The New Guinea Portal
Introduction
Native name: Papua, Niugini, Niu Gini | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Oceania (Melanesia) |
| Archipelago | Melanesia and Malay Archipelago |
| Area | 785,753 km2 (303,381 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 2nd |
New Guinea (Tok Pisin: Niugini; Hiri Motu: Niu Gini; Indonesian: Papua, or Nugini, historically Irian) is the world's second-largest island with an area of 785,753 km2 (303,381 sq mi). Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the 150-kilometre (81-nautical-mile; 93-mile) wide Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same continental shelf. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the independent state of Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as Western New Guinea, forms a part of Indonesia and is organized as the provinces of Papua and West Papua. The largest cities on the island are Jayapura (capital of Papua, Indonesia) and Port Moresby (capital of Papua New Guinea). (Full article...)
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; /ˈpæp(j)uə ... ˈɡɪni, ˈpɑː-/, also US: /ˈpɑːpwə-, ˈpɑːpjə-, ˈpɑːpə-/; Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini; Hiri Motu: Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (Tok Pisin: Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; Hiri Motu: Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country in Oceania that comprises 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 country is the world's third largest island country with an area of 462,840 km2 (178,700 sq mi). (Full article...)
Western New Guinea, also known as Papua or Indonesian New Guinea, is the western portion of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region is also called West Papua (Indonesian: Papua Barat). Lying to the west of Papua New Guinea and considered part of the Australian continent, the territory is mostly in the Southern Hemisphere and includes the Schouten and Raja Ampat archipelagoes. The region is predominantly covered with ancient rainforest where numerous traditional tribes live such as the Dani of the Baliem Valley although a large proportion of the population live in or near coastal areas with the largest city being Jayapura. (Full article...)
Selected article -
The white-lipped tree frog (Nyctimystes infrafrenatus) is found in Australia and is the world's largest tree frog (the Cuban tree frog reaches a similar maximum size). Other common names include the New Guinea treefrog, giant tree frog, and Australian giant treefrog. (Full article...)
Dendrobium discolor, commonly known as antler orchids, are epiphytic or lithophytic orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They have cylindrical pseudobulbs, each with between ten and thirty five leathery leaves, and flowering stems with up to forty mostly brownish or greenish flowers with wavy and twisted sepals and petals. Antler orchids occur in northern Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia and there are several subspecies and varieties. (Full article...)
The Ok Tedi Mine is an open-pit copper and gold mine in Papua New Guinea located near the headwaters of the Ok Tedi River, in the Star Mountains Rural LLG of the North Fly District of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea.
The mine is operated by Ok Tedi Mining (OTM), which is majority-owned by the PNG Sustainable Development Program Limited (PNGSDPL). In 2013 it was nationalised by the Government of Papua New Guinea in controversial action. Prior to 2002, it was majority owned by BHP Billiton, the largest mining company in the world since a merger in 2001.
Located in a remote area of PNG, above 2,000 m (6,600 ft) on Mount Fubilan, in a region of high rainfall and frequent earthquakes, mine development posed serious challenges. The town of Tabubil was built to serve the mining operation. (Full article...)
The Coral Triangle and countries participating in the Coral Triangle Initiative
The Coral Triangle (CT) is a roughly triangular area in the tropical waters around Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. This area contains at least 500 species of reef-building corals in each ecoregion. The Coral Triangle is located between the Pacific and Indian oceans and encompasses portions of two biogeographic regions: the Indonesian-Philippines Region, and the Far Southwestern Pacific Region. As one of eight major coral reef zones in the world, the Coral Triangle is recognized as a global centre of marine biodiversity and a global priority for conservation. Its biological resources make it a global hotspot of marine biodiversity. Known as the "Amazon of the seas" (by analogy to the Amazon rainforest in South America), it covers 5.7 million square kilometres (2,200,000 sq mi) of ocean waters. It contains more than 76% of the world's shallow-water reef-building coral species, 37% of its reef fish species, 50% of its razor clam species, six out of seven of the world's sea turtle species, and the world’s largest mangrove forest.
In 2014, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported that the gross domestic product of the marine ecosystem in the Coral Triangle is roughly $1.2 trillion per year and provides food to over 120 million people. According to the Coral Triangle Knowledge Network, the region annually brings in about $3 billion in foreign exchange income from fisheries exports, and another $3 billion from coastal tourism revenues.
The World Wide Fund for Nature considers the region a top priority for marine conservation, and is addressing ecological threats to the region through its Coral Triangle Program, launched in 2007. The center of biodiversity in the Triangle is the Verde Island Passage in the Philippines. The only coral reef area in the region to have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site is in Tubbataha Reef Natural Park in the Philippines. (Full article...)
