Malaita, Solomon Islands - 'members by wayside' - postcard c.1970s

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  "Members by the wayside at Malaita, Solomon Islands, Melanesia"
• Publisher: none stated
• Postally used: no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: slight fault top left edge

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).

------------------------------------------------

Postage & Packing:

Postage and packing charge should be showing for your location (contact if not sure).

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. Please wait for combined invoice. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

----------------------------------------------

Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

*************

Malaita is the largest island of the Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. South Malaita Island, also known as Small Malaita and Maramasike for Areare speakers and Malamweimwei known to more than 80% of the islanders, is the island at the southern tip of the larger island of Malaita. A tropical and mountainous island, Malaita's pristine river systems and tropical forests have not been exploited. Malaita is the second most populous island (after Guadalcanal) of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 140,000,[2] or more than a third of the entire national population. The largest city and provincial capital is Auki, on the northwest coast and is on the northern shore of the Langa Langa Lagoon.[3] The people of the Langa Langa Lagoon and the Lau Lagoon on the northeast coast of Malaita call themselves wane i asi ‘salt-water people’ as distinct from wane i tolo ‘bush people’ who live in the interior of the island.[4]

Malaita is a thin island, about 102 miles (164 km) long and 23 miles (37 km) wide at its widest point. Its length is in a north-northwest-to-south-southeast direction, but local custom and official use generally rotate it to straight north-south orientation, and generally refer to the "east coast" or "northern end," when northeast or northwest would be more accurate.[41] To the southwest is the Indispensable Strait, which separates it from Guadalcanal and the Florida Islands. To the northeast and east is open Pacific Ocean, except for the small Sikaiana, part of the province 212 km northeast. To the northwest of the island is Santa Isabel Island. To the immediate southwest is South Malaita Island (also called Small Malaita or Maramasike), separated by the narrow Maramasike Passage. Beyond that is Makira, the southernmost large island in the Solomon archipelago.

Malaita's climate is extremely wet. It is located in the Intertropical Convergence Zone ("Doldrums"), with its fickle weather patterns. The sun is at zenith over Malaita, and thus the effect is most pronounced, in November and February. Trade winds come during the Southern Hemisphere's winter, and from about April to August they blow from the southeast fairly steadily. During the summer, fringes of monsoon blow over the island. Because of the surrounding sea, air temperatures are fairly consistent, with a difference between daily highs and lows averaging to 13.6 °F However, across the year, the difference is much less; the mean daily temperature in the warmest month is only 3.4 °F warmer than that of the coolest. Rainfall is heavy and there is constant high humidity. The most common daily pattern follows an adiabatic process, with a calm, clear morning, followed by a breeze blowing in from higher pressures over the sea, culminating in a cloudy and drizzly afternoon. At night, the weather pattern reverses, and drizzle and heavy dew dissipate the cloud cover for the morning. Tropical cyclones are the only violent weather, but they can be destructive.[42]

Like the other islands in the archipelago, Malaita is near the Andesite line and thus forms part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Earthquakes are common on the island, but there is little evidence of current volcanic activity. The main structural feature of Malaita is the central ridge which runs along the length of the island, with flanking ridges and a few outlying hills. There is a central hilly country, between Auki and the Kwai Harbor, which separates the central ridge into northern and southern halves, the latter being somewhat longer. The northern ridge reaches a height of about 3,200 feet (975 m), while the southern goes up to 4,700 feet (1,430 m). Geologically, Malaita has a basaltic intrusive core, covered in most places by strata of sedimentary rock, especially limestone and chert, and littered with fossils. The limestone provides numerous sinkholes and caverns.[43]