Alotau
Alotau is the capital of Milne Bay Province, in the south-east of Papua New Guinea. It is located on the northern shore of Milne Bay. Alotau is the annual forum for Australian and Papua New Guinean ministers, its Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Alotau–Sideia. The town is located within the area in which the invading Japanese army suffered their first land defeat in the Pacific War in 1942, before the Kokoda Track battle. A memorial park at the old battle site commemorates the event. Alotau became the provincial capital in 1969. There is a road from Ulumani to Alotau which passes the local Gurney Airport, named after squadron leader Charles Raymond Gurney of the Royal Australian Air Force, killed in the area in 1942; the airport is located 12 km from the town. Alotau is the gateway to the Milne Bay Province, which contains some of the most remote island communities in the world. Milne Bay is noted for its coral scuba diving experiences.
By Lumbai Yand Itang Official Milne Bay Tourism Bureau Alotau Accommodation
Calvados Chain
The Calvados Chain are a group of islands in the Solomon Sea, belonging to Papua New Guinea within the Louisiade Archipelago. The group extends from Pana Varavara in the west to the small island of Nigaho in the east over a distance of 88 km; the easternmost island of Nigaho is. Pana Tinani is separated from the group by the isolated Magamaga Channel; the islands rise up to 302 meters steeply from the sea and are either wooded or overgrown with grass. Many islands are surrounded by small lagoons. Apart from the high islands, there are numerous low coral reefs; the eastern edge of the chain lies to the northwest of Vanatinai Island. Twelve of the islands are inhabited, with a total of 3276 residents; the islanders speak the Misima-Paneati Language. Primary islands in the chain
Rossel Island
Rossel Island is the easternmost island of the Louisiade Archipelago, which itself is part of the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. Tree Islet is situated 1.5 miles to the north-west, while Wule Island is situated 1.5 miles westward. The mountainous island measures 34 kilometres east-west, is up to 11 kilometres wide. With an area of 292.5 square kilometres, it is the second largest island of the archipelago, after Vanatinai. The higher parts of the island are constantly cloud-capped during the southeast monsoon; the mountain ridges form narrow crests, with occasional peaks. Most of the shoreline is either bordered by mangroves, with occasional sandy beaches, or covered with jungle. From the bluff to the island's north point steep hills slope down to the shore. Between the north point of the island and Cape Deliverance are some well-wooded valleys; the south side of the island consists of numerous points and bays, with steep hill ridges descending to the sea from the high mountain range above.
Mount RosselThe highest elevation is Mount Rossel, near the eastern end of the island, which rises 838 metres. This precipitous peak has steep ridges extending to the north and west, but it descends in more gentle slopes southeast to Cape Deliverance, the eastern end of the island; the southwest ridge has two conspicuous peaks each 549 metres high. The eastern peak, Mount Mo, is flat-topped; the western peak is conical. At the western end of the island is a conspicuous conical peak 347 metres high. ReefThe fringing coral reef encloses the large Rossel Lagoon in the west and a smaller lagoon one in the east. Rossel Lagoon extends 40 kilometres from the northwestern point of the island to Rossel Passage at the western end of the fringing reef; the barrier reef encircling this lagoon is narrow and has four passages through it west of the island. The barrier reef on the south side of the island is unbroken east of Rossel Passage. General depths in the lagoon range from 37 -- 64 metres. Few of these shoals dry and the larger ones are awash.
Since the water is so clear the shoals can be distinguished in good light. Rossel Island was first sighted and charted by Europeans on 14 July 1606 by the Spanish expedition of Luís Vaez de Torres. Together with Tagula Island it was charted as Tierra de San Buenaventura as it was first sighted on the feast of that saint. Rossel Island is thickly wooded and nearly the whole south coast is a dense forest. Grassy patches are occasional. In 2014, the population was 5,553, spread across 31 villages; the main village is Jinjo, on the east coast. The indigenous people speak the Yélî Dnye language, a language isolate
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an Oceanian country that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby; the western half of New Guinea forms the Indonesian provinces of West Papua. At the national level, after being ruled by three external powers since 1884, Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975; this followed nearly 60 years of Australian administration, which started during World War I. It became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as its queen, it became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in its own right. Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world, it is one of the most rural, as only 18 per cent of its people live in urban centres. There are 851 known languages in the country. Most of the population of more than 8 million people lives in customary communities, which are as diverse as the languages.
The country is one of the world's least explored and geographically. It is known to have numerous groups of uncontacted peoples, researchers believe there are many undiscovered species of plants and animals in the interior. Papua New Guinea is classified as a developing economy by the International Monetary Fund. Strong growth in Papua New Guinea's mining and resource sector led to the country becoming the sixth-fastest-growing economy in the world in 2011. Growth was expected to slow once major resource projects came on line in 2015. Mining remains a major economic factor, however. Local and national governments are discussing the potential of resuming mining operations at the Panguna mine in Bougainville Province, closed since the civil war in the 1980s–1990s. Nearly 40 per cent of the population lives a self-sustainable natural lifestyle with no access to global capital. Most of the people still live in strong traditional social groups based on farming, their social lives combine traditional religion including primary education.
