John T. Arundel
Encyclopedia
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 (Ocean Island).
His father owned 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 company ship into 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 security 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 the central Pacific with J.T. Arundel when he would visit the various islands on which his company has 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
, Australia
after 10 years in the United States
and Canada
. J .T. Arundel offered Fred Whibley 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.
Williams & Macdonald (1985) described J.T. Arundel as “a remarkable example of that mid-Victorian phenomenon, the upright, pious and adventurous Christian English businessman.”
, establishing coconut plantations, and trading in copra
and other commodities produced on the Pacific.
John T. Arundel & Co., operated from Sydney, Australia with business interests in 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.
and first High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. J. T. Arundel was the vice-chairman.
The PIC continued to expand its plantation interests and in 1899, acquired 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 acquiring licenses to develop coconut plantations in the Solomon Islands
.
Despite this attempt to broaden the operations of the company the company remained chronically short of capital throughout its existence and was lent money from time to time by its Directors.
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 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. A. F. 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 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 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 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.
The PPC investigated phosphate deposits on Makatea
in 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 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.
(RSPAS), Australian National University
(ANU), Canberra -- 23 reels of microfilm.
Nauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
and Banaba (Ocean Island).
His father owned a gentleman’s outfitter in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and a warehouse business on the Thames estuary, with the family living at Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
. 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
Immigration to New Zealand
Immigration to New Zealand began with Polynesian settlement in New Zealand, then uninhabited, in the tenth century . The role of Moriori settlement is currently disputed, with some suggesting that the Moriori arrived in New Zealand before the Maori, and were distinct from Maori, & others favouring...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
In 1860 J.T. Arundel travelled on a company ship into the Pacific, calling at the Chincha Islands
Chincha Islands
The Chincha Islands are a group of three small islands 21 km off the southwest coast of Peru, to which they belong, near the town of Pisco,...
, on which guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, as he wanted to secure their financial security 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 the central Pacific with J.T. Arundel when he would visit the various islands on which his company has 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
Fred Whibley
Fred Whibley abandoned a career in a London bank to escape from the constraints and social expectations of respectability in the Victorian era...
, Lillie’s younger brother, arrived in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
after 10 years in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. J .T. Arundel offered Fred Whibley a position with John T. Arundel & Co. Fred Whibley
Fred Whibley
Fred Whibley abandoned a career in a London bank to escape from the constraints and social expectations of respectability in the Victorian era...
declined and chose to become an island trader on Niutao
Niutao
Niutao is a reef island in the northern part of Tuvalu. It is one of the nine districts of Tuvalu, and one of the three who consist of only one island, not counting the three islets inside the closed lagoon. Niutao has a population of 663 .-Geography:There are two lakes , which are brackish to...
in what is now Tuvalu
Tuvalu
Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...
. A harmonious working relationship would have been unlikely given the pious Christian attitudes of J.T. Arundel and Fred Whibley
Fred Whibley
Fred Whibley abandoned a career in a London bank to escape from the constraints and social expectations of respectability in the Victorian era...
’s reputation as the ‘black sheep
Black sheep
In the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness...
’ of the family.
Williams & Macdonald (1985) described J.T. Arundel as “a remarkable example of that mid-Victorian phenomenon, the upright, pious and adventurous Christian English businessman.”
John T. Arundel & Co.
In 1871 with financial support from Houlder Brothers & Co., he established John T. Arundel & Co., which operated in the Pacific, mining guanoGuano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
, establishing coconut plantations, and trading in copra
Copra
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...
and other commodities produced on the Pacific.
John T. Arundel & Co., operated from Sydney, Australia with business interests in the Pacific that included:
- Mining guanoGuanoGuano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
on- Baker IslandBaker IslandBaker Island is an uninhabited atoll located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean about southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia, and is a possession of the United States. Its nearest neighbor is Howland Island, to the north.Located at...
from 1886 to 1899, which is now claimed as a unincorporated, unorganized territoryUnorganized territoryAn unorganized territory is a region of land without a "normally" constituted system of government. This does not mean that the territory has no government at all or that it is unclaimed territory...
of the United States. - Howland IslandHowland IslandHowland Island is an uninhabited coral island located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, about southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia and is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States. Geographically, it is part...
from 1886 to 1899, which is geographically part of the Phoenix IslandsPhoenix IslandsThe 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...
and now claimed as a unincorporated, unorganized territoryUnorganized territoryAn unorganized territory is a region of land without a "normally" constituted system of government. This does not mean that the territory has no government at all or that it is unclaimed territory...
of the United States. - Manra or Sydney Island in 1884, which is geographically part of the Phoenix IslandsPhoenix IslandsThe 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...
and is part of KiribatiKiribatiKiribati , 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...
