Kavieng
Encyclopedia
Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinea
n province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2000, it had a population of 10,600.
Kavieng is the main port for New Ireland, and is both a trading and tourist destination. Several dive companies operate from the town, as the area is known for its diving, both for natural sites and wrecks dating from the Second World War. There are plane and shipwrecks in Kavieng Harbour itself, as well as several more nearby.
The town is serviced by Kavieng Airport
, with daily connections to Port Moresby
. It lies at one end of the Boluminski Highway
which runs 193km to Namatanai
.
Kavieng has all the services one would expect from a local administrative centre: local government offices, shopping, hotels (namely the Kavieng Hotel, the Malagan Beach Resort hotel and the Kavieng Club, the former "colonial club" in the town), a hospital providing general medical, paediatric and surgical services, and a weekly market. There is also a large wharf for copra
export on the town's edge, allowing deep-water ships to load copra and oil directly from the land.
Visible from Kavieng are the many islands of the archipelago lying between New Ireland and New Hanover
, including Nusa Lik, Nusa Lawa, and Nango Island, which was formerly the site of a fish cannery in the 1960s and 1970s. Nango is the site of a new marine research centre for the PNG National Fisheries Authority. Its opening was overseen by the Governor-General of PNG Mr. Paulius Matane in July 2009.
colonial administration. Though some on the island became quite wealthy with the development of copra plantations, Kavieng itself remained a tiny settlement, with as few as eighty residents. After the First World War, Kavieng, as part of Papua New Guinea
, was ceded to Australian control. This resulted in the deportation of German missionaries and the seizure of all German property in the town.
On January 21, 1942, during World War II
, Kavieng came under a massive aerial bombardment by Japanese
forces. That night, the vast majority of Australia
ns were evacuated from New Ireland. The Japanese invaded and occupied the island on January 24. Over the next two years, almost all of the Europeans who had remained on the island were killed by the Japanese. Rear Admiral Ryukichi Tamura gave the order to kill all the European prisoners in Kavieng if an imminent invasion by Allied forces was expected. At least twenty-three of these were executed in the Kavieng Wharf Massacre
in March 1944, which later led to the perpetrators being sentenced for war crimes. By the time the Allies retook the island in 1945, Kavieng had been almost completely destroyed.
As a result of the Japanese occupation and subsequent Allied invasion there are a number of wartime relics in the town, most notably a large gun sitting above a bunker adjacent to the Harbour Road. Although not officially open to the public, the bunker has several openings allowing entry, and the gun position provides an extensive view of the harbour.
Today Kavieng is home to a thriving tourism industry. Dive, trekking, and surf tourism predominate with all of the tourism depending on the rich biological diversity of New Ireland. The surf tourism industry has entered into partnerships with local land and reef owners to develop what they refer to as a "surf management plan." This plan provides resource owners with income from the surfers and limits the number of surfers on any break at one time.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
n province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2000, it had a population of 10,600.
Kavieng is the main port for New Ireland, and is both a trading and tourist destination. Several dive companies operate from the town, as the area is known for its diving, both for natural sites and wrecks dating from the Second World War. There are plane and shipwrecks in Kavieng Harbour itself, as well as several more nearby.
The town is serviced by Kavieng Airport
Kavieng Airport
Kavieng Airport is located in Kavieng, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea and is located approximately 1 km away from the town centre.The airport was first built by the Japanese as a military airbase in 1942...
, with daily connections to Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
. It lies at one end of the Boluminski Highway
Boluminski Highway
The Boluminski Highway is the main land transportation route on the island of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. It runs from the provincial capital of Kavieng for 193 km down the east coast of the island to Namatanai...
which runs 193km to Namatanai
Namatanai
Namatanai is a town on the island province of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. It is the second largest settlement on the island and connected to the largest and provincial capital of Kavieng by the Boluminski Highway. In 2005, Namantanai was estimated to have a population of 1300 people.During...
.
Kavieng has all the services one would expect from a local administrative centre: local government offices, shopping, hotels (namely the Kavieng Hotel, the Malagan Beach Resort hotel and the Kavieng Club, the former "colonial club" in the town), a hospital providing general medical, paediatric and surgical services, and a weekly market. There is also a large wharf for copra
Copra
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...
export on the town's edge, allowing deep-water ships to load copra and oil directly from the land.
Visible from Kavieng are the many islands of the archipelago lying between New Ireland and New Hanover
New Hanover Island
New Hanover Island, , also called Lavongai, is a large volcanic island in New Ireland Province, part of the Bismarck Archipelago of the New Guinea Islands region of Papua New Guinea, at...
, including Nusa Lik, Nusa Lawa, and Nango Island, which was formerly the site of a fish cannery in the 1960s and 1970s. Nango is the site of a new marine research centre for the PNG National Fisheries Authority. Its opening was overseen by the Governor-General of PNG Mr. Paulius Matane in July 2009.
History
The area was first charted by Dutch explorers in 1516, but it was not until the early 1900s that Kavieng town was founded by the GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
colonial administration. Though some on the island became quite wealthy with the development of copra plantations, Kavieng itself remained a tiny settlement, with as few as eighty residents. After the First World War, Kavieng, as part of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, was ceded to Australian control. This resulted in the deportation of German missionaries and the seizure of all German property in the town.
On January 21, 1942, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Kavieng came under a massive aerial bombardment by Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
forces. That night, the vast majority of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
ns were evacuated from New Ireland. The Japanese invaded and occupied the island on January 24. Over the next two years, almost all of the Europeans who had remained on the island were killed by the Japanese. Rear Admiral Ryukichi Tamura gave the order to kill all the European prisoners in Kavieng if an imminent invasion by Allied forces was expected. At least twenty-three of these were executed in the Kavieng Wharf Massacre
Japanese war crimes
Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities...
in March 1944, which later led to the perpetrators being sentenced for war crimes. By the time the Allies retook the island in 1945, Kavieng had been almost completely destroyed.
As a result of the Japanese occupation and subsequent Allied invasion there are a number of wartime relics in the town, most notably a large gun sitting above a bunker adjacent to the Harbour Road. Although not officially open to the public, the bunker has several openings allowing entry, and the gun position provides an extensive view of the harbour.
Today Kavieng is home to a thriving tourism industry. Dive, trekking, and surf tourism predominate with all of the tourism depending on the rich biological diversity of New Ireland. The surf tourism industry has entered into partnerships with local land and reef owners to develop what they refer to as a "surf management plan." This plan provides resource owners with income from the surfers and limits the number of surfers on any break at one time.
Further reading
- Mary Murray, Hunted, A Coastwatcher's Story
- Raden Dunbar, "The Kavieng Masacre - A War Crime Revealed"