NAURU.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19405, 14 February 1925, Page 15

NAURU.

WORLD’S WEALTHIEST ISLE. Written for tho Otago Daily Times. By A. A. Hintz. I. Cape Brett fades in the haze astern, as the steamer rolls her unladen way up into the Pacific, into tho south-east trades, across Capricorn, almost to the equator, and so to tho most prosaic El Dorado of the world. Such, indeed, is Nauru—a mere 12 miles square of projecting submarine mountain top, whereon lies A wealth of phosphate rock to the value of over a hundred millions sterling. No glamour of the goldfields is here, no colourful, adventuruous life of the pearling port, yet in tho history of this green tropic isle there is romance enough to give local colour to many a novel. A century and a-quarter ago Captain Foam, of the whaling ship Hunter, placed on tho chart, in long. 166 E. and lat. 20m. south, this coral-fringed little palmclad plateau, which he named Pleasant Island. Foam’s account has been lost to posterity, but from tho pen of Michelona de Royas, a Venetian, who landed a few years later, comes a faithful picture of a brown-skinned community, iincoiitaimnated, living and lazing in a small tropical paradise. Petty tribal wars interrupted the serenity of existence and provided the spice of life, but towards the earlier whiles the indolent natives—fine physical types of men and dusky feminine beauties —were peaceably disposed. But tho succeeding years brought pitiable experiences in their train. Soon came the whalers scum of British and American ports, io debauch a happy domain, to spread loathsome diseases, and to introduce all that was most vile of the white man’s heritage. Arms, spirits, and tobacco were bartered for cocoanut oil, while runaway sailors and escaped Sydney convicts imposed themselves upon tho inhabitants with pitiful results. Three-quarters of the nineteenth century witnessed tho debasing of a fine native race. Under the incitement of degraded whites, natives waged unrelenting tribal wars with newly-acquired weapons, the possession of which was an islander’s greatest desire. Sniping by night upon a neighbouring village became a favourite pastime in this no man’s land. Tho inhabitants became more and more warlike, and yet more distrustful of the European refuse who mingled with them. Among the latter they witnessed many drunken brawls, the ravaging of tho island women folk, and a massacre of eleven whites planned and executed by another. Even tho native craving for the possession, of arms grew, and hi connection with this, history records an incident almost parallel with the massacre of the Boyd at Whangaroa. When' a ship captain refused to supply tho islanders with a gun they boarded the vessel massacred almost all of tho company, and set the craft adrift.

Peaceful traders and missionaries who came to Pleasant Island about sixty years ago found a shocking state of lawlessness, and had perforce to organise their own bodyguards for self-protection, and to reinforce the walls of their dwelling as protection against sniper's bullets. At length, on October 1, 1888, the German sloop Eber arrived. A landing party summoned a council of tho chiefs, who were told that, in the interests of peace, the island would bo put under German protection, and that they would be held as hostages till all arms were surrendered. Thus ended a long period of bloodshed, and the new occupiers reverted from the “Pleasant Island” of Captain Eearn to tho native name “Nauru.” THE, REALISATION OF’ WEALTH. Though Nauru passed under German sovereignty, the Brtish Hading stations remained, and British vessels called to collect such staples as cocoanut oil and copia. On one occasion a super-cargo picked up on the beach, of the island, a curiouslyformed piece of rock, as ho’thought, and took it aboard tho schooner with him. Eventually he brought this curio to the office of the Pacific Island Company, of Sydney, were it was inspected, and pro nounced a piece of fossilised wood. For a long period it served the humbly useful purpose of a doorstep. The Pacific islands Company’s activities were chiefly the collection of phosphate or guano from the isles of the South Seas. This alleged fossil wood at length so attracted tho attention of Mr A. F. Ellis that he took it into the company’s laboratory, tested it, and found it to be phosphate rock of tho highest quality, evidently from a very ancient deposit. Trade in phosphate was at tho lowest ebb. Small deposits on island after island had been worked out. Here, in this fragment, lay 'the key to further development in a new field, Tho history of tho magic doorstep was obtained, and an Australian business concern was in possession of knowledge suggesting untouched commercial possibilities in German territory. Their objectives thenceforth were to ascertain the extent of the deposits, and to secure, if possible, a concession to work them. Mr Ellis himself was given permission to prospect tho island, though the Teutonic owners scouted tho idea of the existence of phosphate in any payable quantity. The prospector went about his work unostentatiously, but systematically. Chipping and testing over tho little plateau he gradually realised the immensity of his discovery, but so vast was it that the reality was almost unbelievable. Hero was wealth in millions, and the secret was his alone. To the native he was merely a source of amusement,—the rock man; a person who must surely be mad. Elba ’departed with his bags of specimens, the most remarkable feature being that oven after his researches the usually wakeful Gormans failed to realise that an outsider’s were worth a passing thought. b CLEVER DIPLOMACY. The secret went to Sydney, where the Pacific Island Company guarded it, and carefully handled a series of negotiations with the British and German Governments which culminated in their securing a concession for a period of 99 years, to work phosphate depostis that might exist on Nauru. All mineral rights in Teutonic Pacific possessions were vested in a German concern, which was anxious to secure certain trading privileges in German islands that were still held by the Sydney company. An exchange of these for the Nauru rights was eventually arranged. As a result there is to-day among the files of the British Phosphate Commission a truly historic document bearing tho signature of Von Bulow. So ?often do wo hear of the superior business acumen of the Teuton that this instance of his being outwitted makes cheery reading. To the east of Nauru, about 150 miles away, lay unclaimed, Ocean Island, a much less attractive spot. Through the urgings of tho company this was annexed by Britain, and hero even richer, though not so extensive, deposits were located. Tho Pacific Islands Company went out of existence, and was replaced by the Pacific Phosphate Company, floated in London with British, Australian’ and German shareholders. * BRITISH ANNEXATION. Then came war, and another chapter of history. _ The Phosphate Company’s British officials came under martial law, and soon received twenty-four hours’ notice of deportation. Aboard a small cargo steamer they were dispatched, men, women, and children, to Ocean Island where tho residents made every possible provision for them. As Nauru was an important link in the powerful German wireless chain that girdled the Pacific, H.M.A.S. Melbourne appeared inquisitively off the reef in October, 1914, landed a party dismantled tho wireless, hoisted the Union Jack, and annexed the island. After her brief visit the Germans hauled down the flag, burned it, and buried the ashes. Their re-established independence, however, was short lived. Two forces of occupation were converging on them. The “Aussies” were the first to reach tho goal. On a vessel from locently annexed Rabat! 1, a mere handful of sixty of them reached Nauru. The Germans were numerically strong enough to liavc put up a good resistance, but did not do to. The Australian flag was

flying over N alli'U when, two days later, a cruiser arrived flying tho flag of Nippon. Out on the horizon lay two J apanese transports full of troops. The Japanese were well aware of the great value of the island, and the importance of the prior arrival of the Australian party cannot be over-estimated, for it must bo remembered that, only 400 miles away, the once German Marshall Islands surrendered to the brown man’s navy, and to-day they are mandated to Nippon by the League of Nations.