Birnie Island
Encyclopedia
Birnie Island is a small, uninhabited coral island, 20 hectares in area, part of the Phoenix Island
group, which forms a possession of the Republic of Kiribati
. It is located about 100 km SE of Kanton Island
and 90 km WNW of Rawaki Island
, formerly known as Phoenix Island. It lies at 03°35′S 171°33′W. Birnie island measures only 1.2 km long and 0.5 km wide. There is no anchorage, but landing can be made on the lee beach.
, the world's largest marine protected area.
An additional color photo of Birnie Island can be seen at.
In 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 U.K. A colony was considered but never attempted. 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 the Samoan Shipping and Trading Company. This lease was taken over by the Burns Philp
(South Sea) Company. During all this time, no guano was mined on Birnie, and no human use seems to have been made of it.
Birnie Island became part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands
Colony in 1937, which belonged to the British, and then became part of Kiribati in 1979 when the country gained independence. The US gave up its claim in favor of Kiribati in the 1979 Treaty of Tarawa
. Birnie is rarely visited today, though a New-Zealand funded scientific expedition to rid the island of rats and other invasive animal species has recently been announced.
Phoenix Islands
The Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs, lying in the central Pacific Ocean east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. They are a part of the Republic of Kiribati. During the late 1930s they became the site of the last attempted colonial...
group, which forms a possession of the Republic of Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
. It is located about 100 km SE of Kanton Island
Kanton Island
Kanton Island , alternatively known as "Mary Island", "Mary Balcout's Island" or "Swallow Island", is the largest, northernmost, and as of 2007, the sole inhabited island of the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati. It is an atoll located in the South Pacific Ocean roughly halfway between...
and 90 km WNW of Rawaki Island
Rawaki Island
Rawaki Island is one of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati, also known by its previous name of Phoenix Island. It is a small, uninhabited atoll, approximately 1.2 by 0.8 km in size and 65 hec. in area, with a shallow, brackish central lagoon that does not communicate with the...
, formerly known as Phoenix Island. It lies at 03°35′S 171°33′W. Birnie island measures only 1.2 km long and 0.5 km wide. There is no anchorage, but landing can be made on the lee beach.
Flora and fauna
Birnie island is low and dry, with a small, shallow lagoon in its southeast sector which 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 AreaPhoenix Islands Protected Area
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area is located in the Republic of Kiribati, an ocean nation in the central Pacific approximately midway between Australia and Hawaii. PIPA constitutes 11.34% of Kiribati’s Exclusive Economic Zone and with a size of it is the largest marine protected area in the...
, the world's largest marine protected area.
An additional color photo of Birnie Island can be seen at.
History
Birnie Island was discovered in 1823 by the London whaling ship Sydney Packet, T. Emmett, Master and named after the ship's owner, the London firm Alexander Birnie & Co.In the 1860s, the island was claimed under the Guano Islands Act
Guano Islands Act
The Guano Islands Act is federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, on August 18, 1856. It enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of other...
for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 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 U.K. A colony was considered but never attempted. In 1899, the island was leased to the Pacific Islands Company, Ltd.
John T. Arundel
John T. Arundel was an entrepreneur who was instrumental in the development of the mining of phosphate rock on the Pacific islands of Nauru and Banaba ....
In 1916, it was included among the islands leased for 87 years to Captain Allen of the Samoan Shipping and Trading Company. This lease was taken over by the Burns Philp
Burns Philp
Burns Philp was once a major player in the food manufacturing business. Since its delisting from the Australian Stock Exchange in December 2006 and the subsequent sale of its assets, the company has mainly become a cashed up shell company...
(South Sea) Company. During all this time, no guano was mined on Birnie, and no human use seems to have been made of it.
Birnie Island became part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands
Gilbert and Ellice Islands
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were a British protectorate from 1892 and colony from 1916 until 1 January 1976, when the islands were divided into two different colonies which became independent nations shortly after...
Colony in 1937, which belonged to the British, and then became part of Kiribati in 1979 when the country gained independence. The US gave up its claim in favor of Kiribati in the 1979 Treaty of Tarawa
Treaty of Tarawa
On September 20, 1979, representatives of the newly independent Republic of Kiribati and of the United States met in Tarawa to sign a treaty of friendship between the two nations, known as the Treaty of Tarawa. In this treaty, the U.S. acknowledged Kiribati sovereignty over fourteen islands...
. Birnie is rarely visited today, though a New-Zealand funded scientific expedition to rid the island of rats and other invasive animal species has recently been announced.
Sources
- Maude, Henry Evans: Of islands and men : studies in Pacific history; Melbourne [u.a.] : Oxford Univ. Pr., 1968
- Jones, A. G. E.: Ships employed in the South Seas trade Vol. 1: 1775 - 1861; Canberra 1986 & Vol. 2: 1775 - 1859; Burwood, Vic. [1992]
- Bryan, E.H.: American Polynesia and the Hawaiian Chain: Honolulu, Hawaii: Tongg Publishing Company, 1942