Place: Nukumanu (Tasman) Atoll

Details

Nukumanu is within the territorial borders of Papua New Guinea but is the closest neighbour of Ontong Java Atoll (q.v.), and over many generations the two Polynesian atoll communities have been linked by much intermarriage. They share patterns of kinship and social organization, trade relationships and a maritime way of life, and their languages are similar. Between 1899 and 1900, the British wrongly thought that Nukumanu was part of BSIP. In 1902 Arthur Mahaffy (q.v.) was sent to the atoll to take away the British flag and in 1906 Resident Commissioner Woodford (q.v.) visited the atoll and formally withdrew British claims to it. (Christensen 2010, 42-43; Richards 2012, 88-89)

Related Places

Published resources

Books

  • Richards, Rhys, Head Hunters Black and White: Three Collectors in the Western Solomon Islands 1893 to 1914, and the Diary of Graham Officer, Collector of Museum Objects in the Solomon Islands in 1901 for Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Paremata Press, Wellington, 2012. Details

Theses

  • Christensen, Andreas E., 'Making an Island Living: Continuity and Change on Ontong Java, Solomon Islands', PhD, University of Copenhagen, 2010. Details