Tarawa

Lore & Background

In Kiribati mythology, Tarawa represents the primordial earth, existing before Nareau the spider separated the land, ocean, and sky. After naming the sky 'karawa' and the ocean 'marawa,' Nareau referred to the rock upon which Riiki stood when he raised the sky as 'Tarawa.' Gilbertese first settled these islands thousands of years ago. Thomas Gilbert, captain of the East India Company vessel, was the first European to describe Tarawa, arriving on 20 June 1788. In 1841, the island was mapped by the US Exploring Expedition. For nine generations, the island was divided between two warring factions, the House of Auatubu and the House of Teabike, until in 1892 Captain Edward Davis proclaimed the island a British Protectorate. Charles Richard Swayne decided to install the central headquarters of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands protectorate in Tarawa in 1895. During World War II, Tarawa was occupied by the Japanese, and beginning on 20 November 1943 it was the scene of the bloody Battle of Tarawa. U.S. Marines landed and fought the Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF), a naval infantry unit often misidentified as marines. The Marines captured the island after 76 hours of intense fighting that killed approximately 5,700 people in total, including around 4,690 Japanese and Korean laborers and 1,009 U.S. Marines and Navy personnel.

Reader's Guide

Tarawa features a tropical rainforest climate under the Köppen climate classification. The climate is pleasant from April to October, with predominant northeastern winds and stable temperatures close to 30°C. From November to March, western gales bring rain and occasional cyclones. Precipitation varies significantly between islands; the annual average is 3,000 mm in the north and 500 mm in the south of the Gilbert Islands. Drought is frequent, but in normal years rainfall is sufficient to maintain breadfruit, papaya and banana trees as well as coconut and pandanus. Tarawa has a large lagoon, 500 km² in total area, and a wide reef. North Tarawa consists of a string of islets from Buariki in the north to Buota in the south. On South Tarawa, the construction of causeways has now created a single strip of land from Betio in the west to Tanaea in the northeast. South Tarawa hosts the capital of the Republic of Kiribati. The House of Assembly is in Ambo, and the State House is in Bairiki. Settlements on North Tarawa include Buariki, Abaokoro, Marenanuka and Taborio.

Did You Know?

• Tarawa is an old Gilbertese form for Te Rawa, meaning 'The Passage' (of the Lagoon).
• Four resident diplomatic missions exist: embassies of China and Japan, and high commissions of Australia and New Zealand.