Vella Lavella
| Vella Lavella | ||
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| Waters | Solomon Lake | |
| Archipelago | New Georgia Archipelago | |
| Geographical location | 7 ° 44 ′ S , 156 ° 38 ′ E | |
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| length | 45 km | |
| width | 20 km | |
| surface | 652 km² | |
| Highest elevation | Mount Tambisala 790 m |
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| Residents | 9160 (1999) 14 inhabitants / km² |
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| main place | Mbilua | |
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Vella Lavella (also Vella Lavelia ) is an island in the New Georgia Archipelago in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands . As the westernmost of these sparsely populated islands, it is located about 350 kilometers northwest of the Solomon Islands main island of Guadalcanal . Vella Lavella measures about 45 × 20 km, is 652 km² and is almost completely surrounded by a reef .
There are six volcanic cones on the island and a thermal area with some active bubbling mud holes on the Ulo River . The highest point is Mount Tambisala at 790 meters. The Nonda lava dome is 750 meters high, the youngest volcano on the island and is considered active, although it has never erupted in modern times. The smaller rivers running from the mountains to the coast allow the inhabitants, who live almost exclusively on the coast, to cultivate irrigated horticulture . Tourism , which is widespread in the western province of the Solomon Islands, is now offering the residents of Vella Lavella a little extra income.
history
New Zealand archaeologists are currently carrying out excavations on Vella Lavella, suggesting that the Solomon Islands have been inhabited for almost 30,000 years. Painted pottery shards found during the excavations can be dated to an age of 2,000 to 3,000 years.
The language spoken on the island is called Bilua and currently has around 8,000 to 9,000 active speakers. Bilua is one of the Papuan languages , while the other Solomon Islands languages are among the Austronesian languages . Therefore, archaeologists suspect the immigration of a people who did not come from the Melanesian settlement area.
World War II - Pacific War
During the Pacific War between Japan and the United States , a small unit occupied Vella Lavella in 1943 as part of the Japanese Army conquest of the Solomon Islands . On August 15, 1943, US Marines landed in the Barakoma area and were able to secure the island relatively quickly. The famous VMA-214 fighter squadron of Major Gregory Boyington was stationed there . But around 300 Japanese managed to retreat to the jungle area in the interior of the island. The Americans were relieved on September 18 by a New Zealand division . In the following period there were several sea battles between the warring parties in the New Georgia archipelago, of which the Battle of the Vella Gulf and the Battle of Vella Lavella took place on October 6 in the immediate vicinity of the island.
post war period
Since 1959 there have been repeated references from the population to Japanese-looking men with long beards who were supposed to be hiding in the dense rainforest . Based on these reports, some Japanese veterans went to Vella Lavella to look for the men. But they were unsuccessful.
In 1965, the last surviving Japanese soldier was seen in an elderly woman's garden. The Japanese ambassador to the Solomon Islands then flew to the island and dropped leaflets with the message that the war was long over. Thereupon the man revealed himself and was flown back to Japan and received there with all honors.
Movie
For the series Pazifikgeschwader 214 , the island was renamed Vella la Cava.
Web links
- Local maps of Vella Lavella
- Bilua Language BIFOA - Vella Lavella Archaeological Survey Year 1 2004 (Engl.)