These societies and clans are explicitly acknowledged by the Papua New Guinea Constitution, which expresses the wish for "traditional villages and communities to remain as viable units of Papua New Guinean society" and protects their continuing importance to local and national community life. The nation is an observer state in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN since 1976, has filed its application for full membership status, it is the Commonwealth of Nations. Archaeological evidence indicates that humans first arrived in Papua New Guinea around 42,000 to 45,000 years ago, they were descendants of migrants out of Africa, in one of the early waves of human migration. Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7000 BC, making it one of the few areas in the world where people independently domesticated plants. A major migration of Austronesian-speaking peoples to coastal regions of New Guinea took place around 500 BC; this has been correlated with the introduction of pottery and certain fishing techniques.
In the 18th century, traders brought the sweet potato to New Guinea, where it was adopted and became part of the staples. Portuguese traders had introduced it to the Moluccas; the far higher crop yields from sweet potato gardens radically transformed traditional agriculture and societies. Sweet potato supplanted the previous staple and resulted in a significant increase in population in the highlands. Although by the late 20th century headhunting and cannibalism had been eradicated, in the past they were practised in many parts of the country as part of rituals related to warfare and taking in enemy spirits or powers. In 1901, on Goaribari Island in the Gulf of Papua, missionary Harry Dauncey found 10,000 skulls in the island's long houses, a demonstration of past practices. According to Marianna Torgovnick, writing in 1991, "The most documented instances of cannibalism as a social institution come from New Guinea, where head-hunting and ritual cannibalism survived, in certain isolated areas, into the Fifties and Seventies, still leave traces within certain social groups."Little was known in Europe about the island until the 19th century, although Portuguese and Spanish explorers, such as Dom Jorge de Menezes and Yñigo Ortiz de Retez, had encountered it as early as the 16th century.
Traders from Southeast Asia had visited New Guinea beginning 5,000 years ago to collect bird-of-paradise plumes. The country's dual name results from its complex administrative history before independence; the word papua is derived from an old local term of uncertain origin. "New Guinea" was the name coined by the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez. In 1545, he noted the resemblance of the people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa. Guinea, in its turn, is etymologically derived from the Portuguese word Guiné; the name is one of several toponyms sharing similar etymologies meaning "land of the blacks" or similar meanings, in reference to the dark skin of the inhabitants. In the nineteenth century, Germany ruled the northern half of the country for some decades, beginning in 1884, as a colony named German New Guinea. In 1914 after the outbreak of World War I, Australian forces landed and captured German New Guinea in a small military campaign and occupied it throughout the war.
After the war, in which Germany and the Central Pow
Misima Island
Misima is a volcanic island in the northwest of Louisiade Archipelago within Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. Misima Island was inhabited by Polynesians since about 1500 BC; the island was sighted in 1768 by French captain Louis Antoine de Bougainville and explored 1793 by French explorer Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. Misima island owes its name to Élisabeth-Paul-Édouard de Rossel, a lieutenant of the Counter admiral Antoine Bruny d'Entrecasteaux during his journey of scientific exploration. In 1888 the British Empire annexed Misima Island, it became part of British New Guinea. At the end of the 1890s gold was discovered on Misima, their actual mining began early in the 20th century. Since 1975, Misima belongs to the independent state of Papua New Guinea. A gold and silver mine was opened by an international corporation; the mines provided plenty of work for the islanders. However, that mine was closed in 2004, because of excessive load on the environment and public health hazards; the island is within the Samarai Murua District.
The island measures 40 km by 10 km and has an area of 214,5 km². It is located some 20 km north of the northwest extreme of the barrier reef of Vanatinai at Isu Raua Raua Island, 80 km northwest of Vanatinai Island itself. Misima is densely forested. Mt. Koia Tau, at a height of 1,036 meters, is the highest peak of the Louisiade Archipelago, it was not until 24 December 2016 when Kolbe Bare, a Papua New Guinean geologist, two Misimans, David Kaliton and Kaliton Ada, made the first recorded ascent to the Top of Oia Tau. It was noted by Kolbe that though the mountain is close to the sea, Higher altitude vegetation covers the top of the mountain at the time of ascent; the local climate is tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds, with a dry season from 1 December to 31 May, a wet season from 1 June to 30 November. It is very humid. Since it is close to the equator, the temperature does not fluctuate much between winter and summer. Misima island is known as a mining island. A huge mine operated many years on the island.
The mine was a joint venture by the state-owned Orogen Minerals Ltd.. In March 2012 Barrick closed its post closure monitoring office in Bwagaoia having rehabilitated the mine and mill sites. Since 2004 when the mine closed, artisanal mining has become a major source of income in the island, with an association Misima Alluvial Gold Mining Association starting in 2007. Other sources of income for people living on the north coast, are cash crops of coconuts and cacao. A commercial fisheries project has not been developed yet; the island has a population of 19,330, spread across 78 villages, Misima is the most populated island in the Louisiade Archipelago. By area, it is the third largest, after Rossel Island. Since the mines have closed, there are signs of population decrease. People are moving to Alotau for jobs; the main town of the island and the seat of the district is Bwagaoia, located on the southeast corner of the island. Other villages are Hinauta, Gulewa, Liak, Eiaus and Ewena, Bwagabwaga and Alhoga.
