Bellona (island)
Bellona / Mu Ngiki | ||
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Bellona in the north of the Rennell Islands | ||
Waters | Solomon Lake | |
Geographical location | 11 ° 18 ′ S , 159 ° 47 ′ E | |
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length | 11.5 km | |
width | 3 km | |
surface | 17.17 km² | |
Highest elevation | 65 m | |
Residents | 993 (2009) 58 inhabitants / km² |
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main place | Henuanggoto | |
Satellite image |
Bellona , Mu Ngiki in Polynesian , is a small island in the West Pacific island state of Solomon Islands . It is located 175 km south of Guadalcanal and 220 km southwest of San Cristobal (Makira) .
Bellona is 11.5 km long and 3 km wide. With its larger neighboring island Rennell , 25 km southeast, it forms the Solomonic province of Rennell and Bellona .
The island was discovered in 1793 by English sailors on board the merchant ship "Bellona" for the western world.
993 people live in the ten villages on Bellona, mainly Polynesians who live outside the Polynesian Triangle in a so-called Polynesian exclave .
structure
Historically, Bellona was divided into three districts:
- Sa'aiho ( West Bellona ) (2.72 km²)
- Ghongau (central) (10.76 km²)
- Matangi (East) (3.68 km²).
Today Bellona comprises four of the 10 provincial wards of the Rennell and Bellona province:
- Ward 7 (Matangi) 144 inhabitants
- Ward 8 (East Ghongau) 265 inhabitants
- Ward 9 (West Ghongau) 350 inhabitants
- Ward 10 (West Bellona) 250 residents
Villages
The ten villages are called (from west to east):
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Individual evidence
- ^ Mungiki . avaiki-connection.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2009. Retrieved June 2, 2012.