The discovery of Niulakita is claimed by travellers from
Nui, led by Kaunatu who was taking people home to
Vaitupu, however their canoe drifted off course to the south and they arrived at Niulakita. There was only saltbrush (
Atriplex) and
pukavai trees (
Pisonia grandis) on the islands. Kaeula, one of the passengers, died and was buried with the last of their coconuts planted at the head of his grave. The island was named by Kaunatu after a place of that name on Nui. The first sighting recorded by Europeans of Niulakita was on 29 August 1595 by the Spanish navigator
Alvaro de Mendaña during his second expedition encountered Niulakita. The island was charted as "La Solitaria" (Lonesome in Spanish). An attempt was made to find a port with two small vessels in its southern part but the bottom was uneven and rocky and they abandoned their attempts. In 1821, Captain George Barrett, of the
Nantucket whaler
Independence II, visited Niulakita, which he named "Rocky (Group)". However, in 1880 they were informed that
J. C. Godeffroy und Sohn of Hamburg (operating out of
Samoa) claimed ownership of the island. Ruge & Co became insolvent in about 1888. On 15 April 1889 Niulakita was sold for $1,000 to Harry Jay Moors, an American citizen living in Apia, Samoa. In August 1896, the sailing ship
Seladon of Stavanger was wrecked on the coral reef of
Starbuck Island. The crew of 16 men were in the lifeboats with little food and water for 30 days, until they arrived at Niulakita. The crew were stranded for ten months until rescued by a passing steam ship. In 1914, Niulakita was purchased from Moors by the Samoa Shipping Trading Co Ltd, which was owned by Captain Ernest Frederick Hughes Allen. It was bought by the
Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony administration in 1944. The administration gave people from
Vaitupu permission to settle Niulakita. However, in 1949, a later administration decided to have Niulakita settled by the community from
Niutao, which was considered to be overpopulated. The removal of the Vaitupuans was controversial. The
United States asserted a claim to Niulakita under the
Guano Islands Act of 1856; this claim was renounced under the 1983 treaty of friendship between
Tuvalu and the United States. ==Geography==