Point Cruz is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

in the center of

Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and li ...

, on

Guadalcanal Island Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the se ...

. Honiara is the capital city of the

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 ...

. Point Cruz is located on the Tandai Highway, and is ¼ mile north of the Solomon Islands Parliament Building. Point Cruz is in the Honiara City Council ward of Cruz, and is East of Town Ground and West of

Tuvaruhu Tuvaruhu is a suburb of Honiara, Solomon Islands, south of Point Cruz. References Populated places in Guadalcanal Province Suburbs of Honiara {{SolomonIslands-geo-stub ...

Nomenclature

Point Cruz (

Ghari language Ghari (also known as Gari, Tangarare, Sughu, and West Guadalcanal) is an Oceanic language spoken on Guadalcanal island of the Solomon Islands. The Vaturanga dialect has been used extensively in missionary and liturgical translations, leading li ...

name: ''naho-ni-ara''; translation, "facing the east and southeast trade winds") is the CBD area of 'Honiara' which is a Ghari language name for the piece of land west of Point Cruz

History

The Point Cruz peninsular and surrounding areas were the locations for many battles during the

Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the ...

. In March 1959 the Royal yacht

HMY Britannia Her Majesty's Yacht ''Britannia'', also known as the Royal Yacht ''Britannia'', is the former royal yacht of the British monarchy. She was in service from 1954 until 1997. She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the th ...

docked at the Point Cruz wharf as part of the Royal visit by HRH

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

Central Business District

Several government and business offices are situated in the suburb.

Telecom

The Solomon Telekom Company Limited (Our Telekom) was founded in 1988 and is a joint venture company between Solomon Islands National Provident Fund, (SINPF) which hold 64.74% of the shares, and Cable & Wireless Plc of the United Kingdom which holds 32.58% of shares and the Investment Corporation of the Solomon Islands (ICSI) which owns 2.68% of the shares. On the 15 October 2014 Cable & Wireless Communications divested 32.577% shareholding in Solomon Telekom Company Limited ("Soltel") to the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund Board for total cash proceeds of approximately US$16.5 million. Improvements in rural mobile network coverage have been made with the deployment of many towers constructed through the islands. In 2008 the first Solomon Islander, Loyley Ngira was appointed as chief executive officer. The Solomon Telekom Co average download speed is 709 kbit/s (89 kB/s).

Central Police Station

Following the cessation of the

the Solomon Islands Protectorate Government relocated from Lungga Plantation to Point Cruz. The Secretariat long leaf building was opposite the present Central Police Station and contained the post office and telecommunications office while the Public Works Department was located at the site of Central Police Station. After the April 2006 riots and the arrest of

Charles Dausabea Charles Dausabea (21 August 1960Biography

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

ese navy ships, Wu-Yi and Kuen Ming visited Honiara and several Navy volunteers assisted paint the Central Police Station.

NPF Plaza

In the 1950s the site was the location of the

Woodford International School Woodford International School, also called the International School, is a school in Honiara, Solomon Islands; apart from the Honiara Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE), a university in Honiara; and the University of the South P ...

. In 2008 a young man preaching at NPF Plaza was heckled by another young man. Shortly after a citrus plant from NFP fell on the heckler where he later died.

Anthony Saru Building

The Anthony Saru building was named after the South Malaitan MP who won the 1970

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

and unsuccessfully contested the Small Malaita Constituency in 1973. Anthony Saru successfully moved a motion in Parliament for the introduction of a savings scheme in a form of a provident fund on the 27 November 1970 and in 1976 the Solomon Island National Provident Fund (SINPF) Social Security Scheme was established.

NPF Building

* Solomon Island National Provident Fund HQ * Embassy of Japan

LKP Building

* Delegation of the European Union to Solomon Islands and Vanuatu

Central Bank of Solomon Islands

Other locations

* All Saints Church * Anglican Church * Franciscan Rooms * Quality Motel * Honiara Casino Police boats and parliament house Honiara

National Parliament

The National Parliament of Solomon island was founded on the birth of national independence in July 1978. The building is a circular design and was funded by the United States for the 50th anniversary of the Guadalcanal Campaign and constructed by a Japanese firm. This structure was the recipient of the NAVFAC 1997 Commander's Award for Design Excellence.

