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33-477: John T. Arundel (1 September 1841 – 30 November 1919) was an English entrepreneur who was instrumental in the development of the mining of phosphate rock on the Pacific islands of Nauru and Banaba (Ocean Island). Williams & Macdonald (1985) described J. T. Arundel as "a remarkable example of that mid-Victorian phenomenon, the upright, pious and adventurous Christian English businessman." His father owned

66-547: A cargo officer ( supercargo ) for the Pacific Islands Company on the Lady M , Henry Denson, found a strange-looking rock on Nauru during a brief stop on the island. He originally believed it to be a piece of petrified wood . Denson, according to legend, had planned on making children's marbles from it but, as fate would have it, it ended up as a door stop in the company's Sydney office. In 1899, Albert Ellis ,

99-585: A gentleman's outfitter in the City of London and a warehouse business on the Thames estuary, with the family living at Gravesend . The family were active in the Congregational Church, and through a church connection he joined Houlder Brothers & Co. , a firm that provided ships for migration to New Zealand and Australia. In 1860, J. T. Arundel travelled on a Houlder Brothers & Co ship into

132-600: A license to develop coconut plantations on Birnie Island , which is geographically part of the Phoenix Islands and is part of Kiribati , with the PIC attempting to acquiring licenses to develop coconut plantations in the British Solomon Islands in 1900 and 1901. Despite this attempt to broaden the operations of the company the company remained chronically short of capital throughout its existence and

165-616: A management official of the phosphate division of the Pacific Islands Company, was transferred to the Sydney office to "analyse rock samples coming from the Pacific Islands." Ellis noticed the rock and suspected it to be phosphate (similar in appearance to the phosphate coming from Baker Island ), but was rebuffed by Denson and told that it was only wood. Three months later, Ellis decided to test his hunch and tested

198-466: A position with John T. Arundel & Co. Fred Whibley declined and chose to become an island trader on Niutao in what is now Tuvalu . A harmonious working relationship would have been unlikely given the pious Christian attitudes of J.T. Arundel and Fred Whibley's reputation as the ' black sheep ' of the family. In 1871 with financial support from Houlder Brothers and Co. , he established John T. Arundel & Co. The initial activities were carried out by

231-498: Is all but dried up. It is treeless, covered mostly with low shrubs and grasses, and was once home to a colony of rabbits, which have since been eradicated. Because of the undisturbed nature of the island, its vegetation, and the large colonies of seabirds which roost there, Birnie Island was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1975. It now forms (as of 2008 ) part of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area , one of

264-533: Is no anchorage, but landing can be made on the lee shore . The island is designated as the Birnie Island Wildlife Sanctuary . Kiribati declared the Phoenix Islands Protected Area in 2006, with the park being expanded in 2008. The 164,200-square-mile (425,300-square-kilometer) marine reserve contains eight coral atolls including Birnie Island. Birnie Island is low and dry, with a small, shallow lagoon in its southeast sector which

297-626: The Banabans was for the exclusive right to mine for 999 years for £50 a year. The terms of the licenses were changed to provide for the payment of royalties and compensation for mining damage. In 1913 an anonymous correspondent to the New Age journal criticised the operation of the PPC under the title "Modern buccaneers in the West Pacific". The PPC investigated phosphate deposits on Makatea in

330-552: The British Phosphate Commissioners , who took over the rights to the phosphates. From 1919 the responsibility for the welfare of the people of Nauru and Banaba , the restoring of land and water resources lost by mining operations and compensation for environmental damage to the islands was under the control of the governments of United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. In June 1948, about 1,100 Gilbertese employed on Ocean Island refused to work, with

363-717: The Tuamotus in French Polynesia and formed a company, the Compagnie des Phosphates de l'Océanie, with a Tahitian syndicate that was also investigating the potential of Makatea . This gave the PPC a virtual monopoly on the sources of high grade phosphate in the Pacific. In 1919 the business of the PPC in Nauru and Banaba was acquired by Board of the British Phosphate Commission . From 1919

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396-718: The 1860s, the island was claimed under the Guano Islands Act for the United States, though there is no evidence of guano ever being mined there. On July 10, 1889, the British flag was raised, and the island was declared a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1899, the island was leased to the Pacific Islands Company, Ltd. In 1916, it was included among the islands leased for 87 years to Captain Allen of