Netherlands New Guinea (Dutch: Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea, Indonesian: Nugini Belanda) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1949 to 1962. It was commonly known as Dutch New Guinea. It contained what are now Indonesia's two easternmost provinces, Papua and West Papua, which were administered as a single province prior to 2003 under the name Irian Jaya, and now comprise the Papua region of the country.
During the Indonesian Revolution, the Dutch launched a police action ("Operation Product") to capture territory from the Indonesian Republic. However, the harsh methods of the Dutch had drawn international disapproval. With international opinion shifting towards support of the Indonesian Republic, the Dutch managed in 1949 to negotiate for the separation of Netherlands New Guinea from the broader Indonesian settlement, with the fate of the disputed territory to be decided by the close of 1950. However, the Dutch in coming years were able to argue successfully at the UN that the indigenous population of Netherlands New Guinea represented a separate ethnic group from the people of Indonesia and thus should not be absorbed into the Indonesian state.
In contrast, the Indonesian Republic, as successor state to the Netherlands East Indies, claimed Netherlands New Guinea as part of its natural territorial bounds. The dispute over New Guinea was an important factor in the quick decline in bilateral relations between the Netherlands and Indonesia after Indonesian independence. The dispute escalated into low-level conflict in 1962 following Dutch moves in 1961 to establish a New Guinea Council. (Full article...)
The Mamberamo (Indonesian: Sungai Mamberamo) is the second longest river on the island of New Guinea, after Sepik River (1,146 km) and third largest in Oceania by discharge (5,500 m3/s) volume after Fly River (7,500 m3/s) and Sepik (7,000 m3/s). It is located in the Indonesian province of Papua. It is the second largest river in Indonesia by volume of discharge after Kapuas River (6,500 m3/s) and also the widest.
The river is formed from the confluence of its upper tributaries, the Tariku and Taritatu rivers in the Lakes Plains region, an interior basin with extensive freshwater swamp forests and grasslands. It flows northwards between the Van Rees Range (Pegunungan Van Rees) and Foja Mountains through a series of rapids and gorges. The last 160 km of the river are navigable. In the coastal lowlands the river is lined with marshes and forms a broad river delta. The Mamberamo discharges into the Pacific Ocean at the northern point of Point D'Urville or Cape Narwaku (Tanjung Narwaku).
The river's huge valley is home to various uncontacted peoples and incredible biodiversity. In the 1990s, the Indonesian Government had plans to construct a large hydroelectric dam on the Mamberamo that would have submerged much of the area. This plan was shelved after the Indonesian financial crisis from 1998–1999, but there are concerns by environmental groups that it could be resurrected sometime in the future. At present, the Mamberamo remains the second largest river in the world to be completely unfragmented by dams in its catchment, behind only the relatively nearby Fly. (Full article...)
The COVID-19 pandemic in Papua New Guinea is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Papua New Guinea on 20 March 2020. On 4 May 2020, Papua New Guinea was declared COVID-19 free. However, on 20 June, the government confirmed another case of COVID-19, meaning that the disease was present again within the country.
Until early 2021, the country managed to stave off a major COVID-19 outbreak, with only 1,275 cases reported at the end of February according to Johns Hopkins University. In March cases tripled, with Prime Minister James Marape speaking of "rampant community transmission". By early May, the number of hospitalizations in the capital Port Moresby stabilized, but delays in receiving test results from regional areas were a concern.
In mid May, as the reasons for the apparent easing of the pandemic situation remained uncertain, discrepancies between government figures and higher ones from the provinces led to concerns that hundreds of COVID-19 cases had been missed in the national tally.
As of March 2022 Papua New Guinea has a total of 41,533 cumulative cases and 639 deaths. , the country had a vaccination rate of 3.5%, one of the lowest in the world. (Full article...)
New Britain (Tok Pisin: Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits) and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel. The main towns of New Britain are Rabaul/Kokopo and Kimbe. The island is roughly the size of Taiwan. While the island was part of German New Guinea, it was named Neupommern ("New Pomerania").
In common with most of the Bismarcks it was largely formed by volcanic processes, and has active volcanoes including Ulawun (highest volcano nationally), Langila, the Garbuna Group, the Sulu Range, and the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan of the Rabaul caldera. A major eruption of Tavurvur in 1994 destroyed the East New Britain provincial capital of Rabaul. Most of the town still lies under metres of ash, and the capital has been moved to nearby Kokopo. (Full article...)
