Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island—5.5 by 1 kilometre (3.42 by 0.62 mi), area 2.08 square kilometres (0.80 sq mi)—in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 1896 to 1942 and is today the capital of the Central Province. The capital of what is now the state of Solomon Islands moved to Honiara, Guadalcanal, after World War II.
Ngella Island | |
Tulagi Tulagi Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Solomon Islands |
| Coordinates | 9°06′05″S 160°08′48″E |
| Area | 2.08 km2 (0.80 sq mi) |
| Length | 2.8 km (1.74 mi) |
| Width | 0.8 km (0.5 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 100 m (300 ft) |
| Administration | |
Solomon Islands | |
| Province | Central |
| Island group | Nggela (Florida) Islands |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 1,251 (2009) |
The island was originally chosen by the British as a comparatively isolated and healthier alternative to the disease-ridden larger islands of the Solomon Islands archipelago.
In October 2019, the government of Central Province signed a deal to grant the 75-year lease of the entire island of Tulagi to a Chinese company China Sam Enterprise Group. However, this was declared unconstitutional by the Solomon Islands parliament after a week and, consequently, the deal was cancelled.