Postage stamps and postal history of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Tuvalu. The Gilbert Islands issued stamps under that name before attaining independence on 12 July 1979 as the Republic of Kiribati. The first stamps of Kiribati were a pair issued on 19 November 1979 to mark the independence of the country. The Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau was established on 1 January 1976, which was the day the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony was dissolved and Tuvalu established as a separate British dependency. The first stamp issue was a set of provisional overprinted definitive stamps and a commemorative set of three stamps. The first postage stamp cancellation devices were put into use
Jewellery in the Pacific headdresses of different sorts are all very common items used by Polynesians to adorn themselves. Some pieces, such as the wearing of masks, are only apparent in certain areas, such as Micronesia and with the aborigines of Australia. Breast plates were worn by the Māori, as well as many other small islands in the Pacific. Belts and adornments hung off them, are mainly situated around Papua New Guinea and its neighbours, while nose piercings are also found in that area. Overall, although jewellery pieces in the Pacific are very similar amongst the island nations, they are also varied greatly and