Shortland Islands
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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 Archi ...
of
Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...
,
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 capita ...
, 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 Solomons. Its land area is ...
,
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 by ...
(originally called Alu). With smaller offshore islands such as Gharomai (to the southwest),
Balalae Balalae Island (or Ballale/Ballali) is an island of the Shortland Islands Group in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. Early history ''Ballale'' means border place in the local Alu language. As long as the natives of the Shortland Islan ...
(to the northeast) and Magusaiai,
Faisi Faisi is a small island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. The island is a part of Shortland Islands archipelago. Geography Faisi is located near Shortland Island and lies 18 miles northeast of the Treasury Islands. The island is of r ...
, 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 Treasury Islands () are a small group of islands a few kilometres to the south of Bougainville and from the Shortland Islands. They form part of the Western Province of the country of Solomon Islands. The two largest islands in the Treasuries ...
to the southwest of Shortland Island consists mainly of
Mono Island Mono Island is the largest island of the Treasury Islands, Solomon Islands, at . Geography Mono island is a volcanic island in the northwest of the Solomon Islands. It is separated by the Blanche Harbour from Stirling Island and the other cora ...
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 Fauro Island is an island of the Shortland Islands archipelago, located in the Western Province 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 ...
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 Ovau Island is an island of the Shortland Islands archipelago, located in the Western Province 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 ...
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 F ...
officer
John Shortland John Shortland (5 September 1769 – 21 January 1810) was an officer of the Royal Navy, the eldest son of John Shortland.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 ...
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 state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
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 betwe ...
later claimed the islands and owned them as part of the
North Solomon Islands The Northern Solomons were the more northerly group of islands in the Solomon Islands (archipelago) over which Germany declared a protectorate in 1885. Initially, the German Solomon Islands Protectorate included, in the south-east, Choiseu ...
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 of ...
. The Allies considered invading the seaplane base in August 1943, but chose instead to bypass the Shortlands for Bougainville and the
Treasury Islands Treasury Islands () are a small group of islands a few kilometres to the south of Bougainville and from the Shortland Islands. They form part of the Western Province of the country of Solomon Islands. The two largest islands in the Treasuries ...
, 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 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...
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 of ...
's Special Air Task Force (SATFOR) launched four TDR drones on antiaircraft gun positions on Poporang and Balalae.


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