Following a commission of inquiry, a revised Order in Council was issued in 1893, which gave the resident commissioners wider autonomy over the islands under their control.

In 2002 the archived records of this High Commission were transferred to New Zealand, and are now held in the Special Collections of the University of Auckland Library.

[8] He was succeeded in 1895 by William Telfer Campbell, who established himself on Tarawa, which was chosen because its lagoon has an opening large enough for ships to comfortably pass through.

Ocean Island had been hastily added to the protectorate in 1900 to take advantage of the improved shipping connections resulting from the Pacific Phosphate Company's increased activities.

[9][10] The British colonial authorities emphasised that their role was to procure labour for phosphate mining on Ocean Island, and to maintain law and order among the workers.

[9] The Western Pacific High Commission imposed the King’s Tax, payable in copra, with order maintained through the elders of each island and local magistrates.

[8][11][12] The regulation of the coercive labour trade in Melanesia, which was known as Blackbirding, was significant problem for the Western Pacific High Commission.