Rennell and Bellona Province

Rennell And Bellona Province

Rennell and Bellona is a province of the Solomon Islands comprising two inhabited atolls, Rennell and Bellona, or Mu Nggava and Mu Ngiki respectively in Polynesian, as well as the uninhabited Indispensable Reef. Rennell and Bellona are both Polynesian-inhabited islands within the Solomons, most of the islands being primarily Melanesian with a few Polynesian islands. They are thus considered Polynesian outliers. The first known European to sight the islands was Mathew Boyd of Camberwell, London, Commander of the merchant ship, Bellona, in 1793. The province has a combined population of 2,377 (1999). The Samoic language of the islands is, in English texts, called "Rennell". The capital is Tigoa on Rennell Island.