Tabiteuea

Last updated
Tabiteuea
Tabiteuea Kiribati2.jpg
Satellite photograph of Tabiteuea (NE top)
GilbertIslandsPos.png
Kiribati location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Tabiteuea
Micronesia regions map.png
Red pog.svg
Tabiteuea
Oceania laea location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Tabiteuea
Pacific Ocean laea location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Tabiteuea
Geography
Location Pacific Ocean
Coordinates 1°21′S174°48′E / 1.350°S 174.800°E / -1.350; 174.800
Archipelago Gilbert Islands
Major islands Aanikai
Area40.33 km2 (15.57 sq mi)
Highest elevation3 m (10 ft)
Administration
Capital Utiroa
Former capital Buariki
Demographics
Population5,261 (2015 Census)
Pop. density123.8/km2 (320.6/sq mi)
Ethnic groups I-Kiribati 99.7%

Tabiteuea (formerly Drummond's Island) is an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, farther south of Tarawa. This atoll is the second largest and the most populated of the Gilbert Islands after Tarawa. The atoll consists of one main island, Aanikai in the north, and several smaller islets in between along the eastern rim of the atoll. The atoll has a total land area of 38 km2 (15 sq mi), while the lagoon measures 365 km2 (141 sq mi). The population numbered 5,261 in 2015. The islanders have customary fishing practices related to the lagoon and the open ocean. [1]

Contents

While most atolls of the Gilbert Islands correspond to local government areas governed by island councils, Tabiteuea, like the main atoll Tarawa, is divided into two:

History

"Tabiteuea" is Gilbertese for "no chief allowed"; the island is traditionally egalitarian and is known for its huge maneaba.

On 1 July 1799, Charles Bishop and George Bass entered in the lagoon of Tabiteuea and many canoes visited his brig Nautilus. Bishop called it Bishop’s Island, and called Aanikai, Drummond’s Island. [4]

The Battle of Drummond's Island occurred during the United States Exploring Expedition in April 1841 at Tabiteuea, then known as Drummond's Island. After one sailor from sloop USS Peacock, was missing without reason, the US party decided on exacting redress for the incident. Twelve islanders were killed in the fighting and others were wounded. Utiroa village with more than 1,000 inhabitants, was burned and erased. [5]

During the American Civil War, the Confederate States Navy steamer CSS Shenandoah visited the island on March 23, 1865 in search of United States whalers, but the whalers had fled the area. Captain James Waddell described the islanders as "of copper colour, short of statue, athletic in form, intelligent and docile" and were "without a stitch of clothing". [6]

In the late 1800s, the two parts of the island were the site of a religious war when the populace of North Tabiteuea, partly converted to Christianity and, led by a Hawaiian pastor called Kapu who had assembled a "hymn-singing army on a crusade", invaded and conquered South Tabiteuea, where was recently (1860) created a cult of Tioba (Jehovah). [7]

Bishop Octave Terrienne built his main Catholic Church in Tanaeang, North Tabiteuea in 1936 and established there the see of his apostolic vicariate of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. [8]

Tabiteuea Post Office opened around 1911 and was renamed Tabiteuea North around 1972. Tabiteuea South Post Office opened on 13 September 1965. [9]

Map of Tabiteuea 00-250 Tabiteuea.png
Map of Tabiteuea

Education

There is a government high school, Tabiteuea North Senior Secondary School, [10] also known as Teabike College. [11] Located in Eita, it serves the entire island. [12]

There is also a government junior high school, Takoronga School in Terikiai, serving all of Tab North.

