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 The Nggela islands group, with Tulagi off the south coast of Nggela Sule | |
  Tulagi Location in Solomon Islands | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | South Pacific |
| Coordinates | 9°06′05″S160°08′48″E / 9.10139°S 160.14667°E /-9.10139; 160.14667 |
| Archipelago | Nggela Islands |
| 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 | |
| Province | Central |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 1,251 (2009) |
Tulagi (less commonly known asTulaghi) is a small island inSolomon Islands, just off the south coast ofNgella Sule. The town of Tulagi is the capital of theCentral Province.
The first recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition ofÁlvaro de Mendaña on 16 April 1568. More precisely the sighting was due to a local voyage done by a small boat, in the accounts thebrigantineSantiago, commanded byMaestre de CampoPedro Ortega Valencia and havingHernán Gallego as pilot.[1][2]
From 1896 to 1942, the town of Tulagi was the capital of theBritish Solomon Islands Protectorate. This island was favored as better isolated and healthier than the disease-ridden larger islands of thearchipelago.
TheJapanese occupied Tulagi on May 3, 1942, with the intention of establishing aseaplane base nearby (seeJapanese Tulagi landing). The ships in Tulagi harbor were raided by planes fromUSS Yorktown the following day in a prelude to theBattle of the Coral Sea.
Allied forces, primarily the 1stMarine Raiders, landed on August 7 and captured Tulagi as part ofOperation Watchtower after a day of hard fighting.
After its capture byUnited States Navy andMarine Corps forces, the island hosted a squadron ofPT boats for a year (includingJohn F. Kennedy'sPT-109) and other ancillary facilities. A small 20-bed dispensary was operated on Tulagi until its closure in 1946. The island also formed part ofPurvis Bay, which hosted many US Navy ships through 1942 and 1943.
AfterWorld War II, the capital the state of Solomon Islands moved toHoniara,Guadalcanal. While Tulagi is today the capital of theCentral Province.
The present-day Tulagi has afishing fleet.
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.[3] However, this was declared unconstitutional by the Solomon Islands parliament after a week and, consequently, the deal was cancelled.
Tulagi offers numerousscuba diving locations. The wrecks ofUSSAaron Ward,USSKanawha, andHMNZSMoa are close by, and the wrecks ofIronbottom Sound are not much further off, to the south and west. These three ships were all sunk in the same Japanese naval air raid, part of the Operation "I" on April 7, 1943. TheWard lies upright and intact, its deck replete with artifacts, on a sandy bottom at 70 metres (230 feet).
Tulagi is developing atourism industry based on scuba.[citation needed]
| Climate data for Tulagi | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 31 (87) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 31 (87) | 31 (88) | 32 (89) | 31 (87) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 24 (76) | 24 (76) | 24 (76) | 24 (76) | 24 (76) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 23 (74) | 24 (76) | 24 (76) | 24 (76) | 24 (76) | 24 (76) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 360 (14.3) | 400 (15.8) | 64 (2.5) | 51 (2) | 210 (8.1) | 170 (6.8) | 190 (7.6) | 220 (8.7) | 200 (8) | 220 (8.7) | 250 (10) | 260 (10.4) | 2,560 (100.9) |
| Source: Weatherbase[4] | |||||||||||||
| Central | |
|---|---|
| Choiseul | |
| Guadalcanal | |
| Isabel | |
| Makira-Ulawa | |
| Malaita | |
| Rennell and Bellona | |
| Temotu | |
| Western | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
