Battle of Rennell Island
Later settlement of Rennell occurred prior to 1400 AD by Polynesians from Uvea, now Wallis Island. Captain Butler of HMS Walpole discovered the islands in 1801, after discovering and naming Walpole Island in New Caledonia. In 1933 the Templeton Crocker Expedition discovered several endemic species on the islands. During the Pacific campaign of World War II Japanese Rufe floatplanes operated from Lake Tegano until American Catalinas used the lake as a base after 1943. The Battle of Rennell Island was the last major naval battle of the Guadacanal Campaign which occurred between 29 January 1943 and 30 January 1943. At the end of the war, eight Catalinas were scuttled in the lake and can be seen from the lake surface. The island was later visited by a series of Danish scientific expeditions.