Angar State

Location in the Republic of Palaos.

Angaur (Japanese: アンガウル) or Ngeaur is an island and state of Palau, located southwest of Peleliu Island at 6°54′18″N 134°08′15″E / 6.90500, 134.13750. Angaur is accessible by boat or by plane. Its official languages are English, Japanese and Angaur.

History

The first recorded sighting of Angaur, Babeldaob, Koror and Peleliu by Western explorers was made by the Spanish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos in late January 1543. At that time they were mapped as Los Arrecifes. In November and December 1710, these three islands were again visited and explored by the Spanish missionary expedition commanded by Sergeant Major Francisco Padilla aboard the patache Santísima Trinidad. Two years later they were explored in detail by the expedition of the Spanish naval officer Bernardo de Egoy.

Phosphate mining was carried out at Angaur from 1909 to 1954, originally by the Germans, then by the Japanese and finally by the Americans. Angaur is the site of a major World War II battle. The Battle of Angaur was part of the larger offensive campaign called Operation Forager, which ran from June to November 1944. Many American and Japanese battle relics remain scattered throughout the island. The 7th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion, under the command of Lt. Col. Henry R. Paige, served as a garrison force for the remainder of the war. Angaur is the only place in Micronesia that has feral monkeys; they are descended from macaques that escaped during the period of German occupation. For this reason it is also called Monkey Island.

From 1945 to 1978, the United States Coast Guard operated a LORAN transmitting station, LORSTA Palau, as part of the global LORAN navigation system.

Geography

It has an area of 8 km² and a population of 320. There are only two towns: Ngaramasch, its capital, located to the west, and Rois to the east. The island of Angaur is located to the southwest of Peleliu, and is a popular place for surfing. Angaur can be accessed by boats and small planes, and Belau Air has service to the Angaur airstrip. The eastern side of the island is mostly sandy with rocky outcrops, while the western side of the island has a small lagoon with a small fishing and shipping port.

Tourism

It is a very popular place for surfing. In 2003, the Palau National Congress legalized casino gambling on the island.

Other attractions include a cemetery for planes and ships that were destroyed in World War II, a Buddhist memorial honoring Japanese fallen in combat, and a small Japanese Shinto temple.

Politics and government

Angaur state, with a population of less than 150, has an elected chief executive, the governor. The state also has a legislature elected every two years. The population of the state elects one of the members of the House of Delegates of Palau.

Languages

Under the 1982 state constitution, the official languages of Angaur are Palauan, English and Japanese. It is the only place in the world where Japanese is a de jure official language, as it is only the de facto official language of Japan. However, the results of the 2005 census show that in April of that year there was no Japanese-speaking regular or legal resident of Angaur aged 5 or over in his home. No island resident declared themselves or was declared to be of Japanese ethnic origin. One person born (but apparently non-resident) in Angaur reported speaking Japanese and Palauan equally often at home. The 2012 mini-census showed that 7 people aged 10 and over were literate in any language other than Palauan and English for Angaur, out of a total population of 130.

Education

The Ministry of Education runs several public schools.

Angaur Primary School was established in 1945. In 1953 a new building was opened at another location. In 1966 it was moved to the original site in a new building, but later it was moved again to the second site.

Palau Secondary School in Koror is the only public secondary school in the country, so children from this community attend it.