Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Honiara The American development of Honiara as an army base and war depot turned Honiara into the new capital for the British Solomon Islands. The Catholic population tripled between 1947 and 1957, from 1000 to 3000. The first Holy Cross Church, built in 1947, was replaced by a much larger structure in 1957. The statues of the Blessed Virgin and St Joseph, which had somehow survived the Japanese air raids of the Battle of Guadalcanal, were positioned outside the 1957 church. These statues were re-positioned once again outside the 1978 cathedral; damage caused by bullets can be easily seen on both.
Honiara it contains the Point Cruz Yacht Club on the harbour. Honiara Golf Club lies on the eastern side of the town, not far from the Lunga River, near the King George VI High School (between Honiara and the airport) was initially nine-hole course on a flat land which was earlier an airstrip. An 18 tee 11-hole golf course was built in the late 1960s. Boxing, rugby, athletics, basketball, netball, and volleyball are also practised. Netball leagues are organised in Honiara for girls and is well-organized in surrounding larger villages, usually by women's clubs. The city lies on the Kukum Highway