History of the Pacific Islands as British protectorate by a Resident Commissioner from 1892 to 1916 as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT), and later as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony from 1916 to 1974. A referendum was held in December 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration. As a consequence of the referendum, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony ceased to exist on 1 January 1976 and the separate British colonies of Kiribati and Tuvalu came into existence. Tuvalu became fully independent within the Commonwealth on 1 October 1978. On
Flag of the Gambier Islands Flag of the Gambier Islands The Flag of the Gambier Islands is the flag of the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean administered by France. In 1837, the seaman Armand Mauruc requested that King Maputeoa adopt a Gambier national flag to commence trade. The flag of the Gambier Islands is horizontally divided white-blue-white with five stars placed 2 (blue stars in the upper white stripe), 1 (white star in the middle blue stripe) and 2 (blue stars in the upper white stripe). The four blue stars in the corners represent the islands of Mangareva, Taravai, Aukena and