Nauru's environment has been devastated by 100 years of phosphate mining. Mining of Nauru’s phosphate deposits began in earnest after the First World War under a joint Australian-New Zealand-British venture, the British Phosphate Commission. This mining was carried out with no regard for future rehabilitation and on terms that deprived the Nauruan people of reasonable returns for the sale of its phosphate in world markets.

In 1987-1988 the government of Nauru held a Commission of Inquiry into the rehabilitation of its worked-out phosphate lands. In 1988 the Commission published a 10 volume report which concluded that the island's former administrators - Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom - were responsible for the rehabilitation of worked out areas of the island mined during the period of the Mandate and Trust.

After several unsuccessful requests to the Australian government for financial assistance, Nauru took the findings of its Commission of Inquiry to the International Court of Justice which admitted a case against Australia. The case aroused much interest and controversy with Nauru receiving vocal support from world-wide environmental groups. A Compact of Settlement was reached in 1993 before the substantive hearing took place in the International Court in which Australia agreed to pay the Republic of Nauru a cash payment of AU$57 million and AU$2.5 million annually for 20 years. This money was to be used on development projects. New Zealand and the United Kingdom each agreed to contribute AU$12 million ex gratia towards the Australian out-of-court settlement

Transcript of proceedings, as follows:
Open Sittings, Days 1-33, 35-36, 39-52, pp.1-4191, 23 Feb 1987-30 Jan 1988.
Closed Sittings, Days 25, 30, 33, 34, 37 & 38, pp.1-591, 23 Nov-11 Dec 1987.
See Finding aids for details.

William Charles Groves (1898-1967) was a Supervisor of Education in
Mandated Territory of New Guinea from 1922 till 1926. He carried out
anthropological work in the Western Pacific, including New Guinea,
from 1931 till 1936, as a Research Fellow with the Australian National
Research Council. He was Director of Education in Nauru from 1937
till 1938 and Advisor on Education in the Solomon Islands from 1939
till 1940. After World War II he was appointed Director of Education
in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea (TPNG) and remained in that
post till 1958.

The W C Groves Papers were arranged and calendared by John A.
Collier in 1972 in eight parts: 1. Mission education in Melanesia; 2. Papua New Guinea Pre-War; 3. Papua New Guinea Port-War; 4. Nauru; 5. Correspondence and Miscellaneous; 6. South Pacific Commission; 7. Honolulu Conference, 1936; 8. Photographs in the Collection. Parts 2-4 are microfilmed here by the Bureau, together with John Collier’s, Guide to the Groves Papers. <P><B>See reel list for further details</B>

Please see PMB MS 493 for full entry.

Newspaper clippings, official printed documents and typescripts on the Pacific phosphate industry. Largely associated with mining in Kiribati and Nauru. See also PMB MS 14, 480-495.

Please see PMB MS 493 for full entry.

Miscellaneous correspondence of John T. Arundel, 1902-09. During this period, Arundel was involved in phosphate mining with the Pacific Phosphate Company in Kiribati and Nauru.