Hermit Islands

Not to be confused with Hermit Island.

The Hermit Islands are a group of 17^[1] islands within the Western Islands of the Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea. Their coordinates are 1°30′S 145°4′E.^[1]

Location of Hermit Islands at top left

History

Nautical chart, Hermit Islands on bottom part

The first sighting by Europeans of Hermit islands was by the Spanish navigator Iñigo Órtiz de Retes on 29 July 1545 when on board of the carrack San Juan tried to return from Tidore to New Spain. He charted them as La Caimana (a female caiman in Spanish).^[2] When passing by, Ortiz de Retes reported that some natives got near the ship who flung arrows by hand without bows, that were made of flint suitable for striking fire.^[3] These islands belong to Micronesian outliers.

World War II

On 17 June 1944, after returning from a bombing mission, 11 aircrew were bailed out from the B-24 Liberator Dropsnoot over the Hermit Islands and landed in rough seas approximately two miles from the southeast of Jalun Island. Four drowned, while the other seven were cared for by natives until being rescued.

References

1. The Wuvulu Web Site - Geographical Names in the Western Islands
2. Coello, Francisco "Conflicto hispano-alemán" Boletín de Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid, t.XIX. 2º semestre 1885, Madrid, p.317.
3. Sharp, Andrew The discovery of the Pacific Islands Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1960, p.31.