TABUAERAN (FANNING) ATOLL
Planned Field Stations

(photos circa 1981)
 

Introduction to the TABUAERAN (FANNING) ATOLL Planned Field Stations (Phases I & II) and the Cable Station School expansion

Introduction

The Atoll Institute plans and proposes to establish its headquarters in the Republic of Kiribati on Tabuaeran (Fanning) atoll at the Cable Station complex (a former undersea telegraphic cable relay station that was established in 1902 by Cable and Wireless Ltd. but is currently a school) as Phase I, and then it plans and proposes to establish and operate a conference and study center as Phase II, at which time the school facilities at the Cable Station would be redeveloped and expanded.

The Atoll Institute's Relationship with Empyrean International

To help implement its plans, the Atoll Institute has established a symbiotic association with Empyrean International Limited, a private Canadian company, and with the Empyrean International Eleemosynary, a related Canadian foundation.  They are jointly referred to as Empyrean International, and were established in 1980 by the Atoll Institute chairman & president, Mr. Robert W.G. Grosz, Esq.  Empyrean International Limited plans and proposes the development of a 200-unit ecotourism resort south of the Cable Station to include a conference and study center.  From its profits, scholarships would then be established and an endowment paid to the foundation which would help to fund the Atoll Institute's operations at the Cable Station and expansion into the conference and study center.

Empyrean International's Development Plans

Referring to the chart/map of Tabuaeran (Fanning) atoll in the left margin, the Phase I site includes the Cable Station complex and adjoining property one mile to the north and one mile to the south (where the grass airfield is located), while the Phase II site includes the land south of the grass airfield down to the lagoon entrance at English Harbor.  A more detailed land use plan is presented in the left margin which discloses the location of a proposed marina at English Harbor, and locations of a proposed sealed runway (airport), staff quarters, and beach cabanas at the northern tip of the islet.  These plans, which were prepared in 1981 by Empyrean International and remain virtually unchanged, were presented to the Kiribati government.  At the links in the left margin are more details about the Phase I and Phase II plans, plus a link is provided in the left margin regarding the school operations.  

Brief Histories of the Atoll and the Cable Station

An interesting history of Fanning (Tabuaeran) atoll prior to WWII, albeit somewhat biased in favor of America during a time when sovereignty to it was claimed by both America and Britain, was written in 1941 by Edwin Bryan, Jr., the Curator of Collections at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, for which a link is provided in the left margin.  During WWII, the Cable Station complex continued its operations as a strategic Commonwealth relay station for the trans-Pacific telegraphic cable running from Vancouver Island, Canada to the Cable Station and terminating at Australia and New Zealand.  Meanwhile, the rest of the atoll continued operations as a copra (dried coconut meat) plantation.

In the early 1950s, in anticipation of a new generation undersea telegraphic cable, the original wooden buildings of the Cable Station were demolished and then replaced with concrete buildings.  However, shortly after completion of the redevelopment a decision was taken to lay the telegraphic cable to Hawaii instead, therefore the Cable Station was abandoned.  In the 1960s, the British and American militaries undertook atmospheric atomic testing over Kiritimati (Christmas) Island, roughly 150 miles to the southeast, during which time access to the atoll was restricted.  However, after the atomic testing period ended the collection of copra resumed, and a geophysicist from the University of Hawaii, the late Dr. Martin Vitousek, PhD, established the Pacific Equatorial Research Laboratory as a Hawaiian non-profit organization and then obtained the lease on the Cable Station to use as a field station for his own scientific research and that of visiting scientists from all around the world.  Dr. Vitousek's research focused upon the collection of meteorological and oceanographic data, and it has become an indispensable part of the world's database for global climate change research.

In 1979, the Gilbert Islands Protectorate gained independence from the United Kingdom to become the Republic of Kiribati.  During that period, the Kiribati government decided to purchase the assets of Fanning Island Plantations Ltd., which was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian food conglomerate Burns Philp & Co. Ltd. which had owned and operated Tabuaeran (Fanning) and Teraina (Washington) atolls as copra plantations - except for the Cable Station property which was already owned by the Kiribati government.  As Dr. Vitousek approached retirement, he proposed to the new Kiribati government that the lease of the Cable Station property and operations of the Pacific Equatorial Research Laboratory be continued by Empyrean International.  Accordingly, at that time Empyrean International Limited also sought to purchase the assets of Fanning Island Plantations Ltd. to assist the Kiribati government in facilitating its plans to implement a migration programme for the Kiribatese seeking to move from the Gilbert Islands to the Line Islands,  A copy of the 1981 proposal, seeking an option, is presented at the link in the left margin.  Ultimately, the Kiribati government was successful in getting funding with which to purchase Fanning Island Plantations Ltd., and a decision was made just to continue operation of a school at the Cable Station which Dr. Vitousek established.
 

Population, Transportation, Communications and Weather Data

Currently its population includes about 1,600 Kiribatese islanders and one or two Americans.  Transportation to the island is extremely limited as there is no air service to it, and ocean access is limited to visiting yachts, a once or twice per year cargo shipment from the capitol of Kiribati, plus a Norwegian Cruise Line's ship that anchors there once every two weeks during the months from September through March to put ashore some of its passengers for a few hours before departing.  There is no telephone service, so communications is by amateur radio contacts through an American. As one can see from the 1979 Weather Data link in the left margin, the summer through winter months are dry seasons, and because of its proximity to the equator the year-round temperature remains extremely stable and enjoyable, averaging 79 degrees Fahrenheit plus or minus only one degree.

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