FANNING ISLAND The atoll was first discovered on 11 June 1798 by Captain Edmund Fanning, who commanded the American whaler Betsey. Fanning Island was formally annexed to Great Britain by Captain William Wiseman of HMS Caroline on 15 March 1888. The Gilbert and Ellice group of islands are in the Pacific Ocean, between 170 & 180 degrees longitude and the Gilbert Islands on the equator. When the two groups separated on 1 January 1976, the name of the Gilbert Islands, became Kiribati, and Fanning Island, reverted to its native name of Tabuaeran. Fanning Island (mid Pacific), North latitude 3.54° and 157.30° West longitude The atoll surrounds a 42.6 sq.mile lagoon with a deepest part of 50 feet and three narrow breaks inland, two for canoes, and the main entrance to English Harbour on the Western side which is 25-30 feet deep and 300 yards wide. In the 19th century, Fanning Island was exploited for guano, which was shipped to Honolulu. In 1855, Captain Henry English came with 150 natives of Manahiki Island in the Cook Islands settled and planted coconuts and exported at first coconut oil and later copra. In 1859 two vessels carried 15,000 gallons of oil to Honolulu, and in 1862 four vessels transported 44,000 gallons. By 1885 some guano was still being shipped out from Fanning and Washington, but by 1887 only copra. When the Pacific Cable Board’s station was opened at the island in 1902, the trans-Pacific mail steamers called there on the voyage from Auckland to San Francisco. Up to 1931 the Union Steam Ship Company’s ships, out of Australia, also stopped there with supplies. 1 PRECURSOR SHIP LETTER Believed to be the earliest recorded correspondence posted at Fanning Island Reduced USS Nipsic / Fanning Island / Ship Letter & U.S. CHARGE/ TO COLLECT 20 CENTS Ten copies 2 cents Postage Due stamps. Endorsed “Received Friday August 16 1889 / 9 a.m.” 2 USS Nipsic Originally was a gunboat in the Union Navy. The ship was laid down on 24 December 1862 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard; launched on 15 June 1863 and commissioned on 2 September 1863. In 1874, she was rebuilt as a new, and substantially larger Adams/Enterprise class gunboat, she was also completely rebuilt at Hawaii on account of her experience at Apia Harbour, Samoa, during the 1889 Apia Cyclone. On 15 March 1889, USS Nipsic rode at anchor in Apia Harbour with USS Vandalia, USS Trenton, HMS Calliope, and three German Naval vessels, SMS Adler, SMS Olga, and SMS Eber, along with six merchantmen. Gale force winds arose, and preparations for leaving harbour were begun, but departing was delayed in the hope that conditions next morning would be more favourable for the sortie. However, by early morning on 16 March the harbour was a mass of foam and spray as hurricane force winds battered the ships in the 1889 Apia Cyclone. Only HMS Calliope, larger and more strongly powered than the others, was able to leave the harbour. USS Vandalia, USS Trenton, SMS Adler, and SMS Eber, and the merchantmen were all sunk: USS Nipsic’s captain, Commander D. W. Mullin, was able by superb seamanship to beach his ship. While severely damaged by the pounding she received on the beach, Nipsic’s hull was intact, although much of her topside structure was battered, all of her propeller blades damaged, two boilers spread and useless, and eight of her crew lost. Refloated and her engines repaired, Nipsic cleared Apia on 9 May for Auckland New Zealand, but was turned back by heavy seas. On 15 May she again sailed, for Pago Pago, Fanning Island, and Honolulu, arriving on 2 August 1889. USS Nipsic was completely rebuilt at Hawaii, her length and beam extended and her tonnage increased. From 3 January 1890, she cruised in the Hawaiian Islands guarding American interests. The wreck of the USS Nipsic 1889 Apia Harbour 3 FANNING ISLAND MAIL SERVICES There were several mail services which may have stopped at Fanning Island for one reason or another, these include: - New Zealand/Australia Mail via Panama, service 1866 - 1869 New Zealand/Australia Mail via San Francisco, service which commenced in 1870 – New Zealand/Australia Mail via Vancouver service, known as “The All Red Route” 1893- 1899 Details of the ships and the scheduled sailings are included in the publications of Colin Taebert. ANZUK Mails Volume 1- 1880, and Volume 2 1881 – 1900. Unfortunately, there are no details of any vessels stopping at Fanning Island. A “Complete list of sailings of Trans-Pacific Contract Mail Steamers, carrying New Zealand Marine Post Offices between 1923 & 1938” compiled by K. J. McNaught, was