Nabetari

Who is Nabetari?

Nabetari is a Gilbertese native who impressed several senior Allied officers with his successful attempt on or about 4 April 1944 to escape from the Second World War Japanese occupation of the Nauru. Nabetari made a record ocean voyage in a small fishing canoe to the Gilbert Islands, about 240 miles to the east. In November, after seven months on the ocean, he was washed up on the reef of the Ninigo Island close to Manus, the largest of the Admiralty Islands archipelago. He was later flown to Tarawa to provide information about the Japanese troops on the Nauru. Nabetari covered a total of 1,500 miles during his escape.