Rennell Island - History

History

Between 2000 and 1600 BC, people belonging to the Lapita Culture made their appearance. Then by Lapita people about 1000 BC. The next settlement occurred on both Rennell and Bellona around 130 BC, with another major occupation in about 1000 AD.

Later settlement of Renbel occurred prior to 1400 AD by Polynesians from Uvea (now Wallis Island). Captain Butler of HMS Walpole discovered the islands in 1801, after discovering and naming Walpole Island in New Caledonia. In 1933 the Templeton Crocker Expedition discovered several endemic species on the islands. During the Pacific campaign of World War II Japanese Rufe floatplanes operated from Lake Tegano until American Catalinas used the lake as a base after 1943. The Battle of Rennell Island was the last major naval battle of the Guadacanal Campaign which occurred between 29 January 1943 and 30 January 1943. At the end of the war, eight Catalinas were scuttled in the lake and can be seen from the lake surface. The island was later visited by a series of Danish scientific expeditions.

The present-day inhabitants say their ancestors (Kaitu'u) arrived around 1400AD from Ubea (now Uvea: Wallis & Futuna Islands) and crossed the Pacific ocean and settled on Rennell & Bellona Islands, in the Solomon Islands. One of the villages in Lake Tegano is called Hutuna which is the Rennellese interpretation of Wallis & Futuna