Sikaiana (formerly called the Stewart Islands) is a small

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gro ...

NE of

Malaita Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...

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 ...

in the south

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

. It is almost in length and its lagoon, known as Te Moana, is totally enclosed by the coral reef. Its total land surface is only . There is no safe anchorage close to this atoll, which makes it often inaccessible to outsiders.

Geography

Sikaiana is a remote tropical coral atoll located at

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north ...

and longitude 8°25′0″S 162°52′0″E, over 200 kilometres (125 miles) from any other islands. The main island at Sikaiana atoll, located at the easternmost corner, is called Sikaiana. The three small islands in the west of the atoll are

Tehaolei Tehaolei is an inhabited island of the Sikaiana atoll in the Malaita Province, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Geography Tehaolei is one of four islands of Sikaiana, a remote tropical coral atoll. Tehaolei lies in the north-western end of t ...

(north),

Matuiloto Faore is an island of the Sikaiana atoll in the Malaita Province, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. The local name is Matuiloto. Geography Faore is one of four islands of Sikaiana, a remote tropical coral atoll Corals are marine invertebr ...

(west), and

Matuavi Matuavi (also Mutuavi) is an island of the Sikaiana atoll in the Malaita Province, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Geography Matuavi is one of four islands of Sikaiana Sikaiana (formerly called the Stewart Islands) is a small atoll ...

(south). There are also two artificial islands on the reef, Te Palena and Hakatai'atata.

History

Administratively, Sikaiana is governed as an outlying region of

Malaita Province Malaita Province is the most populous and one of the largest of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands. It is named after its largest island, Malaita (also known as "Big Malaita" or "Maramapaina"). Other islands include South Malaita Island ( ...

. Sikaiana's population is approximately 300 people of Polynesian descent—not of the Melanesian descent prevalent in the main Solomon Islands. It is considered by

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms an ...

s to be a Polynesian outlier. A 1998 GAO report stated: In 1893, the United Kingdom established the British Solomon Islands Protectorate over most of what is now Solomon Islands excluding Sikaiana. This was done to further British colonial interests in the region and to regulate the practice of ‘

blackbirding Blackbirding involves the coercion of people through deception or kidnapping to work as slaves or poorly paid labourers in countries distant from their native land. The term has been most commonly applied to the large-scale taking of people in ...

’, the labour recruitment of Solomon Islanders to work on labour plantations in the then-colony of Queensland, later the state of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. On 21 June 1897 this protectorate was extended to include Sikaiana, Rennell, and Bellona Islands.National Archives Doc ref. DO 118/94 Description: BRITISH SOLOMON ISLANDS PROTECTORATE (STEWART ATOLL) Proclamation declaring a protectorate over Stewart Atoll Sikaiana In religious terms, Sikaiana is part of the Anglican Church of Melanesia Diocese of Malaita, and the majority of its inhabitants are Anglicans.

Notes and references

Notes

References

Portions of the Book of Common Prayer in Sikaiana
1932 Anglican liturgical document in Sikaiana. *

External links