Vaghena Island

Wagina Island—or as it used to be misspelled in colonial times, Vaghena Island—is a small community in the Solomon Islands with 320 inhabitants, most of whom live along the shores of the Kenli Bay, where a small docking station is built for both residents and visitors. There are three villages in Wagina: Kukutin, Arariki and Nikumaroro. The inhabitants of this island are ethnic I-Kiribati (Micronesians), who were relocated to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (now simply referred to as the Solomon Islands) from the islands of Orona (Hull Island) and Nikumaroro (Gardener Island) in the 1950s. This was subsequent to them having been settled on these previously uninhabited islands in the Phoenix Group from various islands in the Gilberts archipelago in the 1930s. The original resettlement in the 1930s was on alleged grounds of overcrowding, particularly on drought prone islands in the southern Gilberts. The second resettlement was on alleged grounds of the islands in the Phoenix group having harsh living conditions and also prone to drought, although remoteness and costs falling on the colonial administration also played parts. The easiest way to reach Wagina is by plane to Kagau Airstrip, Choiseul Province, from Honiara (currently twice a week). From Kagau it takes only 45 – 60 minutes by OBM to Wagina.