[5] Like the indigenous inhabitants of Nauru and Rapa Nui, Banaba was viewed as the buto, the navel or centre, of the world by the Banabans.

[10][11] Prior to the deportation of its inhabitants at the end of World War II,[12] there were four villages on the island: Ooma (Uma), Tabiang (Antereen), Tapiwa (Tabwewa) and Buakonikai.

Then in 1804, Captain John Mertho of the convict transport and merchant ship Ocean sighted the island and named it after his vessel.

[3] The Pacific Islands Company, under John T. Arundel, identified that the petrified guano on Banaba consisted of high-grade phosphate rock.

The terms of the licences were changed to provide for the payment of royalties and compensation for mining damage,[15][16] amounting to less than 0.1% of the profits the PIC made during its first 13 years.

The mining of the phosphate rock for fertiliser, which was carried out from 1900 to 1979, stripped away 90 per cent of the island's surface, the same process which occurred on Nauru from 1907 to the 1980s.

[15] In June 1948, about 1,100 Gilbertese employed on Ocean Island refused to work; the key demand of the strikers was for higher wages of £10 a month to meet the increased price of goods sold in the trade store.

[21] In the 1970s, the Banabans sued in the Court of England and Wales claiming that the UK Crown owed a fiduciary duty to the islanders when fixing the royalty payments and the difference in proper rates should be paid.

[22] In July 1941, Australia and New Zealand troops evacuated British Phosphate Commission employees from Banaba (then known as Ocean Island).

[26][27] On 21 August, the surrender of the 500 Japanese soldiers was accepted by Resident Commissioner, Vivian Fox-Strangways and Brigadier J. R. Stevenson, who represented Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee, the commander of the First Australian Army, on board the warship HMAS Diamantina.

[29] In December 1945, the Rabi Island Council was established, empowered to enact regulations, subject to the Governor of Fiji.

This general dissatisfaction along with the example of recently-independent island-nation Nauru led them demand independence for Ocean Island, however, these were not granted by the British, with concerns about revenue loss cited.

Here, they garnered sympathy from committee members who urged the United Kingdom to take measures to improve the Banabans' situation, but refrained from supporting their plea for secession.

Sir Robert, however, who was highly reproachful of the British colonial administration, took the sides of the Banabans during the case, "Ocean Island no.

After visiting the Gilbert and Rabi Island, Posnett recommended a $A 10 million ex-gratia payment from the British, Australian, and New Zealand governments to the Banabans.

The delegation aimed to maintain the territorial integrity of the Gilbert Islands while seeking agreement with the Banaban community.

[30] On July 12, 1979, the Gilbert Islands achieved complete independence from British colonial rule, marking the birth of the Republic of Kiribati.

The historical context of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, characterised by Micronesian and Polynesian distinctions, posed challenges due to ethnic differences.

The Ellice Islands adopted a "separation before self-government" strategy, leading to their constitutional independence in 1978 and the establishment of Tuvalu.

[33] The woodland of Banaba is now limited to the coastal area and is made up mostly of mangoes, flame trees, guavas, tapioca, and common Kiribati shrubs such as the saltbush.

[34] At the census of 1931, when the production of phosphate was at its highest point, and the headquarters of the entire colony concentrated there, the total population of Ocean Island was of 2,607 inhabitants (1,715 Gilbertese; 65 Elliceans; 129 Europeans; 698 "Mongoloids" [Asians].

[36] The Banabans came to Fiji in three major waves, with the first group of 703, including 318 children, arriving on the BPC vessel, Triona, on 15 December 1945.

[citation needed] The stated wish of the Kiribati government to reopen mining on Banaba is strongly opposed by many in the Banaban diaspora.

Science fiction and fantasy author Hugh Cook lived on Ocean Island for two years as a child and it was an influence on much of his work.

The Untunchilamon milieu has very much the flavor of Ocean Island – heat, flying fish, ghost crabs, red ants, scorpions, and the remnants of deceased military civilizations.