Chapter I Intro & Objectives - SPREP

PHOENIX ISLANDS PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN
Chapter III. Background, 2. Human Activities
Draft 1 March 2007
Bryan (1934) noted that platforms found on Manra (Sydney) were identified as Polynesian in
origin and resembled a marae or shrine.
The entire Phoenix group, especially Manra (Sydney) and Orona (Hull) had ruins that
suggested that they had been visited from both the east and west (Bryan 1941).
According to Emory (1939), Macgregor found marae on Manra (Sydney) that were similar to
those in Tahiti and the Tuamotus. These types of marae were long absent from western
Polynesia (MacGregor n.d.). The conclusion may be that the stone structures were built by
people from eastern Polynesia.
Other structures on Manra (Sydney) were not similar to marae structures in Tahiti or
Tuamotus (Emory 1939). Emory (1939) speculated that people other than Tahitians or
Tuamotuans settled for a time on both Manra (Sydney) and Orona (Hull). Emory (1939)
noted that these structures were strongly reminiscent of Caroline Islands structures. Sharp
(1956) noted that in the early 1800’s, there was no knowledge of the Marshall Islands in the
Gilbert Islands and that Marshallese were not visited by people outside the Marshall Islands.
Emory (1939) suggested that the eastern Polynesian structures were constructed after the
other structures.
Bryan (1941) reported that K.P. Emory, Bishop Museum ethnologist, concluded that there
were at least two groups of early visitors (see also Garnett 1983a). One group built the marae
or shrines typical of eastern Polynesia. The other built platforms and probably came from
Micronesia.
Carson (1998) re-examined the archeological evidence from Manra (Sydney) (26 sites) and
concluded that these sites, especially sites A and B, were related to Eastern Polynesian marae
(see Figure III-2.8). The other structures on Manra (Sydney) also shared some affinities with
the ancestral East Polynesian marae complex. Carson (1998) suggested that colonization
probably occurred between A.D. 950 to A.D. 1500.
Figure III-2.8. Map of Manra (Sydney) with Archaeological Sites A to W
(Source: Carson 1998)
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