 voyage of the Equator published as In the South Seas Robert Louis Stevenson, Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne returned to Abemama in July 1890 during their cruise on the trading steamer the Janet Nicoll . Japan occupied the Gilberts on 9 December 1941. On 21 November 1943,

414-719: The 2nd Marine Raider Battalion raided Makin from two submarines. The raid was intended by the Americans to confuse the Japanese about US intentions in the Pacific, a feint to draw Japanese attention away from the planned invasion route through the Solomons . It is instead believed to have alerted the Japanese to the strategic importance of the Gilbert Islands and led to their reinforcement and fortification. Marines captured during this operation were subsequently summarily executed by

460-587: The B-29 Superfortress . A 1,950-foot (590 m) sand runway was built for smaller planes. The Seabee built a causeway dock and a coconut log pier so ships could unload supplies and was used for minor repair of Landing Ship, Tanks and small boats and ships. A 12,000-barrel aviation-gasoline tank farm was built. Seabee built with quonset huts : storage depot, a small hospital, a power station, refrigeration storage, offices, mess hall , Seabee camp and workshops. Tents city built for personnel stationed at

506-812: The Ellice Islands were separated, and the Gilberts became the Gilbert Islands colony, which issued stamps under that name. In 1979, the Gilberts opted for independence, becoming the independent state of Kiribati . The Ellice Islands became the independent state of Tuvalu in 1978. Asian Development Bank. (2009b). Kiribati's political economy and capacity development [Online]. Available: http://www.adb.org/documents/reports/KIR-Political-Economy-Capacity-Development/KIR-Economic-Development.pdf (accessed 6 February 2012). Bedford, R., Macdonald, B., & Munro, D. (1980). Population estimates for Kiribati and Tuvalu, 1850–1900: Review and speculation. Journal of

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552-665: The American submarine USS  Nautilus landed a company of 78 U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance Scouts with Australian Army Lt George Hand formerly of the Ocean Island Defence Force acting as an interpreter to seize the island. They defeated the Japanese garrison with fire support from Nautilus . On the morning of 25 November, a native reported to the Marines that the remaining Japanese committed suicide. The US Navy built Naval Base Abemama on

598-617: The Buen Viaje Islands. The British explorer Vice-Admiral John Byron passed through the islands in 1765 during his circumnavigation of the globe as captain of HMS  Dolphin . In 1788 Captain Thomas Gilbert on Charlotte and Captain John Marshall on Scarborough crossed through Kuria , Aranuka , Tarawa , Abaiang , Butaritari, and Makin without attempting to land on the atolls. In 1820,

644-687: The Gilbert Islands are Austronesian peoples , similar in many respects to the natives of the Marshalls or the Carolines . In Mahaffy's 1909 report to the British Government he described the missionaries or Protectorate staff then resident in the Gilbert Islands. At the outbreak of World War II, about 78% of the native population were said to be Christians. This group was divided mainly into two denominations: Congregationalists (43%) and Roman Catholics (35%), Catholics becoming quickly

690-658: The Gilberts, they devoted considerable time to mapping and charting reefs and anchorages. In 1886, an Anglo-German agreement partitioned the "unclaimed" central Pacific, leaving Nauru in the German sphere of influence, while Ocean Island and the future GEIC wound up in the British sphere of influence. A British protectorate was first proclaimed over the Gilberts by Captain Edward Davis of HMS  Royalist on 27 May 1892. British official Arthur Mahaffy visited

736-536: The Gilberts. On 20 November 1943, the U.S. Army and U.S. 2nd Marine Division landed on Makin and Tarawa, initiating the battles of Makin and Tarawa , in which the Japanese were defeated. The Gilbert Islands were then used to support the invasion of the Marshall Islands in February 1944. The US built bases on Islands. The Gilbert and Ellice Islands became autonomous in 1971. From 1975 to 1978,

