Choiseul Province: History
=== Discovery and naming ===
When the natives first arrived and discovered the big island, they called it Lauru. Then, in 1568, the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira rediscovered the island and named it San Marcos ('Saint Mark'). Mendana himself never set foot on Lauru. He called it San Marcos, because he saw the island from Santa Isabel on the Day of Saint Mark.
200 years later in 1768, the French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville saw the island again and named it Choiseul after the Minister of foreign affairs and statesman Choiseul.
Today, the two most common names for the island are Choiseul and Lauru. San Marcos is not commonly used in the present day.
Choiseul Province was initially not part of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (BSIP). Like Buka, Bougainville (both now part of Papua New Guinea's North Solomons Province), Santa Isabel, and the Ontong Islands, it was part of the German Solomon Islands in 1884. Fifteen years later, in 1899, Germany ceded Choiseul, Isabel and Ontong Java to the British to become part of the British Solomon Islands. In 1900, Charles Morris Woodford, the Resident Commissioner for the Solomon Islands sailed to Choiseul via Isabel on a ship Torch and planted the British flag on Choiseul on 23 August 1900. Proclaiming Choiseul as part of the British Solomon.
During World War II, North West Choiseul, along the Nukiki to Voza corridor was partly occupied by Japanese military forces whose garrison was raided by US marine forces in October and November 1943. The protectorate (BSIP) set up the Choiseul Council in 1948. The council consisted of representatives of the seven sub districts in Choiseul. It met twice a year with the District Commissioner to discuss its business.
Eagon Resource Company Limited was the first logging company to operate in Choiseul when it arrived in Moli in 1989.
The Choiseul Township Project Office was established in 2008. Starting in 2009, a short term Land Consultant has facilitated the process of acquiring perpetual estate in Parcel 015–002–4, which was purchased under the Sales and Purchase Agreement. On 21 December 2011, in the village of Poroporo, the Minister of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening, Hon. Walter Folotalu presided over the signing ceremony of the procurement of perpetual estate to the Provincial Government. On that day, the Minister handed over a cheque of SI$4 million as part payment of the purchase price of SI$10,040,000 for a piece of land. The payment was made to the landowners in the mainland.
On 25 June 2010, the MV. San Marcos, the second ship of Lauru Shipping is commissioned in Taro. San Marcos is a cargo boat of 35 metre, 340 tonne, 250 cubic metres loading capacity and can travel at 10 knots. The vessel was bought from Japan for SI$3.7 million (US$458,800.84), with the national government funding SI$1 million (US$124,000.23), Taiwan SI$1 million (US$12,400.02), Lauru Shipping Company SB$1.6 million (US$198,400.36) and South Choiseul Constituency SB$100,000 (US$12,400.02).
The first diesel generator house for Taro was built in 2011. It was brought to provide lights for the first Premiers' Conference to be held in Choiseul later that year. A new Provincial Assembly Hall was built and completed in 2011 with support from the PGSP funding to accommodate the Premiers' Conference in Taro. Choiseul Bay Airport was upgraded in 2011, with its first terminal being built. It was also fenced in. …