. - Raine IslandRaine IslandRaine Island is a vegetated coral cay that is 32 hectares in total area and is situated on the outer edges of the Great Barrier Reef, approximately north north west of Cairns, Queensland, Australia, and about 120 km east-north-east of Cape Grenville, Cape York Peninsula...
in the Torres StraitTorres StraitThe Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...
, Rocky IslandRocky IslandRocky Island may refer to:Australia* Rocky Island , in Walsh Bay, Queensland, Australia* Rocky Point Island , in Walsh Bay, Queensland, AustraliaChina...
, in the Gulf of CarpentariaGulf of CarpentariaThe Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
, Lady Elliott Island off Bundaberg, QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and several islands in the Bunker and Capricorn group in the waters off Northern AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
- Baker Island
- Establishing a coconut plantation on
- Flint IslandFlint IslandFlint Island is an uninhabited coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the Southern Line Islands under the jurisdiction of Kiribati.-Geography:...
in 1881 in what is now KiribatiKiribatiKiribati , 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...
, with the plantation operated by the firm until 1891. - NikumaroroNikumaroroNikumaroro, or Gardner Island, is part of the Phoenix Islands, Kiribati, in the western Pacific Ocean. It is a remote, elongated, triangular coral atoll with profuse vegetation and a large central marine lagoon. Nikumaroro is approximately 6 km long by less than 2 km wide...
, or Gardner Island, which is geographically part of the Phoenix IslandsPhoenix IslandsThe 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...
and is part of KiribatiKiribatiKiribati , 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...
. The plantation was stated in 1892 but as a consequence of severe droughtDroughtA drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
the plantation was abandoned within 12 months.
- Flint Island
Albert Ellis
Albert Fuller Ellis
Sir Albert Fuller Ellis was a prospector in the Pacific, he discovered phosphate deposits on the Pacific islands Nauru and Banaba Island in 1900. He was the British Phosphate Commissioner for New Zealand from 1921 to 1951.Ellis was born in Roma, Queensland, his family moved to Auckland where he...
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
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
and phosphate rock in what were sometimes difficult conditions, with many of these islands having no safe anchorage for shipping.
Pacific Islands Company Ltd
In 1897 John T. Arundel & Co., merged its business with that of the trading and plantation firm of Henderson and McFarlane 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 FijiFiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
and first High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. J. T. Arundel was the vice-chairman.
The PIC continued to expand its plantation interests and in 1899, acquired a license to develop coconut plantations on Birnie Island
Birnie Island
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 . ...
, which is geographically part of the Phoenix Islands
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...
and is part 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...
, with the PIC acquiring licenses to develop coconut plantations in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
.
Despite this attempt to broaden the operations of the company the company remained chronically short of capital throughout its existence and was lent money from time to time by its Directors.
Pacific Phosphate Company Ltd
In 1889 Albert EllisAlbert Fuller Ellis
Sir Albert Fuller Ellis was a prospector in the Pacific, he discovered phosphate deposits on the Pacific islands Nauru and Banaba Island in 1900. He was the British Phosphate Commissioner for New Zealand from 1921 to 1951.Ellis was born in Roma, Queensland, his family moved to Auckland where he...
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
Baker Island
Baker Island is an uninhabited atoll located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean about southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia, and is a possession of the United States. Its nearest neighbor is Howland Island, to the north.Located at...
The laboratory analysis confirmed that the rock was high grade phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
. Albert Ellis
Albert Fuller Ellis
Sir Albert Fuller Ellis was a prospector in the Pacific, he discovered phosphate deposits on the Pacific islands Nauru and Banaba Island in 1900. He was the British Phosphate Commissioner for New Zealand from 1921 to 1951.Ellis was born in Roma, Queensland, his family moved to Auckland where he...
and other company employees travelled to Banaba to confirm that the soil of that island was largely phosphate rock. A. F. Ellis went on to Nauru
Nauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
, 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 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
Phosphate mining in Nauru
The economy of Nauru has been almost wholly dependent on phosphate, which has led to environmental catastrophe on the island, with 80% of the nation’s surface having been strip-mined...
