Earlier last week communities on the Weathercoast and Malaita benefited from an Australian High Commission coordinated delivery of supplies.

The delivery was made possible with the assistance of Her Majesty's Australian Ships Tarakan and Labuan who delivered supplies provided by the Rotary Club of Honiara, the Ministry of Education, and provincial and national Members of Parliament.

For Malaita the Australian Government, through the Participating Police Force, provided three police vehicles and supplies, which will improve the mobility of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force in the province leading up to the 2014 general election.

The Rotary Club of Honiara also provided two truckloads of medical supplies and equipment for Kilu'ufi Hospital, school books and equipment to Laulana Primary School and schools supplies for distribution by the Malaita Provincial Government.

All supplies were delivered to Malaita on board HMAS Labuan. The supplies were unloaded with the help of many community members.

“We appreciate the assistance we received from the Auki community, including members of the Malaitan Provincial Government, who helped distribute and transport the supplies to their final destination in Malaita,” said Australian High Commission Second Secretary Ben O’Reilly who travelled to Auki to coordinate the delivery.

For Weathercoast communities between Kuma and Komate, the Australian Government provided supplies for a Direct Aid Project focused on sanitation. Rotary again provided educational and medical supplies, and the Ministryof Education did the same.

These supplies were delivered to the Weathercoast by HMAS Tarakan. At sea, the supplies were transferred to community owned banana boats who then delivered the stores to their final destination.

The Australian High Commissioner Andrew Byrne acknowledged all of the support that had been received to enable the delivery of the supplies.

“I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the successful delivery of these much needed supplies to Malaita and the Weather Coast particularly the Rotary Club of Honiara for their generous donations,” he said.

Following the deliveries, the two Royal Australian Navy ships are returning to Australia after almost two and a half months touring the Pacific.