Tourism

Point Cruz Yacht Club

The Point Cruz Yacht Club is located in the Point Cruz suburb and overlooks the Savo and Florida Islands. The new clubhouse of the Point Cruz Yacht Club in Honiara was opened by its Commodore, High Commissioner Sir Robert Foster, on 15 August 1964. As at 2012 there are 7 visiting cruising yachts here all swinging free on the West side of the harbor near the yellow mooring buoy. A plaque commemorating Signalman First Class

Douglas Albert Munro Douglas Albert Munro (October 11, 1919 – September 27, 1942) was a United States Coast Guardsman who was posthumously decorated with the Medal of Honor for an act of "extraordinary heroism" during World War II. He is the only person to have ...

who was the only member of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...

to have received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...

, for his actions during the September Matanikau action in the

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

is displayed inside the Yacht Club.

Heritage Park Hotel

The 5 star Heritage Park Hotel was built on the site of the Old Government House which was later used as the original Art Gallery.

Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel

The Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel has 96 rooms and underwent extensive renovations in 2008. The Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel falls under the Japanese Kitano Construction Corp. and was named after Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira.

King Solomon Hotel

The King Solomon Hotel has 73 rooms In 1964 a resthouse was built by Baháʼí pioneer Alvin J. Blum on the site of the present-day King Solomon Hotel on Hibiscus Avenue, and became Honiara's third hotel. In 2005 the Blums were featured on Solomon Island stamps.

SINPF Hibiscus Apartments

Culture

Art Gallery

The new Art Gallery and the Open Air Theater project was built in 2012 at a cost of more than $61million. The Art Gallery has many displays and celebrations are held at the Art Gallery grounds. The Solomon Islands Artists Association (SIAA) conducts displays and workshops at the art gallery and was founded in 1991 and now has over 200 artists members. The Art Gallery hosts the Youth Market which is the location where the local band Red Star Unit often performs.

Mere’s Market

Mere's Market is held at the Honiara Art Gallery every 2 months and enables Solomon Islands Women in Business Association (SIWINA) to showcase their businesses, create networks, share ideas and add to their incomes which has been funded by Australia since 2011.

Film Festival

The ''G’day Solomon Islands film festival'' commenced Friday 6 June which is a collaboration with the Australian High Commission in Honiara is located in the Art Gallery grounds.

National Museum

The existing National Museum organises

Solomon Islands dance Solomon Islands dance is part of the culture of the Solomon Islands. Dances are performed at ceremonies and special occasions, as well as on a regular basis in some hotels and restaurants, which feature local musicians performing traditional son ...

performances and was officially opened 12 November 1999 and was originally established in 1969. The Japanese Government donated grants for the construction of several buildings used by the museum. In 1991 during construction of the National Museum, construction workers unearthed thirty 75mm un-exploded Japanese rounds and several US munitions that were buried since the

. In 2015 the National Museum hosted an unexploded ordnance photographic display of artifacts still present since the end of WW2.

Industry

Honiara Port

The Solomon Islands Ports Authority (SIPA) was established on 4 June 1956 as a statutory corporation by an Act of Parliament. It is a State Own Enterprise(SOE) and is wholly owned by the government of Solomon Islands. Currently the maximum vessel size for vessels is over in length and the maximum depth is A new International Wharf consisting of a new deep sea water berth is under construction and is expected that the new wharf will be in operation in 2016 at a cost of 24 million US dollars. Honiara Port, restricted enterance

In 2014 the Honiara Port was awarded with the Club of Ports' Label for Excellence as the most dynamic port in the Pacific area.

South Pacific Oil depot

The main South Pacific Oil terminal is located at the Honiara Port. South Pacific Oil Limited purchased Shell Pacific's business and assets in Solomon Islands in 2006 and is 100% owned by the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund. Over of petroleum is imported annually