MALAITA

also called Mala, volcanic island in the Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean. It lies 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Guadalcanal across Indispensable Strait. The island is about 115 miles (185 km) long and 22 miles (35 km) across at its widest point, is mountainous (rising to Mount Ire [Mount Kolourat; 4,718 feet, or 1,438 m] in the centre), and is covered with dense forests. It is separated from Maramasike Island at its southeastern end by a narrow channel. The development of sugar plantations in Queensland (Australia) and Fiji in the mid-19th century led to a sometimes brutal recruitment of the local Melanesian inhabitants, provoking reprisals by the islanders and the establishment of a British protectorate in 1893. After World War II a strongly anti-European movement known as Marching Rule came into being and aimed to dominate local affairs. A rapprochement in the 1950s between the government and the leaders culminated in the formation of an organized local council for the first time. The population engages in copra production, rice and cacao cultivation, and boatbuilding. There is an airstrip at Auki on the west coast. Pop. (1986 est.) Malaita, Maramasike, and other adjacent islands, 77,900.