New Ireland | |
---|---|
![]() Location of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea | |
Colony of German Empire | 3 November 1884 |
Australian occupation | 17 September 1914 |
Mandate of Australia | 1920/21 |
Union with the Territory of Papua | 1 July 1949 |
Province of Papua New Guinea | 9 September 1975 |
Capital and Largest city | Kavieng |
Administration | 10 local level government areas |
Government | |
• Type | Constitutional monarchy Parliamentary democracy |
• Body | New Ireland Provincial Government |
• Governor | Julius Chan |
• Deputy Governor | Sammy Missen |
Legislature | Parliament of New Ireland Legislative Assembly (10 seats) |
Federal representation | National Parliament of Papua New Guinea
|
Area | |
• Land | 9,557 km2 (3,690 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 2,340 m (7,680 ft) |
Population (2021) [1] | |
• Total | 243,035 |
• Rank | 18th |
• Rank | 6th |
Demonym | New Irelander |
Time zone | UTC+10 (PGT) |
HDI (2019) | 0.598 [2] medium · 4th of 22 |
New Ireland Province, formerly New Mecklenburg (German : Neu-Mecklenburg), and Nova Hibernia, is the northeasternmost province of Papua New Guinea.
The largest island of the province is New Ireland.
Also part of the province are numerous smaller islands, including Saint Matthias Group (Mussau, Emirau), New Hanover, Djaul, Tabar Group (Tabar, Tatau, Simberi), Lihir, Tanga Group (Malendok, Boang) and Feni Islands commonly called Anir Islands (Ambitle, Babase).
The land area of the province is around 9 560 km². The sea area within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of New Ireland Province is around 230,000 km².
In the early days of the French Revolution while searching for a lost scientific expedition the vessel La Recherche passed by New Ireland. On board was the prominent botanist Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière who noted in his journal fine stands of teak (Tectona grandis) trees growing at the southern end of the island. This marks the easternmost occurrence of teak, an important timber tree that extends naturally from India to Thailand on the Asian mainland and also is present on Java in the Indonesian archipelago.
There have been at least three waves of migration into New Ireland over the last 40,000 years. The famous Lapita pottery culture was present around 3,300 years ago.
Chinese and South-East Asian contact appears to have been longstanding, though the evidence is thin.
Dutch explorers made the first European contact in 1616. It was initially believed by Europeans to be part of New Britain, but the British explorer Philip Carteret established in 1767 that the island was physically separate, and gave it the name Nova Hibernia, Latin for 'New Ireland'.
In the 1870s and 1880s, Marquis de Rays, a French nobleman, attempted to establish a French colony on the island called La Nouvelle France. He sent four ill-fated expeditions to the island, the most notable of which was the third attempt, now known simply as the De Rays Expedition, which caused the death of 123 of the 350 or so settlers. [3]
Missionary activity did not begin until 1877, and New Ireland was colonised by Germany in 1886 under the name Neu-Mecklenburg, as part of the German partition comprising the northern half of present-day Papua New Guinea.
Blackbirding, the removal, often by force, of local young men to work on plantations in northern Australia and other Pacific islands, was widespread in New Ireland in the late 19th century, especially from Lihir Island and Tanga Islands.
Australia took control in 1914, in the early stages of World War I, and renamed the island New Ireland after the island of Ireland. It became part of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea declared in 1921 by the League of Nations and administered by Australia.
During World War II, New Ireland was occupied by Japanese forces from January 1942 to September 1945.
Australian colonial administration continued until Papua New Guinea became independent in September 1975.
The core of New Ireland's economy is agriculture, livestock, and forestry and marine products. [4] Additionally, there is significant gold mining activity, particularly in Lihir and Simberi. [4]
The population during the year 2000 census was 118,350 people, the vast majority of whom (about 90%) live in small rural villages. The population is very young, with a median age of 18.7 years. Over 40% of the population is under the age of 15 years, whereas only 3% is above 65 years old. [5]
The provincial capital is Kavieng, located on the main island's northern tip. Namatanai is another small town two-thirds of the way along the island. The Boluminski Highway runs down the east coast, linking the two towns.
