White River, Honiara

White River is a large settlement in the western districts of Honiara, Solomon Islands. It is a fairly large community with several defined neighbourhoods, viz. Centre, and the valleys: Independence Valley, Forestry Valley, Banana Valley, Wind Valley, and Laundry Valley.

It is served by three bus stops, commonly called O1, (east of the White River Bridge), O2 (west of the White River Bridge), and simply "White River"--actually a misnomer because this is really the market area for Honiara and is technically called "Karaina," the population of which is mainly Reef Islanders.

White River is a mixed area with people from every islands in the Solomons living there. It has particularly large numbers of people from Malaita, Tikopia, Anuta, Kiribati, and people from Renbel, commonly called 'A'u people.

The is a large secondary school called White River High School, several primary schools, a large Roman Catholic parish just outside White River but almost a part of it, a small Anglican Church, a large Seventh Day Adventist Church and a New Apostolic Life Church.

There are several commercial areas in the area, near the Centre there are six or seven shops, and on the main road across from Karaina is one of the largest betel nut markets in Solomon Islands. There are several new Chinese shops near the O1 and O2 bus stops.

The population is about 4,000 people.

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