Honiara In the 1960s, Pijin became its principal language, and the mother tongue of a generation of young urban adults and children. Through Honiara the language spread and has since become the main language spoken in the islands. Rhys Richards, a New Zealand historian and former New Zealand High Commissioner of Solomon Islands, spent many years in Honiara. In 1979 Honiara was still a relatively small town in terms of population, especially for a capital city, with 18,346 people, of which 10,870 were men, and 7,476 were women. In July 1978, Honiara became the new capital of the independent Solomon Islands.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Honiara erected the Province of Honiara in 1978, made a pastoral visit to the Archdiocese on 9 May 1984. The territory of the Archdiocese has been largely left unchanged since the erection of the Diocese of Auki in 1982. It includes the five Provinces of Guadalcanal, Makira-Ulawa, Temotu, Central Islands, Rennell and Belona, and the area governed by the Honiara Town Council. The Archdiocese is responsible for some 60,312 Catholics, who represent just over 22% of the local population. 48 diocesan and religious priests with 100 religious in the 11 religious congregations present serve in 13 parishes and other apostolates. The