Description

A History of the Tramways of Ocean Island and Nauru
By David Jehan

Softcover | 144 pages | A4 size
Includes 195 photographs, 16 maps, plans and diagrams, plus references

Nauru and Ocean Island lie in the Pacific Ocean, just south of the equator and about 3,000 km north-east of Brisbane. For much of the 20th century, their main industry was phosphate mining—used in the production of superphosphate fertiliser.

This book traces the history of that industry—from the discovery of phosphate to its development, management, and the everyday lives of those who worked on the islands.

Central to the mining operation were narrow-gauge tramways, which moved phosphate from the mines to the jetties. On Ocean Island, 2 ft (610 mm) gauge lines used mostly German steam locomotives and British internal combustion engines. Nauru began with similar equipment but later upgraded to 3 ft gauge and eventually adopted Australian diesel-hydraulic locomotives in the 1950s.

This detailed history covers both the tramways and the industrial story behind them.