British Western Pacific Territories

The Pacific Islanders Protection Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 51), then later, the Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. 37), provided for jurisdiction over British subjects in the Pacific. In 1877 the position of Western Pacific High Commissioner was formalised by the Western Pacific Order in Council 1877 by the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. The Order in Council created the colonial entity – the British Western Pacific Territories – and granted the authority to manage the engagement of indentured labourers and to otherwise give the colonial entity authority over British subjects in the Western Pacific beyond the jurisdiction of British and colonial Australian laws. The Governor of Fiji was given authority over persons and acts in the islands south of the equator. The Governor, as High Commissioner and Consul-General, was given the authority: to conduct diplomatic relations with local representatives of the foreign powers, to regulate the labour trade where it was conducted by British subjects only, and to maintain law and order among British subjects in the Pacific islands where there were no recognised governments. The High Commissioner appointed resident commissioners to manage specific island territories. 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. ==Composition of the British Western Pacific Territories==

The composition of the territories of the BWPT varied over time. As the islands were spread over the South Pacific, administration of the territories was problematic. The most durable members were Fiji (from 1877 to 1952) and the Solomon Islands (from 1893 to 1976). Between 1942 and 1945, the high commission was suspended. While most islands were under British military administration, the Solomon Islands and Gilbert Islands came under Japanese occupation. In 1952, Fiji was separated from the High Commission. Following this, the High Commissioner's post moved to Honiara in the Solomon Islands, and the High Commissioner was also the Governor of the Solomon Islands. The High Commissioner's Court, however, continued to meet in Suva, with the Chief Justice of Fiji continuing as Chief Judicial Commissioner for another decade, until 1962, when the two offices were separated. Under the Western Pacific (Courts) Order in Council, gazetted on 15 August 1961 and effective from 9 April 1962, the High Commissioner's Court was renamed the High Court of the Western Pacific and relocated to the Solomon Islands. With the independence of Kiribati in 1979, all islands formerly a part of the territories (except the Pitcairn Islands) had either gained independence or been attached to other entities. 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. ==Administration of the British Western Pacific Territories==

: Government Steamer Gilbert & Ellice Islands Protectorates (30 April 1909) At first, the BWPT were administered by a high commissioner who resided in Fiji (and later in the British Solomon Islands). Then, Sir John Bates Thurston appointed Charles Richard Swayne as the first resident commissioner of the Ellice Islands in 1892 and as the first resident commissioner of the Gilbert Islands in 1893. 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. 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. The regulation of the coercive labour trade in Melanesia, which was known as Blackbirding, was significant problem for the Western Pacific High Commission. Ships of the Royal Navy Australian Station were responsible for limiting blackbirding. == Island groups ==

• (1892 to 1976) – now independent separately, as Kiribati (in Micronesia) and Tuvalu (in Polynesia) respectively. In Polynesia • Canton and Enderbury Islands (1939 to 1976) – now a part of Kiribati. • Cook Islands (1893 to 1901) – 15 small islands, now a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. • Line Islands (to 1976) – eight nearly uninhabited atolls, presently part of Kiribati. • Niue (Savage Island), also known as "Rock of Polynesia" (1900 to 1901); presently a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand. • Phoenix Islands (to 1976) – eight nearly uninhabited atolls, presently part of Kiribati. • Pitcairn Islands (1898 to 1952) – a current British overseas territory. • Tonga (1900 to 1952) – a native kingdom and protected state, independent since 1970. • Union Islands (1877 to 1926, officially to 1948) – now Tokelau, a dependent territory of New Zealand. In Micronesia • Ocean Island (Banaba) (1900 to 1976) – now a part of Kiribati. In Melanesia • Fiji (1877 to 1952) – now independent. • (1893 to 1976) – now independent as the nation of Solomon Islands. • (1906 to 1976), an Anglo-French condominium – now independent as Vanuatu. == See also ==

• WorldStatesmen • Deryck Scarr, Fragments of Empire. A History of the Western Pacific High Commission. 1877–1914, Canberra: Australian National University Press & London: C. Hurst & Co., 1967.