published by The Postal History Society of New Zealand in 2000. Unfortunately, there are no details of any vessels stopping at Fanning Island. I am not aware of any detailed scheduled sailings for the period 1901 – 1921 or after 1938. Fortunately, the publication by Peter Plowman “Across the Pacific, Letters from Australia and New Zealand to North America” published in 2010, gives some details of the ships and sailings and the stops at Fanning Island. The first scheduled mail service which made a stop at Fanning Island was by ships on “The Vancouver Route 1901 – 1914” this service was carried out by the Canadian – Australian Royal Mail Line, jointly owned by two major NZ Shipping Companies. The NZ shipping Company & the Union Line, surprisingly, the route did not include a call at any New Zealand ports, instead going from Sydney to Brisbane, Honolulu, Victoria and Vancouver. In March 1902, a call at Suva in Fiji was reinstated, Aorangi being the first to arrive at Fiji northbound, on 4 March 1902, while the Miowera stopped at Fiji, on 28 March 1902, southbound. The vessels used on the commencement of the service were the Aorangi, Miowera, Moana, and Manuka. The service was every 4 weeks; with a stop at Fanning Island every second trip going north, and after 1908 this was changed to a stop at Fanning Island, every second trip going south. The Moana, which left Sydney on 31 October 1904, arrived at Fiji on 11 November 1904, and made a stop at Fanning Island on 12 November 1904 and for the next three years a call would be made every 8 weeks. The 20 January 1908 departure from Sydney of the Aorangi was the last northbound voyage that would include a call at Fanning Island, on or about 3 February 1908, as this was subsequently included in every second voyage in the southbound schedule instead. The first vessel to stop at Fanning Island southbound was the Moana on 7 April 1908, after a call at Honolulu. The Moana was brought back on 21 November 1910 for 2 round services. On the 11 September 1908, the Manuka that had departed Vancouver on its way back to Sydney, but between Honolulu and Suva was diverted to Christmas Island to pick up survivors of the steamship Aeon, which had been wrecked there. The Aeon had left San Francisco on 6 July 1908 with over two million feet of timber, 1000 tons of general cargo, and nine passengers, including four ladies and two children, all of whom were due to disembark at Pago Pago, their ultimate destination being Apia. Captain Downie and his eight officers were all European, assisted by 35 Chinese seamen. The Aeon was due at Auckland on 25 July 1908. 4 A strong current pushed the Aeon off course and at 9.30 on the night of 18 July 1908 the Aeon had run smoothly on to a coral reef off Christmas Island. Over the next four weeks one of the lifeboats was fitted with an oil engine found in a consignment of cargo being sent to Auckland. On the 17 August 1908, the captain, second mate, first and third engineer, set of for Fanning Island, 196 miles away, where there was a radio relay station. After going only 18 miles the rudder was disabled and the motor stopped, but the party was able to drift back to Christmas Island. A month later after making more complete preparations, they all set off again on 15 September 1908, finally making landfall on 18 September 1908 at Fanning Island. A radio message was immediately sent to Australia, advising the fate of the Aeon and the fact that everyone had survived. The Manuka that had left Honolulu on 18 September 1908 was diverted to Fanning Island to pick up the four men who had arrived from Christmas Island and then to go to rescue the other survivors. This was not an easy task; however, all were safely on board by the 24 September 1908, including 500 bags of mails, but just as importantly a lady and her baby girl which had been born three days earlier. The Manuka resumed its voyage, reaching Suva on 1 October 1908. Here the passengers from the Aeon disembarked, and joined another vessel to take them to Apia. After calling at Brisbane, Manuka arrived at Sydney on 8 October 1908. 22 June 1908 Pittsburg, to Otago N.Z. SS Aeon left San Francisco 6 July 1908 Wrecked off Christmas Island 18 July 1908. Reverse side of the above Postcard 5 The Zealandia was added to the service, making her first trip on 1 August 1910, she was the first owned Australian ship to have Radio Wireless telegraphy. The last departure from Sydney to include a call at Brisbane was taken by Zealandia on 3 July 1911, calling at Brisbane two days later and arriving at Vancouver on 26 July 1911.