Shortland Island (once known as Alu) is the largest island of the Shortland Islands archipelago, in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, at 7°3′S 155°45′E / 7.050°S 155.750°E. The original name was a Melanesian word, while the current name was given to the island by Royal Navy officer John Shortland in 1788. Shortland was the naval commander of a 1777–79 voyage by the First Fleet to establish a penal colony at Botany Bay, Australia.