Length7h 6m
About this audiobook
Imagine a resource-rich homeland invaded by outsiders who see only profit beneath the soil. That is not just the plot of Avatar—it is the true story of Banaba, an island whose people were displaced so foreign powers could mine its phosphate, like Pandora’s unobtanium.
Like the Na’vi, the Banabans faced corporate power backed by empire. Through profoundly unequal bargaining, they surrendered mining rights for a tiny share of the wealth created. Australia, New Zealand, and Britain took the rewards. Mining left Banaba a wasteland of limestone pinnacles and, in 1945, its people were relocated to Rabi Island, Fiji.
The Banabans of Rabi examines the social and economic forces that have kept the Banabans materially poor, while their culture has endured with remarkable richness and resilience.
Essential listening for Australians and New Zealanders confronting their countries' roles; for Fijians living alongside a displaced people; and Brits and Americans interested in empire and exploitation
Audiobook details
GenreBusiness and Economics, History
Length7 hrs 6 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateAug 19, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2CHAPTER 1. AUSTRALIA! IN NEED OF FERTILIZER!
3CHAPTER 2. THE MAKING OF SOUTH PACIFIC SUPERPHOSPHATE
4CHAPTER 3. EARLY PHOSPHATE PROSPECTING DAYS
5CHAPTER 4. TURN OF THE CENTURY GEOPOLITICS
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6CHAPTER 5. ALBERT ELLIS’S FRUITFUL PROSPECTING, AND MASTERFUL NEGOTIATION
7CHAPTER 6. THE BANABANS, THE RIGHT AND PROPER OWNERS OF OCEAN ISLAND
8CHAPTER 7. BANABAN SOCIAL STRUCTURES
9CHAPTER 8. CHRISTIANITY AND ECONOMIC UTILITY
10CHAPTER 9. OCEAN ISLAND’S UNWANTED MARRIAGE TO THE GILBERT ISLANDS
11CHAPTER 10. TIME TO BARGAIN
12CHAPTER 11. NAURU – OCEAN ISLAND’S NEIGHBOUR
13CHAPTER 12. OCEAN ISLAND AND NAURU DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES
14CHAPTER 13. THE EARLY DAYS OF THE BPC
15CHAPTER 14. BULLY-BOY TACTICS
16CHAPTER 15. 30 AUGUST 1942
17CHAPTER 16. PLANNING A MOVE
18CHAPTER 17. RABI – A PRIVATELY-OWNED ISLAND
19CHAPTER 18. PIONEER DAYS ON RABI
20CHAPTER 19. THE POLITICS OF RABI
21CHAPTER 20. INDEPENDENCE AND COMPENSATION TALKS
22CHAPTER 21. TIME TO GO TO COURT
23CHAPTER 22. INDEPENDENCE FOR KIRIBATI
24CHAPTER 23. KIRIBATI AND OCEAN ISLAND
25CHAPTER 24. BANABANS IN FIJI
26CHAPTER 25. A REFUGEE’S TALE
27CHAPTER 26. FOLLOW THE MONEY
28CHAPTER 27. ECONOMIC INVESTMENTS
29CHAPTER 28. WHAT INVESTMENTS WOULD MAKE SENSE?
30CHAPTER 29. POVERTY ON RABI
31CHAPTER 30. NAURU, RICHER THAN FIJI, RICHER THAN KIRIBATI
32CHAPTER 31. PIGEONHOLING
33CHAPTER 32. THE BANABAN COMMUNITY DEFINED
34CHAPTER 33. CULTURE: THE BANABAN’S SECRET WEAPON
35CHAPTER 34. WHY DON’T THE RABIANS JUST BECOME FIJIAN?
36CHAPTER 35. THE ECONOMICS OF HOPE
37CHAPTER 36. STILL FIGHTING
38CHAPTER 37. MINING AGAIN
39CHAPTER 38. THE EPILOGUE
40CHAPTER 39 - CODA
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