Rennell and Bellona Province

Rennell and Bellona is a province of the Solomon Islands comprising two inhabited atolls, Rennell and Bellona, or Mu Ngava and Mu Ngiki respectively in Polynesian, as well as the uninhabited Indispensable Reef. Rennell and Bellona are both Polynesian-inhabited islands within the predominantly Melanesian Solomons. They are thus considered Polynesian outliers. The first known European to sight the islands was Mathew Boyd of Camberwell, London, commander of the merchant ship, Bellona, in 1793. The province has a combined population of 3,041 (2009 census). The Samoic language of the islands is, in English texts, called Rennellese. The capital is Tigoa on Rennell Island.HistoryIn 1793 Bellona Island was named after a passing British ship, the Bellona. Rennell Island may have been named for the oceanographer James Rennell, FRS (1742 - 1830). In 1799, according to a chart, both islands were named Bellona Island. In 1816 the islands were referred to as Rennell’s Isles.