Raggiana bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana)
The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of this family are perhaps best known for the plumage of the males of the species (the majority) which are sexually dimorphic, in particular the very long elaborate feathers extending from the beak, wings, tail or head. For the most part they are confined to dense rainforest habitat. The diet of all species is dominated by fruit and to a lesser extent arthropods. The birds-of-paradise have a variety of breeding systems, ranging from monogamy to lek-type polygamy.
A number of species are threatened by hunting and habitat loss. (Full article...)
Milne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. The province covers 14,345 km² of land and 252,990 km² of sea, within the province there are more than 600 islands, about 160 of which are inhabited. The province has about 276,000 inhabitants, speaking about 48 languages, most of which belong to the Eastern Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. Economically the province is dependent upon tourism, oil palm, and gold mining on Misima Island; in addition to these larger industries there are many small-scale village projects in cocoa and copra cultivation. The World War II Battle of Milne Bay took place in the province.
Culturally the Milne Bay region is sometimes referred to as "the Massim," a term originating from the name of Misima Island. Massim societies are usually characterized by matrilineal descent, elaborate mortuary sequences and complex systems of ritual exchange including the Kula ring. From Island group to Island group and even between close lying islands, the local culture changes remarkably. What is socially acceptable on one island may not be so on another. (Full article...)
Sir Mekere Morauta KCMG PC (12 June 1946 – 19 December 2020) was a Papua New Guinean politician and economist who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1999 to 2002. Inheriting a depressed economy and a fractious legislature, he embarked on fundamental reforms of the country's economy and political system.
Before entering politics, Morauta led the post-independence process of building financial infrastructure in Papua New Guinea as Secretary of Finance, Managing Director of the state-owned Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation, and Governor of the central bank. As a member of parliament, he represented Port Moresby North West from 1997 until 2012, and again from 2017 until his death in 2020. Morauta remained an active opposition leader during the successive governments of Michael Somare and Peter O'Neill, especially focusing on the politics of natural resources. (Full article...)
The West New Guinea dispute (1950–1962), also known as the West Irian dispute, was a diplomatic and political conflict between the Netherlands and Indonesia over the territory of Netherlands New Guinea. While the Netherlands had ceded sovereignty over most of the Dutch East Indies to Indonesia on 27 December 1949 following an independence struggle, it retained control over its colony on the western half of New Guinea. The Indonesian government claimed this territory as well, on the basis that it had belonged to the Dutch East Indies and that the new Republic of Indonesia was the legitimate successor to the former Dutch colony.
During the first phase of the dispute (1950–1954), Indonesia pursued bilateral negotiations with the Netherlands. During the second phase (1954–1958), Indonesia attempted to raise support for its territorial claims in the United Nations General Assembly. During the third phase (1960–1962), Indonesia pursued a policy of confrontation against the Netherlands which combined diplomatic, political, and economic pressure with limited military force. The final stage of the confrontation with Indonesia also involved a planned military invasion of the territory. The Indonesians also secured military weapons and political and military support from the Soviet Union, which induced the United States to intervene in the conflict as a third-party mediator between Indonesia and the Netherlands. Following the New York Agreement on 15 August 1962, the Netherlands, under U.S. pressure, handed West New Guinea over to a United Nations Temporary Executive Authority, which subsequently handed the territory over to Indonesia on 1 May 1963. Following a controversial plebiscite in 1969, West New Guinea was formally integrated into Indonesia. (Full article...)
7 January 1943. Australian forces attack Japanese positions near Buna. Members of the 2/12th Infantry Battalion advance as Stuart tanks from the 2/6th Armoured Regiment attack Japanese pillboxes. An upward-firing machine gun on the tank sprays treetops to clear them of snipers. (Photographer: George Silk).
The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 January) and the Australian Territory of Papua (21 July) and overran western New Guinea (beginning 29/30 March), which was a part of the Netherlands East Indies. During the second phase, lasting from late 1942 until the Japanese surrender, the Allies—consisting primarily of Australian forces—cleared the Japanese first from Papua, then the Mandate and finally from the Dutch colony.
The campaign resulted in a crushing defeat and heavy losses for the Empire of Japan. As in most Pacific War campaigns, disease and starvation claimed more Japanese lives than enemy action. Most Japanese troops never even came into contact with Allied forces, and were instead simply cut off and subjected to an effective blockade by Allied naval forces. Garrisons were effectively besieged and denied shipments of food and medical supplies, and as a result, some claim that 97% of Japanese deaths in this campaign were from non-combat causes.
