British Solomon Islands

For the current independent state, see Solomon Islands and History of Solomon Islands.

Solomon Islands Protectorate
1893–1978
Anthem: God Save the Queen (1893–1901; 1952–1978)
God Save the King (1901–1952)
StatusProtectorate of the United Kingdom
CapitalTulagi
(1893–1952)
Honiara
(1952–1978)
Common languagesEnglish (official)
Pijin
Rennellese, Tikopia, Ontong Java, Sikaiana, Vaeakau-Taumako
Religion
Christianity, native beliefs
GovernmentConstitutional monarchy
Monarch 
• 1893–1901
Victoria
• 1952–1978
Elizabeth II
Governor 
• 1896–1915
C. M. Woodford[a]
• 1976–1978
Colin Allan
LegislatureLegislative Council
History 
• Established
15 March 1893
14 November 1899
2 January 1976
• Independence
7 July 1978
CurrencySolomon Islands pound
(1916–1966)

Pound sterling
(1893–1920)
Australian pound
(1920–1966)
Australian dollar
(1966–1977)
Solomon Islands dollar
(1977–1978)
ISO 3166 codeSB
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
1893:
German
New Guinea
1945:
Japanese Military
Administration
1941:
Japanese Military
Administration
1978:
Solomon Islands

9°26′6.33″S 159°57′4.46″E / 9.4350917°S 159.9512389°E / -9.4350917; 159.9512389

The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first established in June 1893, when Captain Herbert Gibson of HMS Curacoa declared the southern Solomon Islands a British protectorate.[1][2]

Christian missionaries began visiting the Solomons from the 1840s, beginning with an attempt by French Catholics under Jean-Baptiste Epalle to establish a mission on Santa Isabel Island, which was abandoned after Epalle was killed by islanders in 1845.[3][4] Anglican missionaries began arriving from the 1850s, followed by other denominations, over time gaining a large number of converts.[5]

The Anglo-German Declarations about the Western Pacific Ocean (1886), established "spheres of influence" that Imperial Germany and the United Kingdom agreed, with Germany giving up its claim to the southern Solomon Islands. Following the formal declaration of the Protectorate in 1893, Bellona and Rennell Islands and Sikaiana (formerly the Stewart Islands) were added to the Protectorate in 1897, and the Santa Cruz group, the Reef Islands, Anuda (Cherry), Fataka (Mitre) and Trevannion Islands and Duff (Wilson) group in 1898. German interests in the islands to the east and south-east of Bougainville were transferred to the United Kingdom under the Samoa Tripartite Convention of 1899, in exchange for recognition of the German claim to Western Samoa. In October 1900, the High Commissioner issued a Proclamation extending the Protectorate to the islands in question, i.e. Choiseul, Ysabel, Shortland and Fauro Islands (each with its dependencies), the Tasman group, Lord Howe's group and Gower Island.[6][2]

The Protectorate was administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) until the Solomon Islands became independent in 1978. During the 1950s, the British colonial administration built a network of official local councils. On this platform Solomon Islanders with experience on the local councils started participation in central government, initially through the bureaucracy and then, from 1960, through the newly established Legislative and Executive Councils. The 1970 constitution replaced the Legislative and Executive Councils with a single Governing Council.

A new constitution was introduced in 1974 which established a standard Westminster form of government and gave the Islanders both Chief Ministerial and Cabinet responsibilities. Governing Council was transformed into the Legislative Assembly. The Protectorate that existed over Solomon Islands was ended under the terms of the Solomon Islands Act 1978.


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  1. ^ Lawrence, David Russell (October 2014). "Chapter 6 The British Solomon Islands Protectorate: Colonialism without capital" (PDF). The Naturalist and his "Beautiful Islands": Charles Morris Woodford in the Western Pacific. ANU Press. ISBN 9781925022032.
  2. ^ a b Commonwealth and Colonial Law by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. P. 897
  3. ^ "Exploration". Solomon Encyclopedia. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Issue on the Solomon Islands" (PDF). UN Department of Political Affairs. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Religion". Solomon Encyclopedia. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  6. ^ Lawrence, David Russell (October 2014). "Chapter 7 Expansion of the Protectorate 1898–1900" (PDF). The Naturalist and his "Beautiful Islands": Charles Morris Woodford in the Western Pacific. ANU Press. pp. 198–206. doi:10.22459/NBI.10.2014. ISBN 9781925022032.