 It was transferred to Australian administration in 1914, after Germany's defeat in World War I.

Nukumanu's most recent claim to fame is that it was the last place on the path of Amelia Earhart before she and her co-pilot Fred Noonan disappeared forever into the vast Pacific Ocean.Their last known position report was near the Nukumanu Islands, about 800 miles (1,300 km) into the flight.The land resources of the Nukumanu people are quite few and they grow a kind of taro and bananas.