New Britain
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- This article discusses the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. For other uses of the name, see New Britain (disambiguation).
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New Britain is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea, separated from the island of New Guinea by Dampier Strait. The main towns are Rabaul/Kokopo and Kimbe.
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[edit] Geography
New Britain extends from 148° to 152° E. longitude and from 4° to 7° S. latitude. It is crescent-shaped, approximately 600 km (370 miles) along its southeastern coastline, and from 30 to 110 km (20–70 miles) wide, not including a small central peninsula. The island is the 38th largest in the world, with an area of 37,800 km² (14,600 mile²).
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 2438 m (7999 ft), is Mount Sinewit in the Baining range in the east. 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 there are several active volcanoes on the island, including Ulawun (the highest volcano in Papua New Guinea), 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.
[edit] Administrative divisions
New Britain is part of the Islands Region, one of four regions of Papua New Guinea. It comprises the mainland of two provinces:
- East New Britain with headquarters in Kokopo (formerly Rabaul)
- West New Britain with headquarters in Kimbe
[edit] History
[edit] 1700-1914
William Dampier became the first known European to visit New Britain on February 27, 1700: he dubbed the island with the Latin name Nova Britannia.
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"), and the whole group was renamed the Bismarck Archipelago. New Britain became part of German New Guinea.
In 1909, the indigenous population was estimated at about 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 (13,464 acres) had been converted to plantations, primarily copra, cotton, coffee, and rubber. Westerners avoided exploring the interior initially, believing that the indigenous peoples were warlike and would fiercely resist intrusions.
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 German New Guinea became the Australian Territory of New Guinea.
[edit] World War II
During World War II the Japanese captured New Britain very early on. During January of 1942, Japanese heavily bombed Rabaul. On January 23, Japanese marines landed by the thousands, starting the Battle of Rabaul. The Japanese used Rabaul as a heavy base until 1945. It was used as the key point for the failed invasion of Port Moresby. The Allies were able to bypass attacking New Britain by setting up airbases on surrounding islands. With air attacks impossible due to Allied fighters, the base was abandoned by the Japanese in August of 1945.
[edit] Since 1945
[edit] 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 two thousand years ago. There are around ten Papuan languages spoken and about forty Austronesian languages, as well as Tok Pisin and English.
The population of New Britain was 404,873 in the 2000 census. The major towns are Rabaul/Kokopo in East New Britain and Kimbe in West New Britain.
The traditional cultures of New Britain are diverse and complex. 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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- Jane's Solomon Islands
- Australian War Memorial, Operations against German Pacific territories, 6 August 1914 – 6 November 1914.
- Ethnologue map of languages of New Britain
