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Western Province (Solomon Islands)
Encyclopedia
Western Province is the largest of the provinces
of the Solomon Islands
. The area is renowned for its beautiful tropical islands, excellent diving and snorkelling, coral reefs and WWII wrecks, ecotourism lodges, and head-hunting shrines. The province contains many small lagoon
s and most of the country's tourist
trade (outside of Honiara
).
Mission in the Western Province was established by Rev. John Frances Goldie in 1902. He dominated the mission and gained the loyalty of Solomon Islander members of his church. The relationship with the colonial administrators of the British Solomon lsland Protectorate were also fraught with difficulty, at this time due to Goldie’s effective control over the Western Solomon Islands. From 1927 to 1934 Dr Edward Sayers
worked at the Methodist
mission where he established a hospital at Gizo, and also at Munda and Vella Lavella
, and carried out fieldwork in the treatment of malaria
.
The Western Province is considered the tourism mecca of the Solomon Islands, and is by far the most accommodating area, with multiple hotel
s and resort
s, dive shops, ecotourism attractions restaurant
s, and boat
tours.
Munda, the largest town on New Georgia island, has a landing strip built during WWII 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
, a 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 6 to 9 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.
Most of the troubles that affect the country have had minimal impact in the Western Province, which saw no major violence
during the revolution
.
Provinces of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is currently divided into 9 provinces. The national capital, Honiara, on the island of Guadalcanal, is separately governed as Capital Territory.-History:...
of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. The area is renowned for its beautiful tropical islands, excellent diving and snorkelling, coral reefs and WWII wrecks, ecotourism lodges, and head-hunting shrines. The province contains many small lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
s and most of the country's tourist
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
trade (outside of Honiara
Honiara
Honiara, population 49,107 , 78,190 , is the capital of the Solomon Islands and of Guadalcanal Province, although it is a separately administered town...
).
History
The MethodistMethodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
Mission in the Western Province was established by Rev. John Frances Goldie in 1902. He dominated the mission and gained the loyalty of Solomon Islander members of his church. The relationship with the colonial administrators of the British Solomon lsland Protectorate were also fraught with difficulty, at this time due to Goldie’s effective control over the Western Solomon Islands. From 1927 to 1934 Dr Edward Sayers
Edward Sayers (doctor)
Sir Edward George Sayers was a New Zealand doctor, , Methodist missionary, military medical administrator, consultant physician then Dean of the University of Otago Dunedin School of Medicine,...
worked at the Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
mission where he established a hospital at Gizo, and also at Munda and Vella Lavella
Vella Lavella
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...
, and carried out fieldwork in the treatment of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
.
Tourism
The provincial capital is Gizo, a town of around 3000. 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 hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s and resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
s, dive shops, ecotourism attractions restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, and boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
tours.
Munda, the largest town on New Georgia island, has a landing strip built during WWII 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
Choiseul Province
The Choiseul Province is one of the nine provinces of the Solomon Islands. It lies between the island of Bougainville and Santa Isabel in the west of the Solomon Islands....
were significantly affected by 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake
2007 Solomon Islands earthquake
The 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake took place on 2 April 2007, near the provincial capital of Gizo on Ghizo Island, in the Solomon Islands. Its magnitude was calculated by the United States Geological Survey as being at 8.1 on the moment magnitude scale...
, a 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 6 to 9 months. The island of Ranongga
Ranongga
Ranongga is an island located in the New Georgia Islands group of Western Province, Solomon Islands.-History:Ranongga was sighted in 1787 by sailors Read and Dale....
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.
Most of the troubles that affect the country have had minimal impact in the Western Province, which saw no major violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
during the revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
.
Islands
- FaisiFaisiFaisi is a small island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.-History:During World War II it was first island in the Solomons which was occupied by Japanese forces.-Geography:...
- Fauro IslandFauro IslandFauro Island is an island, part of the Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands, located at ....
- Gizo
- GhoiGhoiGhoi is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- KavachiKavachiKavachi is one of the most active submarine volcanoes in the south-west Pacific Ocean. Located south of Vangunu Island in the Solomon Islands, it is named after a sea god of the New Georgia Group islanders, and is also referred to locally as Rejo te Kavachi...
- Kennedy IslandKennedy IslandKennedy Island is an island in the Solomon Islands that was named after John F. Kennedy. The island is remembered to be the area Lt. John F. Kennedy had aided his injured crew after his boat, the PT-109, was rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri in World War II...
- KiambeKiambeKiambe is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- KingguruKingguruKingguru is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- KohinggoKohinggoKohinggo is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- KolombangaraKolombangaraKolombangara is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the Solomon Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean...
- LiapariLiapariLiapari is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- LoghaLoghaLogha is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- Lola IslandLola IslandLola Island is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- Marovo IslandMarovo IslandMarovo Island is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- Marovo LagoonMarovo LagoonMarovo Lagoon is the largest saltwater lagoon in the world. It is located in the New Georgia Islands, north of Vangunu Island, at .There are many islands in the lagoon, some of which are inhabited. The people live mainly by subsistence agriculture and fishing and speak the Marovo language. The...
- MatikuriMatikuriMatikuri is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- MbavaMbavaMbava is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- MborokuaMborokuaMborokua is an uninhabited, jungle-covered volcanic island 30 km west of the Russell Islands. It is occasionally visited by local fishermen, as well as by dive tours.-External links:* from Google Maps...
- Mbulo IslandMbulo IslandMbulo is an island in Western Province, Solomon Islands. Lying in the eastern part of the New Georgia Islands, Mbulo is heavily forested with a volcanic center.-External links:***...
- MondomondoMondomondoMondomondo is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- Mono IslandMono IslandMono Island is the largest island of the Treasury Islands, Solomon Islands, at .- Geography :Mono island is a volcanic island in the northwest of the Solomon Islands. It is separated by the Blanche Harbour from Stirling Island and the other coral islands surrounding it. The village of Falamai is...
- Nakaza
- New GeorgiaNew GeorgiaNew Georgia is the largest island of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.-Geography:This island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of the other larger islands in the province...
- Nggatokae
- NusatupeNusatupeNusatupe is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- RanonggaRanonggaRanongga is an island located in the New Georgia Islands group of Western Province, Solomon Islands.-History:Ranongga was sighted in 1787 by sailors Read and Dale....
- Rendova
- Shortland IslandShortland IslandShortland Island is the largest island of the Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands, at . Named by John Shortland....
- SimboSimboSimbo is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province. It was known to early Europeans as Eddystone Island. Simbo is actually two main islands, one small island called Nusa Simbo separated by a saltwater lagoon from a larger one...
- Stirling IslandStirling IslandStirling Island is the smaller island of the Treasury Islands, Solomon Islands, at . It is separated from the largest Mono Island by Blanche Harbor. Stirling Island is composed of coral which was once part of the barrier reef surrounding Mono Island....
- TelinaTelinaTelina is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....
- Tetepare
- Vella LavellaVella LavellaVella 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...
- UepiUepiUepi is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province, noted for its high quality blue-water drop-off scuba diving....
- VangunuVangunuVangunu Island is an island, part of the New Georgia Islands in the Solomon Islands. It is located between New Georgia and Nggatokae Island, at , between the islands of New Georgia and Nggatokae. In the north of the island is Lake Marovo, the largest salt water in the world....
- VonavonaVonavonaVonavona is an island in the Solomon Islands; it is located in the Western Province....