Timeline of Nauruan history
Key events from the first settlement of the island to the present day. Dates before 1798 are estimates based on archaeology, linguistics and oral tradition.
Era I · Early Nauru
First settlement
Seafarers from elsewhere in the Pacific settle the island, by most estimates at least 3,000 years ago.
Early NauruThe twelve clans
Nauruan society is organised into twelve matrilineal clans. Families fish the reef and raise milkfish in Buada Lagoon.
Life on Old Nauru“Pleasant Island”
Captain John Fearn of the British ship Hunter sights Nauru and names it Pleasant Island.
First contactWhalers and beachcombers
Whaling ships begin calling to trade. Deserters and escaped convicts settle as beachcombers, and guns and alcohol spread across the island.
Beachcombers and tradersThe Ten Years’ War begins
A dispute between clans escalates into a decade of fighting. The population falls from about 1,400 to around 900.
Read the articleSpheres of influence
Britain and Germany divide the western Pacific between them. Nauru falls within the German sphere.
Era II · Colonial Nauru
German annexation
The gunboat SMS Eber arrives in October. Firearms are confiscated, the war ends, and Nauru becomes part of Germany’s Marshall Islands Protectorate.
Under the German flagThe missionaries arrive
Protestant missionary Philip Delaporte arrives and begins translating scripture and hymns into Nauruan.
Phosphate confirmed
Albert Ellis confirms rich phosphate deposits on Nauru, after identifying a sample from the island in Sydney.
The Doorstop That Changed an IslandMining begins
The Pacific Phosphate Company begins mining under an arrangement with German interests. The first shipments leave in 1907.
Australian occupation
Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, Australian forces occupy Nauru in November, ending German rule.
The Nauru Island Agreement
Britain, Australia and New Zealand buy out the Pacific Phosphate Company and create the British Phosphate Commissioners.
League of Nations mandate
Nauru becomes a mandated territory administered by Australia. An influenza epidemic kills an estimated 18 per cent of Nauruans.
Mandate yearsThe first Angam
The Nauruan population recovers to 1,500, a milestone celebrated ever since as Angam Day on 26 October.
German raiders
In December, German raiders sink phosphate ships near Nauru and shell the island’s mining installations.
Japanese occupation
Japanese forces occupy Nauru in August and begin building an airstrip.
Deportation to Chuuk
Five Australians are executed on the island in March. Later in the year, about 1,200 Nauruans are deported to Chuuk as labourers; 463 will not survive.
Exile to ChuukLiberation
The Japanese garrison surrenders in September and Australian forces return.
Homecoming
On 31 January, 737 survivors return from Chuuk — the date later chosen for Independence Day.
UN trusteeship
Nauru becomes a United Nations trust territory, administered by Australia on behalf of Australia, Britain and New Zealand.
Local Government Council
Nauruans gain an elected council of their own, led by a Head Chief.
Curtis Island rejected
Nauruans turn down an offer to resettle the entire population on Curtis Island, off the coast of Queensland.
The Road to 1968The phosphate agreement
Nauru agrees to take over the phosphate industry from the British Phosphate Commissioners.
Era III · Modern Nauru
Independence
On 31 January, Nauru becomes the world’s smallest republic. Hammer DeRoburt becomes its first President.
The smallest republicNauru takes control
The Nauru Phosphate Corporation takes over the phosphate industry. The national airline, Air Nauru, is founded the same year.
Nauru House
The 52-storey Nauru House opens in Melbourne, built by the phosphate royalties trust.
Boom and BustThe Nauru Agreement
Pacific nations sign an agreement in Nauru to jointly manage their shared tuna fisheries.
Nauru v. Australia
Nauru takes Australia to the International Court of Justice over the rehabilitation of land mined before independence.
Justice for the landSettlement
Australia agrees to an out-of-court settlement worth A$107 million.
United Nations
Nauru joins the United Nations and becomes a full member of the Commonwealth.
Offshore processing
Following the Tampa affair, Australia opens a processing centre for asylum seekers on Nauru.
Offshore processingFinancial crisis
Deep in debt, Nauru sells Nauru House. Australia provides emergency assistance.
Off the blacklist
After closing its offshore banking sector, Nauru is removed from the Financial Action Task Force money-laundering blacklist.
The centre reopens
Closed in 2008, the processing centre is reopened under a new Australian policy.
Pacific Islands Forum
Nauru hosts regional leaders, who adopt the Boe Declaration on regional security.
Deep-sea mining
Nauru triggers a two-year deadline for the International Seabed Authority to finalise rules for deep-sea mining.
Higher GroundA diplomatic shift
Nauru switches recognition from Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China in January, and in December signs a wide-ranging treaty with Australia.
Nauru in the world