immigrants, recruited to work on the phosphate deposits and in the Public Service, and their dependants. Of these some 939 were Chinese, 1,954 Gilbert and Ellice Islanders and 571 Europeans. ECONOMY The economy of Nauru is wholly bound up with the extraction of phosphate from what is one of the world's richest deposits (averaging 37% to 37.5% phosphorous pentoxide (P2O5) with few impurities). 3,658 of the island's 5,263 acres are classified as phosphate bearing and represent a total of more than 90 million tons. A further area of 585 acres of rocky land is estimated to contain a further million tons. Up until 30th June 1970, 1,734 acres had been mined, and 116 acreas partly mined, which has produced a total raising of 46 million tons. It has been estimated that some 50 million tons of phosphate remain to be worked, representing a life span of approximately 22 years at the present rate of extraction. The Nauru Phosphate Corporation was established to run the industry from the 1st July 1970. The phosphate industry provides employment for 117 Nauruans, 750 Gilbert and Ellice Islanders, 480 Chinese and 140 Europeans. The majority of Nauruans not employed in the phosphate industry are employed in either the Public Service or by the Nauru Local Government Council and the Nauru Co-operative Society. HISTORY The first European to visit Nauru was Captain John Fearn of the whaling ship Hunter in 1798. He called it Pleasant Island and noted that it was "extremely populous" with "houses in great numbers". During the 19th century various traders, beachcombers, etc., established themselves on the island without it coming under the formal control of any of the European powers. By the AngloGerman Convention of 1886 the island was allocated to the German sphere of interest and reverted to its native name of Nauru. German occupation began on 1st October 1888 when the gunboat Eber arrived carrying a German Commissioner, whose initial task was the restoration of peace between the twelve tribes living on the island. The earlier arrival of firearms and alcohol had upset the balance between the tribes and precipitated a ten years war which reduced the population from about 1,400 in 1842 to little over 900 in 1888. Apart from banning alcohol and restoring order the Germans did little to foster the development of Nauru until after the arrival of missionaries in 1899 who introduced Christianity as well as education. During World War I the Germans surrendered Nauru to an Australian Expeditionary Force on 6th November 1914 and the island passed under British administration. The Germans formally renounced their title to Nauru by the Treaty at Versailles in 1919 and in 1920 Nauru became a British mandated territory under the League of Nations. Although Britain, Australia and New Zealand accepted the Trustee Mandate jointly, the administration of the island was conducted on their behalf by Australia. The three Governments established the British Phosphate Commissioners, which bought out the existing Pacific Phosphate Company and ran the industry. Nauru was extensively damaged in World War II. While the allies still controlled the island in 1940, it was damaged by German naval gunfire and, following the Japanese occupation, the allies bombed the airfield. 1,200 Nauruans were deported by the Japanese to Truk in the Carolines where 463 died of starvation, disease, bombing and brutality. Only 591 Nauruans remained on Nauru when the Japanese surrendered on 13th September 1945 and the 737 survivors from Truk were returned to Nauru on 31st January 1946, which is remembered in Nauru as the ‘Day of Deliverance'. On 1st November 1947 the General Assembly of the United Nations approved a Trusteeship Agreement for the Territory of Nauru submitted by the Governments of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom on the same lines as the Mandate under the League of Nations. CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT The first elections to be held on Nauru took place on 15th December 1951 for the Nauru Local Government Council, which elected Timothy Detudamo as Head Chief. The Council was, however, advisory only and in 1953 the United Nations Mission to the territory pressed for Nauru to have increased selfgovernment. In the period from 1951 until 1964 discussion of Nauru's future centred on the possibility of resettling the island's population on another island, whose economic future would not be clouded by the eventual exhaustion of the phosphate deposits. Many locations, including sites on the Australian mainland near Brisbane and Sydney, Prince of Wales Island and Fraser Island off Maryborough in Queensland, and, later, Curtis Island in Gladstone Harbour, were discussed as sites for possible resettlement. The proposal was abandoned in 1964 because the Nauruans under the leadership of Hammer DeRoburt, who had been elected Head Chief in 1955, were unhappy about a solution under which they did not retain some measure of sovereignty. After 1964 discussions of Nauru's future were closely bound up with the Nauruan efforts to gain control of the phosphate extraction industry. In June 1967 the British, Australian and