74-510: The Tenaru is the name of a river on the northern coast of Guadalcanal with a tributary at Ironbottom Sound (called Savo Sound prior to World War II). During World War II , it was the site for the Battle of the Tenaru River . 9°25′51.04″S 160°05′45.41″E / 9.4308444°S 160.0959472°E / -9.4308444; 160.0959472 This article related to
148-502: A European trader operating on Uki Island named Fred Howard. In response, the screw-sloop HMS Royalist launched a punitive expedition against the village responsible, killing several of the tribesmen who were involved in the murder along with burning the village and destroying several of its canoes. In March 1897, the Royal Navy warship HMS Rapid launched a punitive expedition, targeting villages which had been responsible for
222-618: A Malaitan enclave and the Malaita Eagle Force took over government. The Royal Australian Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy deployed vessels to the area to protect the expatriate community resident mostly in Honiara. In 2003, the Pacific Forum negotiated the intervention of RAMSI or Operation Helpem Fren involving Australia, New Zealand, and other Pacific island nations. About 25 km (15 mi) from Honiara to
296-463: A beach at Point Cruz; he was killed during the evacuation. During the Battle for Henderson Field , the Medal of Honor was also awarded to John Basilone , who was later killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. After the war, American and Japanese groups repeatedly visited Guadalcanal to search for the remains of missing soldiers. The bodies of some 7,000 Japanese troops remain missing on
370-496: A concept of ‘waste land' that was not consistent with Melanesian customs, as unoccupied land was still recognised by customary law as being the property of individual people and communities. From 1900 to 1902, an attempt was made by the Pacific Islands Company Ltd to establish plantations. However, it was unable to raise sufficient capital to establish plantations because Regulation 3 of 1900 only permitted
444-528: A defensive ring around their conquests and threaten the lines of communication from the United States to Australia and New Zealand. The Japanese reached Guadalcanal in May 1942. When an American reconnaissance mission spotted construction of a Japanese airfield at Lunga Point on the north coast of Guadalcanal, the situation became critical. This new Japanese airfield represented a threat to Australia, so as
518-469: A force of twenty-five police officers armed with rifles. The first target of this force was chief Ingava of the Roviana Lagoon of New Georgia who had been raiding Choiseul and Isabel and killing or enslaves hundreds of people. Mahaffy and the police officers under his command carried out a violent and ruthless suppression of headhunting, with his actions having the support of Woodford and
592-666: A hotel and clubhouse for administrators and plantation owners. In 1940 Donald Gilbert Kennedy joined the administration of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Kennedy organised an intelligence-gathering network of local informants and messengers to carry out the role of Coastwatchers to monitor Japanese activity. The Coastwatchers were planters, government officials, missionaries and islanders monitoring who went into hiding after
666-560: A leasehold system was instituted for plantation land. Levers Pacific Plantations Ltd, a subsidiary of Lever Brothers , became the largest operator of plantations, with 26 plantations established by 1916. The Malayta Company operated 7 plantations, and was controlled by the Young family who were associated with the South Seas Evangelical Church . Burns, Philp & Co operated 7 plantations through subsidiaries -
740-428: A matter of urgency, despite not being adequately prepared, the United States conducted its first amphibious landing of the war on Guadalcanal. The initial landings of the 1st Marine Division on 7 August 1942 secured the airfield with little difficulty, but holding the airfield for the next six months against combined Japanese ground assault, air attack and naval bombardment was one of the most hotly contested campaigns in
814-427: A particularly nasty bite. The Guadalcanal Watersheds form a site that has been identified by BirdLife International as an important bird area , because it supports populations of threatened or endemic bird species. At 376,146 ha (1,452 sq mi), it covers some 70% of the island, extending along the southern coast inland to the central highlands, and contains riverine and lowland tropical rainforest , as well as
