White River, Honiara

White River is a suburb on the fringe of Honiara, Solomon Islands and is located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of the main center on the Tandai Highway.[1] White River is in the Honiara City Council ward of Nggosi.[2] A water spring supplies water to the community.[3]

White River
Suburb
Redevelopments in White River
White River
Location in Honiara (Council boundary-red box)
Coordinates: 9°26′S 159°55′E
Country Solomon Islands
ProvinceHoniara Town
IslandGuadalcanal
Elevation
30 - 100 m (−300 ft)
Population
 • Total4,000
Time zoneUTC+11 (UTC)

White River is East of Kakabona and West of Tandai.

Tandai/Tadai Highway

In 1966, the main coastal road out of Honiara west of Rove Creek as far as Poha River was named Tadai which connected the Mendana Avenue through Honiara and after Mataniko River to Prince Philip Highway.[4]

Villages
  • Wind Valley
  • Independence Valley
  • Laundry Valley
  • Banana Valley
  • Namoruka
Panorama of White River Markets

Squatter settlements

According to a 2009 study 23% of the White River community are squatter settlements.[5] Tensions surrounding the squatters continue and in 2014 houses in the Independence Valley were burnt down.[6][7]

Government approved areas were provided in White River where people were allowed to settle providing they had a licence and had to pay rent to the Lands Division usually for a 12-month period at $10.00 per household per year.[8]

Education
  • White River High School
  • White River Kindergarten
  • Kelyn Pre School

Churches
  • Roman Catholic parish
  • Anglican Church
  • Seventh Day Adventist Church
  • Apostolic Life Church
  • Agape Church
  • Solomon Islands Revival Fellowship Church [9]
  • The church of Christ of latter-Day saints
Panorama of White River School

Culture

A dance program held in 1974 at White River recorded 20 dancers taking part in the mu'aabaka [10]

Law and Order
  • White River Police Post

Before the 2006 riots 3,000 Malaitans, mainly youths and young men insulted by graffiti, went in pursuit of Rennell and Bellona settlers in White River. Shops were ransacked and people were injured and forty-five arrests were made, the national Government paid Malaita Province S$200,000 in compensation.[11]

2014 Floods

White River was severely affected as a result of the 2014 floods [12]

Commerce

There are several commercial areas in the area, near the Centre there are six or seven shops, and on the main road across from Karaina is one of the largest betel nut markets in Solomon Islands. There are several new Chinese shops near the O1 and O2 bus stops.

The White River market was established in 2001 by the Westside Women for Peace. Women from rural North West Guadalcanal, on the provincial side of White River, would bring fresh vegetables, root crops, fish, and raw meat such as wild pig. Women from Malaita, based in the capital Honiara, would bring non-perishable food items from the stores.[13] On October 11, 2005, notices were served and signed by the government official, instructing the Westside Women for Peace to remove all privately built stalls in the market within five days, to cease market activities on Sundays and to cooperate with government officials on any developments in the area.[13] The White River Markets still operate unlicensed and informal, with marketers targeted by the Honiara City Council for operating without a license.[13]

  • Eucheuma Cottonii Seaweed business [14]

Employment

A study reports that 67% of youths at White River state they receive no regular income sources.[15]

Tourism
  • Rain Tree Bed and Breakfast [16]
  • The Ofis [17]

Recording Studios

The song Bereft of a mother (composer Pu Timoio of Tavi lineage of Kafika) was recorded in 1928 and in 1973 at White River. The composer mourns the death of his mother in a moving reference to the care shee took.[18]

  • Mountol Sound Studio [19]
  • Brekin Records

Sport
  • White River Demons AFL football Club [20]
  • White River High School rugby [21]
  • White River High School Soccer Club [22]
  • White River Boxing Club [23]
Panorama of White River Health Clinic
  • White river Rookies Basketball Team
  • West side Bullets Basketball Team
  • White River Rainbow Volleyball Team
  • West crown Tigers Soccer Club
  • Avaiki Rugby Club
  • Tia warriors Rugby Club

Health
  • White River Health Clinic [24]

Power Station

Land has been acquired for the construction of a 33kV White River Substation.[25]

Languages
  • Ghari language

Notable people
  • Jimmy Nare (artist)[26]
Photos of White River
  • White River Police Station
  • Village on White River Rd facing North
  • River Lodge on Tandai Hwy, White River facing North
  • The Ofis bed & breakfast & pizza off Tandai Hwy

References
  1. Geographic Information Unit (June 2004). HONIARA LOCATION GUIDE. Department of Lands and Survey. p. 205.
  2. Honiara City Council. "Ward Map". Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. "SOLOMON ISLANDS TECHNICAL MISSION REPORT WATER QUALITY MONITORING & WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT, HONIARA" (PDF). EU-SOPAC. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  4. "Tadai Highway". Solomon Islands Historical Encyclopaedia 1893-1978. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  5. Jack Maebuta (29 November 2009). Household livelihoods in Solomon Islands squatter settlements and its implications for education and development in post-conflict context (PDF). Australian Association for Research in Education International Education Research Conference.
  6. "Squatter Burning Raises Concerns". Solomon Times Online. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  7. "Squatter camp burning raises Solomons tensions". 1 Aug 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  8. Leonard Mason,Pat Hereniko,Andrew Ala (1987). In search of a home. [Suva, Fiji]: Institute of Pacific Studies of the University of the South Pacific. ISBN 978-982-01-0016-9.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. RODOLFO MAGGIO. "Pentecostal Churches in Honiara" (PDF). Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  10. Rossen, Jane Mink (1987). Songs of Bellona Island = Na taungua o Mungiki. Copenhagen: Forlaget Kragen. ISBN 978-87-980636-8-1. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  11. Clive Moore. "Helpem Fren: The Solomon Islands and RAMSI, 2003-2006" (PDF). The University of Queensland. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  12. "Floods hit Honiara, communities prepare for cyclone". ReliefWeb. 4 Apr 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  13. "Economic Opportunities for Women in the Pacific" (PDF). World Bank. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  14. "B2 Seaweed Traders". Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  15. World Bank (7 May 2014). East Asia Pacific at Work: Employment, Enterprise, and Well-being. ISBN 978-1-4648-0005-4. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  16. Lonely Planet. http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g294140-d1092803-Reviews-Rain_Tree_Bed_and_Breakfast-Honiara_Guadalcanal_Island.html. Retrieved 21 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. "The Ofis Facebook Page". Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  18. McLean, Raymond Firth with Mervyn (2006). Tikopia songs : poetic and musical art of a Polynesian people of the Solomon Islands (1st pbk ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-03205-6. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  19. "Meet Daudaulinga Mafrosi String Band". Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  20. "Australian AFL football team cleans up hospital in flood-hit Solomon Islands". 17 April 2014. Radio Australia. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  21. "White River triumph in Rugby". Island Sun. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  22. "School visit earns All Whites top marks with locals". NZFootball.
  23. "The White River Boxing Club - The Solomon Islands". Sport for Change. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  24. "White River clinic to reopen soon". Solomon Star. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  25. Ernst & Young Sustainability Co., Ltd. "Ex-Post Evaluation of Japanese Grant Aid Project The Project for Improvement of Honiara Power Supply in Solomon Islands" (PDF). Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  26. l-artiste http://www.l-artiste.com/#!jimmy-nare/cm3z. Retrieved 21 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)

See also
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