The Solomon Islands is an independent commonwealth country situated approximately 2,000 kilometres north east of Australia. It is comprised of approximately 1,000 islands that have a total land surface area of approximately 29,000 square kilometres and are home to nearly 600,000 people.

The Solomon Islands lie adjacent to the plate boundaries of the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates. With active volcanoes, frequent earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis, it is a very active geological area and frequent deaths result from the effects of large scale geological events.

With independence being declared in 1978, the Solomon Islands are a relatively new nation and, as a consequence, it is still in the process of establishing political and economic stability. Since independence, there has been frequent political strife with allegations of corruption, coercion, frequent votes of no-confidence in leaders and constantly changing governments and political alliances. The economy has been very fragile, relying heavily on the export of timber, which grows abundantly on the volcanic mountainsides.

Solomon Islands is governed through a 50 member unicameral parliament. The Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II, represented by the Governor General, and the head of government is the elected Prime Minister. Due to escalating political strife and the government’s inability to maintain control between rival racial groups, a national governmental request was made to neighbouring nations for assistance. As a result, an international peace-keeping force, led primarily by Australia, of over 2000 trained personnel were sent to the nation in 2003 under the name ‘Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI)’, with a long-term mission to achieve and maintain peace, stability and economic recovery for the nation.

Melanesian pidjin is the language for general communication among the 120 indigenous languages spoke. English is the official language, but in name only, as it is little used outside official circles. Solomon Islands embraced Christianity following missionary involvement in the 18^th and 19^th centuries with the Church of Melanesia, Roman Catholic, South Seas Evangelical and Seventh Day Adventist churches now all well represented.