The Shortland Islands is an
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...
of
Western Province,
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
, at . The island group lies in the extreme north-west of the country's territory, close to the south-east edge of
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomon Islands, North Solo ...
,
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 largest island in the archipelago is
Shortland Island
Shortland Island (once known as ''Alu'') is the largest island of the Shortland Islands archipelago, in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, at .
The original name was a Melanesian word, while the current name was given to the island b ...
(originally called Alu). With smaller offshore islands such as Gharomai (to the southwest),
Balalae (to the northeast) and
Magusaiai,
Faisi,
Pirumeri and Poporang (all to the southeast), it forms the Inner Shortlands Ward of the Western Province. The remaining islands comprise the Outer Shortlands Ward and consist of two groups; the
Treasury Islands to the southwest of Shortland Island consists mainly of
Mono Island and the smaller
Stirling Island
Stirling Island (also Sterling Island) is the smaller island of the Treasury Islands, Solomon Islands.
Geography
Stirling is about long and located some south of Shortland. The estimated terrain elevation above sea level is . Stirling Island is ...
; the other group, which lies to the northeast of Shortland Island, consists of
Fauro Island and smaller islands grouped around it - including
Masamasa and Piru Islands to the east, Rohae Island to the south, Mania Island to the southwest, Asie Island to the west,
Ovau Island to the northwest and Oema Island to the north.
Early European involvement
The island group, and the largest island, were named by
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
officer
John Shortland in 1788. Shortland was the naval commander of a 1777–79 voyage by the
First Fleet
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...
to establish a
penal colony
A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...
at
Botany Bay
Botany Bay ( Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
.
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
later claimed the islands and owned them as part of the
North Solomon Islands Protectorate until 1900.
World War II
On March 30, 1942, Japanese war ships entered Shortland Harbor and landed two special naval landing force platoons and met no resistance. One platoon remained in the area to begin establishing Shortland Harbor Seaplane Base. They established the base, seaplane moorings and fortifications in Tuha Channel and the adjoining land on the southeastern portion of Shortland Island, on Faisi and on the northern portion of Poporang.
On the night of 29–30 June 1943, and three other cruisers bombarded Poporang Island in preparation for the invasion of
New Georgia
New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world.
Geography
New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most ...
. The Allies considered invading the seaplane base in August 1943, but chose instead to bypass the Shortlands for Bougainville and the
Treasury Islands, leaving the Shortlands under Japanese control until the war's end. On 1 November 1943, ''Montpelier'' shelled the Japanese defenses on Poporang and Balalae.
On 8 January 1944, an Allied force of two light cruisers and five destroyers bombarded the installations on Faisi, Poporang, and Shortland Island.
In March 1944, planes from the
USAAF
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
's
70th Fighter Squadron
The 70th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force squadron. The Squadron was constituted on 14 Dec 1940 as the 70th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor). This squadron was activated on 1 Jan 1941 and patrolled the airspace around Fiji. ...
used reconnaissance photographs taken by the
17th Reconnaissance Squadron to strike the seaplane base, claiming eight float planes and an
IJN destroyer. On 20 May 1944, ''Montpelier'' received light damage from return fire when she and two other light cruisers, along with eight destroyers, bombarded shore installations on Shortland, Poporang, and Magusaiai Islands.
[ On 1 October 1944, the ]US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
's Special Air Task Force (SATFOR)[
]
Gallery
File:Shortland Island NASA.jpg,
File:Fauro Island (Landsat).jpg,
File:Balalae loc.jpg,
See also
* Shortlands constituency
References
External links
Encyclopædia Britannica
Archipelagoes of Oceania
Islands of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands (archipelago)
Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean
Western Province (Solomon Islands)
{{Solomons-geo-stub