HARBOUR AT TULAGI

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23714, 12 August 1942, Page 3

HARBOUR AT TULAGI

POSSIBILITIES AS NAVAL BASE As a potential site for a splendid naval base, the waters enclosed by the islands of the Solomons group may have been a powerful attraction to the Japanese, apart from the facility for the construction of airfields offered by several of the islands. Near Tulagi, which was the British administrative centre of the group, lying a little south of the geographical centre, are several other islets enclosing a sheet of water known as Port Jarvis; and this minor group is again sheltered by much larger islands. When the late Lord Jellicoe visited Tulagi he was deeply impressed with the possibilities of the adjacent waters as a naval base for the Pacific. He maintained that the whole of the British Navy could comfortably be accommodated there and that, in the event of war. naval assistance would be available for the defence of both New Zealand and Australia, the distance being not more than 2000 miles from the coasts of either country. ' The location of Port Jarvis is not shown on most maps, but it can be visualised in relation to the major islands of the group. The group comprises 10 large islands and innumerable small ones of a land area of 14,600 square miles, running in a double row, 900 miles long, from northwest to south-east, and thus enclosing a large land-locked area of sea. Tulagi in Central Sea From west to east, -the major islands of the northerly row are Bougainville. Choiscul, Ysabel. Malaita, Ulawa: and in the southerly row Shortland. Vella Lavclla. Kolombangara. New Georgia. Vanguna. Russell. Guadalcanal and San Cristoval (Makira). In tlie centre of the sea enclosed by Ysabel, Malaita. and Guadalcanal 1 lies the island of Florida. Separated from Florida by an extremely narrow channel on its south coast is the tiny island of Tulagi, only three miles in circumference. It has achieved importance solely by its possession of a deepwater harbour with a good anchorage. Tulagi. lying under the mass of Florida to the north is also sheltered to the south by the minor islands of Makambo, a few chains away, and Gavutu. at a distance of three miles. Thus the favourable situation of Port Jarvis is formed within a cluster of islets. Access from the west and south is open, but to the east there is only a narrow passage. 10 miles in length, known as Boli Pass, at the seaward or eastern end of which is a large expanse of flat land, a portion of Florida, where the Melanesian Mission has a large establishment. This site was considered bv Lord Jellicoe to be admirable for ah air base. The Japanese were

FIRST OFFENSIVE ACTION VT|7\l7 MAT7I7 *ITTI7I T r*AHfPF

NEW MOVE WELCOMED IN U.S.

LONDON, August 10,

British and American newspaper* hail the Allied attack in the Solomon Islands as the long' awaited turn from a defensive to an offensive strategy, but they comment with caution upon the probable outcome of the battle. The “New York Herald Tribune’’ says: “The eight months of retreat, defeat, and purely defensive strategy have been broken at last. As accumulating hints and bits of news indicate that what has opened in the Solomon Islands is the first offensive effort of the United Nations in the Pacific, it is impossible to restrain a deep surge of enthusiasm and relief. What the battle has brought forth we cannot tell, but there is no longer any doubt that the operation is a big one and a genuine offensive stroke. The fact that it could be made alone reveals how far the strategic pattern in the Pacific has been shifting. “The simultaneous attack in the Solomon Islands and the United States naval bombardment of Kiska, combined in one plan. show that our power in the Pacific is growing and making its effectiveness felt. The initiative is here in our hands. We are taking risks and forcing the pace as the Japanese so long have done. Once we bring our offensive power to bear, whatever the costs and set-backs, that spirit will not be relinquished and the course of the war will not again be the same." In London, “The Times" says: “The combined New Guinea, New Britain, and Solomon Islands attack bears’ all the marks of a deliberate offensive planned well ahead. It explains the comparative lull in this area, which caused uneasiness in Australia last week. Previously the United Nations were on the defensive in that part of the world, as elsewhere. Now there is an offensive designed to oust the enemy from places which he occupied months ago, and in which he has been consolidating him--self ever since.”

recently reported to be energetically constructing runways on Guadalcanal not far to the south. The town of Tulagi is very small. It has the Administration headquarters, one European hotel and one European store owned by Morris, Hedstrom. Burns. Philp have a store on Makambo. and Lever Brothers one on Gavutu. The presence of Japanese traders has certainly ensured their Government being well informed of the value of the place.