Stacey M King – författare

I DID IT MY WAY...

When a mission to help a forgotten Pacific People and an unorthodox idea is hatched in a family''s garage and turns into a multi-million dollar global brand.

This is the inspiring story of Stacey King. An accomplished Australian entrepreneur, corporate executive and philanthropist.

How it all began and how it all ended. From the remotest villages to the rolling plains of Mongolia. Stacey forges a business path that is unique. A Cause driven juggernaut that focused on a global message to seek justice, the importance of our shared humanity and what we can all do in our lives to truly make a difference.

From her first business enterprise at 15 years of age and her unending belief that anything is possible, she shares her vision and her determination that you never give up.

This is her journey-

 The Rise & Fall of a Multi-Million Dollar Brand

The prosperity of Australia during the past century was provided by the wealth generated from the nation''s farmlands.

One of the major components of this success depended on the subsided use of super-phosphate fertilisers derived from the rich phosphate rock deposits of a small remote Pacific island.

In a period spanning eighty years, Australia was a major shareholder in a joint commercial venture with the governments of the United Kingdom and New Zealand to mine Banaba-Ocean Island. Now only twenty-five years later these historical links seem all but forgotten.

The Banabans call on the Australian government to finally address these issues and recognise their major contribution in shaping Australia''s history and agricultural industry during the 20th Century.

Te Rii ni Banaba - backbone of Banaba, is a history of Banaba, situated in the Central Pacific, once known as Ocean Island.  By recording genealogies, myths, legends, customs, culture, magic rituals and the long-kept secrets of the te Aka clan reveals the uniqueness of Banaban identity. The arrival of the I-Matang (Europeans), beachcombers, blackbirders, whalers, missionaries, and the miners in 1900, with the discovery of phosphate (guano) and a heartbreaking trail of loss, exploitation and environmental degradation from mining.  The toll of  World War II atrocities suffered during the Japanese invasion, and the subsequent forced exile of the Banabans from their homeland.  The recorded names of those tragically killed on Banaba during the War and displaced Banaban survivors who were exiled on Rabi, Fiji in 1945.

Te Rii ni Banaba - backbone of Banaba, brings to light new research, including the long-kept secrets of the mysterious te Aka clan, and the successive invasions of Banaba. Then the I-Matang (Europeans) arrived - beachcombers, blackbirders, whalers, missionaries, miners and an occupying Japanese military force during World War II. 1900 was a turning point in this sequence of events with the discovery of phosphate (guano) and a tragic trail of loss and environmental degradation from mining. The Banaban people, who were exiled from their homeland - first during the Pacific War, then to Rabi (Fiji) afterward. The names of all those Banabans tragically killed on Banaba during the War and the names of the displaced Banaban survivors who arrived on Rabi in 1945 are recorded. Although always remote and now decimated by mining, Banaba remains in the hearts of all Banabans. A key narrative in Te Rii Ni Banaba - backbone of Banaba, is the struggle by Banabans to discover their culture and identity, and the authors write, fearful that due to pressure from Fijian, I-Kiribati and western influences, future generations will no longer know or identify as Banaban.

This second edition includes additional photographs, the discovery of the missing link of the Toakira, the search for Teimanaia''s skull, identification of the landowners from the first agreements in 1900, and insights into the famous 1975 Banaban Court Case.  It also provides details of villages lost to mining for future generations to trace their genealogies and land rights.  Although remote and now decimated by mining, Banaba remains in the hearts of all Banabans.

The year is 1900, and John Williams has come to the remote Pacific island of Ocean Island (now known as Banaba) to oversee the new phosphate industry. His wife, Ella, and their two-year-old daughter, Gwennie, follow him to begin their new life.

After her initial culture shock, Ella grows to love the island and its people and to care deeply about their plight as the phosphate mining gradually destroys their beautiful home.

While John supervises hundreds of indentured workers, Ella and Gwennie get to know the Banaban people, their culture and beliefs. Tetabo, their houseboy, teaches Gwennie about his people''s magic and mysteries. John fears that his daughter is growing up like a native, but Ella refuses to send Gwennie to Australia to school.

John, while loyal to the mining company, is uneasy at his superiors'' treatment of the island and its people. Discontent and riots among the imported mine workers challenge him, the Banabans'' anxiety about the mining worries him while the changes to his family perturb him.

Nakaa''s Awakening; Land of Matang is based on the author''s researched family history. It is a story of conflicting loyalties, cultural differences and a family adjusting to a new environment while destructive mining practices threaten the near-extinction of the Banaban race.

The survival of the Banaban people into the twenty-first century is a triumph of the human spirit over industrial might. They continue to believe that good will overcome evil as they struggle to survive the wrath of the evil spirit Nakaa and his Awakening.

Yet, though Matang was lost forever, a cherished tradition said that the ancestor gods had promised to return to their children one day, wherever they might be...