Birnie Island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birnie Island (Birnie Atoll, Birney) is a small coral island, 20 hectares in area, part of the Phoenix Island Group, which belongs to the nation of Kiribati. It is located about 100km SE of Kanton Island and 90km WNW of Rawaki Island, formerly known as Phoenix Island. It can be found at 3 degrees 35 minutes South, 171 degrees, 33 minutes West. Birnie island is uninhabitated, and measures only 1.2km long and 0.5km wide. There is no anchorage, but landing can be made on the lee beach.

Birnie island is a dry island, covered mostly with low shrubs rather than tall vegetation, and a small lagoon which is all but dried up. Because of the undisturbed nature of the island, the vegetation, and large colonies of seabirds which roost there, Birnie Island was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1975.

[edit] 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 for the United States, though there is no evidence of guano ever being mined there. In 1889, the British flag was raised, and the island was declared a protectorate. A colony was considered but nothing eventuated. In 1899 the island was leased to the Pacific Islands Co.

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 Burns Philp (South Sea) Company.

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 the 1979 Treaty of Tarawa. It is still uninhabited and rarely visited.

Coordinates: 03°35′S, 171°33′W

[edit] References

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]