Tarawa island is central to Kiribati mythology and culture, but life on South Tarawa was little different to that on other islands before it was selected in 1895 as the seat of colonial government for the Protectorate of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. From 1906 to 1942, Ocean Island was the headquarters of the colony, then Funafuti because of the Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands until 1946, when it returned to Tarawa.