
Treasury Islands () are a small group of
island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
s a few kilometres to the south of
Bougainville and from the
Shortland Islands. They form part of the
Western Province of the country of
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
. The two largest islands in the Treasuries are
Mono Island
Mono Island is the largest island of the Treasury Islands, Solomon Islands, at .
Geography
Mono island is a volcanic island in the northwest of Solomon Islands. It is separated by the Blanche Harbour from Stirling Island and the other coral ...
and the smaller
Stirling Island. The deep water strait between these two islands is called
Blanche Harbour.
History
Early history
These islands were first discovered in 1788 by British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
officer Lieutenant
John Shortland. In 1886, the islands were included in
German New Guinea
German New Guinea () consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups, and was part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , became a German protectorate in 188 ...
save for Mono Island, which the Britain claimed as its naval coaling base. In 1899, the islands were included in the
British Solomon Islands Protectorate to be administered as part of Western District.
World War II
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the islands were held by the
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese until 25–27 October 1943, when the islands were
invaded via amphibious assault by units of the
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
8th Brigade. Following the invasion, an
airstrip
An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...
was built on the flatter Stirling Island by the
USN 87th Construction battalion. This airfield was then used to support a campaign to neutralize Japanese air power at
Rabaul
Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...
. Stirling airfield is still in use today by
Solomon Airlines.
References
External links
The Treasury Islands Campaign
Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean
Islands of the Solomon Islands
Western Province (Solomon Islands)
Archipelagoes of Oceania
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