New Zealand Governments reached agreement in principle with the Nauruans for the sale to Nauru of the assets of the British Phosphate Commissioners. The details were subsequently incorporated in the Nauru Island Industry Agreement, 1967, which provided for payment over the three years ending June 1970. The price was later agreed at about $A21 million, which was paid by April 1969. Earlier, in December 1965, the Australian Parliament passed legislation establishing the Nauru Legislative Council, the first elections for which were held on 25th January 1966 and whose first session was held on the 20th anniversary of Nauru's Day of Deliverance from Japanese Occupation, 31st January 1966. In October 1967 Agreement was reached for Nauru to become an independent Republic on 31st January 1968. The UN General Assembly agreed to terminate the Trusteeship Agreement the same day. A Parliament of 18 members was elected and Hammer DeRoburt was elected the Republic's First President in May 1968 for a term of three years, and was re-elected in January 1971 for a further term of three years. Nauru has not applied for membership of the United Nations, but plays an active part in several United Nations agencies. NAURU AND THE COMMONWEALTH In November 1968, in response to a request by the Government of Nauru, Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed that Nauru should be accorded the status of a special member of the Commonwealth. This "special membership" was devised in close consultation with the Government of Nauru; under it Nauru has the right to participate in all functional meetings and activities of the Commonwealth and is eligible for Commonwealth technical assistance. Nauru does not participate in meetings of Commonwealth Heads of Government. Nauru is a member of the South Pacific Commission, the Universal Postal Union and the International Telecommunications Union. GOVERNMENT (Cabinet) President, Minister of External Affairs and Minister of Industry and Island Development: Minister of Finance: The Hon. J. A. Bop, MP Minister of Health and Education: The Hon. A. Bernicke, MP Minister of Works and Community Services: The Hon. R. B. Detudamo, MP T (HE boundaries of New Zealand were defined in 1863 as lying between 33° and 53° S. latitude and 162° E. and 173° W. longitude. New Zealand therefore consisted of the North Island and the South Island together with the smaller and sparsely-populated Stewart Island, which lies south of the South Island. The boundaries included the Chatham and Pitt Islands, some 467 miles east of Christchurch, and the Auckland Islands, which are south of the South Island. Other islands lying within this group were Three Kings Islands, Great Barrier Island, Solander Island, The Snares, Campbell Island, Bounty Island and the Antipodes Islands. The North Island, the South Island and Stewart Island extend over a distance of 1,100 miles. For further information about New Zealand, see New Zealand Official Year Book By Proclamation dated 21st July 1887 the group of islands called the Kermadec Islands, lying between 29° and 32° S. latitude and 177° and 180° W. longitude, was annexed to New Zealand. The principal islands are Raoul Island or Sunday Island, and Macauley Island. The other islands are Curtis Island and L'Esperance Rock. Raoul Island, comprising an area of 11 square miles, rises to a height of 1,723 feet and is covered with forest. The coasts of the Ross Sea and adjacent islands, south of 60° S. latitude and between 160° E. and 150° W. longitude, were brought within the jurisdiction of New Zealand by Order in Council on 30th July 1923.* Niue (Savage) Island, 170° 20′ W., 19° S., was discovered by Captain Cook in 1774. The island became a British Protectorate in 1900 and was annexed to New Zealand in 1901. It is administered under the supervision of the New Zealand Department of Maori and Island Affairs. The Tokelau Islands (formerly Union Islands), lying between 8° and 10° S. latitude and 170° and 173° W. longitude, became a British Protectorate in 1877. In 1916 the islands became part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. In 1925 New Zealand assumed responsibility for the administration of the group, and in 1948 the Tokelau Islands were included within the boundaries of New Zealand. The total area of New Zealand, exclusive of the Island territories and the Ross Dependencies, is 103,736 square miles. Less than one quarter of the land surface lies below 650 feet. In the North Island the mountain system runs generally in a south-westerly direction parallel to the coast from East Cape to Turakirae Head. Approximately one-tenth of the surface is covered by the following mountain ranges: Raukumara, Huiarau, Ruahine, Tararua and Rimutaka. Except for the volcanic peaks Egmont (8,260 feet), Ruapehu (9,175 feet), Ngauruhoe (7,515 feet) and Tongariro (6,458 feet) the mountains do not exceed 6,000 feet. In the South Island the Southern Alps run almost the entire length of the island and include the Victoria Range (W. and N.W.), St Arnaud (N.), Richmond and the Kaikoura Range (N.W.). Mount Cook (12, 349 feet) is in the centre and 15 peaks are over 10,000 