Chapter I Intro & Objectives - SPREP

PHOENIX ISLANDS PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN
Chapter III. Background, 2. Human Activities
Draft 1 March 2007
One American ship named Canton was identified by Clune (1951) to have sailed from New
York to Australia in 1853, then it was offered for sale there. There were no bids. It was then
sailed to Guam, but ended up in Singapore where it was sold and renamed Santubong. The
sale was by the ship’s mate, William Henry Hayes, who later was known as “Bully” Hayes,
the notorious pirate of that time. Clune (1951) speculated that the story of the wreck of the
Canton on Abariringa (Canton) may have been fabricated to deceive the owner and insurers.
As a side note, Townsend (1935) reviewed the logs of 744 American whaleships operating in
the nineteenth century. There were two ships named Canton listed in the appendix of the
Townsend (1935) report. One operated from 1794 to 1866, the other from 1875 to 1909. The
Townsend review did not cover all American whaleships of the period. Dates of operation
for the two ships named Canton suggest that neither could be the whaleship Canton that
grounded on Abariringa.
Anon. (1867a) reported that while looking for the wreck of the La Belle on Wake Island, the
Caroline Mills visited Sibello Island and discovered the wreck of the Canton. The Canton
left Sitka in 1816 and was never heard from again. In a note to Anon. (1867a), Ward (1967f)
suggested that it was extremely doubtful that the wreck of the Canton reported in Anon.
(1867a) here was the same as the Canton that was wrecked on Abariringa (Canton) in 1854.
In April 1854, Captain Handy on the Bell of Fairhaven, saw the wreck of the Canton on
Abariringa (Canton), but saw no crew (Pompey 1970).
During the 1850s, the H.M.S. Curacao under Captain Gibson also visited Abariringa
(Canton) (Bryan 1941, 1942, and 1974; Murphy et al 1954). According to Anon. (1938e), in
the 1850s , Abariringa (Canton) was annexed by Captain Gibson of the H.M.S. Curacoa
when laying of the Pacific cable (Anon. 1938e).
Captain Eldridge of the Amazon, described an island he found in the Central Pacific (Anon.
1860g). However, based on detailed descriptions of items on the island, Captain Wing
reported that it was the same island that he had been ship wrecked on in 1854 (Abariringa
(Canton)).
Gardner (1938) noted that details of the wreck of the Canton were largely derived by word of
mouth from Captain Wing and other crew members to Mrs. Clara Wing Guild of Medford,
Massachusetts.
Commander R.W. Meade of the U.S.S. Narrgansett surveyed the island and named it after
the New Bedford whaleship, Canton, which was wrecked on the island in 1854 (Hobbs 1945;
Nicholas 1946; Office of Territories 1963). Commander Meade’s survey of Abariringa
(Canton) was in 1872 during one of his attempts to bring Captain Bully Hayes to justice
(Bryan 1941, 1942, and 1974; Murphy et al 1954).
BIRNIE
In 1823, Birnie was discovered and named by Captain Emments (Bryan 1941 and 1942;
Maude 1968; Captain Emment according to Douglas and Douglas 1994; Robson 1956;
Captain Emmet according to Pompey 1972a; Captain Emmert or Emmett according to Sharp
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