Australian High Commission
Honiara
Solomon Islands

Shortland Islands: Far from the Capital, but close to perfect

18 September 2013

Shortland Islands: Far from the Capital, but close to perfect

This month, three of us at the Australian High Commission accompanied the British High Commissioner, Dominic Meicklejohn, on a joint visit to the Shortland Islands, at the invitation of Sir George Lepping, Paramount Chief of the area and a former Governor-General of Solomon Islands.

The Shortlands are part of Western Province and lie close to the border with Papua New Guinea’s Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

Our trip started on the tiny island of Ballalae, little more than an airstrip. The Shortlands are steeped in World War II history, and as soon as we landed we began to learn about the moving stories of heroism and hardship from that time. The islands are a living museum of downed planes, artillery, bunkers, radars and a seemingly-endless treasure trove of wartime artefacts. We also had the privilege to pay our respects to a memorial for Allied soldiers that lost their lives at Ballalae during the war.

With Sir George as our guide, we visited many communities and schools in the area, and had a chance to see for ourselves how people in some of the country’s most remote communities carved out a living. We found strong ethnic cooperation, discipline and mutual support in the Shortlands. We found villages rich with culture and custom, if not material possessions. We found a generosity of spirit and a will to preserve the best parts of local traditions, while making the most of opportunities offered by good education.

The Shortlands is also home to some Gilbertese communities that settled in the area in the early 1960s. They have been embraced by the rest of the Islands, are counted among its tribes and are represented at the chiefly level.

The people of the Shortland Islands are blessed with the exquisite natural beauty of their surroundings. But their biggest collective asset is their attitude of self-sufficiency and taking responsibility for their own future. We were humbled by how much could be done with so little.
 

Take a look at our Facebook page for more photos from the trip at Australia in Solomon Islands.

Mihai Sora
Second Secretary at Australian High Commission to Solomon Islands