The elementary schools on Tab North are all government schools. They include: [12]

Taunibong School in Buota serves as the elementary school. The area junior high school is Takoronga School in Terikiai, and the area senior high school is Tabiteuea North Senior Secondary School a.k.a. Teabike College in Eita. [12]

Students from Bangai may attend either Nukantewaa School or Ueen Maungan te Raoi School; Bangai does not have enough residents, so the Kiribati authorities do not operate a school there. [12]

Transport

There are two domestic airports:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abaiang</span> Atoll of Kiribati

Abaiang, also known as Apaiang, Apia, and in the past, Charlotte Island, in the Northern Gilbert Islands, is a coral atoll of Kiribati, located in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Abaiang was the island of the first missionary to arrive in the Gilberts, Hiram Bingham II. Abaiang has a population of 5,872.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butaritari</span> Atoll in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati

Butaritari is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. The atoll is roughly four-sided. The south and southeast portion of the atoll comprises a nearly continuous islet. The atoll reef is continuous but almost without islets along the north side. Bikati and Bikatieta islets occupy a corner of the reef at the extreme northwest tip of the atoll. Small islets are found on reef sections between channels on the west side. The lagoon of Butaritari is deep and can accommodate large ships, though the entrance passages are relatively narrow. It is the most fertile of the Gilbert Islands, with relatively good soils and high rainfall. Butaritari atoll has a land area of 13.49 km2 (5.21 sq mi) and a population of 3,224 as of 2015. During World War II, Butaritari was known by United States Armed Forces as Makin Atoll, and was the site of the Battle of Makin. Locally, Makin is the name of a separate but closest atoll, 3 kilometres to the northeast of Butaritari, but close enough to be seen. These two atolls share a dialect of the Gilbertese language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarawa</span> Atoll in the South Pacific

Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, in the Micronesia region of the central Pacific Ocean. It comprises North Tarawa, which has 6,629 inhabitants and much in common with other more remote islands of the Gilberts group, and South Tarawa, which has 56,388 inhabitants as of 2015, half of the country's total population. The atoll was the site of the Battle of Tarawa during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Tarawa</span> Island of the Republic of Kiribati

South Tarawa is the capital and hub of the Republic of Kiribati and home to more than half of Kiribati's population. The South Tarawa population centre consists of all the small islets from Betio in the west to Bonriki and Tanaea in the north-east, connected by the South Tarawa main road, with a population of 63,439 as of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arorae</span> Island of Kiribati

Arorae is an atoll in Kiribati located near the equator. Arorae is the southernmost island in the Gilbert Islands group. It has a population of just over a thousand inhabitants on 9.5 square kilometres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beru (atoll)</span>

Beru is an atoll in the Southern Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of the Republic of Kiribati. Beru was previously known as Eliza, Francis Island, Maria, Peroat, Peru Island or Sunday. It's part of a larger reef with the Nuka Lagoon at its center, and the nearest island is Nikunau. The Tabiang Lagoon is present in the north. Beru is home to 2,051 inhabitants. Due to sea surges, the atoll is experiencing coastal erosion along with damages to seawalls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maiana</span>

Maiana is an atoll in Kiribati and is one of the Central Gilbert Islands. Maiana is 44 kilometres (27 mi) south of the capital island of South Tarawa and has a population of 1,982 as of 2015. The northern and eastern sides of the atoll are a single island, whilst the western edge consists of submerged reefs and many uninhabited islets, all surrounding a lagoon. The atoll is 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) long and is very narrow, with an average width of less than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) and a total land area of 16.72 square kilometres (6.46 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikunau</span>

Nikunau is a low coral atoll in the Gilbert Islands that forms a council district of the Republic of Kiribati. It consists of two parts, with the larger in the northwest, joined by an isthmus about 150 metres (490 ft) wide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nonouti</span>

Nonouti is an atoll and district of Kiribati. The atoll is located in the Southern Gilbert Islands, 38 km north of Tabiteuea, and 250 km south of Tarawa. The atoll is the third largest in the Gilbert Islands and is the island where the Roman Catholic religion was first established in Kiribati, in 1888.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onotoa</span>

Onotoa is an atoll of Kiribati. It is situated in the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean, 65 km (40 mi) from Tamana, the smallest island in the Gilberts. The population of Onotoa in the 2015 census was 1,393.

Utiroa is a settlement in Kiribati. It is located on Tabiteuea atoll and is the capital of North Tabiteuea; Nuribenua is to its west, while Terikiai and Eita are to its north.

