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
Tommy Noonan half-brother of actor John Ireland. Noonan was the son of Michael James Noonan and Grace Ferguson. His father was a vaudeville comedian and a native of Galway County, Ireland. His mother, a piano teacher, was from Glasgow, Scotland. He attended New York University. In 1934, Noonan and Ireland made their stage debuts with a New York-based experimental theater. They later appeared together in three films, including "I Shot Jesse James" (1949). Noonan had a repertory company of his own prior to World War II. On Broadway, Noonan appeared in "How to Make a Man" (1960) and "Men to the Sea"