Gilbert and Ellice Islands Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were a British protectorate from 1892 and colony from 1916 until 1 January 1976, when the islands were divided into two colonies which became independent nations shortly after. 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 countries of Kiribati and Tuvalu came into existence. The Gilbert Islands (formerly "Kingsmill Islands") are a chain of sixteen
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands belongings. Everything else was burnt, but these four sets were saved and brought to the UK by Robert Headland, BAS. The pound sterling is the official currency of the islands, and the same notes and coins are used as in the United Kingdom. For more information on British currency in the wider region, see Pound sterling in the South Atlantic and the Antarctic. The Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is .gs. Although the territory has no permanent residents, the domain suffix has some popularity for website registrations, with approximately 6 million