Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands,[7] also known simply as the Solomons,[8] is a country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, to the northeast of Australia. It is directly adjacent to Papua New Guinea to the northwest, Australia to the southwest, New Caledonia and Vanuatu to the southeast, Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, and Tuvalu to the east, and Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia to the north. It has a total area of 28,896 square kilometres (11,157 sq mi),[9] and a population of 734,887 according to the official estimates for mid 2023.[10] Its capital, Honiara, is located on the largest island, Guadalcanal. The country takes its name from the wider area of the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (currently a part of Papua New Guinea), but excludes the Santa Cruz Islands.
This article is about the island country in Melanesia. For the archipelago which also contains Bougainville, see Solomon Islands (archipelago).
Solomon IslandsSolomon Aelan (Pijin)
- 95.3% Melanesian
- 3.1% Polynesian
- 1.2% Micronesian
- 0.4% others
- 97.4% Christianity
- —76.6% Protestantism
- —19.0% Catholicism
- —1.8% other Christian
- 1.2% folk religions
- 1.4% others / none
Solomon Islander
7 July 1978
3.2%
734,887 (167th)
720,956
24.2/km2 (62.7/sq mi) (200th)
2023 estimate
$1.783 billion[4]
$2,410[4]
2023 estimate
$1.690 billion[4]
$2,285[4]
37.1[5]
medium
UTC+11
left
The islands have been settled since at least some time between 30,000 and 28,800 BC, with later waves of migrants, notably the Lapita people, mixing and producing the modern indigenous Solomon Islanders population. In 1568, the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to visit them.[11] Though not named by Mendaña, it is believed that the islands were called "the Solomons" by those who later received word of his voyage and mapped his discovery.[12] Mendaña returned decades later, in 1595, and another Spanish expedition, led by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, visited the Solomons in 1606.
In June 1893, Captain Herbert Gibson of HMS Curacoa, declared the southern Solomon Islands a British protectorate.[13][14] During World War II, the Solomon Islands campaign (1942–1945) saw fierce fighting between the United States, British Imperial forces, and the Empire of Japan, including the Battle of Guadalcanal.
The official name of the then-British administration was changed from the "British Solomon Islands Protectorate" to "The Solomon Islands" in 1975, and self-government was achieved the following year. Independence was obtained, and the name changed to just "Solomon Islands" (without the definite article), in 1978. At independence, Solomon Islands became a constitutional monarchy. The King of Solomon Islands is Charles III, who is represented in the country by a governor-general.
Name[edit]
In 1568, the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to visit the Solomon Islands archipelago but did not name the archipelago at that time, only certain individual islands. Though not named by Mendaña, the islands were subsequently referred to as Islas Salomón (Solomon Islands) by others following reports of his voyage optimistically conflated with stories of the wealthy biblical King Solomon, believing them to be the Bible-mentioned city of Ophir.[11][15][16] During most of the colonial period, the territory's official name was the "British Solomon Islands Protectorate" until independence in 1978, when it was changed to "Solomon Islands" as defined in the Constitution of Solomon Islands and as a Commonwealth realm under this name.[17][18]
The definite article, "the", has not been part of the country's official name since independence but remains for all references to the area pre-independence and is sometimes used, both within and outside the country. Colloquially, the islands are referred to simply as "the Solomons".[8]
The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) under aerial attack during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons
Members of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force in 1943.
Infrastructure[edit]
Flight connections[edit]
Solomon Airlines connects Honiara International Airport to Nadi in Fiji, Port Vila in Vanuatu and Brisbane in Australia as well as to more than 20 domestic airports in each province of the country. To promote tourism Solomon Airlines introduced a weekly direct flight connection between Brisbane and Munda in 2019.[158] Virgin Australia connects Honiara to Brisbane twice a week. Most of the domestic airports are accessible to small planes only as they have short, grass runways.
Roads[edit]
The road system in Solomon Islands is insufficient and there are no railways. The most important roads connect Honiara to Lambi (58 km; 36 miles) in the western part of Guadalcanal and to Aola (75 km; 47 miles) in the eastern part.[159] There are few buses and these do not circulate according to a fixed timetable. In Honiara there is no bus terminus. The most important bus stop is in front of the Central Market.
Ferries[edit]
Most of the islands can be reached by ferry from Honiara. There is a daily connection from Honiara to Auki via Tulagi by a high speed catamaran.
Laundry basket
Carved fish
Bukhaware trays
Carved dish inlaid with mother-of-pearl
Carved longboat
Gnusu gnusu heads
Salad bowl and serving spoon and fork
Wooden religious objects in front of All Saints' Church, Honiara
