The islands which now form the Republic of Kiribati have been inhabited for at least seven hundred years, and possibly much longer. The initial Austronesian peoples’ population, which remains the overwhelming majority today, was visited by Polynesian and Melanesian invaders before the first European sailors visited the islands in the 17th century. For much of the subsequent period, the main island chain, the Gilbert Islands, was ruled as part of the British Empire. The country gained its independence in 1979 and has since been known as Kiribati.
Tuvalu is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. The country lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands, northeast of Vanuatu, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna, and north of Fiji. It is composed of three reef islands and six atolls spread out between the latitude of 5° to 10° south and longitude of 176° to 180°, west of the International Date Line. Tuvalu has a population of 10,507. The total land area of the islands of Tuvalu is 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi).
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean about halfway between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii. They were the British colony of the Gilbert Islands from 1976 to 1979, succeeding to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony (1916–1975). They form the main part of Kiribati.
Vaitupu is the largest atoll of the nation of Tuvalu. It is located at 7.48 degrees south and 178.83 degrees west. There are 1,061 people living on 5.6 square kilometres with the main village being Asau.
This is a partial timeline of significant events in postal history, including dates and events relating to postage stamps.
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands, in the Pacific Ocean, were a British protectorate from 1892 and colony, from 12 January 1916 until 1 January 1976, part of the British Empire. The history of the colony was mainly characterized by phosphate mining in Ocean Island. In October 1975, these islands were de jure divided into two separated colonies which became independent nations shortly thereafter, Tuvalu (1978) and Kiribati (1979).
Ieremia Tienang Tabai is an I-Kiribati politician who served as the first Beretitenti President of the Republic of Kiribati, after being the youngest ever Chief minister of the Commonwealth of Nations, from 15 March 1972, and then becoming the youngest ever head of State. During his presidency, he was described as being the most able leader of the Pacific island states.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.
Nui is an atoll and one of nine districts of the Pacific Ocean state of Tuvalu. It has a land area of 3.37 km² and a population of 610.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about many stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
The British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) was the name of a colonial entity, created in 1877, for the administration, under a single representative of the British Crown, styled High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, of a series of Pacific islands in and around Oceania. Except for Fiji and the Solomon Islands, most of these colonial possessions were relatively minor.
The House of Assembly is the Legislature of Kiribati. Since 2016, it has 45 members, 44 elected for a four-year term in 23 single-seat and multi-seat constituencies and 1 not-elected delegate from the Banaban community on Rabi Island in Fiji. From 1979 to 2016, in the case the Attorney general was not elected as MP, he has been an ex officio member of the House, until a change of the constitution modified this provision.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Tuvalu.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Wallis and Futuna Islands.
The Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau is the government body in Tuvalu that issues new stamps and first day covers, which are available for purchase by stamp collectors around the world. The Bureau is located in Funafuti.
The Kiribati Athletics Association (KAA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the Kiribati.
John Hilary Smith, is a British retired colonial administrator. Smith was the last Governor of the united Gilbert and Ellice Islands before it was divided into Tuvalu and what later became Kiribati.
King George V School (KGV) was a government high school for boys in the Gilbert Islands, within the British colony Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Throughout its history it was in multiple locations in South Tarawa and Abemama. It served as a boarding school, and trained people to be government workers and teachers.
The Governor of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands was the colonial head of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands civil service from 1892 until 1979.
Sione Tui Kleiss was a Tuvaluan civil servant, priest and politician. He was a member of the legislature of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands from 1967 until the Ellice Islands separated in 1975, also serving as Minister for Commerce and Industry. Following the separation, he became a member of the Tuvalu House of Assembly and served as its Speaker.
