McKean Island is a small, uninhabited island in the

Phoenix Islands The Phoenix Islands, or Rawaki, are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs that lie east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. They are part of the Republic of Kiri ...

, Republic of

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

. Its area is . Kiribati declared the Phoenix Islands Protected Area in 2006, with the park being expanded in 2008. The 164,200-square-mile (425,300-square-kilometer) marine reserve contains eight coral atolls including McKean Island.

Flora and fauna

McKean's flora and fauna

McKean is roughly oval in shape, and less than one kilometre in diameter. It is ringed by a reef flat, with a beach ridge of coral rock and rubble surrounding the rim, rising to five metres above sea level. The centre of the island is depressed, with a shallow, hypersaline,

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

-laced lagoon. Treeless, McKean harbours seven herbaceous species of plants, and the world's largest nesting population of lesser

frigatebird Frigatebirds are a family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, long, deeply forke ...

(''Fregata ariel'') with up to 85,000 birds. 29 other species of birds have been described as visiting the island. Historically, the only mammal was the

Polynesian rat The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), known to the Māori as ''kiore'', is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, a ...

, now exterminated, which suggests pre-historic discovery by Polynesians. There is also a species of gecko that inhabits the island. McKean has no sources of fresh water, and no freshwater lens. McKean BirdColony AKK

McKean's reefs

Sites on the reef averaged 20% Live Coral Cover, with higher abundance of algae (mainly turf and incipient fleshy algae) as compared to Nikumaroro, coral rubble, and some coralline algae. As at

Nikumaroro Nikumaroro, previously known as Kemins Island or Gardner Island, is a part of the Phoenix Islands, Kiribati, in the western Pacific Ocean. It is a remote, elongated, triangular coral atoll with profuse vegetation and a large central marine lagoo ...

, branching and encrusting/submassive growth forms predominated, followed by massive corals. Only a small cover of ''Halimeda'' was observed while carpeting soft corals (''

Sinularia ''Sinularia'' is a genus of soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae. They are commonly known as leather corals and currently have 166 described species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an o ...

'' and '' Lobophytum'') occupied 10% of the bottom of the lagoon.

History

McKean Island was the first of the Phoenix group to be reported and named. It was discovered May 28, 1794, by the British Capt. Henry Barber, of the ship ''Arthur'', while en route from

Botany Bay Botany Bay ( Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to the northwest coast of

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Sighting the uninhabited island on 28 May, Captain Barber named it "Drummond's Island", plotting it at 3°40'S, 176°51'W. The ''Albany Sentinel'' reported that the "small sandy island...is very low and cannot be seen from the deck of a vessel more than five or six miles". It was later renamed 'Arthur Island' and appeared as such in charts of that time. Its coordinates were given as 3°30'S, 176°0'W.Sharp, p 210. The island was reported and visited by a number of ships in the years following, including the whaleship ''Japan'' in 1830 (under Capt. Shubael Chase), Captain Worth (1832) who mistook it for

Onotoa Onotoa is an atoll of Kiribati. It is situated in the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean, from Tamana, the smallest island in the Gilberts. The population of Onotoa in the 2015 census was 1,393. The atoll is similar to many other atolls in t ...

and an unknown whaleship in 1834, who named it "Wigram's Island". It was renamed ''McKean Island'' and mapped by

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War (1861–1865), he commanded ' during the ...

of the

US Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

on August 19, 1840, after a member of his crew. However, Arthur Island remained suspected and "in need of confirmation" until at least 1871, when it was listed in ''Findlay's Directory'', using the charts of cartographer John Arrowsmith. McKean was claimed by the U.S. in March 1859, under the American Guano Act of 1856. C.A. Williams promoted the Phoenix Guano Company of

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

, to exploit the deposit of

Alfred Restieaux Alfred Restieaux (1832–1911) was born in Somers Town, London, England and came from a family of French descent. His grandfather was a French nobleman who escaped the guillotine during the French Revolution. At the age of 16 he migrated to Aus ...

was foreman of the excavation operation in 1867. Guano was actively dug and exported from 1859 to 1870. The island was rarely visited after that time. McKean was later included in the British

Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. They were a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976. The history of the colony w ...

colony. The U.K. resigned its claims on the island when it granted independence to the Republic of Kiribati, and the U.S. resigned its claims to Kiribati in the

Treaty of Tarawa On September 20, 1979, representatives of the newly independent Republic of Kiribati and of the United States met in Tarawa to sign a treaty of friendship between the two nations, known as the Treaty of Tarawa. More formally, the treaty is entit ...

