1974 Ellice Islands self-determination referendum 88.4%. 1974 Ellice Islands self-determination referendum A referendum on separating from the Gilbert Islands was held in the Ellice Islands (then administered together as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands) between July and September 1974. A rolling ballot was used, starting in July in Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands before being taken to each resident of the Ellice Islands. The result was 92.8% of voters in favour of separation. In October the following year the islands were officially separated, and four years after the referendum, the islands became the independent nation of Tuvalu, whilst the Gilbert Islands became Kiribati. Voter turnout
Pacific Ocean both the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific. Its mean depth is . The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of . The western Pacific has many peripheral seas. Though the peoples of Asia and Oceania have traveled the Pacific Ocean since prehistoric times, the eastern Pacific was first sighted by Europeans