New Georgia Sound is the sound in the New Georgia Islands region that runs approximately southeast–northwest through the middle of the Solomon Islands archipelago in the Southern Pacific Ocean and Melanesia .
19-558: The sound is bounded by Choiseul Island , Santa Isabel Island , and Florida Island to the north, and by Vella Lavella , Kolombangara , New Georgia , and the Russell Islands to the south. Bougainville Island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville ( Papua New Guinea ) and Guadalcanal island, define northwestern and southeastern ends of the sound, respectively. It is one of three major routes for merchant shipping through
38-662: A raid on the island in October – November 1943, to divert attention away from the Landings at Cape Torokina . Following the independence of the Solomon Islands in July 1978, Choiseul has been administered as part of Choiseul Province . This 78,398 ha site in central Choiseul has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports populations of threatened or endemic bird species. It covers
57-726: A German Protectorate was declared over the North Solomon Islands , including Santa Isabel Island. In 1900, under the terms of Treaty of Berlin, signed on 14 November 1899 , Germany transferred the North Solomon Islands (except for Bougainville and its surrounding islands) to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate in exchange for the British giving up all claims to Samoa . Missionaries settled on Santa Isabel Island under both protectorates, converting most of
76-532: A tract of intact forest extending from the south-western coast of the island, between the Vurulato and Sepa rivers, reaching an altitude of 800 m. This is the best example of karst limestone forest in the Solomons. The eroding limestone has formed a landscape of caves and subterranean rivers. Mount Maetambae is an extinct volcano. A potential threat to the biodiversity of the site is logging . Bird species for which
95-500: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Choiseul Island Choiseul Island , native name Lauru , is the largest island (2,971 km (1,147 sq mi)) of the Choiseul Province , Solomon Islands , at 7°05′S 157°00′E / 7.08°S 157°E / -7.08; 157 . The administrative headquarters of Choiseul Province is situated in the town of Taro, on Taro Island . In 1768,
114-534: Is the largest island in Isabel Province , Solomon Islands . It is also the longest island, with the third largest surface area, in the country. Choiseul lies to the north-west, Malaita to the south-east. The Pacific Ocean lies to the north, and Guadalcanal (Isatabu) to the south. The highest point in Santa Isabel is Mount Sasari, 1,220 metres (4,000 ft). The Marutho river runs down Mount Sasari to
133-813: The First Fleet on their return voyage from Port Jackson in August 1788. Captain Edward Manning sailed Pitt through the sound in 1792, on his way to Bengal in British India after having delivered convicts to Port Jackson in New South Wales , colonial Australia . During the Pacific War of World War II, the New Georgia Sound was known as " The Slot " by Allied combatants due to its geographical shape and
152-769: The Solomon Islands archipelago . The two others are: the Bougainville Strait and Indispensable Strait route which links the Pacific Ocean, Solomon Sea and Coral Sea ; and the Manning Strait route, which links the Pacific to New Georgia Sound. Savo Island , a volcanic cone northwest of Guadalcanal, is a topographically significant island in the eastern region. New Georgia was so named by John Shortland , who passed through New Georgia Sound in command of four ships of
171-666: The French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville named the island after the then French foreign minister, Étienne François, duc de Choiseul . The first recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña in April 1568. More precisely the sighting was due to a local voyage done by a small boat, in the accounts the brigantine Santiago , commanded by Maestre de Campo Pedro Ortega Valencia and having Hernán Gallego as pilot. They charted it as San Marcos , and also named
190-505: The Spanish. Having found no gold and little food, and beset by attacks and sickness, the Spanish colonists shifted their colony to the site of today's Honiara on Guadalcanal , and the settlement on Santa Isabel was abandoned. Santa Isabel islanders suffered attacks from blackbirding in the nineteenth century (the often-brutal recruitment or kidnapping of labourers for the sugar plantations in Queensland and Fiji ). In April 1885,
209-716: The amount of warship traffic that traversed it. The Japanese naval efforts to resupply their garrison on Guadalcanal were referred to as the Tokyo Express . A large number of naval battles were fought in and around the sound during 1942 and 1943, between the Imperial Japanese Navy , and the allied forces of the United States Navy , Royal Australian Navy , and Royal New Zealand Navy . 8°16′S 158°29′E / 8.26°S 158.48°E / -8.26; 158.48 This Solomon Islands location article
SECTION 10
#1732852423840228-412: The few remaining ancestral customs of the island people and described them in an ethnography that he published a few years later. He also took some photographs of the islanders and brought back a stone urn with carvings, reflecting a culture that he deemed was dying in contact with the modern world. During World War II Japanese forces occupied Choiseul in 1942. A battalion of US Marines carried out
247-507: The islands of Malaita , Guadalcanal , Savo , Vangunu , Choiseul , Makira , Ulawa , Malaupaina , Malaulalo , Ali'ite , and Ugi Island . The Spanish immediately came into contact with Solomon Islanders and at first the relationship was cordial. However, the Spanish expedition's need for fresh food and water quickly led to tension and conflict, the Solomon Islanders’ subsistence economy being unable to provide continuous supplies to
266-559: The narrow channel separating San Jorge from Santa Isabel Island as the Ortega channel after the commander of the expedition. In the nineteenth century Choiseul islanders suffered attacks from blackbirding (the often brutal recruitment or kidnapping of labourers for the sugar plantations in Queensland and Fiji ). In April 1885, the German Empire declared a Protectorate over the North Solomon Islands , including Choiseul. In 1900, under
285-519: The ocean at Hofi. Almost all the rivers or streams run from that centre point except for those at the other tip of the island on the Katova side. The administrative centre is Buala . The nearest airport is Fera Airport on neighbouring Fera Island . The first European landing in the Solomon Islands archipelago was made at Santa Isabel Island, by the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña on 7 February 1568. It
304-479: The population to Christianity . In the early 20th century, several British and Australian firms began large-scale coconut planting. During World War II , the Imperial Japanese Navy established a seaplane base at Rekata Bay on the northeast coast. The base was bombed by American forces from August 1942 to August 1943. In the following month, the Japanese evacuated the base. Large bomb craters can still be seen near
323-698: The site was identified as an IBA include Melanesian scrubfowl , crested cuckoo-doves , red-knobbed imperial pigeons , Solomons boobooks , imitator goshawks , Sanford's sea eagles , ultramarine kingfishers , Solomons cockatoos , song parrots , Finsch's pygmy parrots , black-faced pittas , red-capped myzomelas , Solomons cuckooshrikes , white-winged fantails , steel-blue flycatchers , Solomons pied monarchs , chestnut-bellied monarchs , white-billed crows , yellow-throated white-eyes and midget flowerpeckers . The Solomons frogmouth has also been reported from these forests. Santa Isabel Island Santa Isabel (also known as Isabel , Ysabel and Mahaga )
342-597: The terms of Treaty of Berlin, signed on 14 November 1899 , Germany transferred the North Solomon Islands (except for Bougainville and its surrounding islands) to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate in exchange for the British giving up all claims to Samoa . Missionaries settled on Choiseul under both protectorates, converting most of the population to Christianity. In the early 20th century several British and Australian firms began large-scale coconut planting. The Austrian anthropologist and photographer Hugo Bernatzik visited Choiseul in 1932. Bernatzik documented some of
361-508: Was charted as Santa Isabel de la Estrella (Spanish for " St. Elizabeth of the Star"). A settlement was established by the Spaniards, and a small boat (known in the accounts as "the brigantine ") was built to survey and chart the surrounding sea and islands. These local explorations led by maestre de campo Pedro Ortega Valencia and Alférez Hernando Enríquez resulted in the "discoveries" of
#839160