782-455: The Islands in 1909. He noted that the "villages are kept in admirable order and the roads are scrupulously clean." A hospital was on each island, as well. The conduct of William Telfer Campbell , the second resident commissioner of the Gilberts, was criticised as to his legislative, judicial and administrative management (including allegations of forced labour exacted from islanders) and became

828-707: The Japanese, in gross violation of the laws of war. The 19 Marines who died were left behind for the villagers to bury. In 1999, a Marine Honor guard was sent to recover the bodies and found them after a villager showed them where to dig. All were exhumed and were taken to the United States. Tarawa and Abemama were occupied in force by the Japanese in September 1942 and during the next year garrisons were built up on Betio (Tarawa Atoll), and Butaritari (Makin Atoll). Only nominal forces were placed on other islands in

874-551: The Northern Gilbert Islands where groups of families or kainga would have their own separate leaders, and the Southern Gilberts (from Nonouti southwards) where the old men or unimwane collectively would meet in the maneaba to govern. Some European sources describe the chiefly family of Abemama as "the Gilbert Islands ruling family" but local sources recognise that the unimwane wield much of

920-1118: The Pacific Islands. Journal of the Polynesian Society 1968; 77: 263–74. Davis, E.H.M., Captain RN. (1892). Proceedings of H.M.S. Royalist [Online]. Available: http://www.janeresture.com/davisdiaries/captaindavis.html and http://www.janeresture.com/nikunau/index.htm Archived 2006-10-16 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 6 February 2012). Di Piazza, A. (1999). Te Bakoa site. Two old earth ovens from Nikunau Island (Republic of Kiribati). Archaeology in Oceania, 34(1), 40–42. Di Piazza, A. (2001). Terre d'abondance ou terre de misère: Représentation de la sécheresse à Nikunau (République de Kiribati, Pacifique central) (Land of abundance or land of scarcity? Ideas about drought on Nikunau (Republic of Kiribati, Central Pacific)). L'Homme, 157, 35–58. Firth, Stewart (1973). "German Firms in

966-668: The Polynesian Society, 89, 199–246. Bollard, A.E. (1981). "The Financial Adventures of J.C. Godeffroy and Son in the Pacific". Journal of Pacific History . 16 (1): 3–19. doi : 10.1080/00223348108572410 . Borovnik, M. (2006). Working overseas: Seafarers' remittances and their distribution in Kiribati. Asian Pacific Viewpoint, 47, 151–161. Burnett, G. (2005). Language games and schooling: Discourses of colonialism in Kiribati education. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 25(1), 93–106. Cochrane, G. (1970). The Administration of Wagina Resettlement Scheme. Human Organization, 29(2), 123–132. Correspondent. (1913, 5 June). Modern buccaneers in

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1012-467: The West Pacific. New Age, pp. 136–140 (Online). Available: http://dl.lib.brown.edu/pdfs/1140814207532014.pdf (accessed 6 February 2012). Couper, AD. The island trade: an analysis of the environment and operation of seaborne trade among three islands in the Pacific. Canberra: Australian National University, Department of Geography; 1967. Couper, AD. Protest movements and proto-cooperatives in

1058-561: The Western Pacific Islands, 1857–1914". Journal of Pacific History . 8 (1): 10–28. doi : 10.1080/00223347308572220 . Naval Base Abemama After the taking of Abemama US Navy Seabees The 95th Seabee Naval Construction Battalion landed on Abemama on November 28. The island was taken with minor fighting by the United States Marine Corps that landed on November 24, 1943. The Seabee built

1104-473: The bungalow type. Mahaffy described the native clothing as being of "shocking shape" and "atrocious color", and that the style was changing into "kilt(s) of leaves or fine woven mats". In the early to mid 20th century the principal source of income for Gilbert islanders was from working on the production of phosphate from the deposits on Banaba (Ocean Island) , an island to the west of the Gilbert Islands. In addition, coconut palms were cultivated on some of

