Solomon Islands
A scattered archipelago of about 1,000 mountainous islands and low-lying coral atolls, the Solomon Islands lie east of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia in the south Pacific. The islands include Guadalcanal, Malaita, Santa Isabel, San Cristóbal, Choiseul, New Georgia, and the Santa Cruz group. Government: Parliamentary democracy. Population (2014 est.): 609,883. Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Honiara (on Guadalcanal) 68,000. Monetary unit: Solomon Islands dollar. Languages: English 1%–2% (official), Melanesian pidgin (lingua franca), 120 indigenous languages. Ethnicity/race: Melanesian 95.3%, Polynesian 3.1%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 0.3% (2009 est.). Religions: Protestant 73.4% (Church of Melanesia 31.9%, South Sea Evangelical 17.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 11.7%, United Church 10.1%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.5%), Roman Catholic 19.6%, other Christian 2.9%, other 4%, none 0.03%, unspecified 0.1% (2009 est.).
It is thought that people have lived in the Solomon Islands since at least 2000 B.C. Explored in 1568 by Alvaro de Mendana of Spain, the Solomons were not visited again for about 200 years. In 1886, Great Britain and Germany divided the islands between them, but later Britain was given control of the entire territory. The Japanese invaded the islands in World War II, and they were the scene of some of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific theater, most famously the battle of Guadalcanal. The British gained control of the island again in 1945. In 1976 the islands became self-governing and gained independence in 1978. A magnitude 8.0 earthquake and tsunami struck the Solomon Islands in April 2007, killing at least 20 people and destroying villages. Source: www.infoplease.com
Honiara
capital of the Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean. The town is situated at the mouth of the Mataniko River on the north coast of Guadalcanal. A port and communications centre, it trades chiefly in coconuts, timber, fish, and some gold (from Gold Ridge in the centre of the island). Honiara International Airport is located approximately 10 miles (16 km) east of the town. Prior to World War II, Honiara did not exist; it developed around the site of the U.S. military headquarters. In 1952 it officially replaced Tulagi as the capital of the Solomons. Government buildings are on a narrow coastal strip behind Point Cruz. In the 1960s the government, together with the private sector, began an extensive development program in the new capital. The first multistory buildings appeared in the 1980s. In 2006, amid an ongoing period of political instability, Honiara’s Chinatown sustained severe damage in postelection rioting. Pop. (2009) 64,609. Source: www.britannica.com
A scattered archipelago of about 1,000 mountainous islands and low-lying coral atolls, the Solomon Islands lie east of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia in the south Pacific. The islands include Guadalcanal, Malaita, Santa Isabel, San Cristóbal, Choiseul, New Georgia, and the Santa Cruz group. Government: Parliamentary democracy. Population (2014 est.): 609,883. Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Honiara (on Guadalcanal) 68,000. Monetary unit: Solomon Islands dollar. Languages: English 1%–2% (official), Melanesian pidgin (lingua franca), 120 indigenous languages. Ethnicity/race: Melanesian 95.3%, Polynesian 3.1%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 0.3% (2009 est.). Religions: Protestant 73.4% (Church of Melanesia 31.9%, South Sea Evangelical 17.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 11.7%, United Church 10.1%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.5%), Roman Catholic 19.6%, other Christian 2.9%, other 4%, none 0.03%, unspecified 0.1% (2009 est.).
It is thought that people have lived in the Solomon Islands since at least 2000 B.C. Explored in 1568 by Alvaro de Mendana of Spain, the Solomons were not visited again for about 200 years. In 1886, Great Britain and Germany divided the islands between them, but later Britain was given control of the entire territory. The Japanese invaded the islands in World War II, and they were the scene of some of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific theater, most famously the battle of Guadalcanal. The British gained control of the island again in 1945. In 1976 the islands became self-governing and gained independence in 1978. A magnitude 8.0 earthquake and tsunami struck the Solomon Islands in April 2007, killing at least 20 people and destroying villages. Source: www.infoplease.com
Honiara
capital of the Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean. The town is situated at the mouth of the Mataniko River on the north coast of Guadalcanal. A port and communications centre, it trades chiefly in coconuts, timber, fish, and some gold (from Gold Ridge in the centre of the island). Honiara International Airport is located approximately 10 miles (16 km) east of the town. Prior to World War II, Honiara did not exist; it developed around the site of the U.S. military headquarters. In 1952 it officially replaced Tulagi as the capital of the Solomons. Government buildings are on a narrow coastal strip behind Point Cruz. In the 1960s the government, together with the private sector, began an extensive development program in the new capital. The first multistory buildings appeared in the 1980s. In 2006, amid an ongoing period of political instability, Honiara’s Chinatown sustained severe damage in postelection rioting. Pop. (2009) 64,609. Source: www.britannica.com