Western Province (Solomon Islands)

Last updated
Western Province
Wes Provins (Pijin)
Province
Flag of Western Province Solomon Islands.png
Flag
Solomon Islands-Western.png
Coordinates: 8°0′S157°0′E / 8.000°S 157.000°E / -8.000; 157.000
CountryFlag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands
Capital Gizo
Government
 • Premier David Lani Gina
Area
 • Total5,475 km2 (2,114 sq mi)
Population
 (2009 census)
 • Total76,649
 • Density14/km2 (36/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+11 (+11)

Western Province is the largest of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands. The area is renowned for its beautiful tropical islands, excellent diving and snorkelling, coral reefs and World War II wrecks, ecotourism lodges, and head-hunting shrines. The province contains many small lagoons and most of the country's tourist trade outside Honiara.

Contents

History

The Methodist Mission in the Western Province was established by Rev. John Francis Goldie in 1902. [1] He dominated the mission and gained the loyalty of Solomon Islander members of his church. [2] The relationship with the colonial administrators of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate were also fraught with difficulty, at this time due to Goldie's effective control over the Western Solomon Islands. [2] [3] From 1927 to 1934 Dr Edward Sayers worked at the Methodist mission where he established hospitals at Gizo, Munda and Vella Lavella, and carried out fieldwork in the treatment of malaria. [4] It is also well known as the place where a United States Navy torpedo boat commanded by John F. Kennedy was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer during World War II.

Tourism

The provincial capital is Gizo, with a population of 7,177 (as of the 2009 Census), and the second largest town in the country. There are airports at Gizo, Munda, Seghe, Viru, Ramata, Gatokae, Ringgi Cove, Barakoma & Balalai.

The Western Province is considered the tourism mecca of the Solomon Islands, and is by far the most accommodating area, with multiple hotels and resorts, dive shops, ecotourism attractions restaurants, and boat tours.

Munda, the largest town on New Georgia island, has a landing strip built during World War II by the US and is listed as an emergency landing runway, capable of handling even jumbo jets.

The diving in the Western Province is pristine as tourists tend to visit nearby Fiji for diving rather than visiting the less developed Solomon Islands. Also, malaria is a concern in the Solomons, which keeps many tourists away. The result is spectacular dive conditions with untouched coral reefs. Munda, Uepi, and Gizo are considered some of the Western Province's best dive locations. The region supports some of the highest coral and fish diversity in the world.

The Western Province and nearby Choiseul Province were significantly affected by 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake, an 8.1 magnitude earthquake that struck on April 2, 2007 and an associated tsunami. It caused 100+ significant (in excess of magnitude 4.0) aftershocks. The official death toll was 52 with several thousand persons displaced, most of the displaced are expected to be living in temporary shelters for a minimum of between six and nine months. The island of Ranongga to the west of Gizo was uplifted by around 2.5 – 3 metres resulting in the death of its fringing reef and also opening massive fissures in the island itself. Reefs around Munda and Uepi were largely unaffected by the tsunami and earthquake.

Administrative divisions

Western Province is sub-divided into the following wards, listed with their populations at the 2009 Census:

Islands

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Munda, Solomon Islands</span>

Munda is the largest settlement on the island of New Georgia in the Western Province of Solomon Islands, and consists of a number of villages. It is located at the southwestern tip of the western end of New Georgia, and the large Roviana Lagoon is just offshore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Georgia Islands</span> Island group

The New Georgia Islands are part of the Western Province of Solomon Islands. They are located to the northwest of Guadalcanal. The larger islands are mountainous and covered in rain forest. The main islands are New Georgia, Vella Lavella, Kolombangara, Ghizo, Vangunu, Rendova and Tetepare. They are surrounded by coral reefs and include the Marovo Lagoon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Georgia</span> Largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands

New Georgia, with an area of 2,037 km2 (786 sq mi), is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 224th-largest island in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolombangara</span> One of the Solomon Islands in the south-west Pacific

Kolombangara is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the nation state of Solomon Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The name is from a local language, a rough translation of its meaning is "Water Lord" with approximately 80 rivers and streams running down its flanks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vella Lavella</span> One of the Solomon Islands in the south-west Pacific

Vella Lavella is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies to the west of New Georgia, but is considered one of the New Georgia Group. To its west are the Treasury Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tetepare Island</span> Island in Western Province, Solomon Islands

Tetepare Island is the largest uninhabited island in the South Pacific, located at 8.716667°S 157.55°E. It is a part of Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It covers approximately 118 square kilometres. Tetepare supports pristine lowland rainforest and a rich inshore marine area. Tetepare Island is identified as an area with high biodiversity and conservation values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gizo, Solomon Islands</span> Town in Western Province, Solomon Islands

