Identity area
Reference code
AU PMB MS 497
Title
Date(s)
- 1900 - 1951 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
1 reel; 35mm microfilm.
Digital PDF.
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Born in Queensland, Australia, educated in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In the 1890s, Ellis became an employee of the Pacific Islands Company Ltd of London, which was involved in the guano industry on islands in the Coral Sea and the Phoenix Group (Kiribati). In 1900, he became curious about a rock which was used as a doorstop in the Sydney office of his company and this led to the discovery of the phosphate deposits on Ocean Island and Nauru. He was a prominent figure in the Pacific Phosphate Company Ltd in 1902. After the phosphate company was bought out by the British, Australian and New Zealand governments after World War I, Ellis became commissioner for New Zealand on the British Phosphate Commission, which was established to exploit the phosphate deposits on Ocean Island and Nauru. He was the author of three books, Ocean Island and Nauru (1936), Adventuring in Coral Seas (1937), and Mid-Pacific Outpost (1946).
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Ellis (1869-1951) was born in Queensland and educated in New Zealand. In the 1890s he became an employee of the Pacific Islands Company Ltd of London, which was involved in the guano industry on islands in the Coral Sea and the Phoenix Group (Kiribati). In 1900, he became curious about a rock which was used as a doorstop in the Sydney office of his company and this led to the discovery of the phosphate deposits on Ocean Island and Nauru. He was a prominent figure in the Pacific Phosphate Company Ltd in 1902. After the phosphate company was bought out by the British, Australian and New Zealand governments after World War I, he became commissioner for New Zealand on the British Phosphate Commission, which was established to exploit the phosphate deposits on Ocean Island and Nauru. He was the author of three books, Ocean Island and Nauru (1936), Adventuring in Coral Seas (1937) and Mid-Pacific Outpost (1946).
The documents on the microfilm include: 1. Ellis' diary for May 1900 when he went to Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati to establish the phosphate industry there; 2. Clippings on the phosphate industry from various newspapers and journals; 3. Correspondence covering the period 1920-51.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Available for reference
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Division of Pacific and Asian History, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra
Existence and location of copies
Access this title at PMB Member Libraries or by purchasing it directly from the Bureau: http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/pambu/accessing.php
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
ms497
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Digitised in October 2015.
Archivist's note
This reel was split into 2 PDFs for the digital version.
Digital object metadata
Filename
Digital_reference_image.pdf
Latitude
Longitude
Media type
Text
Mime-type
application/pdf