The Shortland Islands archipelago is part of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, at 6.92°S 155.88°E. The island group lies in the extreme northwest of the countrys territory, close to the southeast edge of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea.[1]
The largest island in the archipelago is Shortland Island (originally called Alu).[2] Other large islands include Balalae, Faisi, Fauro, Magusaiai, Masamasa, Ovau, Pirumeri and Poporang.
Contents
1Early European involvement
2World War II
3See also
4References
5External links
Early European involvement
The island group, and the largest island, were named by Royal Navy officer John Shortland in 1788. Shortland was the naval commander of a 1777–79 voyage by the First Fleet to establish a penal colony at Botany Bay, Australia.[3]
Germany later claimed the islands and owned them as part of the North Solomon Islands 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.[4]
On the night of 29–30 June 1943, USS Montpelier (CL-57) and three other cruisers bombarded Poporang Island in preparation for the invasion of New Georgia. The Allies considered invading the seaplane base in August 1943, but chose instead to bypass the Shortlands for Bougainville and the Treasury Islands, leaving the Shortlands under Japanese control until the wars 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 offres the installations on Faisi, Poporang, and Shortland Island.[5] In March 1944, planes from the USAAFs 70th Fighter Squadron used reconnaissance photographs taken by the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron to strike the seaplane base, claiming eight float planes and an IJN destroyer.[6] 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.[5] On 1 October 1944, the US Navys Special Air Task Force (SATFOR)[7] launched four TDR drones on antiaircraft gun positions on Poporang and Balalae.[5]
The Shortland Islands lie in the extreme north of Solomon Islands, just south and in sight of Bougainville (q.v.) in Papua New Guinea. The largest island is named Shortland (or Alu); others include Ovau, Pirumeri, Magusaiai, Fauro and Ballale. Lieutenant John Shortland named them in 1788. Several early explorers passed near them, such as DEntrecasteaux in 1792. Ships passing from New South Wales to Asia after 1788 sometimes passed through Bougainville Strait between the Shortlands and Choiseul.
The present inhabitants are descended from people from Mono in the nearby Treasury Islands, who led by Poreesi invaded Shortland (Alu) and Fauro about six or seven generations ago. Some of the inhabitants fled to Buin on the south coast of Bougainville and the Mono invaders intermarried with other local people. There was a strong chiefly system in place and in the second half of the nineteenth century Big Joni Gorai (q.v
