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Rendova Island is an island, one of the New Georgia Islands of Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, east of Papua New Guinea. There are two indigenous languages spoken on Rendova Island: the Austronesian language Ughele in the north, and the Papuan language Touo in the south.
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Map of Rendova, Solomon Islands
The black-sand beaches along the South-West coast of Rendova are an important nesting ground for the critically endangered leatherback turtle. Community-based conservation organisation the Tetepare Descendants' Association runs a leatherback conservation program in the villages of Baniata, Havilla and Retavo on this coastline.
Rendova is the setting for the humorous book Solomon Time by Will Randall, about a British school teacher who moves to a village on Rendova to help organise a community project.
World War II
In 1943, the US Allies' major base for PT boats was in Rendova. Solomon Islanders Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana paddled their dugout canoe 35 miles (60 km) to reach the base and deliver a message inscribed on a coconut from then-Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy after his PT boat, PT 109, was run down by the Japanese destroyer IJNS Amagiri and he and his crew were stranded on one of the local islands.