Birnie Island is a small, uninhabited

coral island A coral island is a type of island formed from coral detritus and associated organic material. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas, typically as part of a coral reef which has grown to cover a far larger area under the sea. The term low ...

, in area, part of the

Phoenix Island Phoenix Island (), dubbed the Oriental Dubai, is an artificial archipelago consisting of two landmasses forming an island resort in Sanya, Hainan Province, China. Description These islands are located in the southeast part of Sanya Bay. T ...

group, that is part of the Republic of Kiribati. It is located about southeast of

Kanton Island Canton Island (also known as Kanton or Abariringa), previously known as Mary Island, Mary Balcout's Island or Swallow Island, is the largest, northernmost, and , the sole inhabited island of the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati. It i ...

and west-northwest of Rawaki Island, formerly known as Phoenix Island. It lies at . Birnie Island measures only long and wide. There is no anchorage, but landing can be made on the

lee shore A lee shore, sometimes also called a leeward ( shore, or more commonly ), is a nautical term to describe a stretch of shoreline that is to the Windward and leeward, lee side of a vessel—meaning the wind is blowing towards land. Its opposite, th ...

. The island is designated as the Birnie Island Wildlife Sanctuary. Kiribati declared the Phoenix Islands Protected Area in 2006, with the park being expanded in 2008. The 164,200-square-mile (425,300-square-kilometer) marine reserve contains eight coral atolls including Birnie Island.

Flora and fauna

Birnie Island is low and dry, with a small, shallow lagoon in its southeast sector which is all but dried up. It is treeless, covered mostly with low shrubs and grasses, and was once home to a colony of rabbits, which have since been eradicated. Because of the undisturbed nature of the island, its vegetation, and the large colonies of seabirds which roost there, Birnie Island was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1975. It now forms () part of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, one of the world's largest marine protected area. An expedition to carry out eradication of the population of

Polynesian rat The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), or , is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. Contrary to its vernacular name, the Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asi ...

on Birnie Island was carried out in 2011.

History

Birnie Island was discovered in 1823 by the London whaling ship ''

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

'', commanded by a Captain Emmett, and named after James Birnie, brother of London merchant

Alexander Birnie Alexander Birnie (bapt. 19 October 1763 – 15 February 1835) was a Scottish merchant and shipowner. Life and career He was one of five sons born to James Birnie and Elizabeth Shepherd Birnie of Aberdeen, Scotland.''Scotland, Select Births and B ...

. It was surveyed by the

United States Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

in January 1841. In the 1860s, the island was claimed under the

Guano Islands Act The Guano Islands Act (, enacted August 18, 1856, codified at §§ 1411-1419) is a United States federal law passed by the Congress that enables citizens of the United States to take possession of unclaimed islands containing guano deposits ...

for the United States, though there is no evidence of

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

ever being mined there. On July 10, 1889, the British flag was raised, and the island was declared a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1899, the island was leased to the Pacific Islands Company, Ltd. In 1916, it was included among the islands leased for 87 years to Captain Allen of the Samoan Shipping and Trading Company. This lease was taken over by the Burns Philp (South Sea) Company. During all this time, no human use seems to have been made of the island. Birnie Island became part of the British

Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean was part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. It was a British protectorate, protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a crown colony, colony until 1 January 1 ...

colony in 1937, then became part of Kiribati in 1979 when the country gained its independence. The United States gave up its claim in favor of Kiribati in the 1979

Treaty of Tarawa On September 20, 1979, representatives of the newly independent Republic of Kiribati and of the United States met in Tarawa to sign a treaty of friendship between the two nations, known as the Treaty of Tarawa. More formally, the treaty is entit ...

. Birnie is rarely visited today, though a New Zealand-funded scientific expedition to rid the island of rats and other invasive animal species was carried out in 2008. File:Birnie Island Beach.jpg, Birnie Island.

Day beacon A day beacon (sometimes ''daybeacon'') is an unlighted nautical sea mark. A signboard identifying it is called a '' day mark''. Day beacons typically mark channels whose key points are marked by lighted buoys. They may also mark smaller navigab ...

in background File:Birnie Island Day Beacon.jpg, Birnie Island

day beacon A day beacon (sometimes ''daybeacon'') is an unlighted nautical sea mark. A signboard identifying it is called a '' day mark''. Day beacons typically mark channels whose key points are marked by lighted buoys. They may also mark smaller navigab ...

with lagoon in background File:Birnie Island US Survey Mark.jpg,

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

survey marker Survey markers, also called survey marks, survey monuments, or geodetic marks, are objects placed to mark key survey points on the Earth's surface. They are used in geodetic and land surveying. A '' benchmark'' is a type of survey marker th ...

on Birnie Island

References

Sources

*Maude, Henry Evans: Of islands and men : studies in Pacific history; Melbourne .a.: Oxford Univ. Pr., 1968 *Jones, A. G. E.: Ships employed in the South Seas trade Vol. 1: 1775 - 1861; Canberra 1986 & Vol. 2: 1775 - 1859; Burwood, Vic.

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as far south as Germany and Korea. Euro ...

*Bryan, E.H.: American Polynesia and the Hawaiian Chain: Honolulu, Hawaii: Tongg Publishing Company, 1942

External links

Wildlife Sanctuary information
{{Authority control Phoenix Islands (Kiribati) Uninhabited islands of Kiribati Pacific islands claimed under the Guano Islands Act Coral islands Islands of Kiribati Former disputed islands

Flora and fauna

History

See also

References

Sources

External links