429-591: The German company that controlled the licences to mine in Nauru. In 1902 the interests of PIC were merged with Jaluit Gesellschaft of Hamburg, to form the Pacific Phosphate Company, ('PPC') to engage in phosphate mining in Nauru and Banaba , then known as Ocean Island. The company's engineers had to find solutions for transferring the phosphate rock from the island to ships that had to anchor off

462-438: The Pacific Phosphate Company, and royalty payments for every ton of phosphate exported." In the first year of mining alone, 11,000 pounds (5,000  kg ) of phosphate were shipped to Australia. After World War I the interests of the Pacific Phosphate Company were acquired and the phosphate mining on Nauru was managed through a trust established between Britain , Australia and New Zealand . Those governments established

495-426: The Pacific that included: Albert Ellis who worked for John T. Arundel & Co., later acknowledged that the company was not making money although the company was gaining experience in the mining and shipping of guano and phosphate rock in what were sometimes difficult conditions, with many of these islands having no safe anchorage for shipping. In 1897 John T. Arundel & Co., merged its business with that of

528-749: The Pacific, calling at the Chincha Islands , on which guano was mined for refining into superphosphate . J.T. Arundel took an interest in the potential of the fertiliser business and in 1868 the company sent him on a second voyage into the Pacific to pursue opportunities. When J. T. Arundel set off in 1871 to develop a business in the Pacific he left his fiancée Eliza Eleanor (Lillie) Whibley in England, as he wanted to secure their financial future by achieving success with his business ventures. J .T. Arundel and Lillie Whibley were not to marry until 1881. Following their marriage Lillie Arundel would travel into

561-883: The Pacific. OCLC   17688856 . Personal papers and journals of J .T. Arundel and business papers and records of John T. Arundel & Co., the Pacific Islands Company Ltd and the Pacific Phosphate Company Ltd are held by the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau Archived 13 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine (PAMBU), Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS), Australian National University (ANU), Canberra—23 reels of microfilm. Phosphate mining in Banaba and Nauru In 1896,

594-600: The Samoan Shipping and Trading Company. This lease was taken over by the Burns Philp (South Sea) Company. During all this time, no human use seems to have been made of the island. Birnie Island became part of the British Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony in 1937, then became part of Kiribati in 1979 when the country gained its independence. The United States gave up its claim in favor of Kiribati in

627-411: The central Pacific with J. T. Arundel when he would visit the various islands on which his company had operations. Lillie Arundel gave birth in 1884 to their second daughter while on Manra , then known as Sydney Island, giving her the name of that island. In 1898 Fred Whibley , Lillie's younger brother, arrived in Sydney, after 10 years in the United States and Canada. J. T. Arundel offered Fred Whibley

660-583: The early 1990s. Gross production of phosphate from 1968 through exhaustion has been 43 million tons. In 1989, Nauru took legal action against Australia in the International Court of Justice over Australia's administration of the island, in particular Australia's failure to remedy the environmental damage caused by phosphate mining. Certain Phosphate Lands: Nauru v. Australia led to an out-of-court settlement to rehabilitate

693-409: The island. As high islands both Nauru and Banaba did not have lagoons or anchorages that protected ships from the Pacific storms. Solutions were found and despite losing some 5 ships on the reef at Ocean Island, the PPC became a very profitable company. The profitability of the company directed attention to the original agreements made with the land owners of Nauru and Banaba . The agreement with

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726-573: The key demand of the strikers was for higher wages of £10 a month to meet the increased price of goods sold in the trade store. In 1968, Nauru became a sovereign, independent nation. In 1970, the newly formed government purchased the full rights to the phosphate business from Australia for A$ 21 million. This purchase brought an economic boost to the Republic, as revenues from the mining operations are estimated to have been A$ 100–120 million annually since independence through virtual resource exhaustion in

759-538: The mined-out areas of Nauru. A number of prominent Nauruans, notably René Harris , who have headed the Nauru Phosphate Corporation , have gone on to serve as President of Nauru . The government puts profits from the mining into a trust for the islanders. This trust reached a peak of A$ 1 billion, returning approximately 14% annually. Poor investments and corruption have left the trust fund nearly empty and therefore Nauru with little money. In

