Nauru Island Starvation
(Official R.N.Z.A.F. War Correspohdeof). BOUGAINVILLE, Aug 23
Two persons are dying daily from starvation and one from dysentery on Nauru Island, according to information which came to hand just before the Japanese surrendered.
Nothing had been known of the island since the Japanese occupied it in 1942 until a United States transport picked up two civilian workers who* left the island in an open boat because of the food shortage. According to these men there were approximately 5500 persons including 1000 workers, on the island. Starvation was rampant, as Nauru received its last supplies from Japan on September 23 last year, when a submarine landed rice. The Japanese garrison, consisting of 3500 officers and men, had made everyone grow vegetables, but there was insufficient fertile land to grow enough. There was also a water supply problem and a danger of droughts.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NA19450825.2.42
Bibliographic details
Northern Advocate, 25 August 1945, Page 4
Word Count
144Nauru Island Starvation Northern Advocate, 25 August 1945, Page 4
Using This Item
NZME is the copyright owner for the Northern Advocate. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons New Zealand BY-NC-SA licence . This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of NZME. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in