New Britain

Last updated

New Britain
Newbritain lrg.jpg
New Britain from space, June 2005. Clearly visible are ash plumes from Langila and Ulawun volcanoes
Papua New Guinea location map.svg
Red pog.svg
New Britain
Geography
Coordinates 5°45′S150°36′E / 5.750°S 150.600°E / -5.750; 150.600
Archipelago Bismarck Archipelago
Area35,144.6 km2 (13,569.4 sq mi) [1]
Area rank 38th
Length520 km (323 mi)
Width146 km (90.7 mi)
Highest elevation2,500 m (8200 ft) [1]
Highest point Mount Ulawun
Administration
Provinces West New Britain, East New Britain
Demographics
Population513,926 (2011)
Pop. density14.07/km2 (36.44/sq mi)
Ethnic groups Papuans and Austronesians

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. When the island was part of German New Guinea, its name was 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.

Contents

Geography

Topography of New Britain NewBritainTopography.png
Topography of New Britain
New Britain, with selected volcanoes named in red NewBritain2022OSM.png
New Britain, with selected volcanoes named in red
Ulawun Volcano and Lolobau Island Bamus, Ulawun, and Lolobau from space.jpg
Ulawun Volcano and Lolobau Island

New Britain extends from 148°18′28″ to 152°24′15″ E longitude and from 4°08′00″ to 6°18′57″ S latitude. It is crescent-shaped, approximately 520 km (320 mi) along its southeastern coastline, and from 29 to 146 km (18 to 91 mi) wide, not including a small central peninsula. The air-line distance from west to east is 477 km (296 mi). The island is the 38th largest in the world, with an area of 35,140 km2 (13,570 sq mi).

Steep cliffs form some sections of the coastline; in others the mountains are further inland, and the coastal area is flat and bordered by coral reefs. The highest point, at 2,334 metres (7,657 ft), is the stratovolcano Mount Ulawun in the east. [2] [3] Most of the terrain is covered with tropical rainforest and several large rivers are fed by the high rainfall.

New Britain was largely formed by volcanic processes, and has active volcanoes including Ulawun, 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.

The Nakanai Range in East New Britain is composed largely of limestone karst, which extends from the mountain peaks to the southern coast. Erosion of the porous limestone has created large sinkholes, or dolines, and extensive caves and river cave systems. The Nakanai Caves, together with two other karst regions on the New Guinea mainland, were nominated to the World Heritage Tentative List in 2007 as The Sublime Karsts of Papua New Guinea. [4]

Administrative divisions

New Britain forms part of the Islands Region, one of four regions of Papua New Guinea. It comprises the mainland of two provinces:

History

In research science, there is evidence with Pleistocene-era cultural deposits discovered in open-site excavations in near Yombon, which show that New Britain has been inhabited by indigenous Papuans for thousands of years, with human occupation dating back to 21,000 BC. [5]

Modern history

Before 1700

First noted in Europe by the explorer Sir Harper Matthew. Claimed by the Crown of England.

1700–1914

William Dampier became the first known British man to visit New Britain on 27 February 1700; he dubbed the island with the Latin name Nova Britannia (Eng: New Britain ).

Whaling ships from Britain, Australia and America called at the island in the 19th century for food, water and wood. The first on record was the Roscoe in 1822. The last known whaling visitor was the Palmetto in 1881. [6]

In November 1884, Germany proclaimed its protectorate over the New Britain Archipelago; the German colonial administration gave New Britain and New Ireland the names of Neupommern (or Neu-Pommern; "New Pomerania") and Neumecklenburg (or Neu-Mecklenburg; "New Mecklenburg") respectively, and the whole island group was renamed the Bismarck Archipelago. New Britain became part of German New Guinea.

In 1909, the indigenous population was estimated at 190,000; the foreign population at 773 (474 white). The expatriate population was practically confined to the northeastern Gazelle Peninsula, which included the capital, Herbertshöhe (now Kokopo). At the time 5,448 hectares (13,460 acres) had been converted to plantations, primarily growing copra, cotton, coffee and rubber. Westerners avoided exploring the interior initially, believing that the indigenous peoples were warlike and would fiercely resist intrusions.

Native recruits during drill in German New Guinea, 1910 Deutsch-Neuguinea-Rekruten.jpg
Native recruits during drill in German New Guinea, 1910

World War I

On 11 September 1914, New Britain became the site of one of the earliest battles of World War I when the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force landed on the island. They quickly overwhelmed the German forces and occupied the island for the duration of the war.

Between the world wars

After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in June 1919. Germany was stripped of all its possessions outside Europe. In 1920 the League of Nations included New Britain, along with the former German colony on New Guinea, in the Territory of New Guinea, a mandated territory of Australia.

