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3 I ^Birnie Island is the smallest of the Phoenix group. It is located 215 
nautical miles south of the equator, near the center of a circle of five 
other Phoenix islands: 44 miles south of Canton, 42 miles S.W. of £n- 
derbury, 50 miles west of Phoenix, 56 miles in a direction 20 degrees 
west of north from Sydney, and 66 miles N.E. of Hull. McKean Island 
lies 150 miles due west, and Gardner Island is 200 miles in a direction 
20 degrees south of west. 
The island measures less than 3/4 mile long, N.W. and S.E., by 600 
yards, greatest width. Its outline is nearly straight on the west side and 
convex on the east. Most of the east or weather side is rocky, with slabs 
of coral sandstone and broken fragment of coral piled up in a steep beach 
to a height of more than the “official” height of 6 feet, given to the island. 
James Dwight Dana, in 1841, estimated its height as 10 to 12 feet ; J. T. 
Arundel, in 1883, thought the N.E. side fully 20 feet high. The beach 
crest is so high that even from a height of more than 30 feet on the bridge 
of the Taney, we could scarcely see the water in the small lagoon beyond 
it, as we sailed by on July 28, 1938. Most of the lee (west) shore seemed 
iower and sandy. 
0 The northern half of the island appeared to he flat and fairly smooth, 
I carpeted with low herbs, such as Portulaca, Boerhaavia, and bunchgrass. 
The very small, shallow lagoon occupied a depression, bordered by a mat 
of bright green plants, probably Sesuvium . The lagoon must vary con¬ 
siderably, as one account gives its depth as 6 feet, while another states 
that it was nearly dry. 
There is a beacon, about 15 or 20 feet (the pilot book says 30 feet) 
high, located on the eastern curve of the island. Its lower part appeared 
through glasses to be composed of slabs of coral sandstone, above which 
there was a ladder-like structure of wood or metal. 
The fringing reef is quite narrow, except for points at the north and 
south ends. Foul water extends several hundred yards south from the 
southern point. 
There is no anchorage, but landing can be made on the sandy lee 
beach. The usual kinds of sea and migratory birds are probably to be 
found. There are said to be no signs of former inhabitants. 
Birnie Island was discovered and named by Captain Emment in 1823. 
He also discovered Sydney Island the same year. Research so far has 
failed to give us any definite information about the discoverer or his 
vessel. His name does not appear in an extensive list of New England 
whaling masters. The most prominent person of that period, for whom 
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the island might have been named, was Richard Birnie (17604832), 
who took a leading part in business and official life m England. 
The island was visited by the U.S. Exploring Expedition. On August 
28, 1840, it was sighted by the Vincennes, 12 miles to the westward, m 
the early morning. After surveying Enderbury Island, tins vessel tned 
to get back for a closer look; but night settling down, they pulled away 
to avoid piling up on its low, treacherous shore in the dark. By morning 
they had drifted so far to leeward that they deemed it a waste of time to 
try to beat back. On January 11, 1841, men from the Peacock and Fly¬ 
ing Fish landed and surveyed the island, making its position 3 degrees 
34 minutes 15 seconds south, longitude 171 degrees 33 minutes west. 
Birnie was among the islands claimed by American guano interests. 
But nothing has been found to indicate that any amount of guano was 
actually dug. On December 6, 1867, the ship Kamehameha V (Captain 
Stone) reported sighting the island on its passage from Enderbury to 
McKean, but no regular stops are recorded as having been made by any 
of these supply ships. 
In giving sailing directions for the Phoenix group (published in The 
Friend, for August, 1871, page 61), Elias Hempstead, superintendent 
for the Phoenix Guano Co., on Enderbury Island, included Birnie giv¬ 
ing its position as latitude 3 degrees 34 minutes south, longitude 171 de¬ 
grees 33 minutes west. The U. S. Hydrographic Office pilot book gives 
the position as a mile farther south and two miles to the east, the longi¬ 
tude being 171 degrees 31 minutes west. 
Sir Albert F. Ellis, in his entertaining book. Adventuring in Coral 
Seas, intimates that guano was not dug on Bimie by John T. Arundel 
and Company. 
July 10, 1889, the British flag was hoisted and a protectorate de¬ 
clared. In 1899 the island was leased to the Pacific Islands Co. In 1916 
it was included among the islands leased for 87 years to Captain Allen 
of the Samoan Shipping and Trading Company. This lease was. taken 
over by Burns, Philp (South Sea). Company. In April, 1937, with the 
rest of the Phoenix group, it was placed under the jurisdiction of the 
Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. 
There is not much to tell about Birnie, for but few persons have land¬ 
ed there, and practically no use has been made of the island. Being so low 
and difficult to see, it is a menace to safe navigation, and most vess s 
carefully avoided it. 
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