1150-447: The different islets. The outlying islands of Abatiku and Biike are situated on the southwestern side of the atoll. The village of Kariatebike serves as the government center for the atoll which includes an administration building, the police station and a hospital. Abemama was formerly known as Roger Simpson Island, Dundas Island, Hopper Island, or Simpson Island. Abemama has a land area of 27.39 square kilometres (11 square miles) with

1196-572: The following Christian senior high schools: King George V School , a secondary school for boys which opened in Bairiki in 1922, moved to Abemama, and then to Bikenibeu in 1953. Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands ( Gilbertese : Tungaru ; formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill Islands ) are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean , about halfway between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii . They constitute

1242-612: The important food crops in Kiribati such as coconut, giant taro, pandanus and breadfruit grow well in Abemama. Captain Charles Bishop happened upon Abemama in 1799 and referred to it on his map as Roger Simpson Island, after one of his friends. The island was surveyed in 1841 by the US Exploring Expedition . In the mid to late 19th Century, Abemama was ruled by a single paramount chief. This contrasts with

1288-562: The island and departed in the fall of 1944. Abemama is close to the capital of South Tarawa . Abemama Atoll Airport is located on the north end of Abemama near the village of Tabiang. It has regular connections with the international airport in Tarawa twice weekly, on Wednesday and Sunday. There are three guest houses on Abemama; the Island Council guest house, Chevalier College guest house, and one private lodge. The island has

1334-412: The islands and atolls are: Source for land areas: Kiribati 2005 Census Report The Northern Gilberts ( meang or mweang ) geographically and traditionally encompass Butaritari , Makin , Marakei , Abaiang (literally northland ) and Tarawa . They have unique tonal accents with differences particularly noted amongst Butaritari and Makin inhabitants. Traditionally, Butaritari and Makin were ruled by

1380-411: The islands figure slightly, and there are remarkable stories of adventures, bravery, political machinations, etc . Probably out of print, but second hand copies are available I think, I have two, and the illustrations are delightful. On the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor , the Japanese invaded the Gilbert Islands, occupying 3 of them by 9 December 1941. On 17 August 1942, 221 U.S. Marines of

1426-771: The islands in the 19th century. The first recorded visit was by the Ann and Hope , which called at Nikunau in December 1799. Two ships of the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842), USS  Peacock and Flying Fish , under the command of Captain William L. Hudson , visited many of the Gilbert Islands (then called the Kingsmill Islands or Kingsmill Group in English). While in

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1472-700: The islands were named the Gilbert Islands or îles Gilbert (in French) by Adam Johann von Krusenstern , a Baltic German Admiral of the Russian Czar after the British Captain Thomas Gilbert , who crossed the archipelago in 1788. French captain Louis Duperrey was the first to map the whole Gilbert Islands archipelago. He commanded La Coquille on its circumnavigation of the earth (1822–1825). Many whaling ships called at

1518-421: The islands. All labor was supervised by the British and every effort was made to see that the wages and living conditions were fair and adequate. Sanitary inspections by the British did much to improve the general living conditions on most of the islands. Arthur Mahaffy noted in 1909 that "extreme poverty is virtually unknown", and that most people on the island owned their own land. Residents paid taxes , with

1564-465: The level of education throughout the colony. The bulk of the education was provided by the missions, which maintained all the village schools and trained the native school teachers. With the availability of European-style medical care life improved. The Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme sought to provide an outlet through the development of three uninhabited atolls in the Phoenix Islands and

1610-698: The main islands that have unique historical and cultural characteristics which distinguish the Central Gilberts from the north and south. Tembinok' , the last king of Abemama, Kuria and Aranuka, died in the early part of the 20th century. The Southern Gilberts include the atolls of Nonouti , South and North Tabiteuea , Beru , Nikunau , Onotoa , Tamana and the most southerly island of Arorae . The islands had been inhabited by Oceanians for several millennia (at least 2,000 years, probably 3,000). In 1606, Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós sighted Butaritari and Makin , which he named

