On most of the Gilbert Islands the Japanese troops had little impact. After the early capture of the coastwatchers only
infrequent visits were made when, apart from providing propaganda for use in schools, collecting food supplies and destroying island government records, there was little interference with the
islanders or their property. On Butaritari, Tarawa and Abemama, however, where garrisons were established, local government
officials were freely appointed or deposed, with those in office 26 being given responsibility for the organisation of labour gangs. At Ocean Island crucial machinery was immobilised by departing
B.P.C. employees but the Japanese succeeded in servicing one generator. Some Gilbertese and Ellice Islanders, and almost all of the Banabans, were removed to Tarawa and to the Marshall and Caroline Islands to work as labourers during the course of hostilities; only one of more than a hundred islanders who remained at Ocean Island survived a mass execution on the day following the announcement of Japan's capitulation.
American forces occupied the Ellice Islands from 1942 and substantial garrisons were maintained on Funafuti, Nanumea and Nukufetau. Thus, islands in both groups were subjected to prolonged American influence and many from islands not actually occupied travelled throughout the Colony, employed in the Labour Corps which provided manpower for both military and civilian
reconstructions projects. The Gilbertese and Ellice Islanders were impressed with the evidence of a technologically advanced culture that was placed before them for the first time. The impact of men and machines who could have aircraft landing on a newly-constructed strip within a few days of occupation, for example, was considerable. Except at Ocean Island, the Gilbertese and Ellice Islanders had
25 Crowl and Love, ibid., Morison, History of the United States Naval Operations in World War II, VII, Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, 185.
26 'Gilbert Islands District Report 1943-4', enclosed in D.O., G.I.D. to Sec. to Govt., no. 343, 20 Dec. 1945 - GEIC, Secretariat, 2nd Series, F3/1/3 (Central Archives).
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previously had contact only with a small number of Europeans at any one time. The presence of several hundred Americans on some
islands, with their apparently unlimited wealth, their generosity with army and personal property, and their willingness to mix more
freely with the islanders than administrators or missionaries had been wont to do, made a profound impression. That impression was rendered even more favourable by the Americans 1 disparagement of things British and frequent references to Britain's 'poverty'
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(with the lack of facilities in the Colony as 'evidence'). Some islanders still state that the British deserted them when the Colony was about to be invaded, that the New Zealand coastwatchers remained and then surrendered to the Japanese to avoid reprisals upon the 'people', and that it was the Americans who, with their wealth and power, saved the Colony.
The war, and the American presence in particular, illustrated the superficiality with which many values and ideas had been
accepted by the islanders. The much-vaunted loyalty to the Flag, for example, was seriously called into question on Butaritari and Tarawa when petitions calling for American rule were presented in
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the early months of 1944. The rapidity with which the island governments slipped in status within their communities, resulting in a failure to enforce regulations and keep records, only served to emphasise the degree to which the system of local government
depended not on the support of the Gilbertese and Ellice Islanders but on the presence and authority of the District Officers.
In the first instance, difficulties of reconstruction undermined the principles of administration that had been laid down by Mitchell
27 ibid.
28 ibid. It is interesting to note that a petition was not presented at Abemama, the other Gilbert Island occupied by American troops. According to one informant the reason can be found in an incident that took place in mid-1944. In their usual manner the troops on the island had been generous with army equipment - beds, mattresses, mosquito nets,
lamps, etc. When it was found that a visit was to be made by a senior officer the troops drove the length of the island collecting all goods of army origin from the houses of the Gilbertese. The equipment was then dumped on the reef-flat and burned after which the residue was bull-dozed into deep water.
in 1944. By 1946 the Colony's expatriate establishment had risen to fifty-four - an increase of fourteen on the 1940 level and
double the number recommended by Maude in his Memorandum. With its administrative and revenue-collecting institutions in a disorganised state the Colony was even less viable than it had been in the
pre-war period. The Colony became grant-aided. Estimates of
revenue and expenditure were, as a consequence, subject to Treasury control resulting in a cheese-paring approach from London. The
request from the recently elected Labour Government for 'Ten Year Plans of Development and Welfare', in 1946, did not in itself lead to any significant change in the Colony's planning priorities; rather, it suggested the means by which existing plans might be
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fulfilled. The need for resettlement and for a new lands commission received top priority from Maude, then Resident Commissioner, and still the dominant figure in the formation of its policies.
A central feature of the Maude proposals of 1945 had been the creation of virtually autonomous local government units which, combined with the re-established co-operative societies, would give self-sufficiency at the island level. Maude had argued that the
1941 Native Governments Ordinance - not then in force - would have to be substantially re-written if these revised aims were to be achieved, and the close supervision hitherto exercised by District Officers accordingly reduced. In practice, it was found that strong central control was still required because of the post-war state of the Native Governments. The Ordinance was, therefore, introduced in its original form in 1948, but without adequate preparation and, consequently, with little chance of success.
Education continued to lag. In anticipation of the
establishment of Colony headquarters at Abemama, a secondary school was started on the island late in 1945. Little progress was made, however, because’the school had but a single qualified expatriate
teacher, insufficient funds were available, and intake standards were low because of the war-time hiatus in education. In 1953
29 GEIC, Ten Year Plan of Reconstruction and Development and Welfare, 1946.
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the school was transferred to Tarawa, the site of the new Colony headquarters. ^
The decision to establish the central government at Tarawa rather than at Abemama was made largely on the grounds of
convenience. From 1943, because of the presence of the American military commander, the Resident Commissioner had resided at
Tarawa. Doubts were also raised regarding the navigability of the lagoon entrance at Abemama. Despite the obvious advantages that the latter island had to offer, especially in terms of land availability, a passage-blasting exercise was not considered and the decision to establish headquarters at Tarawa was confirmed late in 1 9 4 7 . ^
But the years from 1945 to 1951 were not entirely without their achievements. The Banabans, demoralised by their war-time experiences, were persuaded to move to Rabi Island (Fiji), which
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had been purchased from their reserves. The phosphate industry was re-established at Ocean Island and again provided revenue for the Colony, although an extended strike in 1948 resulted in the replacement of islanders in the labour force by Chinese and thus
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