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#1732779490983888-503: A protectorate over the northern Solomons in 1884, while in 1893, the British Solomon Islands Protectorate was proclaimed, which included the island of Guadalcanal. Germany eventually handed over most of their protectorate to Britain, though, in 1899. By the early 20th century, large agricultural plantations (specialising in copra ), run mainly by Australians, were established in the region. Guadalcanal
962-644: A resident magistrate, in 1902 to investigate several deaths. Mahaffy demanded the Malaitians give up the person believed to be the murderer, and when they did not, Sparrow shelled the village and a shore party burnt down the village and killed the pigs. Malaita was a difficult island to administer as Mahaffy believed that 80 per cent of Malaitan males possessed firearms in the 1900s. There were frequent inter-tribal killings and pay-back killings. Indiscriminate naval bombardments or naval shore parties destroying villages, canoes and killing pigs to punish Solomon Islanders
1036-651: A river in the Solomon Islands is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Guadalcanal Guadalcanal ( / ˌ ɡ w ɑː d əl k ə ˈ n æ l / ; indigenous name: Isatabu ) is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands , located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean , northeast of Australia . It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second-largest by population (after Malaita ). The island
1110-768: A total land area of 5,302 km (2,047 sq mi), and has a population of 155,605 people, making it the second-most populous island in the country after Malaita. Mount Popomanaseu is the island's highest point and the highest in Solomon Islands, with an elevation of 7,661 ft (2,335 m) above sea level. The Mbokokimbo River is the island's longest river, with a total length of 98.7 km (61.3 mi). List of peaks in Guadalcanal by elevation List of longest rivers by length The island has been settled since at least 4500–2500 BC based on archaeological finds at Poha Cave and Vatuluma Posovi. During
1184-511: Is mainly covered in dense tropical rainforest and has a mountainous hinterland . Guadalcanal was first charted by Westerners during the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña in 1568. The name comes from the village of Guadalcanal , in the province of Seville , in Andalusia , Spain, birthplace of Pedro de Ortega Valencia, a member of Mendaña's expedition. During 1942 and 1943, it was
1258-626: The British flag and read Proclamations on twenty-one islands. In April 1896, Charles Morris Woodford was appointed as an Acting Deputy Commissioner of the British Western Pacific Territories . From 30 May to 10 August 1896, HMS Pylades toured through the Solomon Islands archipelago with Woodford, who had been sent to survey the islands and to report on the economic feasibility of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. On 29 September 1896, in anticipation of
1332-475: The Cactus Air Force . They defended the airfield and threatened any Japanese ships that ventured too close to the island during daylight hours. At night, however, Japanese naval forces were frequently able to shell the airfield and deliver troops with supplies, retiring before daylight. The Japanese used fast ships, namely destroyers, to conduct this reinforcement and supply effort, which became known as
1406-696: The District commissioner or District officer who recorded the votes cast this way. In the 1950s, British and Australian government officials contemplated transferring sovereignty of the Solomon Islands from the United Kingdom to Australia. The Solomon Islands had close ties to Australia; it used the Australian pound , relied on Australian air and shipping services, employed many Australians as civil servants, and its businesses were dependent upon Australian capital. Some Australian officials argued that
1480-517: The Pacific Islands Company Ltd for £5,000. By 1905 the company had acquired approximately 80,000 acres in the Solomon Islands which were distributed over 14 islands: 51,000 acres from Lars Nielsen and other plantation owners, and 28,870 acres purchased from islanders. The plantation companies came into conflict with Charles Morris Woodford , the Resident Commissioner in the Solomon Islands, over his management of land alienation from
1554-638: The Tokyo Express . So many ships from both sides were sunk in the many naval engagements in and around the Solomon Island chain that the nearby waters came to be referred to as Ironbottom Sound . The naval Battle of Cape Esperance was fought on 11 October 1942 in the waters off the northwest coast of Guadalcanal. During the engagement, the United States Navy intercepted and defeated a Japanese formation of ships on their way down "
