Iwa Island is an island located in the

Solomon Sea The Solomon Sea is a sea located within the Pacific Ocean. It lies between Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Many major battles were fought there during World War II. Extent The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of ...

, approximately 130 miles (200 km) from mainland

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and 310 miles (500 km) from

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

. It is part of the

Marshall Bennett Islands Marshall Bennett Islands (also known as the Marshall Bennets) are several islands in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. Geography They consist of: * Gawa * Dugumenu * Iwa Island * Kwaiawata * Egum Atoll with 12 islands ** Yanaba Island (reef) ...

group and considered part of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The island is featured briefly in the 1963 documentary " La Donna Nel Mondo (Women of the World)." At that time, it was home to a retired Scottish colonel, Roger Hopkins, his 84 wives, and their 52 children. It is stated that his wives were 13–18 years of age. Hopkins, much older than his wives, was said to be unintelligible as he was both deaf ''and'' mute — although he is wearing a hearing aid in his right ear during filming. He is seen smoking tobacco from a pipe and wearing worn-out Western clothing, but otherwise there appear to be no objects of Western origin on the island. According to the population census of 2000, Iwa Island had a population of 766, making it the second most populous island of the Marshall Bennett Islands, after Gawa Island. ''Obomatu Village'' is located on Iwa Island.Simon H. Bickler and Baiva Ivuyo: Megaliths of Muyuw (Woodlark Island), Milne Bay Province, PNG. In: Archaeology in Oceania , Vol. 37, No. 1 (Apr., 2002), pp. 22-36

References

Woodlark Islands Islands of Milne Bay Province {{PapuaNewGuinea-island-stub