Around twenty languages are spoken in New Ireland, and the number of dialects and subdialects totals perhaps 45. All are in the New Ireland languages group within the Austronesian language family, except for one language isolate, Kuot.
New Ireland, like much of Papua New Guinea, has a mixture of the old and the new: traditional cultural practices ("custom") are widespread and almost universally respected, yet society is changing as a result of church activity, urbanisation, and various aspects of global contemporary culture making their mark.
Probably the most famous cultural system of New Ireland is "Malagan", a Nalik word for an ancient and revered set of practices and ceremonies practised throughout much of the main island. Malagan is also an art where the dead are remembered through the various depictions that are carved on Malagan masks. The Malagan masks have a symbolic meaning as the dead must be remembered through the masks and ceremonies. They are the practical means of capturing the spirits of recent dead relatives or clan members. During the colonial era, significant quantities of Malagan masks were collected by European administrators and can be seen in museums all over Europe.
Each province in Papua New Guinea has one or more districts, and each district has one or more Local Level Government (LLG) areas. For census purposes, the LLG areas are subdivided into wards and those into census units. [6]
District | District Capital | LLG Name |
---|---|---|
Kavieng District | Kavieng | Kavieng Urban |
Lavongai Rural | ||
Murat Rural | ||
Tikana Rural | ||
Namatanai District | Namatanai | Konoagil Rural |
Namatanai Rural | ||
Nimamar Rural | ||
Sentral Niu Ailan Rural | ||
Tanir Rural |
The province was governed by a decentralised provincial administration, headed by a Premier, from 1977 to 1995. Following reforms taking effect that year, the national government reassumed some powers, and the role of Premier was replaced by the position of Governor, to be held by the winner of the province-wide seat in the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. [7] [8]
Premier | Term |
---|---|
Robert Seeto | 1977–1986 |
Pedi Anis | 1987–1990 |
Demas Kavuvu | 1990–1993 |
Samson Gila | 1993–1995 |
Governor | Term |
---|---|
Wilson Peni | 1995–1997 |
Paul Tohian | 1997–2002 |
Ian Ling-Stuckey | 2002–2007 |
Julius Chan | 2007–present |
The province and each district are represented by a Member of the National Parliament. There is one provincial electorate, and each district is an open electorate.
Electorate | Member |
---|---|
New Ireland Provincial | Julius Chan |
Kavieng Open | Ian Ling-Stuckey |
Namatanai Open | Walter Schnaubelt |
Sandaun Province is the northwesternmost mainland province of Papua New Guinea. It covers an area of 35,920 km2 and has a population of 248,411. The capital is Vanimo. In July 1998 the area surrounding the town Aitape was hit by an enormous tsunami caused by a Magnitude 7.0 earthquake which killed over 2,000 people. The five villages along the west coast of Vanimo towards the International Border are namely; Lido, Waromo, Yako, Musu and Wutung.
Madang is a province of Papua New Guinea. The province is on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea and has many of the country's highest peaks, active volcanoes and its biggest mix of languages. The capital is the town of Madang.
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.
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.
Chimbu, more frequently spelled Simbu, is a province in the Highlands Region of Papua New Guinea. The province has an area of 6,112 km2 and a population of 376,473. The capital of the province is Kundiawa. Mount Wilhelm, the tallest mountain in Papua New Guinea is on the border of Eastern part of Simbu and the Western part of Madang Province.
Gulf Province is a province of Papua New Guinea located on the southern coast. The provincial capital is Kerema. The 34,472 km2 province is dominated by mountains, lowland river deltas, and grassland flood plains. In Gulf Province, the Kikori, Turama, Purari, and Vailala rivers meet the Papuan Gulf. The province has the second-smallest population of all the provinces of Papua New Guinea with 106,898 inhabitants. The province shares land borders with Western Province to the west, Southern Highlands, Chimbu, and Eastern Highlands to the north, Morobe Province to the east, and Central Province to the southeast.