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#17327794909831628-738: The United Kingdom agreed, with Germany giving up its claim to the southern Solomon Islands. Following the formal declaration of the Protectorate in 1893, Bellona and Rennell Islands and Sikaiana (formerly the Stewart Islands) were added to the Protectorate in 1897, and the Santa Cruz group, the Reef Islands , Anuda (Cherry), Fataka (Mitre) and Trevannion Islands and Duff (Wilson) group in 1898. German interests in
1702-662: The Western Pacific High Commission , who wanted to eradicate headhunting and complete a “pacification” of the western Solomon Islands. Mahaffy seized and destroyed large war canoes ( tomokos ). One of which was used to transport the police officers. The western Solomon were substantially pacified by 1902. During this time Mahaffy acquired artefacts held in high value by the Solomon Islanders for his personal collection. Arthur Mahaffy visited Malaita on HMS Sparrow (1889) , as
1776-532: The 18th and 19th centuries. With these outsiders also arrived foreign institutions such as forced labour. Beginning during the 1860s, about 60,000 natives from many parts of the Solomon Islands were indentured and sent to Australia or Fiji by British authorities to work on plantations. This system continued into the 1890s. In the 1880s, the Germans and the British vied for control of the Solomons. Germany established
1850-643: The Australian Department of Territories . In 1956, Australian territories minister Paul Hasluck proposed to federal cabinet that Australia take over the Solomons, with the support of External Affairs Minister Richard Casey . It was proposed that Australia would effectively double the annual development funds that the UK had allocated to the Solomons, from £1,073,533 (equivalent to £34,000,000 in 2023) to about £2,000,000 (equivalent to £63,000,000 in 2023). However, Australia's Treasury Department
1924-652: The Australian coastwatcher would also meet the president. Gasa and Kumana were interviewed by National Geographic in 2002, and can be seen on the DVD of the television special. They were presented a bust by Max Kennedy , a son of Robert F. Kennedy . The National Geographic had gone there as part of an expedition by Robert Ballard , who found the remains of the PT-109. The special was called The Search for Kennedy's PT 109 . Ambassador Caroline Kennedy met John Koloni,
1998-601: The Battle of Midway in turning the tide against them. After six months of hard combat in and around Guadalcanal, the Japanese forces on the island were critically undersupplied and no longer combat effective, while Allied troops were steadily increasing in quantity and quality. Remaining Japanese forces on the island were evacuated at Cape Esperance on the northwest coast in February 1943. American authorities declared Guadalcanal secure on 9 February 1943. The Guadalcanal campaign
2072-534: The British Solomon Islands. W. R. Carpenter & Co. (Solomon Islands) Ltd was established in 1922 and became storekeepers, traders, and operated a fleet of inter-island steamers. The policy of the colonial officials was to attempt to make the protectorate self-supporting through taxes imposed on copra and other products exported from the Islands. The long-term interests of the islanders
2146-595: The British had shown little interest in the development of the islands, while British officials believed Australia did not have sufficient trained staff to take over the administration. Unlike Christmas Island , the Cocos (Keeling) Islands , and the New Hebrides , Australia made no formal request for a transfer of sovereignty. However, there were informal discussions between officials in the Colonial Office and
2220-548: The High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, but progressively more of the positions were directly elected or appointed by electoral colleges formed by the local councils. A major issue faced by the authorities in extending democratic representation was the low level of literacy, estimated to be below 6% in 1970. The solution was to allow for voters to whisper their vote to the presiding official, normally
2294-620: The Japanese invasion of the Solomon Islands in January 1942. The Coastwatchers monitored Japanese shipping and aircraft (reporting by radio) and also rescued Allied personnel who were stranded in the territory held by the Japanese. The counter-attack was led by the United States; the 1st Division of the US Marine Corps landed on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in August 1942. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II took place on
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2368-787: The Legislative Council (the one exception was the Eastern Outer Islands constituency , which was again appointed by electoral college). Elections were held again in 1970 and a new constitution was introduced. The 1970 constitution replaced the Legislative and Executive Councils with a single Governing Council . It also established a 'committee system of government' where all members of the Council sat on one or more of five committees. The aims of this system were to reduce divisions between elected representatives and
