Makira/Ulawa Province

Makira, Ulawa and their seven small neighbours are sometimes called the Eastern Solomons, although Temotu Province is further east. The main island of Makira is 3,188 sq km with other islands within 32 km of its shores except for Ulawa, 75 km distant.

The province, with a population of 28,000 people, is well known for it's preservation of ancient traditions with dancers in Star Harbour, Santa Ana, Santa Catalina, and Ulawa, being particularly skilled. the province's first inhabitants, the Lapita, settled on Makira Island from about 1400 BC where pottery has been found and although much of their past was violent there were also long periods of peace.

During such times ceramics were made and trade flourished between Makira and Ulawa, and large canoes came annually from Temotu Province. Two thirds of the Makira island's 22,500 pure Melanesian people live on the northern coast leaving much of the steep southern shore sparsely populated. Makira has more swamps than any other island in the country. Solomon Airlines operates weekly scheduled flights to Kira Kira provincial township.

Highlights

Carved house posts and inlaid bowls.
Tour the copra mill near Kira Kira the province's capital.
Black sand beaches on Makira Island.
Turtle nesting beach on Santa Ana Island.
Custom houses at the traditional village of Natagera, Santa Ana.

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