1656-413: The main islet. The island resembles an incomplete “G” letter, with two reef passages; one is located in between Abatiku and Tabiang village at the north-western end. The other is between Biike and Kenna, the latter being the southernmost end of the main islet. The island is surrounded with an exposed reef at the windward side and submerged reef at the leeward side where Biike and Abatiku are situated. Most of

1702-409: The main part of the country of Kiribati (the name of which is a rendering of "Gilberts" in the phonology of the indigenous Gilbertese ). The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands lie in an approximate north-to-south line. The northernmost island in the group, Makin , it is approximately 420 nautical miles (780 km) from southernmost, Arorae , as the crow flies. Geographically, the equator

1748-581: The majority at the end of the Colony. The rest of the population were then largely semi-pagan agnostics; they did not adhere to the Christian faith, nor did they retain much of their beliefs in their own ancient gods. Native diet during this time consisted mainly of fish, coconuts, pandanus fruit, babai ( swamp taro ), chicken, and some pork. Housing for Europeans employed in the island was simple: constructed of European and native materials and generally of

1794-610: The majority of taxes going back into the community, and a small portion going to the Protectorate. Judged to be about 84% literate, the Gilbertese responded readily to the colony's educational efforts. All education in the islands came under the supervision of the Colonial Education Department whose aims were to educate native boys for employment in government and commercial work, and to standardize

1840-427: The port and airfield. Abemama atoll is 15 miles (24 km) long and 6 miles (9.7 km) wide with a protected lagoon . The lagoon offered good fleet anchorage. Local native labor was employed in the initial phase of construction. A workforce of 426 was hired to unload at the beach and supply coconut logs for the pier. There were four bombing raids on the runway during the construction, one Consolidated B-24 Liberator

1886-501: The power even on Abemama, and governing the whole of the Gilbert Islands as a single unit is a logistical challenge even in modern times. Abemama is known as the island where the declaration of a British Protectorate was first proclaimed by Captain Edward Davis of HMS  Royalist  (1883) on 27 May 1892. Abemama Post Office opened around 1910. Robert Louis Stevenson , Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson and her son Lloyd Osbourne spent 2 months on Abemama in 1889. Near Tabontebike

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1932-520: The subject of the 1909 report by Arthur Mahaffy. In 1913 an anonymous correspondent to The New Age journal described the mis-administration of Telfer Campbell and challenged the impartiality of Arthur Mahaffy as he was a former colonial official in the Gilberts. In 1915, starting from 1916, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands were proclaimed a colony of the British Empire . The natives of

1978-530: The two genders. Their ancestors, they said, had been white skinned and red haired and came from elsewhere, perhaps the West (possibly coinciding with the outward spread of Homo sapiens from Africa and elsewhere). As might be expected, they gave power to the natural forces and gave them names and godly characteristics (sun, moon, etc .) but believed in one spirit god, a bit similar to the god of Genesis, in that he/she seemed to have power over dark and light and so on, and

2024-422: Was lost and there was minor damage to the airfield. A low-tide coral quarry was operated for the runway, roads and other uses. The Abemama location provided bombing missions to adjacent Japanese bases in the Gilberts and Marshall Islands . By 1944 the war has moved west to more forward bases. As such most operations at Apamama had moved off the island. Seabee Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit, CBMU 557 maintain

2070-650: Was pretty much invisible. They had a strong belief in behaving properly to their ancestors, and especially their parents, and had well-developed community rules for courtesy to others. Read A Pattern of Islands , by Arthur Grimble , who worked in these islands and on Banaba , for the Colonial Administration, from just before the First World War to the mid thirties, or thereabouts. It is a remarkable, informative, funny and warm-hearted account of these people and their religion. Other religions on

2116-549: Was the last attempt at human colonization within the British Empire. Hiram Bingham II (1831–1908) was the first to translate the Bible into Gilbertese, and also wrote hymns for the Gilbertese language. Joanna Gordon-Clark writes of their religious belief: The Gilbert (and Ellice) Islanders had a strong set of beliefs of their own, pre the Christian missionaries; they had a strong foundation myth , involving trees and

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