2442-532: The Pacific theater of war that two battleships engaged each other in combat, with the next such engagement occurring in 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf . Some Japanese viewpoints consider these naval engagements, which showcased the improving capability of Allied warships to challenge the Imperial Japanese Navy's significant advantage in night-fighting techniques, to be just as significant as
2516-587: The Protectorate. The two Proclamations of 1898 were superseded by one dated 28 January 1899, which was apparently intended not to consolidate them but also to correct geographical errors: it lists "the Reef Islands, Swallow Group" and a different group of islands referred to collectively as "the Swallow Group," and it includes Trevannion in the Santa Cruz group. German interests in the islands to
2590-513: The Slot " to reinforce and resupply troops on the island, suffering losses of their own in the process. The multi-day Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November marked a critical turning point in the campaign. Allied naval forces engaged a large, experienced Japanese surface force at night and forced it to withdraw, sinking the IJN battleship Kirishima in the process. This was one of only two times in
2664-442: The Solomon Islanders to plantation owners. The complaints including Woodford withdrawing ‘waste land’ from transfer to plantation owners when the original Solomon Islander owners were identified, and insisting on strict conformity with the improvement clauses on leases. The Solomons (Land) Regulation of 1914 (King's Regulation no. 3 of 1914), replace earlier regulations, and ended the alienation of land from Solomon Islander owners and
2738-672: The Solomon Islands Development Company, the Shortland Islands Plantation Ltd and Choiseul Plantations Ltd. Burns Philp acquired 800 acres of coconut plantations in the Shortland Islands and other properties from plantation owners. In 1917, Burns Philp acquired 15,000 acres of grass lands on Guadalcanal on a 999 year lease. These corporate plantation owners employed 55 per cent of the Solomon Islanders engaged in
2812-532: The Solomon Islands; the schooner Chittoor , and SS Kurrara , a steam ship. The schooner Lark owned by J. Hawkins, from Sydney, also sailed in the waters of the Solomon Islands. In 1899, Woodford purchased the Lahloo , a 33-ton ketch , which he used for suppressing head-hunting in the New Georgia group. The Lahloo was wrecked in 1909. The Belama , a 100-ton steam ship, was acquired in 1909. However, it
2886-561: The Solomons from the 1840s, beginning with an attempt by French Catholics under Jean-Baptiste Epalle to establish a mission on Santa Isabel Island , which was abandoned after Epalle was killed by islanders in 1845. Anglican missionaries began arriving from the 1850s, followed by other denominations, over time gaining a large number of converts. The Anglo-German Declarations about the Western Pacific Ocean (1886), established "spheres of influence" that Imperial Germany and
2960-402: The Stewart Islands) were added to the Protectorate in 1897, and the Santa Cruz group, the Reef Islands , Anuda (Cherry), Fataka (Mitre) and Trevannion Islands and Duff (Wilson) group in 1898. On 18 August 1898 and 1 October 1898, the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific issued Proclamations which declared (apparently superfluously) that all those islands should "henceforth" form part of
3034-496: The Tasman group, Lord Howe's group and Gower Island. The Protectorate was administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) until the Solomon Islands became independent in 1978. During the 1950s, the British colonial administration built a network of official local councils. On this platform Solomon Islanders with experience on the local councils started participation in central government, initially through
Tenaru River - Misplaced Pages Continue
3108-456: The Tasman group, Lord Howe's group and Gower Island. From the establishment of British colonial rule until approximately 1902, Solomon Islanders continued to launch headhunting raids and murder European traders and colonists. The British responded by dispatching Royal Navy warships to launch punitive expeditions against the villages responsible in an effort to curb such activities. In September 1891, several Kalikoqu tribesmen killed
