The Solomons

Old And New In The Solomons

After years of putting up with nothing much better than Quonset huts, architecture in the Solomon Islands —or at least in Honiara —has become extremely modern in the last few years. These pictures, recently taken by Fiji PRO photo grapher Rob Wright, give some idea of Honiara building trends compared with some Solomons structures of more familiar design.

THE top building is a block of flats for civil servants in Honiara. It is one of several such buildings designed for the area.

Below is the office building of the Public Works Department; and the third picture shows the headquarters of the Marine Department from which the BSIP Government fleet of about 15 small vessels is operated.

Pride of the fleet are the Coral Princess and Coral Queen which carry passengers and cargo be tween Honiara and the main BSIP ports.

The bottom picture shows some thatched huts of the coastal people of Malaita. The huts are built on a man-made island of coral rock in Langa Langa Lagoon.

Scarcely shown on any map, Langa Langa Lagoon begins at Auki Island and ends at Buma.

It is not a true lagoon as it is merely a narrow strip of water isolated from the sea by reef and mangroves; but it is one of the most attractive features of the area.

The man-made islands of the Malaita coastal folk are dotted along the lagoon at infrequent intervals. Varying in size and shape, they were originally formed for self-preservation against the fierce hill tribes of

Malaita’s interior. Today they

are picturesque relics of a passing era.