Bellona | |
Image Map Caption: | Bellona Island is to the north of Rennell Island |
Pushpin Map: | Solomon Islands |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Bellona Island in Solomon Islands |
Location: | Pacific Ocean |
Coordinates: | -11.3°N 159.8°W |
Archipelago: | Solomon Islands |
Area Km2: | 17 |
Length Km: | 10 |
Width Km: | 2.5 |
Country: | Solomon Islands |
Country Admin Divisions Title: | Province |
Country Admin Divisions: | Rennell and Bellona |
Bellona Island is an island of the Rennell and Bellona Province, in Solomon Islands. Its length is about 10km (10miles) and its average width 2.5km (01.6miles). Its area is about 17km2. It is almost entirely surrounded by 30- high cliffs, consisting primarily of raised coral limestone.
Bellona Island is densely populated and its interior is lush and fertile. There are three districts namely Matangi, Ghongau and Ngango. Each district has manaha (tribes) except for Ghongau district, which has two sub-districts; Nguutuanga Bangitakungu and Ngutuanga Bangika'ango. There are many villages on Bellona Island:
Bellona Island is, like Rennell Island, a Polynesian-inhabited island within the Solomons, where most of the islands are primarily Melanesian with a few Micronesian island provinces. It is thus counted among the Polynesian outliers. The nearby Bellona Shoals were the site of several shipwrecks.[1] On the western end of the island there were sacred stone-gods, at a place called Ngabenga- west Bellona. The stone-gods were destroyed by Seventh-day Adventist missionaries in 1938. This island was named at the beginning of the 19th century after Capt. Lord Rennell's ship Bellona. However, its original name is Mungiki.