3182-466: The bureaucracy and then, from 1960, through the newly established Legislative and Executive Councils . The 1970 constitution replaced the Legislative and Executive Councils with a single Governing Council . A new constitution was introduced in 1974 which established a standard Westminster form of government and gave the Islanders both Chief Ministerial and Cabinet responsibilities. Governing Council
3256-459: The colonial bureaucracy and to provide opportunities for training new representatives in managing the responsibilities of government. It was also claimed that this system was more consistent with the Melanesian style of government, however, this was quickly undermined by opposition to the 1970 constitution and the committee system by elected members of the council. As a result, a new constitution
3330-483: The copra industry, with individual plantation owners employing the remaining 45 per cent. Burns, Philp acquired the island of Makambo in Tulagi Harbour to operate as a trading station and cargo depot in competition with Lever’s operation on Gavutu Island that was nearby Tulagi. Tulagi contained the administrative headquarters of the Protectorate and other facilities such as the hospital and jail, as well as
3404-540: The east and south-east of Bougainville were transferred to the United Kingdom under the Samoa Tripartite Convention of 1899, in exchange for recognition of the German claim to Western Samoa . In October 1900, the High Commissioner issued a Proclamation extending the Protectorate to the islands in question, i.e. Choiseul , Ysabel , Shortland and Fauro Islands (each with its dependencies),
3478-402: The entire Pacific theater of war. Immediately after landing on the island, U.S. Navy Seabees began finishing the airfield begun by the Japanese. It was then named Henderson Field after a Marine aviator killed in combat during the Battle of Midway . Aircraft operating from Henderson Field during the campaign were a mix of U.S. Marine, Army, Navy, and other Allied aircraft that became known as
3552-470: The establishment of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, Woodford purchased the island of Tulagi , which he selected as the site for the administrative centre. The Colonial Office appointed Woodford as the Resident Commissioner in the Solomon Islands on 17 February 1897. He was directed to control the labour trade operating in the Solomon Island waters and to stop the illegal trade in firearms. Bellona and Rennell Islands and Sikaiana (formerly
3626-448: The greatest contiguous area of cloud forest in the Solomons. Although it also contains gardens and old village sites, most of it has never been permanently inhabited. Significant birds for which the site was identified include chestnut-bellied imperial pigeons , Woodford's rails , Guadalcanal moustached kingfishers , Meek's lorikeets , Guadalcanal honeyeaters , Guadalcanal thicketbirds , and Guadalcanal thrushes . Potential threats to
3700-492: The island's shores. In recent times, these crocodiles have been found only on the Weather Coast in the south of the island, but during World War II, they were found along the north coast in the vicinity of the airstrip where the fighting was taking place, as evidenced by names such as Alligator Creek . Venomous snakes are rare on the island and are not considered to be a serious threat, but a kind of centipede there has
3774-541: The island, and islanders still bring the Japanese groups bones that they say are those of unearthed Japanese soldiers. Immediately after the Second World War, the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate was moved to Honiara on Guadalcanal from its previous location at Tulagi in the Florida Islands . In 1952, the high commissioner for the Western Pacific moved from Fiji to Honiara, and
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#17327794909833848-602: The islands for almost three years. Tulagi, the seat of the British administration on the island of Nggela Sule in Central Province was destroyed in the heavy fighting following landings by the US Marines. Then the tough battle for Guadalcanal, which was centered on the capture of the airfield, Henderson Field, led to the development of the adjacent town of Honiara as the United States logistics center. Islanders Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana were Allied scouts during
3922-417: The islands to the east and south-east of Bougainville were transferred to the United Kingdom under the Samoa Tripartite Convention of 1899, in exchange for recognition of the German claim to Western Samoa . In October 1900, the High Commissioner issued a Proclamation extending the Protectorate to the islands in question, i.e. Choiseul , Ysabel , Shortland and Fauro Islands (each with its dependencies),