Nuribenua is the largest island of Tabiteuea atoll in Kiribati; It includes the old Capital village of the atoll Terikiai, and the new capital village Utiroa . To its south are Tauma and Kabuna islands. To its north is Nonouti Atoll.

Terikiai is a settlement in Kiribati. It is located on an atoll; to its west are Nuribenua, Tanaiang, and Te Kapuipui, and to its east are Eita and Utiroa.

Education in Kiribati is free and compulsory from age 6 to 14, which includes primary school through grade six, and Junior Secondary School for three additional grade levels. In 1998, the gross primary enrollment rate was 84.4 percent, and net primary enrollment rate was 70.7 percent. School quality and access to education are better in urban areas; schools in small communities on isolated islands are expensive to maintain. Mission schools are slowly being absorbed into the government primary school system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Drummond's Island</span> Conflict between the United States Exploring Expedition and the village of Utiroa

The Battle of Drummond's Island was a conflict between the United States Exploring Expedition and the village of Utiroa on April 1841 at Drummond's Island, Tabiteuea North, which is now part of Tabiteuea. The cause of the conflict was the disappearance of the American seaman John Anderson, who was suspected, with no evidence, to have been murdered by the village natives. In retaliation, the members of the expedition killed twelve of the natives and burned the village of Utiroa to the ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Tarawa</span> A string of islets in Kiribati governed by the Eutan Tarawa Council

North Tarawa or in Gilbertese Tarawa Ieta, in the Republic of Kiribati, is the string of islets from Buariki at the northern tip of Tarawa atoll to Buota in the South, with a combined population of 6,629 as of 2015. It is administratively separate from neighbouring South Tarawa, and is governed by the Eutan Tarawa Council (ETC), based at Abaokoro.

North Tabiteuea is a local council in Tabiteuea, Kiribati.

Octave Marie Terrienne MSC was the Roman Catholic bishop of the apostolic vicariate of the Gilbert Islands from 1937 until 1961, when Pierre Guichet succeeded him.

Aanikai is the main island of North Tabiteuea, in Kiribati.

References

  1. Luomala, Katharine (1980). "Some fishing customs and beliefs in Tabiteuea (Gilbert Islands, Micronesia)". Anthropos. 75:3/4: 523–558.
  2. "12. Tabiteuea North" (PDF). Office of Te Beretitent - Republic of Kiribati Island Report Series. 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  3. "13. Tabiteuea South" (PDF). Office of Te Beretitent - Republic of Kiribati Island Report Series. 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  4. Dumas, Guigone (2014). Tabiteuea, Kiribati. Paris: Hazan. pp. 51–52. ISBN   9-782754-10787-7.
  5. Ellsworth, Harry A. (1974). One Hundred Eighty Landings of United States Marines 1800 to 1934. Washington D.C.: US Marines History and Museums Division. pp. 72–74.
  6. WADDELL, James C.S.S. Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, 1996, ISBN   1-55750-368-0, p.143
  7. MACDONALD, Barrie, Cinderellas of the Empire: Towards a history of Kiribati and Tuvalu, 2001, ISBN   982-02-0335-X, p.38
  8. Dumas, Guigone (2014). Tabiteuea, Kiribati. Paris: Hazan. pp. 68–69. ISBN   9-782754-10787-7.
  9. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  10. "VSA Assignment Description Assignment title English Language Trainer (of Trainers/ Teachers) Country Kiribati." Volunteer Service Abroad (Te Tūao Tāwāhi). Retrieved on 6 July 2018. p. 6-7.
  11. "TABITEUEA NORTH 2008 Socio-Economic Profile" Part 2 of 4. Strengthening Decentralized Governance in Kiribati Project , Ministry of Internal and Social Affairs (Kiribati). p. 48 (PDF p. 13/15). Part 1 is here.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "TABITEUEA NORTH 2008 Socio-Economic Profile" Part 2 of 4. Strengthening Decentralized Governance in Kiribati Project , Ministry of Internal and Social Affairs (Kiribati). p. 42 (PDF p. 7/15). Part 1 is here.