Nggela Islands

The Nggela Islands from the air. Photo by Jim Lounsbury

Map of the Florida Islands

The Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of the Solomon Islands, a state in the southwest Pacific Ocean.

The chain is composed of the main island, Nggela Sule, as well as a number of smaller islands, including Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo. The name Florida Island is sometimes also used to refer to Nggela Sule.

History

The Nggela Islands group lies immediately north of the more famous island of Guadalcanal, the scene of the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II; however, Nggela Sule itself was garrisoned by the Japanese in April 1942 in connection with their efforts to establish a seaplane base on neighboring Gavutu. On 7 August of the same year, the United States 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment landed on the island to provide cover for the assault on the neighboring Tulagi islet. Florida Island would never become as famous as Guadalcanal, although it did serve as a small, very secondary base of operations for the US & Australian and New Zealand war effort in the Pacific for the duration of the war. Following the Allied liberation of the island from the Japanese, it became the site of a US seaplane base. The island subsequently served as a watering point for the US Navy, diverting water from an underground source on the island.

Fauna

The possibly extinct Florida Naked-tailed Rat was endemic to the Nggela Islands. Other animals include Solomon's Naked-backed Fruit Bat, Long-tongued Nectar Bat, Woodford's Fruit Bat, Island Tube-nosed Fruit Bat, Dwarf Flying Fox, Geoffroy's Rousette, Dark Sheath-tailed Bat, Diadem Leaf-nosed Bat, Great Bent-winged Bat. The Black Rat is introduced.