Pedro Fernandes de Queirós (1563–1614) was a Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain. He is best known for his involvement with Spanish voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean, in particular the 1595–1596 voyage of Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira, and for leading a 1605–1606 expedition that crossed the Pacific in search of Terra Australis.
The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands in Papua New Guinea.
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.
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 approximately 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.
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than 35 kilometres long and over 15 kilometres wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to the north and south, and on the northern shore, a narrow coastal strip, soggy with sago and mangrove swamps. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.
Samarai is an island and former administrative capital in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea.
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. The town is located within Alotau Urban LLG.
Rossel Island is the easternmost island of the Louisiade Archipelago, within the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. Tree Islet is situated 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north-west, while Wule Island is situated 1.5 miles (2.4 km) westward.
Willem Janszoon captained the first recorded European landing on the Australian continent in 1606, sailing from Bantam, Java, in the Duyfken. As an employee of the Dutch East India Company, Janszoon had been instructed to explore the coast of New Guinea in search of economic opportunities. He had originally arrived in Dutch East Indies from the Netherlands in 1598 and became an officer of the VOC on its establishment in 1602.
Sideia Island is an island in the Louisiade Archipelago in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea.
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.
Luís Vaz de Torres, or Luis Váez de Torres in the Spanish spelling, was a 16th- and 17th-century maritime explorer of a Spanish expedition noted for the first recorded European navigation of the strait that separates the Australian mainland from the island of New Guinea, and which now bears his name.
The Jomard Islands are an uninhabited island group in the Coral Sea, belonging to Papua New Guinea, It lies to the east of Montemont Islands in the Louisiade Archipelago.
Bramble Haven is an atoll in the Louisiade Archipelago. Its islands on the northern section are grouped as the Duperre Islands.
The Lebrun Islands are a group of uninhabited islands in the Solomon Sea, belonging to Papua New Guinea.
The Laseinie Islands are an archipelago in the Solomon Sea. Politically they belong to Bwanabwana Rural LLG of Samarai-Murua District of Milne Bay Province, in the southeastern region of Papua New Guinea. They are located southeast of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands. They are part of the Louisiade Archipelago.
Gonubalabala Island is an island on the southern side of East Channel, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. It is located South east of Logea Island. It is a home island of the Mailulu clan.
Logea Island is a large island separating West Channel, East Channel and China Strait, just south of Milne Bay, in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea.
Saliba Island is a large island in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Samarai Islands archipelago, part of the larger Louisiade Archipelago, is located 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast of mainland New Guinea island, within the nation of Papua New Guinea.
Milne Bay