According to John Laffin, the campaign "was arguably the most arduous fought by any Allied troops during World War II". (Full article...)- Oala Oala-Rarua (12 June 1934 – 17 May 1980) was a Papua New Guinean educator, civil servant, trade unionist, politician and diplomat. He served as a member of the House of Assembly and Assistant Minister for the Treasury between 1968 and 1972, later becoming the first Lord Mayor of Port Moresby and High Commissioner to Australia. (Full article...)
- Flora Shaw Stewart (1886–1979), better known as 'Ma' Stewart, was a popular pioneering hotel owner in the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea (now Papua New Guinea) from 1920 until 1979. (Full article...)
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Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that Soetran was nicknamed the "Clove Governor" after he obligated families in Papua to cultivate cloves?
- ... that the northern water dragon migrated from New Guinea into Wallacea less than one million years ago?
- ... that the clinical trials of British scientist Peter Pharoah helped eradicate congenital iodine deficiency syndrome (cretinism) in Papua New Guinea?
- ... that the designer of the flag of Papua New Guinea, Susan Karike, had a gallery at the national museum named after her?
General images -
Topographical map of New Guinea (from New Guinea)
Western New Guinea was formally annexed by Indonesia in 1969 (from New Guinea)
A typical map from the Golden Age of Netherlandish cartography. Australasia during the Golden Age of Dutch exploration and discovery (ca. 1590s–1720s): including Nova Guinea (New Guinea), Nova Hollandia (mainland Australia), Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), and Nova Zeelandia (New Zealand). (from History of Papua New Guinea)
Flag under German control of New Guinea. (from History of Papua New Guinea)
New Guinea from 1884 to 1919. The Netherlands controlled the western half of New Guinea, Germany the north-eastern part, and Britain the south-eastern part. (from New Guinea)
Regions of Oceania: Australasia, Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Australasia include the Australian landmass (including Tasmania), New Zealand, and New Guinea. (from History of Papua New Guinea)
Koiari village near Bootless Inlet, British New Guinea (from History of Papua New Guinea)
New Guinea located in relation to Melanesia (from New Guinea)
Map of New Guinea, with place names as used in English in the 1940s (from New Guinea)
The continent of Sahul before the rising ocean sundered Australia and New Guinea after the last ice age. (from New Guinea)
An Australian soldier, Private George "Dick" Whittington, is aided by Papuan orderly Raphael Oimbari, near Buna on 25 December 1942. (from History of Papua New Guinea)
British flag raised in Queensland 1883 (from History of Papua New Guinea)
The West Irian Liberation Monument in Jakarta, commemorating the integration. (from History of Western New Guinea)
New Guinea map of Köppen climate classification (from New Guinea)
Papuans on the Lorentz River, photographed during the third South New Guinea expedition in 1912–13. (from New Guinea)
Australian troops at Milne Bay, Papua.The Australian garrison was the first to inflict defeat on the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II at the Battle of Milne Bay of Aug–Sep 1942. (from History of Papua New Guinea)
Coral reefs in Papua New Guinea (from New Guinea)
New Guinea Volunteer Rifles with captured Japanese flag, 1942 (from History of Papua New Guinea)
A 1644 map of New Guinea and the surrounding area (from New Guinea)
Hoisting the German flag at Mioko in 1884 (from History of Papua New Guinea)
Mount Bosavi (from New Guinea)
The Morning Star, flag of West Papua, was designed by the New Guinea Council in 1961. Its display is prohibited in some circumstances in Indonesia. (from History of Western New Guinea)
The raggiana bird-of-paradise is native to New Guinea. (from New Guinea)
Political divisions of New Guinea (from New Guinea)
Regions of Oceania: Australasia, Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Physiographically, Australasia includes the Australian landmass (including Tasmania), New Zealand, and New Guinea. (from New Guinea)
Group of natives at Mairy Pass. Mainland of British New Guinea in 1885. (from New Guinea)
Dutch expeditions in Netherlands New Guinea 1907–1915. (from History of Western New Guinea)
A Japanese military map of New Guinea from 1943. (from New Guinea)
Dani tribesman in the Baliem Valley (from New Guinea)
Papuan lake dwellings with a lakatoi under sail, 1898 or before (from History of Papua New Guinea)
Korowai tribesman (from New Guinea)
Kurulu Village War Chief at Baliem Valley (from New Guinea)
Australian soldiers resting in the Finisterre Ranges of New Guinea while en route to the front line. (from New Guinea)
The floristic region of Malesia (from New Guinea)
New Guinea crocodile (from New Guinea)
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