Western Province is the largest of the nine

provinces of Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is divided into nine provinces. The national capital, Honiara, on the island of Guadalcanal, is separately governed as the country's Capital Territory. History Under the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, there were initi ...

. The area is renowned for its beautiful tropical islands, excellent diving and snorkelling, coral reefs and World War II wrecks,

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

lodges, and

head-hunting Headhunting is the practice of human hunting, hunting a human and human trophy collecting, collecting the decapitation, severed human head, head after killing the victim. More portable body parts (such as ear, rhinotomy, nose, or scalping, scal ...

shrines. The province contains many small

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

s and most of the country's

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

trade outside

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 lies ...

History

The

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Mission in the Western Province was established by Rev. John Francis Goldie in 1902. He dominated the mission and gained the loyalty of Solomon Islander members of his church. The relationship with the colonial administrators of the

British Solomon Islands Protectorate The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first established in June 1893, when Captain Herbert Gibson of declared the southern Solomon Islands a British protectorate.''Commonwealth and Colonial Law'' by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, St ...

were also fraught with difficulty, at this time due to Goldie's effective control over the Western Solomon Islands. From 1927 to 1934 Dr Edward Sayers worked at the

mission where he established hospitals at Gizo, Munda and

Vella Lavella Vella Lavella is an island in the Western Province (Solomon Islands), Western Province of Solomon Islands. It lies to the west of New Georgia, but is considered one of the New Georgia Islands, New Georgia Group. To its west are the Treasury Isla ...

, and carried out fieldwork in the treatment of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

.Sayers, E. G. (1943) ''Malaria in the South Pacific with Special Reference to the Solomon Islands''. New Zealand Government Printing Office It is also well known as the place where a United States Navy

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

commanded by

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer during World War II.

Tourism

The provincial capital is Gizo, with a population of 7,177 (as of the 2009 Census), and the second largest town in the country. There are airports at Gizo, Munda, Seghe, Viru, Ramata, Gatokae, Ringgi Cove, Barakoma and Balalai. The Western Province is considered the tourism mecca of the Solomon Islands, and is by far the most accommodating area, with multiple

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s and

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

s, dive shops, ecotourism attractions

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

s, and

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

tours. Munda, the largest town on New Georgia island, has a landing strip built during World War II by the US and is listed as an emergency landing runway, capable of handling even jumbo jets. The diving in the Western Province is pristine as tourists tend to visit nearby Fiji for diving rather than visiting the less developed Solomon Islands. Malaria is also a concern in the Solomons, which keeps many tourists away. The result is spectacular dive conditions with untouched coral reefs. Munda, Uepi, and Gizo are considered some of the Western Province's best dive locations. The region supports some of the highest coral and fish diversity in the world. The Western Province and nearby

Choiseul Province Choiseul Province is one of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands. It lies southeast of Bougainville (part of Papua New Guinea), west of Santa Isabel Island, and north of Vella Lavella, Kolombangara & New Georgia. It has a population of 36 ...

were significantly affected by 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake, an 8.1 magnitude earthquake that struck on April 2, 2007 and an associated tsunami. It caused 100+ significant (in excess of magnitude 4.0) aftershocks. The official death toll was 52 with several thousand persons displaced, most of the displaced are expected to be living in temporary shelters for a minimum of between six and nine months. The island of Ranongga to the west of Gizo was uplifted by around 2.5 – 3 metres resulting in the death of its fringing reef and also opening massive fissures in the island itself. Reefs around Munda and Uepi were largely unaffected by the tsunami and earthquake.

Administrative divisions

Western Province is sub-divided into the following wards, listed with their populations at the 2009 Census: * Western Province (76,649) *Outer Shortlands (1,306) *Inner Shortlands (2,397) * Simbo (1,782) *North Ranongga (541) *Central Ranongga (2,514) *South Ranongga (3,305) *Vonunu (3,558) *Mbilua (4,290) *Ndovele (1,967) *Irringgilla (2,833) * Gizo (7,177) *South Kolombangara (4,023) * Vonavona (5,515) *Kusaghe (2,238) * Munda (2,620) *Nusa Roviana (1,995) *Roviana Lagoon (4,675) *South Rendova (2,477) *North Rendova (1,724) *Kolombaghea (1,783) *Mbuini Tusu (2,965) *Nono (3,610) * Nggatokae (3,050) *North Vangunu (2,661) * Noro (3,365) *North Kolombangara (2,278)

Islands

Akara Island Akara is an island of the New Georgia archipelago in the Western Province, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, east of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Ocea ...

Faisi Faisi is a small island in the Western Province of Solomon Islands. The island is a part of the Shortland Islands archipelago. Geography Faisi is located near Shortland Island and lies 18 miles northeast of the Treasury Islands. The island is ...

* Fauro Island * Gizo * Ghoi *

Kennedy Island Kennedy Island (local name Kasolo Island, also known as Plum Pudding Island), is a , uninhabited island in Solomon Islands that was named after John F. Kennedy, following an incident involving Kennedy during his World War II naval career. Kennedy ...

* Kiambe * Kingguru * Kohinggo * Kolombangara * Liapari * Logha * Lola Island * Marovo Island * Marovo Lagoon * Matikuri * Mbava * Mborokua * Mbulo Island * Mondomondo *

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 Solomon Islands. It is separated by the Blanche Harbour from Stirling Island and the other coral ...

* Nakaza *

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province (Solomon Islands), Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the List of islands by area, 203rd-largest island in the world. Since July 1978, the island has been par ...

* Nggatokae * Nusatupe * Ranongga * Rendova * Shortland Island * Simbo * Stirling Island * Telina * Tetepare * Uepi *

* Vangunu * Vonavona

References

External links

Provincial Profile of the West, People First Network

Digital Photo Library of the West from the People First Network

{{Authority control Provinces of the Solomon Islands