World War II

Two photographs of native New British Islanders, 1944 Native New British Islanders 1944.jpg
Two photographs of native New British Islanders, 1944

During World War II the Japanese attacked New Britain soon after the outbreak of hostilities in the Pacific Ocean. Strategic bases at Rabaul and Kavieng (New Ireland) were defended by a small Australian detachment, Lark Force. During January 1942, the Japanese heavily bombed Rabaul. On 23 January, Japanese marines landed by the thousands, starting the Battle of Rabaul. Two hundred and fifty civilians were evacuated from places on New Britain in March 1942, [7] [8] but others were captured in Rabaul when it fell. The Japanese used Rabaul as a key base until 1944; it served as the key point for the failed invasion of Port Moresby on New Guinea (May to November 1942).

Men of the 1st Marine Division display Japanese flags captured during the Battle of Cape Gloucester. Japanese flags are displayed by the weary Marines.jpg
Men of the 1st Marine Division display Japanese flags captured during the Battle of Cape Gloucester.

New Britain was invaded by the U.S. 1st Marine Division in the Cape Gloucester area of the very western end of the island, and also by U.S. Army soldiers at some other coastal points. As for Cape Gloucester, with its swamps and mosquitos, the Marines said that it was "worse than Guadalcanal". They captured an airfield but accomplished little toward reducing the Japanese base at Rabaul.

The Allied plan involved bypassing Rabaul by surrounding it with air and naval bases on surrounding islands and on New Britain itself. The adjacent island of New Ireland was bypassed altogether. Much of the story from the Japanese side, especially the two suicide charges by the Baalen group, are retold in Shigeru Mizuki's Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths . The factual telemovie Sisters of War recounts experiences of Australian Army nurses and Catholic nuns during the conflict.

After 1945

Rabaul and Tavurvur volcano Rabaul.jpg
Rabaul and Tavurvur volcano

The population of the main town of Rabaul was evacuated as a result of volcanic activity in 1994 which buried the town under a thick layer of volcanic ash.

People and culture

The indigenous people of New Britain fall into two main groups: the Papuans, who have inhabited the island for tens of thousands of years, and the Austronesians, who arrived around three thousand years ago. There are around ten Papuan languages spoken and about forty Austronesian languages, as well as Tok Pisin and English. The Papuan population is largely confined to the eastern third of the island and a couple of small enclaves in the central highlands. At Jacquinot Bay, in the south-east, they live beside the beach where a waterfall crashes directly into the sea. [9]

New Britain, c. 1882 Die Gartenlaube (1882) b 697.jpg
New Britain, c. 1882

The population of New Britain was 493,585 in 2010. Austronesian people make up the majority on the island. The major towns are Rabaul/Kokopo in East New Britain and Kimbe in West New Britain.

New Britain hosts diverse and complex traditional cultures. While the Tolai of the Rabaul area of East New Britain have a matrilineal society, other groups are patrilineal in structure. There are numerous traditions which remain active today, such as the dukduk secret society (also known as tubuan) in the Tolai area.

Languages

Non-Austronesian (Papuan) languages spoken on New Britain: [10] : 784 

The last two are spoken in West New Britain, and the rest in East New Britain.

Austronesian languages include Tolai, Lungalunga, Siasi, Kimbe, Lamogai, Mengen and othee North New Guinea languages.

Ecology

The island is part of two ecoregions. The New Britain–New Ireland lowland rain forests extend from sea level to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) elevation. The New Britain–New Ireland montane rain forests cover the mountains of New Britain above 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) elevation.

Forests on New Britain have been rapidly destroyed in recent years, largely to clear land for oil palm plantations. Lowland rainforest has been hardest hit, with nearly a quarter of the forest below 100 metres (330 ft) disappearing between 1989 and 2000. If those rates of deforestation continue, it is estimated that all forest below 200 metres (660 ft) will be cleared by 2060. [11] [12] Despite this, most forest birds on New Britain are still widespread and secure in conservation status, though some forest-dependent species such as the New Britain kingfisher are considered to be at risk of extinction if current trends continue. [13]

See also

References and sources

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rabaul</span> Township in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Rabaul is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash from a volcanic eruption in its harbor. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air, and the subsequent rain of ash caused 80% of the buildings in Rabaul to collapse. After the eruption the capital was moved to Kokopo, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) away. Rabaul is continually threatened by volcanic activity, because it is on the edge of the Rabaul caldera, a flooded caldera of a large pyroclastic shield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tavurvur</span> Active stratovolcano near Rabaul, on the island of New Britain, in Papua New Guinea

