Rennell and Bellona is one of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands, comprising two inhabited atolls, Rennell and Bellona, or Mu Ngava and Mu Ngiki respectively in Rennellese, as well as the uninhabited Indispensable Reef. Rennell and Bellona are both Polynesian-inhabited islands within the predominantly Melanesian Solomons. They are thus considered Polynesian outliers. The first known European to sight the islands was Mathew Boyd of Camberwell, London, commander of the merchant ship, Bellona, in 1793. The province has a combined population of 3,041. The Samoic language of the islands is, in English texts, called Rennellese. The capital is Tigoa on Rennell Island.
Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira was a Spanish navigator. Born in Congosto, in El Bierzo Region (León), he was the nephew of Lope García de Castro, viceroy of Peru. He is best known for the two voyages of discovery he led into the Pacific in 1567 and 1595 in search of Terra Australis.
Sir Peter Kenilorea KBE was a Solomon Islander politician, officially styled The Rt Hon. Sir Peter Kenilorea as a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.
The Solomon Sea is a sea located within the Pacific Ocean. It lies between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Many major battles were fought there during World War II.
The Choiseul Province is one of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands. It lies southeast of Bougainville (part of Papua New Guinea, west of Santa Isabel and north of Vella la Vella, Kolombangra & New Georgia. In the 2009 national census its population is 26,372.
Isabel Province is one of the provinces of Solomon Islands. The province had a population of around 26,158 in 2009., mostly concentrated on the main island, Santa Isabel Island. The capital of the province is Buala on Santa Isabel Island, which has scheduled airline services to Honiara on Solomon Airlines from Fera Airport, on Fera Island, a 15-minute boat ride from Buala.
The Northern Solomons were the more northerly group of islands in the Solomon Islands archipelago over which Germany declared a protectorate in 1885. Initially the German Solomon Islands Protectorate included Choiseul, Santa Isabel, the Shortlands and Ontong Java Islands, but in 1900 these islands were transferred to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. The largest of the Solomon Islands, Bougainville, continued under German administration until World War I when it fell to Australia, and after the war, it formally passed to Australian jurisdiction under a League of Nations mandate.
The National Parliament of Solomon Islands has 50 members, elected for a four-year term in 50 single-seat constituencies.
San Jorge Island is the second largest island in the Isabel Province, Solomon Islands.
Varian Lonamei is a member of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands. He represents a constituency from Isabel Province, and currently serves as the Minister for Aviation, Communication and Meteorology for the Solomon Islands.
Samuel Manetoali is a member of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands. He represents the Gao/Bugotu constituency in Isabel Province. He attended Lepi Primary School and then went on to do his secondary education at the prestigious King George Sixth National School in Honiara. He attended law school at the University of Papua New Guinea and graduated with an LLB degree and further unspecified qualifications from the University of Tasmania and University of South Australia. Prior to entering politics he worked in the country's Public Solicitors Office, then he worked as a private lawyer and a legal adviser to the Isabel Provincial Government. He first entered parliament in the 2006 general election and re-elected in the 2010 general election.. He served as the Solomon Islands' Minister of Police, National Security and Correctional Services in Prime Minister Derek Sikua's Cabinet until May 2009, when he was transferred to the position of Minister for Lands, Survey, and Housing. Following the 2010 general election, he remained in Cabinet, under new Prime Minister Danny Philip, as Minister for Tourism and Culture. In this year's (2014) general election which was held on the 19th November, he was voted in again for the third term with a landslide victory.. He contested as an independent candidate in last week's election.. As a lawyer, many people had expected more from him seeing that many world leaders including Barack Obama and Tony Abott are lawyers by profession and he appears to be a potential candidate for the prime minister's post given his experience as a politician and his noble profession. His current success in the recent election could be attributed to projects such as mini-fisheries projects that he established in the various villages in his constituency. He also helped the villages and communities by giving handouts such as roofing irons, outboard motor engines, fiber boats, solar panels, cash money and other form of support as a way to maintain and broaden his support. He also supported local tourism in his constituency by giving financial help to tourism operators such as on Sigana Island,albeit, tourism is still at its infant stage in his constituency. His other elixir to maintain his popularity and support is through facilitating and sending Bamboo Bands/groups notably the Hageulu bamboo band overseas for the promotion of tourism and culture for the country and he managed to do that in his capacity as the minister of Tourism and Culture in the Lilo-led government. He was also instrumental in establishing the Gao-Bugotu Cultural Festival initially held in Huali Village in Gao and in Sepi/Lepi Villages in Bugotu. He also appears to be a down to earth person as whenever he visited villages he always have time to talk, chat and mingle with youths and young people. Furthermore, he loves to chew betlenut and a frequent smoker and during his visit to the villages, he often shared betlenut, smokes and at times bought alcohol or beer for the young people or his supporters. From observation, he has done many things better than his predecessors, however, he should have done more especially in asking or lobbying in the government for national projects such as building of a vehicle road which is key to development in Isabel which is also the longest island in the country with barely no vehicle road. As lobbying for the formation of the new government intensifies, it is unsure which political grouping or camp he is part of but it would not be surprising if he teamed up with a likely PM contender Manasseh Maelanaga as they were said to be close allies.
Sikopo is an island in the Solomon Islands; part of the Arnarvon Islands in Isabel Province. It lies in Manning Strait, which is between Choiseul Island and Santa Isabel Island, and which connects New Georgia Sound to the Pacific. The strait is named for Captain Edward Manning, of Pitt, who was the first European to sail through the straits and chart it in 1792.
East Honiara is a parliamentary constituency electing one representative to the National Parliament of Solomon Islands. With an electorate of 30,049 in 2006, it is by far the most heavily populated constituency in the country, being the only one to consist in more than 20,000 voters. It is one of three parliamentary constituencies in the country's capital city, Honiara - the other two being Central Honiara and West Honiara.
Aoke/Langalanga, also known as Auki/Langalanga, is a parliamentary constituency electing one representative to the National Parliament of Solomon Islands. It is one of fourteen constituencies in Malaita Province. It is also a relatively new constituency, having been established for the Fifth Parliament in 1993. It had an electorate of 7,365 in 2006.
North East Guadalcanal is a parliamentary constituency electing one representative to the National Parliament of Solomon Islands. It is one of eight constituencies in Guadalcanal Province. It had an electorate of 5,584 in 2006.
'Are'are was a single-member constituency of the Governing Council and Legislative Assembly of the Solomon Islands. Created in 1973 when the Governing Council was expanded from 17 to 24 seats, it was located on the island of Malaita. In the 1973 elections the seat was won by David Kausimae, who had been elected in the South Central Malaita constituency in the 1970 elections, defeating defeated Peter Kenilorea. It was abolished in 1976 and succeeded by East 'Are'are and West 'Are'are.