Oro Province, formerly Northern Province, is a coastal province in the Southern Region of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Popondetta. The province covers 22,800 km2, and has 176,206 inhabitants. The province shares land borders with Morobe Province to the northwest, Central Province to the west and south, and Milne Bay Province to the southeast. The province is located within the Papuan Peninsula.
West New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea on the islands of New Britain. The provincial capital is Kimbe. The area of the province is 20,387 km² with a population of 264,264 as of the 2011 census. The province's only land border is with East New Britain. There are seven major tribes, the Nakanai, Bakovi, Kove, Unea, Maleu, Arowe, speaking about 25 languages.
Western Province is a coastal province in southwestern Papua New Guinea, bordering the Indonesian provinces of Highland Papua and South Papua. The provincial capital is Daru. The largest town in the province is Tabubil. Other major settlements are Kiunga, Ningerum, Olsobip and Balimo.
Eastern Highlands is a highlands province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Goroka. The province covers an area of 11,157 km², and has a population of 579,825. The province shares a common administrative boundary with Madang Province to the north, Morobe Province to the east, Gulf Province to the south, and Simbu Province to the west. The province is the home of the Asaro mud mask that is displayed at shows and festivals within the province and in the country. The province is reachable by air, including Goroka Airport, and road transport, including the main Highlands Highway.
Southern Highlands is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its provincial capital is the town of Mendi. According to Papua New Guinea's national 2011 census, the total population of Southern Highlands is 515,511 spread across 15,089 square kilometers (5,826 sq mi).
East Sepik is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Wewak. East Sepik has an estimated population of 433,481 people and is 43,426 km square in size.
Central Province is a province in Papua New Guinea located on the southern coast of the country. It has a population of 237,016 people and is 29,998 square kilometres (11,582 sq mi) in size. The seat of government of Central Province, which is located within the National Capital District outside the province, is the Port Moresby suburb of Konedobu. On 9 October 2007, the Central Province government announced plans to build a new provincial capital city at Bautama, which lies within Central Province near Port Moresby, although there has been little progress in constructing it.
Manus Province is the smallest province in Papua New Guinea in terms of both land area and population, with a land area of 2,100 square kilometres (810 sq mi), but with more than 220,000 square kilometres (85,000 sq mi) of water, and the total population is 60,485. The provincial town of Manus is Lorengau.
New Ireland, or Latangai, is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km2 (2,859 sq mi) in area with c. 120,000 people. It is named after the island of Ireland. It is the largest island of New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by Saint George's Channel.
The Tabar Group is an island group in Papua New Guinea, located 40 km (25 mi) north of New Ireland. It is a part of the Bismarck Archipelago. The Tabar group consists of a short chain of three main islands - Tabar Island in the south, Tatau Island in the center, and Simberi Island in the north - as well as a number of smaller offshore islets. The highest peak is Mount Beirari at 622 m (2,041 ft).
Simberi Island is a volcanic island in the Tabar Group, in Papua New Guinea's New Ireland Province.
Namatanai District is the southernmost and larger of the two districts of New Ireland Province in Papua New Guinea. The district covers the southern part of the island of New Ireland, as well as the Tabar Group, the Lihir Group, the Tanga Islands and the Feni Islands.
Sentral Niu Ailan Rural LLG is a local government area in New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea. The LLG administers the central area of the island of New Ireland especially the people of Barok, Mandak, Kuot, Notsi and the Tabar Group. The LLG is located in Namatanai District and the LLG headquarters is Konos.
Nimamar Rural LLG is a local government area in New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea. The LLG administers the Lihir Group of islands. The LLG is located in Namatanai District and contains the Lihir Gold Mine, which is the second largest gold deposit in the world. Main language spoken here is the Lihir language. Many speakers of other languages are present here due to the mining on the island. Commonly are Niwer Mil language, Kuanua language and Mandara language.
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