Tavurvur is an active stratovolcano near Rabaul, on the island of New Britain, in Papua New Guinea. It is a sub-vent of the Rabaul caldera and lies on the eastern rim of the larger feature. An eruption of the volcano largely destroyed the nearby town of Rabaul in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulawun</span> Stratovolcano in Papua New Guinea

Ulawun is a basaltic and andesitic stratovolcano in West New Britain Province, on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East New Britain Province</span> Place in Papua New Guinea

East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, consisting of the north-eastern part of the island of New Britain and the Duke of York Islands. The capital of the province is Kokopo, not far from the old capital of Rabaul, which was largely destroyed in a volcanic eruption in 1994. East New Britain covers a total land area of 15,816 square kilometres (6,107 sq mi), and the province's population was reported as 220,133 in the 2000 census, rising to 328,369 in the 2011 count. Provincial coastal waters extend over an area of 104,000 square metres. The province's only land border is with West New Britain Province to the west, and it also shares a maritime border with New Ireland Province to the east.

The Meso-Melanesian languages are a linkage of Oceanic languages spoken in the large Melanesian islands of New Ireland and the Solomon Islands east of New Guinea. Bali is one of the most conservative languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitu Islands</span> Islands in Papua New Guinea

The Vitu Islands are a volcanic group with an area of 37 sq mi (96 km2) located in the Bismarck Sea off New Britain, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. They are not technically part of the Bismarck Archipelago. Administratively they are part of Papua New Guinea. Formerly called the French Islands, the group is sometimes known as the Witu Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garbuna Group</span>

The Garbuna Group of volcanoes consists of three volcanic peaks, Krummel, Garbuna, and Welcker, atop a shield volcano. They are located at the southern end of the Willaumez Peninsula, just to the west of the town of Kimbe, in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Garbuna contains a large thermal field, probably Papua New Guinea's largest.

The Tolai are the indigenous people of the Gazelle Peninsula and the Duke of York Islands of East New Britain in the New Guinea Islands region of Papua New Guinea. They are ethnically close kin to the peoples of adjacent New Ireland and tribes like the Tanga people and are thought to have migrated to the Gazelle Peninsula in relatively recent times, displacing the Baining people who were driven westwards.

The Tolai language, or Kuanua, is spoken by the Tolai people of Papua New Guinea, who live on the Gazelle Peninsula in East New Britain Province.

Lungalunga, frequently though ambiguously called Minigir, is spoken by a small number of the Tolai people of Papua New Guinea, who live on the Gazelle Peninsula in East New Britain Province. It is often referred to in the linguistics literature as the Tolai "dialect" with an.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kokopo</span> Capital of East New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Kokopo/Vunamami Urban LLG. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population of the town increased more than sixfold from 3,150 in 1990 to 20,262 in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gazelle Peninsula</span>

The Gazelle Peninsula is a large peninsula in northeastern East New Britain, Papua New Guinea located on the island of New Britain within the Bismarck Archipelago, situated in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The Rabaul caldera is located on the northern tip of the peninsula. Upon the Gazelle Peninsula are the Baining Mountains, of which the highest point is Mount Sinewit at 2,063 m (6,768 ft). The Gazelle Peninsula houses Vulcan Crater and Mount Tavurvur, both of which conducted volcanic activity in the 20th and 21st centuries and have provided extremely fertile soils. The body of the Gazelle Peninsula is about 80 km (50 mi). The southern isthmus upon which the Gazelle Peninsula is connected to the main body of East New Britain is reduced to about 32 km (20 mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rabaul Airport</span> Airport in Rabaul, Papua-New Guinea

Rabaul Airport, also called Tokua Airport, is an airport serving Kokopo and Rabaul, the current and former capitals of East New Britain Province on New Britain island in Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Papua New Guinea</span>

Papua New Guinea, a sovereign state in Oceania, is the most linguistically diverse country in the world. According to Ethnologue, there are 840 living languages spoken in the country. In 2006, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare stated that "Papua New Guinea has 832 living languages ."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon Islands (archipelago)</span> Archipelago in the South Pacific spreading over two countries

The Solomon Islands (archipelago) is an island group in the western South Pacific Ocean, north-east of Australia. The archipelago is in the Melanesian subregion and bioregion of Oceania and forms the eastern boundary of the Solomon Sea. The many islands of the archipelago are distributed across Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands (country). The largest island in the archipelago is Bougainville Island, which is a part of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville along with Buka Island, the Nukumanu Islands, and a number of smaller nearby islands. Much of the remainder falls within the territory of Solomon Islands and include the atolls of Ontong Java, Sikaiana, the raised coral atolls of Bellona and Rennell, and the volcanic islands of Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Makira, Malaita, New Georgia, the Nggelas, Santa Isabel, and the Shortlands. The Santa Cruz Islands are not a part of the archipelago.