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 the island. As high islands both Nauru
Nauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
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
Nauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
and Banaba. The agreement with 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.
The PPC investigated phosphate deposits on Makatea
Makatea
Makatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae, is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus. It is located 79 km southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser group. It is surrounded by spectacular cliffs, rising to a plateau 80 meters above the sea level. This island is...
in the Tuamotus
Tuamotus
The Tuamotus or the Tuamotu Archipelago are a chain of islands and atolls in French Polynesia. They form the largest chain of atolls in the world, spanning an area of the Pacific Ocean roughly the size of Western Europe...
in French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
and formed a company, the Compagnie des Phosphates de l'Océanie, with a Tahitian
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
syndicate that was also investigating the potential of Makatea
Makatea
Makatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae, is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus. It is located 79 km southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser group. It is surrounded by spectacular cliffs, rising to a plateau 80 meters above the sea level. This island is...
. 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
Nauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
and Banaba was acquired by Board of the British Phosphate Commission
British Phosphate Commission
The British Phosphate Commission was a board of Australian, British and New Zealand representatives who managed extraction of phosphate from Christmas Island, Nauru and Ocean Island from the 1920s until the 1960s.-Nauru Island Agreement:...
. From 1919 the responsibility for the welfare of the people of Nauru
Nauru
Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
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.
Chronology
- 1841 Born in England. His paternal grandfather, John Arundel, was Home Secretary of the London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
. - 1872 Started John T. Arundel & Co., Sydney.
- 1881 Started coconut plantation on Flint IslandFlint IslandFlint Island is an uninhabited coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the Southern Line Islands under the jurisdiction of Kiribati.-Geography:...
. - 1884 His second daughter was born on Sydney IslandManra IslandManra Island or Sydney Island, is one of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati. It lies at . W. longitude, and has an area of 4.4 km2. and an elevation of approximately six meters...
, and named for the island. - 1885, March 3. Lectured at the Geographical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. - 1897 J. T. Arundel & Co., Ltd., headquartered in Sydney, Australia merged with Henderson and McFarlane to form the Pacific Islands Company, headquartered in London, England.
- 1897 Visited Clipperton.
- 1902 Pacific Islands Company became Pacific Phosphate Company, and began phosphate mining on Banaba in 1901 and phosphate mining in NauruPhosphate mining in NauruThe economy of Nauru has been almost wholly dependent on phosphate, which has led to environmental catastrophe on the island, with 80% of the nation’s surface having been strip-mined...
in 1906. - 1909 He travelled on maiden voyage of the S.S. Ocean Queen, to NauruNauruNauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
and Ocean IslandOcean IslandOcean Island is a name given to two unrelated islands in the Pacific Ocean, and one in the Southern Ocean:* Kure Atoll, the last atoll in the Hawaiian Islands chain.* Banaba Island, in Kiribati, an island mined until recently for its phosphate....
. On this voyage he visited Jarvis IslandJarvis IslandJarvis Island is an uninhabited 4.5 square kilometer coral island located in the South Pacific Ocean at , about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands...
, where his daughter Sydney photographed the construction of a day beacon. - 1909 (September) The S.S. Ocean Queen was wrecked on the reef at MakateaMakateaMakatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae, is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus. It is located 79 km southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser group. It is surrounded by spectacular cliffs, rising to a plateau 80 meters above the sea level. This island is...
; a bent connecting rod caused the engines to stop and the current carried the ship onto the reef. - 1909 (October) In San Francisco J. T. Arundel became a member of the Pacific Union Club. He suffered a heart attack and subsequently he resigned as deputy chairman of the PPC.
- 1919 Died on 30 November 1919 at BournemouthBournemouthBournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Publications
Sources
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 (PAMBU), Research School of Pacific and Asian StudiesResearch School of Pacific and Asian Studies
The Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies was founded in 1946 as an institute of advanced study at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.-History:...
(RSPAS), Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
(ANU), Canberra -- 23 reels of microfilm.