Australian occupation of Nauru

Part of the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I

Map of Nauru created by Germany (1897)

Date	9 September- 6 November 1914
Location	Nauru
Result	Australian victory

Belligerents

Allied Powers

Australia

Central Powers

German New Guinea

Commanders and leaders

Sir George Patty

Wilhelm Wostrack [cs]

Units involved

HMAS Melbourne

Colonial Administrators and Local Police

Casualties and losses

None

Administrators Captured

v t e Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I
Tsingtao Samoa Fanning New Guinea Nauru Bita Paka Toma Madang Pacific Islands Papeete Madras Penang Coronel Cocos India Tochi Peshawar Mohmand Mahsuds New South Wales Kelantan Singapore Más a Tierra China Central Asia Manchu Restoration Indochina German Tientsin Hankou Austro-Hungarian Tientsin Guam See also: Hindu–German Conspiracy

In September 1914, Australia occupied Nauru, then part of German New Guinea, following the start of World War I. This was part of a larger plan by Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand to intercept Germany's East Asia Squadron before they could return to Germany. The island continued to be occupied by Australia until the end of the war.

Background

Following the Nauruan Civil War, in 1888 Nauru was annexed into the German Colony of Papua New Guinea. Following the outbreak of World War I, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand occupied the German Colonies of Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory, German Samoa, and German New Guinea.

Australian landing

Following the occupation of German Samoa, the HMAS Melbourne left Australian-occupied Samoa and set off for Nauru, arriving on September 9, 1914. The Australian occupation led to the destruction of the wireless stations and the capture of the island's colonial governor. The island was then fully occupied by November 6, and continued to be occupied by Australia until the end of the war.^[1]

Aftermath

Following the war, Nauru became a mandate of Australia as decided by the League of Nations. The United Kingdom and New Zealand became the island's co-trustees.^[2]

References

^ Buschmann, Rainer F. (2008-10-31). Anthropology's Global Histories: The Ethnographic Frontier in German New Guinea, 1870-1935. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3184-4.
^ "The Republic of Nauru". www.earth.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-11.

Sources

Storr, C. (2020). "From Protectorate to Colony to Mandate, 1920". International Status in the Shadow of Empire: Nauru and the Histories of International Law. Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-49850-0. Retrieved 2024-04-13.

This page was last edited on 13 April 2024, at 22:16