Guano from McKean's Island

"A Cargo of 1200 tons of

, from McKean's Island, was brought into New London by the ship ''White Swallow'' on the 30th ult—the first importation from the Phoenix Guano Islands, discovered by C. A. Williams of New London a year ago. These islands lie in 170 West longitude 3½ south latitude, 2000 miles from the Hawaiian group. Mr. Williams took possession of them according to the law of 1856, and has since received a full title from the government. "The islands are seven in number, and rich in guano deposits. Mr Williams is a member of the firm of C.A. Williams & Co. Honolulu, and Williams & Haven, New London. The Phoenix Guano Company was organized at New London, to work the guano beds, (which will prove a mine of wealth to the lucky owner) who has thirty or forty men permanently located there. Alfred Goddard is the squatter sovereign "governor" of the territory. When the ''White Swallow'' left, the ''Aspasia'' of Mystic, and ''Bowditch'' of New London were loading at McKean's Island, the only one worked at present."

Phoenix Guano

"This name is the title of a guano from McKean's Island, situated in the neighborhood of

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Si ...

and

Jarvis Island Jarvis Island (; formerly known as Bunker Island or Bunker's Shoal) is an uninhabited coral island located in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands. It is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the Un ...

s and occupied with a similar deposit. A sample representing the cargo of the ''White Swallow'', imported by the general agents, Messrs. Williams and Haven, into this State, at the port of New London, gave me on analysis 23¼ percent of phosphoric acid, equivalent to 50 percent of bone-phosphate of lime, and I have not hesitated to recommend it to our farmers, especially, as I learn that the price will be entirely reasonable, viz: $27.50 per ton, or in quantities over five tons $25 per ton."

Declaration as a bird sanctuary

The island was declared a bird sanctuary in June 1938, and has been a protected area ever since as the ''McKean Island Wildlife Sanctuary''. In addition to natural history expeditions, it was visited in October 1989 by TIGHAR when it was surveyed as a possible landing site of

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

. In 2008, Kiribati proclaimed it to be part of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, the largest marine protected area in the world. In 2010, the Phoenix Islands Protected Area became the world's largest UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. In 2002, the wreck of the fishing trawler ''Chance'' on McKean released the Asian rat onto the island, which decimated the native populations of

storm petrel Storm-petrel may refer to one of two bird families, both in the order Procellariiformes, once treated as the same family. The two families are: * Northern storm petrels (''Hydrobatidae'') are found in the Northern Hemisphere, although some speci ...

s, blue noddies and other petrels and

shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season. Description These tub ...

s. In 2008 NZAID funded the rat eradication of McKean Island, which was proven successful in late 2009.

References

Sources

* Maude, HE: Of islands and men: studies in Pacific history. Melbourne .a.: Oxford Univ. Pr., 1968 * Quanchi, Max & Robson, John, (2005); ''Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands'', USA: Scarecrow Press, * Sharp, Andrew (1960); ''The Discovery of the Pacific Islands'', Oxford:Oxford University Press, * Bryan, Edwin H.: American Polynesia and the Hawaiian Chain. Honolulu., Hawaii: Tongg Publishing Company, 1941 pages 66–69. * United Nation
United Nations Environment Programme
* TIGHA
TIGHAR

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mckean Island Phoenix Islands (Kiribati) Uninhabited islands of Kiribati Pacific islands claimed under the Guano Islands Act Former populated places in Oceania Island restoration Islands of Kiribati Former disputed islands