Rennell and Bellona Province

Rennell and Bellona is one of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands, comprising two inhabited raised coral atolls, Rennell and Bellona, or Mu Gava and Mu Giki respectively in Rennellese (a Polynesian language), 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 least populous province of Solomon Islands. The Samoic language of the islands is, in English texts, called Rennellese. The province's capital is Tigoa, on Rennell Island.