To the north-east of the Solomon Islands lies a ring of coral islands surrounding a lagoon about 100 miles in circumference. The nearest land is the northern tip of the island of Ysabel, which is some 200 miles to the south-west. This group of islands has been variously called Ongtong Java, Lord Howe's Group, Leueneuwa, Leua Niua, and Lua Niua. The three latter are more or less unsatisfactory attempts at writing the native name of the largest island, Luaniua. There is no native name for the whole atoll and it is not only misleading but also wrong to use Luaniua for the purpose. Lord Howe has already given his name to three other Pacific Islands, so that it seems best to take the name which Tasman gave and call the atoll Ongtong Java.

These islands are populated by natives with undoubted Polynesian affinities. In physical type they show a resemblance to the Samoans and their language is a Polynesian dialect, but in other respects the culture shows some marked differences from those of the central Pacific. The social organization is closely parallelled by that of Sikiana, in the south, and by that of the Tasman Islands, the Mortlocks and Fead Island (Nuguria) to the north. This organization is not characterized by rank, which is so important in Polynesia.