New Georgia

New Georgia is one of the larger islands in the New Georgia Islands group in the Solomon Islands’ Western Province, known for its rugged rainforest interior and wartime history. The island includes coastal villages, cultivated lands, and a small urban centre at Munda.

Historical sites related to the 1943 New Georgia Campaign are found around Munda and Munda Point, where an airfield was a strategic objective during the Pacific campaign. Divers, hikers, and history visitors come to see wrecks, relics, and wartime fortifications alongside natural attractions.

Today the island supports subsistence agriculture, fishing and small-scale tourism, with connections by boat and air to other islands in the province. The landscape combines lowland coasts, reef systems, and interior hills covered in tropical forest.

Geographically New Georgia lies in the central Solomon Islands archipelago and is part of the Western Province, roughly 1,500 to 2,000 kilometers northeast of Brisbane, Australia, depending on routing.

• World War II history: Site of significant World War II fighting during the New Georgia Campaign in 1943, with battlefield remnants and memorials around Munda Point.
• Access and local economy: The island is accessible by small planes and boats from other Solomon Islands centres and serves as a local agricultural and fishing hub for Western Province communities.

What to See#

• Munda and Munda Point airfield: Munda, the main urban centre on the island with an airstrip and remnants of World War II infrastructure including the old airfield at Munda Point.
• Interior and coastal zones: Interior rainforest and coastal reef systems that support local villages and subsistence fishing communities across the island.

Access to New Georgia is generally via domestic flights to Gizo (Gizo/Seghe) followed by boat transfers, or by inter-island boat services. Travel times depend on schedules and weather; charter boats are commonly used for island-hopping.