Gizo is the capital of the Western Province in Solomon Islands. With a population of 7,177, it is the third largest town in the country. It is situated on Ghizo Island approximately 380 kilometres west-northwest of the capital, Honiara, and is just southwest of the larger island of Kolombangara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rendova Island</span>

Rendova is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, east of Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vangunu</span>

Vangunu is an island, part of the New Georgia Islands in the Solomon Islands. It is located between New Georgia and Nggatokae Island. To the north and east of the island is Marovo Lagoon. The island has an area of 509 square kilometres (197 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marovo Lagoon</span>

Marovo Lagoon is the largest saltwater lagoon in the world. Located in the New Georgia Islands, surrounded by Vangunu Island and Nggatokae Island, both extinct volcanic islands, at 8.48°S 158.07°E. It is part of the Solomon Islands. It encompasses 700 km2 (270 sq mi) and is protected by a double barrier reef system. Marovo Lagoon is identified as an area with high biodiversity and conservation values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranongga</span>

Ranongga is an island located in the New Georgia Islands group of Western Province, Solomon Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolombangara monarch</span> Species of bird

The Kolombangara monarch, or Brown's monarch, is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-capped monarch</span> Species of bird

The White-capped monarch, or Richards' monarch, is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the Western Province in the Solomon Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-winged fantail</span> Species of bird

The white-winged fantail or Cockerell's fantail, is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. It is found in the Solomon Islands apart from the island of Malaita in the southeast of the archipelago. The white-gorgeted fantail was formerly considered as a subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomons white-eye</span> Species of bird

The Solomons white-eye or New Georgia white-eye is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to the New Georgia Islands in the Solomon Islands. It is also known as Zosterops rendovae but this name properly refers to the grey-throated white-eye.

The family of Northwest Solomonic languages is a branch of the Oceanic languages. It includes the Austronesian languages of Bougainville and Buka in Papua New Guinea, and of Choiseul, New Georgia, and Santa Isabel in Solomon Islands.

Gizo/Kolombangara is a single-member constituency of the National Parliament of Solomon Islands. Located in Western Province and covering Gizo and Kolombangara, it was established in 1976 when the Legislative Assembly was expanded from 24 to 38 seats, with the Gizo/Ranongga/Simbo/Kolombangara constituency split into Gizo/Kolombangara and Ranongga/Simbo. Former Gizo/Ranongga/Simbo/Kolombangara MP George Ngumi contested the seat in the 1976 elections, but was defeated by Lawry Eddie Wickham.

Gizo/Ranongga/Simbo/Kolombangara was a single-member constituency of the Governing Council and Legislative Assembly. Located in Western Province, it covered the islands of Gizo, Kolombangara, Ranongga and Simbo. It was established in 1973 when the Governing Council was expanded from 17 to 24 seats, and was abolished in 1976 when the Legislative Assembly was enlarged to 38 seats, at which point it was split into Gizo/Kolombangara and Ranongga/Simbo. The constituency's sole MP, George Ngumi, contested the Gizo/Kolombangara seat in the 1976 elections, but was defeated by Lawry Eddie Wickham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coral reefs of the Solomon Islands</span>

The Coral reefs of the Solomon Islands consists of six major islands and over 986 smaller islands, in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu. The Solomon Islands lie between latitudes 5° and 13°S, and longitudes 155° and 169°E. The distance between the westernmost and easternmost islands is about 1,500 km (930 mi). The Santa Cruz Islands are situated north of Vanuatu and are especially isolated at more than 200 km (120 mi) from the other islands. The Solomon Islands has the 22nd largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 1,589,477 km2 (613,701 sq mi) of the Pacific Ocean.

References

  1. ↑ "John Francis Goldie (1870 - 1955)". Solomon Islands Historical Encyclopaedia, 1893-1978. 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 Dr. Debra McDougall (2008). "Religious institutions as Alternative Structures in post-conflict Solomon Islands: Cases from Western Province". For State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Discussion Paper Series, 08/05, Australian National University. Retrieved 4 Oct 2011.
  3. ↑ Lawrence, David Russell (October 2014). "Chapter 8 The new social order" (PDF). The Naturalist and his "Beautiful Islands": Charles Morris Woodford in the Western Pacific. ANU Press. pp. 234–235. ISBN   9781925022032.
  4. ↑ Sayers, E. G. (1943) Malaria in the South Pacific with Special Reference to the Solomon Islands. New Zealand Government Printing Office


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