792-488: The phosphate involved four parties: the British and German governments, the newly reorganised Pacific Phosphate Company, and Jaluit-Gesellschaft (a German mining company that had been exploiting phosphates on Nauru since the late 19th century). In 1906, an agreement was established whereby Jaluit-Gesellschaft's rights were transferred into the Pacific Phosphate Company, for "a cash payment of 2,000 pounds sterling (British), 12,500 pounds sterling (British) worth of shares in

825-406: The responsibility for the welfare of the people of Nauru and Banaba , the restoring of land and water resources lost by mining operations and compensation for environmental damage to the islands was under the control of the governments of United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. Arundel, John T. The Phoenix group and other islands of the Pacific . New Zealand Herald, Geographical Society of

858-475: The rock for phosphate. It turned out to be phosphate ore of the richest quality. A neighboring island to the East, Banaba (Ocean Island), shared Nauru's geology and also had significant reserves of phosphate. Ellis' discovery of phosphate excited John T. Arundel of the Pacific Islands Company and the company decided to pursue rights and access to Nauru's lucrative resource. The negotiations to pursue rights to

891-412: The rock was high grade phosphate . Albert Ellis and other company employees travelled to Banaba to confirm that the soil of that island was largely phosphate rock. Albert Ellis went on to Nauru , at that time a German territory, and confirmed it also consisted of large deposits of phosphate rock. J. T. Arundel and Lord Stanmore were responsible for financing the new opportunities and negotiating with

924-649: The trading and plantation firm of Henderson and Macfarlane to form the Pacific Islands Company Ltd ('PIC'). The company was based in London with its trading activities in the Pacific. The Chairman of the PIC was Lord Stanmore , formerly Sir Arthur Gordon, Governor of Fiji and first High Commissioner for the Western Pacific . John T. Arundel was the vice-chairman. The PIC continued to expand its plantation interests and in 1899, acquired

957-706: The two companies. Houlder Brothers and Co leased Flint Island from the British government and Arundel managed the guano digging in the central part of the island from 1875 to 1880. In 1872, Caroline Island was leased by the Houlder Brothers. In 1881, the lease was later taken over by Arundel (for whom one of the islets is named). John T. Arundel & Co went on to engage in mining guano on other Pacific islands and also established coconut plantations and traded in copra and other commodities. The company operated from Sydney, Australia with business interests in

990-634: The world's largest marine protected area. An expedition to carry out eradication of the population of Polynesian rat on Birnie Island was carried out in 2011. Birnie Island was discovered in 1823 by the London whaling ship Sydney , commanded by a Captain Emmett, and named after James Birnie, brother of London merchant Alexander Birnie . It was surveyed by the United States Exploring Expedition in January 1841. In

1023-698: The year 1948, revenues from phosphate mining were A$ 745,000. A minuscule 2% (A$ 14,900) was being returned to the Nauruans, while 1% was being charged for "administration". In 1960, future president Hammer DeRoburt negotiated royalties of profit to the Nauruans to be 22% while administration would increase to 14%. One apparently successful development project was in 1988, whereby the Royalty Trust purchased 600 acres (2.4 km ) of vacant, residentially zoned land near Portland, Oregon . Purchased for $ 16 million from Homer Williams and called Forest Heights, it

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1056-854: Was controlled by the Nauru trust until 75% of the allotments were sold, when the homeowners association took over. Birnie Island Birnie Island is a small, uninhabited coral island , 20 hectares (49 acres) in area, part of the Phoenix Island group, that is part of the Republic of Kiribati . It is located about 100 kilometres (62 mi; 54 nmi) southeast of Kanton Island and 90 kilometres (56 mi; 49 nmi) west-northwest of Rawaki Island , formerly known as Phoenix Island. It lies at 03°35′S 171°33′W  /  3.583°S 171.550°W  / -3.583; -171.550 . Birnie Island measures only 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) long and 0.5 kilometres (0.3 mi) wide. There

1089-425: Was lent money from time to time by its directors. The PIC abandoned the plans to develop coconut plantations in 1902. In 1899 Albert Ellis made what he later described as " a good 'find' ", when he had laboratory analysis carried out on a rock that was used to prop open the Sydney office door, as it appeared similar to the hard phosphate rock that he had seen on Baker Island The laboratory analysis confirmed that

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