“…7 Unlike the communal landownership of the Gilbertese Islands, in Banaba, all land was owned by the individual and a strict system of inheritance observed by the community: 8 the eldest child, regardless of gender, generally inherited the greatest share of the land. 9 The discovery of phosphate in Banaba is attributed to Arthur Ellis, a young geologist at the Pacific Islands Company (PIC), later named the Pacific Phosphate Company, based in Sydney. Ellis traced an office-'doorstop' rock back to the island.…”