About half the population identified themselves as members of a Christian church. See Religion in Papua New Guinea for more info; the main language of the island is called Misiman, though many residents speak English and Tok Pisin as a third language. Misima has a working airport (four flights weekly to the mainland through Airlines of Papua New Guinea, one charter run by Porgera Joint Venture, a high school, a small market, a few small stores and a clinic/hospital, a post office,--all of which are located in Bwagaoia. There are costing around K100 and taking 17 hours; the following mammals are there for: Polynesian rat Wild boar Eastern common cuscus Sugar glider Grassland rat Eastern rat Panniet naked-backed fruit bat Island tube-nosed fruit bat Small flying fox Common blossom bat Temminck's trident bat Spurred roundleaf bat Fawn leaf-nosed bat Diadem leaf-nosed bat Smaller horseshoe bat Misima bat Little bent-wing bat Miniopterus macrocneme Great bent-winged bat Common bent-wing bat Angulate pipistrelle Mine Report Misima Island News at MisimaIsland.com
Tagula Island
Vanatinai Island is a volcanic island in the south-east of the Louisiade Archipelago within Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The reef fringed island is 360 kilometres south-east of New Guinea and 30 kilometres south of Misima. With an area of 830 square kilometres, it is the largest island of the archipelago. Tagula town, the main settlement, is located on the north-west coast; the population was 3628 as of 2014. The principal export is copra; the island is 63 kilometres long, stretching from Cape Tagula to Cape Sudest, up to 13 km wide. A wooded mountain range runs through the length of the island, with the summit, Mount Riu near the center; the most important peaks of the range are, from west to east: Mount Madau Mount Gangulua Mount Riu Mount Imau Mount Arumbi The first recorded sighting by Europeans of Vanatinai Island was by the Spanish expedition of Luís Vaez de Torres on 14 July 1606. The island was the site of a gold rush that peaked in 1889. Gold was found in nearly all of the island's water courses.
Rambuso Village is located on the north coast of the eastern part of the island, where Rambuso Creek flows into the Pacific Ocean. Entry through the reef to the harbour is easy to see during daylight. Many visiting yachts and local trading boats use this protected anchorage. In 2010 the villagers and several visiting yachties rebuilt the causeway; the villagers new slogan is "Rambuso Creek the gateway to Sudest". The new wharf helped Rambuso develop and now the busty town has some 500 citizens; the island has code for public transport, near Tagula village. Several species are endemic to the island, including the aptly named Tagula white-eye, Tagula honeyeater and Tagula butcherbird. Among frogs, Cophixalus tagulensis is only known from Tagula
Basilaki Island
Basilaki Island is an island in the Louisiade Archipelago in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. It is located at the eastern end of the New Guinea mainland. First recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Luís Vaez de Torres on 18 July 1606, that charted it as San Buenaventura. A party of French naturalists was believed to have been murdered in James Bay in October 1880; this island was the scene of the murder of two sailors by natives in Hoopiron Bay, July 28, 1885. The men were Captain John Friar and John Watkins, a carpenter of Lallah Rook, a schooner registered in Saint John, New Brunswick; the vessel anchored in the bay to take on fresh water. After the murders, the crew sailed away; the murders were revenge taken for two unpaid-for deaths of natives in Friar's employ. Despite a two-day search of the island on October 16, by the crews of Governor Blackall, HMS Diamond and HMS Raven, the murderers were not found, although the skulls of Friar and the carpenter were recovered and given a burial at sea.
Diamond returned and burned all the villages nearby. Three planes were ditched off the island in 1943, a P-38H Lightning, a P-38F Lightning, a B-24D Liberator "The Leila Belle"; the island is part of the following Wards: Hamama, on the western part. Buairi, on Buairi island, includes a small portion of the western part. Habani, on the south-central area. Gigia, on the north-central area. Bedauna, on the southeast area Yokowa, on the northeast area. All Wards belong to Bwanabwana Rural Local Level Government Area LLG, Samarai-Murua District, which are in Milne Bay Province. Basilaki is located on the east of Samarai Islands of the Louisiade Archipelago; the island is part of the Basilaki group. Mount Kova Sina reaches a height of 531 meters, is located at the center of the island. Mount Baiaule is 444 meters, is located at the center of the island. Mount Salawie is 333 meters, is located at the south of the island; the population of 1883 is living in 37 villages across the island. Yokowa, where the school is located, is the largest village.
Although, the main dock is at Habani, at the other side of the island. List of villages: Hoopiron Bay, Baiaule, Habani, Salewai, Dauyai, Towina, Bedauna, Kalotau, Agarauna, Yokowa, Siu, Gigia, Tanubuibuina, Tutuila, Hamama, Nuanuatieu, Hakalihi, Kalamadau, Yahala; the islanders, are farmers as opposed to eastern Louisiade Archipelago islanders. They grow Sago and Yams for crops. There is a dock at Habani. Http://islands.unep.ch/IHD.htm#840
. Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 (11th ed.). 1911.
