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Location
Located in the south-western Pacific Ocean, about 2,580
miles southwest of Hawaii.
Oval in shape, it has a circumference of 12 miles and an area of
8 square miles, near the equator. Nauru's capital is Yaren administrative
center Nauru is the smallest republic in the world and has no capital.
Today
In 1947 the island
was placed under United
Nations Trusteeship and Australia resumed administration on behalf
of the three partner governments: Australia, New Zealand and
Great
Britain. Nauru became an independent republic on 31 January 1968.
History
Nauru existed as an independent island society until it was annexed
by Germany in 1888 as part of the Marshall Islands Protectorate.
In
1900 a British company discovered phosphate on the island and negotiated
with Germany for mining rights. In November 1914 Nauru was seized
by Australian troops and remained in British control until 1921.
At the end of the
war, a League of Nations mandate was granted to Australia, New Zealand
and Great Britain. The three countries provided for an Administration
and set up the
British Phosphate Commissioners (BPC) to run the phosphate industry.
Wartime History
During
World War II, the island had the distinction of being attacked by Germany,
Japan and the United States. During December, Komet and Orion sank five Allied merchant ships off Nauru.
On December 27, 1940 German Raider
Komet bombarded the phosphate mine.
Occupied by
the Japanese in late 1942, the garrison was commanded by Takeuchi.
1,200 Nauruans were deported to Truk in
September 1943. The garrison officially surrendered on September 13, 1945 aboard HMAS Diamantina (K377). Aftter the war, only 700 Nauruans survivors returned to the island.
German, Japanese and American missions against Nauru
December 27, 1940 - December 8, 1943
Their
are bunkers and trenches everywhere. The Japanese fortified the island extensively. At least one
80mm coastal gun remains in a bunker . All other weapons were
dumped into the sea in 1945.
Japanese
Type 89 (1929) 127mm Naval Gun
Emplaced on Nauru
| Japanese
150mm Coastal Gun |
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Peter Flahavin 1995 |
New
construction and the Nauru phosphate Corporation occasionally dig up unexploded
or abandoned munitions. Photo of an unexploded Japanese aerial bomb. It is a
sight to walk down a trail and suddenly it "stops" where a 1,000
pounder went off.
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Nauru Airfield
Built by Japanese, still in use today
Nauru
Military Museum
Collection
of artifacts, weapons guns and aircraft wreckage
F6F-3 Hellcat Bureau Number 26088
Pilot Smith crashed December 8, 1943
B-25G "Coral
Princess" Serial
Number 42-64977
Pilot James crashed June 29, 1944
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Information
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Last Updated
November 2, 2011
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