Gilbert and Ellice Islands 12 January 1916 by the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Order in Council, 1915. Fanning Island and Washington Island also became included in the colony together with the islands of the Union Islands (now known as Tokelau); Christmas Island was included in 1919 but was contested by the U.S. under its Guano Islands Act of 1856. The Union Islands were transferred to New Zealand in 1926. The Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony continued to be administered by a Resident Commissioner. In 1930 the Resident Commissioner, Arthur Grimble, issued revised laws, "Regulations for the good Order and Cleanliness of the Gilbert and
Postage stamps and postal history of the Marshall Islands Postage stamps and postal history of the Marshall Islands This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Marshall Islands. The "Republic of the Marshall Islands" (RMI) is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. The islands first used German stamps in 1888, with overprinted German stamps for the Marshall Islands becoming available in 1897. Stamps of German Marshall Islands were also valid in Nauru. After WWI, as part of mandated territory, stamps of Japan were