David’s Drill Memorial

The story behind the place

At Te Vili O Tavita, or David’s Drill, a modest marker recalls Royal Society drilling expeditions to Funafuti between 1896 and 1898. The work investigated the subsurface structure of a coral atoll in the long debate over Darwin’s theory of atoll formation. Edgeworth David led the 1897 expedition. The International Union of Geological Sciences recognises the site’s place in the history of geoscience—a large scientific question remembered by a small local monument.

Find David’s Drill Memorial on the map, record the discovery in your travel journal and continue exploring nearby places.