Siar, also known as Lak, Lamassa, or Likkilikki, is an Austronesian language spoken in New Ireland Province in the southern island point of Papua New Guinea. Lak is in the Patpatar-Tolai sub-group, which then falls under the New Ireland-Tolai group in the Western Oceanic language, a sub-group within the Austronesian family. The Siar people keep themselves sustained and nourished by fishing and gardening. The native people call their language ep warwar anun dat, which means 'our language'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rabaul Gurias</span> PNG semi-professional rugby leam club from Kokopo

The Agmark Rabaul Gurias are a semi professional Papua New Guinean rugby league team from Kokopo, East New Britain Province. They currently compete in the Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Competition. They play their home games at Kalabond Oval at the foot of active volcano Tavurvur. The Franchise is owned by NGIP Agmark Limited and was founded in 1991. The team has won six premierships in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2012 and 2015. The team has been a competitive team in the semi professional rugby game in Papua New Guinea over the past years and the team has developed professional rugby players who have played for the PNG Hunters like Israel Eliab, Ase Boas, Watson Boas and Wartovo Puara Jr. Former greats include Kumul strongman Lucas Solbat, Michael Marum, Normyle Eremas and Menzie Yere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stettin Bay</span> Bay in Kimbe Bay, Bismarck Sea

The Stettin Bay, also spelled as Stetin Bay, is a bay in the Bismarck Sea, within the Pacific Ocean, on the north coast of the island of New Britain. It is located in the Kimbe Bay, between the Willaumez Peninsula to the east, and Hoskins Peninsula to the west, within the West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Britain–New Ireland lowland rain forests</span>

The New Britain-New Ireland lowland rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Papua New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the lowland rain forests of New Britain, New Ireland, and nearby islands in the Bismarck Archipelago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Britain–New Ireland montane rain forests</span>

The New Britain–New Ireland montane rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Papua New Guinea. The ecoregion includes the mountain rain forests on the islands of New Britain and New Ireland, which lie northeast of New Guinea.

References

  1. 1 2 "Islands by Land Area". United Nations System-wide Earthwatch. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  2. ↑ "Melanesia". Peakbagger. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "Ulawun Volcano". Volcano Discovery. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  4. ↑ Gabriel, J., Specht, J., Leavesley, M., Kelly, M., Wood, M., Foale, S., Filer, C., McIntyre-Tamwoy, S., Bourke, R. M., Gill, D., & Sounier, J-P. (2018). The Nakanai Ranges of East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Cairns: James Cook University.
  5. ↑ Kirch, Patrick Vinton (1997). The Lapita Peoples: Ancestors of the Oceanic World. Oxford: Blackwell. pp. 29–32.
  6. ↑ Langdon, Robert (1984) Where the whalers went: an index to the Pacific ports and islands visited by American whalers (and some other ships) in the 19th century, Canberra,, Pacific Manuscripts Bureau, p.186. ISBN   086784471X
  7. ↑ Freund, A. P. H. (19 July 1946). "250 Rabaul Refugees Were Rescued in New Britain in March, 1942". XVII(1) Pacific Islands Monthly. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  8. ↑ Freund, A. P. H. (19 September 1946). "Dodging The Japs Around Vitiaz Straits In 1942". XVII(2) Pacific Islands Monthly. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  9. ↑ Tansley, Craig (24 January 2009). "Treasure Islands". The Age . Fairfax Media. pp. Traveller supplement (pp. 10–11). Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
  10. ↑ Stebbins, Tonya; Evans, Bethwyn; Terrill, Angela (2018). "The Papuan languages of Island Melanesia". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 775–894. ISBN   978-3-11-028642-7.
  11. ↑ Buchanan, Graeme; Butchart, Stuart; Dutson, Guy; Pilgrim, John D.; Steininger, Mark K.; Bishop, K. David; Mayaux, Philippe (2008). "Using remote sensing to inform conservation status assessment: estimates of recent deforestation rates on New Britain and the impacts upon endemic birds". Biological Conservation. 141 (1): 56–66. Bibcode:2008BCons.141...56B. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2007.08.023. ISSN   0006-3207. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "In Papua New Guinea, deforestation for oil palm plantations is causing declines in endemic birds". BirdLife International. 2008. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  13. ↑ Davis, Robert A.; Dutson, Guy; Szabo, Judit K. (2018). "Conservation status of threatened and endemic birds of New Britain, Papua New Guinea". Bird Conservation International. 28 (3): 439–450. doi: 10.1017/S0959270917000156 . ISSN   0959-2709.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.