The
British Western Pacific Territories was the name of a colonial entity, created in 1877, for the administration, under a single representative of the British Crown, styled
High CommissionerHigh Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
(compare other uses of this title), of a series of relatively minor Pacific islands in and around Oceania
Canton and Enderbury IslandsThe Canton and Enderbury Islands consist of the coral atolls of Canton and Enderbury in the northeastern part of the Phoenix Islands, about 1,850 miles south of Hawaii in the central Pacific Ocean...
(1939 to 1971) - Now a part of
KiribatiKiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. It is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3,500,000 square kilometres, straddling the equator, and bordering the International Date Line to the east.The...
.
Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The fifteen small islands in this South Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres , but the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone covers 1.8 million square kilometres...
(1893 to 1901) - Now a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand.
The
British Western Pacific Territories was the name of a colonial entity, created in 1877, for the administration, under a single representative of the British Crown, styled
High CommissionerHigh Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
(compare other uses of this title), of a series of relatively minor Pacific islands in and around Oceania
Island Groups
Canton and Enderbury IslandsThe Canton and Enderbury Islands consist of the coral atolls of Canton and Enderbury in the northeastern part of the Phoenix Islands, about 1,850 miles south of Hawaii in the central Pacific Ocean...
(1939 to 1971) - Now a part of
KiribatiKiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. It is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3,500,000 square kilometres, straddling the equator, and bordering the International Date Line to the east.The...
.
Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The fifteen small islands in this South Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres , but the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone covers 1.8 million square kilometres...
(1893 to 1901) - Now a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand. (1877 to 1952) - Now independent.
Gilbert and Ellice IslandsThe Gilbert and Ellice Islands were a British protectorate from 1892 and colony from 1916 until 1 January 1976 when the islands were divided into two different colonies which became independent nations shortly after...
(1916 to 1971) - Now independent as
KiribatiKiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. It is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3,500,000 square kilometres, straddling the equator, and bordering the International Date Line to the east.The...
and
TuvaluTuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...
.
NauruNauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island nation in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbor is Banaba Island in Kiribati, 300 km to the east...
(1914 to 1921) - Now independent. (1906 to 1971) - Now independent as
VanuatuVanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean...
.
Savage IslandNiue is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and natives of the island call it "the Rock"....
(1900 to 1901) - Now
NiueNiue is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and natives of the island call it "the Rock"....
, a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand.
Pitcairn IslandsThe Pitcairn Islands , officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The islands are a British overseas territory , the last remaining in the Pacific...
(1898 to 1952) - Now a British overseas territory.
Solomon IslandsThe Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. Together they cover a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres . The capital is Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal.The Solomon Islands are believed to have been...
(1893 to 1971) - Now independent. (1900 to 1952) - Now independent. Union Islands (1877 to 1926) - Now
TokelauTokelau is a territory of New Zealand that consists of three tropical coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean. The United Nations General Assembly designated Tokelau a Non-Self-Governing Territory. Until 1976 the official name was Tokelau Islands...
, a dependent territory of New Zealand.
List of High Commissioners for the Western Pacific (1877–1976)
The office was never an independent one, but always filled ex officio the Governorship of one of the constitutive British islands colonies
High Commissioners for the Western Pacific and Governors of Fiji (1877–1953)
Administered from Suva, Fiji:
- Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon, 1877–January 1880
- Sir George William Des Vœux, January 1880–January 1887
- Sir Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell, January 1887–February 1888
- Sir John Bates Thurston
Sir John Bates Thurston was a British colonial official who served Fiji in a variety of capacities, including Premier of the Kingdom of Viti and later as colonial Governor.- Early life :...
, February 1888–7 February 1897
- Sir George Thomas Michael O'Brien
George Thomas Michael O'Brien was a British colonial official, who served as Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1892 to 1895, and as Governor of Fiji from 1897 to 1901.|-...
, March 1897–1901
- William Lamond Allardyce
Sir William Lamond Allardyce KCMG was a career British civil servant in the Colonial Office who served as governor of Fiji , the Falkland Islands , Bahamas , Tasmania , and Newfoundland .Allardyce was born near Bombay, India, the son of Georgina Dickson Abbott and Colonel James Allardyce...
, 1901–10 September 1902, acting
- Sir Henry Moore Jackson
Sir Henry Moore Jackson GCMG was born in Grenada to the Anglican Bishop of the Leeward Islands. He received his education in England at Clifton College and the Royal Military Academy. After his education, Jackson went into the military, serving for the Royal Artillery from 1870 to 1885, reaching...
, 10 September 1902–11 October 1904
- Sir Everard F. im Thurn
Everard Ferdinand im Thurn was an author, explorer, botanist, photographer and Governor of Fiji. He was educated at Oxford University, Edinburgh University, and Sydney University...
, 11 October 1904–21 February 1911
- Sir Francis Henry May
Sir Francis Henry May was a British colonial administrator who became Governor of Hong Kong.-Early life and education:...
, 21 February 1911–25 July 1912
- Sir Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott, 25 July 1912–10 October 1918
- Cecil Hunter Rodwell
Sir Cecil Hunter Rodwell GCMG was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Southern Rhodesia, British Guiana, and Fiji....
, 10 October 1918–25 April 1925
- Sir Eyre Hutson, 25 April 1925–22 November 1929
- Sir Arthur George Murchison Fletcher
Sir Arthur George Murchison Fletcher was the Governor of Fiji from 22 November 1929 to 28 November 1936. - References :|-...
, 22 November 1929–28 November 1936
- Sir Arthur Frederick Richards, 28 November 1936–16 September 1938
- Sir Harry Charles Luke
Sir Harry Charles Luke, KCMG was a British colonial official. His father was of Austro-Hungarian origin, but later acquired American citizenship; his mother was a Polish Catholic of the minor nobility. He was educated at Eton College and at Trinity College, Oxford...
, 16 September 1938–1942
Between 1942 and 1945, the high commission was suspended. While most islands were under British military administration, the Solomon Islands, Gilbert Islands and Phoenix islands came under
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese occupation.
- Sir Alexander William George Herder Grantham, 1945–1946
- Sir Leslie Brian Freeston, 20 January 1948–3 July 1952
High Commissioners for the Western Pacific and Governors of the Solomon Islands (1953–1976)
In 1953, Fiji was separated from the High Commission. Following this, the High Commissioner's post moved to Honiara, Solomon Islands, and the High Commissioner was also the Governor of the Solomon Islands.
- Sir Robert Christopher Stafford Stanley, 3 July 1952–1952
- Henry Graham Gregory-Smith, 1952–1955
- John Gutch, 1955–4 March 1961
- David Trench, 4 March 1961–16 June 1964
- Sir Robert Sidney Foster
Sir Robert Sidney Foster, GCMG, KCVO was a British colonial administrator, best remembered as the last colonial Governor and first Governor-General of Fiji.-Colonial service :...
, 16 June 1964–6 March 1969
- Sir Michael David Irving Gass
Sir Michael David Irving Gass, KCMG was the Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1965 - 1969.He married Elizabeth Periam Fuller Acland Hood in 1975.|-...
, 6 March 1969–July 1971
- vacant
- Donald Collin Cumyn Luddington, 1973–2 January 1976
On 2 January 1976 the office and the entity were abolished, after nearly all island groups had been given separate statehood.