feet. There are numerous swift flowing rivers some of which are used to provide hydro-electricity but most of which, being obstructed at their mouths by bars, are useless for navigation. The main rivers in the North Island are the Waikato, the Wangaehu, the Wanganui, the Rangitikei and the Manawatu. In the South Island the rivers Waitaki, Cobb, Clutha, and Waipara support hydroelectric projects. Two other rivers of importance are the Buller and Rangitata. A scheme has been agreed to use the waters of Lake Manapouri in the extreme south to power an aluminium smelter at Bluff. There are numerous lakes, mostly at high altitude in remote and rugged country. These are important as reservoirs and for the prevention of flooding but are of little use for communication. The most important lakes are Lake Taupo (234 square miles) in the North Island and Lake Wakatipu (113 square miles) and Te Anau (133 square miles) in the South Island. The islands of New Zealand are part of the unstable circum-Pacific mobile belt, a region where volcanoes are active and where the earth's crust has long been buckling and breaking at a geologically rapid rate of change. The Rotorua area of the North Island is world famous for its geo-thermal activities, boiling lakes, boiling mud, geysers, etc. The climate is temperate and changeable, very similar to that in Britain except that winds are more frequent and there is a higher average sunshine. Normal temperatures range from 43-6°F in June to 61.3°F in January. The average rainfall The Ross Dependency, see page 314. for the greater part of the country is from 25-60 inches, but because of the mountain ranges can vary from as much as 300 inches to 13 inches. There are 23 million acres of occupied farm land of which about half are in native and improved grass. There are 2.2 million dairy cows, 58.9 million sheep and 5.3 million beef cattle. A census of population is taken every five years, the last being in March 1971 when the population was 2,862,631. About four-fifths of population growth is derived from natural increase and one-fifth from migration. In 1971 the birth rate was 22.59 per 1,000 and the death rate 8-49 per 1,000. English is the official language and used by all, but a large proportion of the Maori population of 232,000 are bi-lingual in English and Maori. Christianity is the main religion and the 1966 census showed the chief groups to be Church of England 33.7 per cent, Presbyterian 21.8 per cent, Roman Catholic 15.9 per cent and Methodist 7.0 per cent; other denominations and sects include Ratana (Maori). Primary and secondary education is free and universal. University education is free to all holders of the University Entrance Examination and about one tenth of pupils leaving Secondary Schools go to Universities. Technical institutes have also been established. There is no illiteracy. The urban centres which have the main concentrations of population are, in the North Island, Auckland (population 698,400), Wellington (324,000), Hamilton (136,000), and Palmerston North (80,700); and in the South Island, Christchurch (302,600), Dunedin (117,700) and Invercargill (50,700). Cargo statistics from the main ports for 1971 are: Whangarei 6,715,000 tons, Auckland 4,529,000, Tauranga 2,623,000, Napier 903,000, Wellington 6,715,000, Lyttleton (Christchurch) 1,770,000, Port Chalmers (Dunedin) 653,000, Bluff (Invercargill) 615,000. The principal airports are Auckland International Airport at Mangere with 8,500 feet of runway, Christchurch with 8,014 feet and 5,700 feet and Wellington with 5,600 feet. Air New Zealand operates an international service and the National Airways Corporation provides a domestic service. In 1971 road mileage was 59 028, and there were 3,012 miles of 3 feet 6 inches gauge railway. The New Zealand Railways operate road/rail ferries between Wellington and Picton (in the South Island) and the Tasman/Union Company operates a car ferry between Wellington and Lyttelton, the port of Christchurch. The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation provides universal radio and television coverage. The principal products and exports receipts for the year ending June 1971 were: wool ($188.6 million), meat ($391.2 million), butter ($112.0 million), cheese ($47.9 million), and hides, skins and pelts ($50.6 million). In the year ending March 1970 Government revenue was $1,649.0 million and expenditure $1,646.4 million. New Zealand is one of the largest exporters in the world of meat, dairy produce and wool and is heavily dependent on the export of pastoral products. There are probably more farm animals in proportion to population than in any other country. The value of goods exported forms a much higher percentage, about 20 per cent, of the gross national product than for most countries. The Government plans to spend $870 million on power schemes during the 10-year period ending in 1976. This includes the completion of works already started and the capital expenditure on new works. A project at Manapouri (South Island) has recently been completed, partly to provide power for an aluminium smelter at Bluff. Works in progress include the Tongariro (North |