Not to be confused with
Makura
, an island off nearby Vanuatu also known as “Makira”.
An island in Solomon Islands
The island of
Makira
(previously known as
San Cristobal
) is the largest island of
Makira-Ulawa Province
in
Solomon Islands
. It is third most populous of the Solomon Islands after
Malaita
and
Guadalcanal
, with a population of 55,126 as of 2020. The island is located east of
Guadalcanal
and south of
Malaita
. The largest and capital city is
Kirakira
.
History
[
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]
The first recorded sighting by Europeans of Makira was by the Spanish expedition of
Alvaro de Mendana
in June 1568. More precisely the sighting and also landing in San Cristobal was due to a local voyage that set out from
Guadalcanal
in a small boat, in the accounts the
brigantine
Santiago
, commanded by
Alferez
Hernando Enriquez
and having
Hernan Gallego
as pilot. They charted it as
San Cristobal
.
[1]
[2]
Education
[
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]
The
Stuyvenberg Rural Training Centre
is a rural
boarding
centre of
vocational education
by
the Society of Mary
, located on the north coast of eastern Makira.
[3]
Environment
[
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]
A 182,550 ha tract of largely forested land encompassing the eastern part of the island has been identified by
BirdLife International
as an
Important Bird Area
(IBA) because it supports populations of several
threatened
or
endemic
bird species. The site extends from the rocky cliffs of the coast to the island's central Bauro Highlands, including the catchments of the Warihito and Raro Rivers, reaching an altitude of 1,200 m, and consisting largely of
tropical rainforest
. The landscape is rugged, with steep-sided valleys, many streams and waterfalls, and small perched floodplains. Potential threats to the environment are
logging
,
invasive species
and human
population growth
.
[4]
Birds
[
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]
Significant birds include
Melanesian scrubfowl
,
yellow-legged pigeons
,
crested cuckoo-doves
,
red-knobbed
and
chestnut-bellied imperial pigeons
,
white-headed fruit doves
,
Makira boobooks
,
pied goshawks
,
Sanford's sea eagles
,
San Cristobal dwarf kingfishers
,
Meek's
and
duchess lorikeets
,
yellow-bibbed lories
,
green pygmy-parrots
,
Makira honeyeaters
,
sooty myzomelas
,
long-tailed trillers
,
dusky fantails
,
Makira flycatchers
,
white-collared
and
Makira monarchs
,
island leaf-warblers
,
shade bush warblers
,
grey-throated white-eyes
,
Makira starlings
,
Makira thrushes
and
mottled flowerpeckers
. The
Makira woodhen
, or moorhen, has not been seen since 1953; the
thick-billed ground dove
has not been recorded since 1927 and is presumed extinct.
[4]
Other biota
[
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]
Five species of restricted-range
bats
have been recorded, as well as a possibly new species of giant rat (
Solomys
). There are two species of endemic fig (
Ficus
).
[4]
Notable people
[
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]
Gallery
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Sharp, Andrew
The discovery of the Pacific Islands
Oxford, 1960, pp.46,47.
- ^
Brand, Donald D.
The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations
The American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.133.
- ^
SOLOMON ISLANDS. Study to Support the Development of a National Skills Training Plan
(Report). Washington: East Asia and Pacific Region. Human Development Sector Unit. The World Bank. March 2007. Report No. 39317-SB.
- ^
a
b
c
"East Makira"
.
BirdLife Data Zone
. BirdLife International
. Retrieved
6 October
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]
- Media related to
Makira
at Wikimedia Commons