Shortland Island (once known as Alu) is the largest island of the Shortland Islands archipelago, in the Western Province of Solomon Islands, at 7°3′S 155°45′E / 7.050°S 155.750°E.
The original name was a Melanesian word,[1] while the current name was given to the island by Royal Navy officer John Shortland in 1788. Shortland was the naval commander of a 1777–79 voyage by the First Fleet to establish a penal colony at Botany Bay, Australia.[2]
- ^ Ray, Sidney Herbert (1926). Comparative Study of the Melanesian Island Languages. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. p. 584. ISBN 978-1-107-68202-3. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
- ^ McMartin, Arthur (1967). "Shortland, John (1739 - 1803)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 2. Melbourne: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. pp. 442–443. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 2020-03-28.