3996-410: The issue of ‘Certificates of Occupation’ of the land and not a formal lease. This limited right to occupy the land were not accepted by financiers as sufficient collateral to finance development of plantations. In 1903, Levers Pacific Plantations Limited purchased 50,000 acres of coconut plantations from Lars Nielsen for £6,500, and in 1906 the company purchased the coconut plantation concessions from
4070-447: The local Guale people on Guadalcanal and more recent migrants from the neighbouring island of Malaita erupted into violence. The Guadalcanal Revolutionary Army, later called Isatabu Freedom Movement , began terrorising Malaitans in the rural areas of the island in an effort to force them out of their homes. About 20,000 Malaitans fled to the capital, and others returned to their home island; Guale residents of Honiara fled. The city became
4144-517: The murders of European traders and colonists on the islands of Rendova , New Georgia , Nggatokae and Vella Lavella . Arthur Mahaffy was appointed as the Deputy Commissioner in January 1898. In January 1900, Mahaffy established a government station at Gizo , as Woodford considered Mahaffy’s military training as making him suitable for the role of suppressing headhunting in New Georgia and neighbouring islands. Mahaffy had
4218-737: The period 1200-800 BC, Austronesian Lapita peoples settled the islands. A Spanish expedition from Peru in 1568 under the command of Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira were the first Europeans to see the island. Mendaña's subordinate, Pedro de Ortega Valencia, named the island after his home town Guadalcanal in Andalusia, Spain. In the years that followed the discovery, the island was variously referred to as Guadarcana, Guarcana, Guadalcana, and Guadalcanar, which reflected different pronunciations of its name in Andalusian Spanish. European settlers, whalers, and missionaries began to arrive in
4292-414: The post was combined with that of the governor of the Solomon Islands. The airfield which was the cause of the fighting in 1942, and which became well known as Henderson Field, is now the international airport for the Solomon Islands. It sits about five miles to the east of Honiara. The secondary airfield, known as "Fighter Two", is now the local golf course. In early 1999, long-simmering tensions between
4366-474: The scene of the Guadalcanal campaign and saw bitter fighting between Japanese and U.S. troops. The Americans were ultimately victorious. At the end of World War II , Honiara , on the north coast of Guadalcanal, became the new capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate and later the capital of the independent nation of Solomon Islands. Guadalcanal is the largest island in Solomon Islands , with
4440-580: The site include logging and invasive species . British Solomon Islands Protectorate 9°26′6.33″S 159°57′4.46″E / 9.4350917°S 159.9512389°E / -9.4350917; 159.9512389 The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first established in June 1893, when Captain Herbert Gibson of HMS Curacoa declared the southern Solomon Islands a British protectorate . Christian missionaries began visiting
4514-569: The son of Kumana, and Nelma Ane, daughter of Gasa at a ceremony in August 2023 in Honiara to mark the 80th anniversary of the battle of Guadalcanal. She also visited the places that her father had swum after the sinking of PT 109. The impact of the war on islanders was profound. The destruction caused by the fighting and the longer-term consequences of the introduction of modern materials, machinery and western cultural artifacts, transformed traditional isolated island ways of life. The reconstruction
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#17327794909834588-549: The war. They became famous when they were noted by National Geographic for being the first men to find the shipwrecked John F. Kennedy and his crew of the PT-109 using a traditional dugout canoe . They suggested the idea of using a coconut to write a rescue message for delivery. The coconut was later kept on Kennedy's desk. Their names had not been credited in most movie and historical accounts, and they were turned back before they could visit President Kennedy's inauguration, though
4662-550: The west, Vilu War Museum houses an outdoor collection of remains of various parts of military equipment and of several aircraft. Several memorials for the American, Australian, Fijian, New Zealand, and Japanese soldiers who died were erected, as well. The island hosts a native marsupial known as the phalanger or grey cuscus, Phalanger orientalis . The only other mammals are bats and rodents. Many species of colourful parrots are found there, and estuarine crocodiles inhabit
