Provinces of Solomon Islands from Tulagi to Honiara. At its independence in 1978, the protectorate became the sovereign state of Solomon Islands. Honiara continued to function as the capital of the sovereign nation, and the inherited districts and councils remained until 1981, when the nation was reorganised into seven provinces by splitting some of the districts into provinces: the Central District was split into Central, Guadalcanal, and Isabel provinces, while the Eastern District was split into Makira-Ulawa and Temotu provinces. The other two districts, Western and Malaita, were also designated as provinces. These new provinces corresponded to the councils of the districts before 1981.
Honiara to 400 beds with 50 doctors. In 2008, its accident and emergency department served 55,234 patients and its general surgery department operated on 1,971 patients. Another hospital is the Central Hospital. Now called the "Nambanaen", it was originally a wartime hospital built by the Americans who called it the "Ninth Station". It was substantially enlarged with assistance from the Government of Taiwan in 1993. Honiara has several hotels and restaurants. Honiara Hotel is a traditional hotel and features a dance show on Friday nights. Also of note is the Pacific Casino Hotel, a $20 million Chinese hotel and casino in