Nissan Island (also Green Island or Sir Charles Hardy Island) is the largest of the Green Islands of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. It is located at , about 200 km east of

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

New Britain New Britain () is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi Island, Umboi the Dampie ...

and about 200 km north-west of Bougainville. The island is administered under Nissan Rural LLG in the

Autonomous Region of Bougainville In developmental psychology and morality, moral, political, and bioethics, bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Auto ...

. Nissan island, along with other nearby islands, has been described as a "stepping stone island" and it is believed that this island plays an important role in helping various plant and animal species spread throughout the region.

History

Based upon pottery fragments discovered in archeological excavations researchers have determined that the inhabitants of this island commonly engaged in trade with the inhabitants of

Buka Island Buka Island is the second-largest island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in eastern Papua New Guinea. It is in Buka Rural LLG of North Bougainville District, with the Autonomous Region's and district's capital city of Buka, Bougai ...

. Commonly traded items would have included pigs, pottery, and

shell money Shell money is a medium of exchange similar to coin money and other forms of commodity money, and was once commonly used in many parts of the world. Shell money usually consisted of whole or partial sea shells, often worked into beads or otherw ...

. British and American

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

vessels visited the island in the nineteenth century for food, water and wood. The first on record was the ''Addison'' in 1837, and the last was ''Palmetto'' in 1881. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in the Battle of the Green Islands, US and New Zealand troops recaptured several islands from heavily outnumbered Imperial Japanese forces. The New Zealand 3rd Division landed on Nissan Island on 15 February 1944 as part of the

Solomon Islands campaign The Solomon Islands campaign was a major military campaign, campaign of the Pacific War during World War II. The campaign began with the Empire of Japan, Japanese seizure of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island, B ...

to isolate the Japanese stronghold at

. Shortly after the landings two airfields were constructed on the island.

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

was a supply officer on the base, and is remembered as being popular with the indigenous inhabitants. There was also a

PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, and it was valued for its maneuverability and speed. However, PT boats were hampe ...

base on another island nearby. There were approximately allied troops on the island at that time. Much of the indigenous population was removed to

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

for about seven to nine months. After that time the front line had moved closer to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and the island was no longer needed in the war effort.

References

Islands of Papua New Guinea Geography of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville Solomon Islands (archipelago) {{PapuaNewGuinea-island-stub

History

See also

References