4736-569: Was a common response to incidents, where the colonial administrators could not arrest the perpetrators of killings. Woodford initially used a 27-foot open whaleboat to travel between the islands, or travelled on any available trading boat or Royal Navy ship. From 1896 the Burns Philp steamship the Titus was making between four and seven voyages from Sydney to the Solomon Islands. Two ships owned by Gustavus John Waterhouse of Sydney operated in
4810-475: Was a major turning point in the war, as it stopped further Japanese expansion. Two U.S. Navy ships have been named for the campaign: To date, the only U.S. Coast Guardsman recipient of the Medal of Honor is Signalman 1st Class Douglas Albert Munro , awarded posthumously for his extraordinary heroism on 27 September 1942 at Point Cruz . Munro provided covering fire and helped evacuate 500 besieged Marines from
4884-437: Was intended by the British Solomon Islands administration in Tulagi , the Western Pacific High Commission in Suva , and the Colonial Office in London to make land available for commercial plantations by a formal process of identifying ‘waste land' – that is land not occupied by Solomon Islanders – which could be declared “not owned, cultivated, or occupied by any native or non-native person”. Regulation 3 of 1900 implemented
4958-430: Was introduced in 1974 which established a standard Westminster form of government and gave the Islanders both Chief Ministerial and Cabinet responsibilities. Solomon Mamaloni became the country's first Chief Minister in July 1974 and the Governing Council was transformed into the Legislative Assembly . The protectorate that existed over Solomon Islands was ended under the terms of the Solomon Islands Act 1978 which annexed
5032-453: Was not seriously affected by World War I. In 1932, the British confirmed the name Guadalcanal in line with the town in Andalusia, Spain. In the months following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Japanese drove the Americans out of the Philippines , the British out of British Malaya , and the Dutch out of the East Indies . The Japanese then began to expand into the western Pacific, occupying many islands in an attempt to build
5106-412: Was relegated to a secondary priority as the colonial officials focused on encouraging investment by British and Australian corporate trading companies and individual plantation owners. By 1902, there were about 83 Europeans in the Solomon Islands, with most engaged in the development of copra plantations. The Solomon (Waste Land) Regulation of 1900 (Queen's Regulation no. 3 of 1900), and later revisions,
5180-483: Was restored during the 1950s, as the British colonial administration built a network of official local councils. On this platform Solomon Islanders with experience on the local councils started participation in central government, initially through the bureaucracy and then, from 1960, through the newly established Legislative and Executive Councils . The Protectorate did not possess a constitution of its own until 1960. Positions on both Councils were initially appointed by
5254-482: Was slow in the absence of war reparations and with the destruction of the pre-war plantations, formerly the mainstay of the economy. Significantly, the Solomon Islanders' experience as labourers with the Allies led some to a new appreciation of the importance of economic organisation and trade as the basis for material advancement. Some of these ideas were put into practice in the early post-war political movement " Maasina Ruru "—often redacted to "Marching Rule". Stability
5328-656: Was transformed into the Legislative Assembly . The Protectorate that existed over Solomon Islands was ended under the terms of the Solomon Islands Act 1978 . After the Anglo-German Declarations about the Western Pacific Ocean (1886), the Protectorate was first declared over the southern Solomons in June 1893. The formalities in its establishment were carried out by Captain Herbert Gibson of HMS Curacoa , who hoisted
5402-458: Was unenthused about the additional expenditure, and the Department of Defence stated there was "no defence advantage in assuming responsibility" with the islands in British hands. The Australian cabinet rejected the proposal. The first national election was held in 1964 for the seat of Honiara, and by 1967 the first general election was held for all but one of the 15 representative seats on
5476-602: Was wrecked in February 1911 when it struck an uncharted reef off Isabel . The replacement ship, also named Belama , (previously the river steamer Awittaka ) arrived at Tulagi in August 1911. It was wrecked off Isabel in 1921. From about 1900, Burns Philp had a dominant role in trade in the region distributing general merchandise and collecting copra . Ships servicing the Levers Pacific Plantations started in 1903. In 1904, Burns Philp began to acquire plantations and land to develop into plantations in
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