From 1900 to 1980 a phosphate company, British Phosphate Commissioners, owned by Australia, New Zealand and Britain mined the island of Banaba in what is now the Republic of Kiribati. The phosphate was manufactured into superphosphate fertiliser and applied to farms across Australia. As a result, the island was rendered uninhabitable and the Banabans were relocated to the island of Rabi in Fiji. Dr Katerina Teaiwa (Banaba/FJ/AUS) and exhibition curator Yuki Kihara (Samoa/NZ) bring together rare historical archives and new work that sheds light on this little known Australian history and its ongoing impact on Pacific communities. Presented by Carriageworks.

Banaban Man and Canoe in front of Canoe House, 1936. Photo courtesy of the National Archives of Australia, British Phosphate Commissioners CA244