Nikumaroro structures from the abortive Arundel coconut plantation and were rescued after several days on the island. The devastated wreck of the "Norwich City" was a prominent landmark on the reef for 70 years, although by 2007, only the ship's keel, engine, and two large tanks remained. A Digital Globe satellite image taken November 15, 2016, shows one of the two tanks pushed inland by wave action, and the engine is now gone. Amelia Earhart attempted her world flight in 1937, but she and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared after the plane left Lae, New Guinea, and headed for Howland Island. Nikumaroro
Western New Guinea Allied forces gained control of the region through four-phase campaign from neighbouring Papua New Guinea. The United States constructed a headquarters for MacArthur at Hollandia (Jayapura) intended as a staging point for operations taking of the Philippines. Papuan men and resources were used to support the Allied war effort in the Pacific. After the war's end the Dutch regained possession of the region. Since the early twentieth century, Indonesian nationalists had sought an independent Indonesia based on all Dutch colonial possessions in the Indies, including western New Guinea. In December 1949, the Netherlands recognised Indonesian sovereignty over the Dutch East