Western Province (Solomon Islands)
| Western Province | ||
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| Province | ||
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| Coordinates: 8°0′S 157°0′E / 8.000°S 157.000°E | ||
| Country |
 Solomon Islands
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| Capital | Gizo | |
| Government | ||
| • Premier | George Solingi Lilo | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 5,475 km2 (2,114 sq mi) | |
| Population (2009 census) | ||
| • Total | 76,649 | |
| • Density | 14/km2 (36/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | +11 (UTC+11) | |
Coordinates: 8°00′S 157°00′E / 8.000°S 157.000°E
Western Province is the largest of the provinces of the Solomon Islands. The area is renowned for its beautiful tropical islands, excellent diving and snorkelling, coral reefs and WWII wrecks, ecotourism lodges, and head-hunting shrines. The province contains many small lagoons and most of the country's tourist trade outside Honiara.
The Methodist Mission in the Western Province was established by Rev. John Frances Goldie in 1902. He dominated the mission and gained the loyalty of Solomon Islander members of his church. The relationship with the colonial administrators of the British Solomon Island Protectorate were also fraught with difficulty, at this time due to Goldie’s effective control over the Western Solomon Islands. From 1927 to 1934 Dr Edward Sayers worked at the Methodist mission where he established a hospital at Gizo, and also at Munda and Vella Lavella, and carried out fieldwork in the treatment of malaria. It is also renowned as where the American Navy ship commanded by John F. Kennedy was bombed and sunk by the Japanese during the Second World War.
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Wikipedia