ABSTRACT
Kiribati consists of a three-island group: the Gilbert Islands, the Line Islands, and the Phoenix Islands. In 1995, The Republic of Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territories lie in the same time zone as the Gilbert Islands group. On July 12, 1979, Kiribati obtained its own independence from the United Kingdom and became a republic within the Commonwealth. Independence was granted to the Gilbert, Phoenix and Line Islands in 1979 as the Republic of Kiribati. The International Date Line passes through Kiribati, but the Government of Kiribati has legislated that the Line and Phoenix Islands will observe the same date as the Gilbert Islands. Christmas Island was surveyed by the RNZN, British Military Survey, and contract staff between 1941 and the 1960s, and by the Kiribati Survey Department in 1979/80.
