Shortland Island

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.

One platoon remained in the area to begin establishing Shortland Harbour Seaplane Base.

[3] The Allies considered invading the seaplane base in August 1943, but chose instead to bypass the Shortlands for Bougainville Island and the Treasury Islands, leaving the Shortlands under Japanese control until the war's end.

On January 8, 1944, an Allied force of two light cruisers and five destroyers bombarded the installations on Shortland Island.