“Thinnest rumours which may in the end prove unfounded
are liable to be spread.”

— Sir Harry Luke, October 26, 1940.

A brief description of the British administrative organization in the region will make the correspondence more clear. The central governing authority for all islands of the western Pacific, with the exception of those territories governed by Australia, New Zealand and the Colony of Fiji “and not being within the jurisdiction of any other civilized power” was the Western Pacific High Commission headquartered in Suva, Fiji. The principal administrative units overseen by the W.P.H.C. were:

• The Gilbert & Ellice Islands Colony (of which the Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme was a part)
• The British Solomon Islands Protectorate
• Tonga
• The New Hebrides
• Pitcairn Island

The senior official in the W.P.H.C. was the High Commissioner who answered directly to the Secretary of State in London and exercised sweeping powers within his jurisdiction. His immediate lieutenant was the Secretary, and each colony had its own Resident Commissioner. The Resident Commissioner for the Gilbert & Ellice Islands Colony was headquartered on Ocean Island. The colony was subdivided into several districts, each administered by an Administrative Officer, also known as a District Officer.

Transportation between Suva and the colonies, and within the colonies, was sporadic at best. During the time in question, most of the travel needs of the Gilbert & Ellice Islands Colony were met by a refurbished, motorized sailing vessel known as the Royal Colony Ship (RCS) Nimanoa.

Inter-island communication was generally carried out by radio in Morse code and delivered in the form of telegrams. There was no voice radio. It is important to remember that not all parties were privy to all of the correspondence. Authorities in Suva did not see intra-colony communications that passed between Ocean Island and Tarawa or the Phoenix Islands. Similarly, the Resident Commissioner did not see correspondence which passed directly between the Phoenix Islands and Suva. We do not have the messages that passed between Ocean Island and district headquarters within the colony (such as Tarawa and Beru). These were probably destroyed during the Japanese occupation.

The physical files are comprised of heavy paper folders containing copies of all pertinent correspondence along with chronologically entered “minutes” typed or handwritten on sheets of paper at the front of the file. Much of the most useful information in the W.P.H.C. files is contained in these minutes. Each piece of correspondence is assigned a number (written with a circle around it) chronologically as it comes in and is thus referred to in the minutes. Each entry in the minutes is assigned a number chronologically (written in parenthesis) and is thus referred to in subsequent minutes.

The Players

• Barley, Jack Charles — Resident Commissioner of G.& E.I.C. from Oct. 18, 1933 through his retirement on Dec. 19, 1941.
• Gallagher, Gerald Bernard “Irish” — Officer-in-Charge, P.I.S.S., Gardner Island.
• Holland, Francis George Leopold — Acting Resident Commissioner, Ocean Island from Sept. 24, 1940 to January 4, 1941.
• Hoodless, Dr. D. W. — Principal of the Central Medical School, Suva, Fiji.
• Isaac, Dr. Lindsay — Acting Senior Medical Officer, Central Hospital, Tarawa.
• Koata— Native Magistrate, Gardner Island.
• Luke, Sir Harry Charles — High Commissioner of the Western Pacific, Suva, Fiji.
• Macdonald, Patrick Donald “Paddy” — Assistant Secretary, W.P.H.C.
• Macpherson, Dr. Duncan Campbell McEwan “Jock” — Central Medical Authority, W.P.H.C.
• Nasmyth, Commander G. B. — F. R. Met. Soc. (Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society).
• Steenson, Dr. Kingsley Rupert— Senior Medical Officer, Gilbert & Ellice Islands Colony, July ’41.
• Vaskess, Henry Harrison — Secretary of Western Pacific High Commission, Suva, Fiji Born 1891.
• Wernham, David — Acting Administrative Officer, Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, Tarawa, September 1940.

Documents

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