The Islands of Mile Atoll
A Photo Essay
by Dirk HR Spennemann


The weck of a 1970s or 1980s fishing vessel on the southwestern ocean reef of Mile Island, Mile Atoll. The bow of the ship remains near the reef's edge, while the stern and the bulk of the hull has disappeared into deep water. Wave action has pushed a section of the hull has been pushed towards the shore.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Aerial view of a household near the northern tip of Mile Island.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

The beach at Lukunor Island, Mile Atoll, looking west.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Aerial view of the centre of Mile village on the lagoonal shore of Mile Island. The large building is the church.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

A Modern sailing canoe tipnol at the beach of Mile Island, Mile Atoll. Photographed in 1991.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Cassava growing in sandy soil on Tokowa Island
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Modern Pandanus-covered hut on Tokowa Island, Mile Atoll. Note the comparatively ill-designed roof. Photograph taken in 1991.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Stepping stone at the entrance of a modern Pandanus-covered hut on Tokowa Island, Mile Atoll.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Stone-lined well accessing the ground water lens on Tokowa Island, Mile Atoll. Note the coral gravel spread around the well to prevent dirt from contaminating the water supply.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Close-up of the stone-lined well accessing the ground water lens on Tokowa Island, Mile Atoll. The well wall is made up of flat coral slabs and pieces of beachrock.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

A house made from floatsam and wreckage. Lukunor Island, Mile Atoll
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Typical scene on Mile Island, Mile Atoll. A modern house erected on the remains of a Japanese WWII foundation. Shown is the cooking shelter
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Small cemetery on Arbar Island, Mile Atoll. Note the grave surrounds delineated by WWII-era Japanese beer bottles as well as modern Japanese glass net floats.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Small cemetery on Arbar Island, Mile Atoll. Close-up of a grave surround delineated by WWII-era Japanese beer bottles as well as modern Japanese glass net floats.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Small cemetery on Arbar Island, Mile Atoll. Close-up of a grave surround delineated by WWII-era Japanese beer bottles as well as modern Japanese glass net floats.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

A bottle containing a page ton from the bible and suspended in a tree to ward off evil spirits. Photographed in 1991 on a small uninhabited islet on the eastern rim of Mile Atoll. The islet is occasionally used as a base for fishing.
(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

A game board fashioned from a coral slab. Arbar Island, Mile Atoll.
(The lens cap has a diameter of 50mm)
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

A droptank of a F-86 Sabre jet fighter, reused as a watertank
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Typical scene on Mile Island, Mile Atoll. A modern house in the background with a small family cemetery. In the foreground are the remains of a Japanese WWII personnel shelter and machine gun position.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Bwiro (fermented breadfruit) being processed. Mile Island, Mile Atoll.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Parts of Japanese WWII radio mast re-used as the bell tower of the main church on Mile Island, Mile Atoll.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Parts of Japanese WWII radio mast re-used as the bell tower of the main church on Mile Island, Mile Atoll
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

An empty oxygen bottle suspended from a tree serves as the school bell. Mile Island, Mile Atoll
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

The axles salvaged from the WWII era narraow gauge rail on Mile Island, have been refashioned into a weight set.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)

Abandoned semi-trailer tanker truck at the building site for the Ebadon airstrip, Mile Atoll.
Photographed in 1991.

(Photograph © 1989-2001 Dirk HR Spennemann)




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Bibliographic citation for this document

Spennemann, Dirk H.R. (2002). The Islands and Environment of Mile Atoll--A Photo Essay. URL: http:/marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/Environment/MileIslands.html

CONTACT:
Dirk H.R. Spennemann, Institute of Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, P.O.Box 789, Albury NSW 2640, Australia.
e-mail: dspennemann@csu.edu.au


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