Identity area
Reference code
AU PMB MS 69
Title
Date(s)
- 1916-1930 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
1 reel; 35mm microfilm
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Sir Arthur Grimble, born in Hong Kong in 1888, was a British Colonial Service administrator and writer. After joining the Colonial Office in 1914 he became the first cadet administrative officer in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. From April 1919 he acted as the Resident Commissioner until Herbert Reginald McClure took up this appointment. In 1925, Grimble succeeded McClure as Resident Commissioner. He learned the local language, and recorded oral traditions of the Kiribati people. He remained in the islands until 1933. He published a number of books as well as being a radio broadcaster. Grimble also designed the coat of arms of the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, and the design remains on the flag of Kiribati.
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Scope and content
Sir Arthur Grimble went to the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) as a cadet administrative officer in 1914 and became Resident Commissioner in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony in 1925 - 1933. He was posted to the West Indies in 1936, retiring 1948. Grimble died in London on December 13, 1956. Grimble devoted much of his spare time in the Gilberts to collecting the myths, legends and oral traditions of the local people. Those recorded on this microfilm were collected between about 1916 and 1930.
Gilbertese myths, legends and oral traditions (643 pages). A detailed list appears at the beginning of the microfilm. It includes creation myths, voyaging tales, songs, especially of ancient voyages and war, spells and witchcraft practices.
See Finding aids for details.
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Existence and location of originals
Division of Pacific and Asian History, RSPAS, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200
Existence and location of copies
Access this title at PMB Member Libraries or by contacting the Bureau directly: http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/pambu/accessing.php
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Description identifier
ms69