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
Athletics at the Pacific Ocean Games Athletics at the Pacific Ocean Games At the 1995 Pacific Ocean Games, the athletics events were held at the Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero in Cali, Colombia from June 24 to July 2. A total of 31 events were contested, of which 14 by male and 17 by female athletes. The athletics competition did not attract many of the highest level athletes from the Pacific Rim countries and the host nation athletes were foremost among in the medallists. Colombia topped the medal table with 14 gold medals and 41 medals overall. The United States won the next highest number of gold