1974 Gilbert and Ellice Islands general election 1974 Gilbert and Ellice Islands general election General elections were held in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands on 4 April 1974. All candidates ran as independents. The system of government was changed again prior to the 1974 elections; the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Order 1974 replaced the Legislative Council with a 31-member House of Assembly, including 28 elected members and three ex officio members. A Council of Ministers replaced the Executive Council, and consisted of the Chief Minister elected by the House of Assembly and six ministers. Following the elections, Naboua Ratieta was appointed the territory's first Chief Minister. When
Geology of the Pacific Ocean . The Pacific Ocean developed from the Panthalassa, a vast global ocean, following the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea in the Mesozoic Era, gradually forming Gondwana and Laurasia, which in turn divided. There is no firm date for when the changeover occurred, as the replacement of the sea bed is a continuous process, though reconstruction maps often change the name from Panthalassic to Pacific around the time the Atlantic Ocean began to open. The Panthalassic Ocean first opened around 750 million years ago at the breakup of Rodinia, but the oldest Pacific Ocean floor is only around 180 Ma old.