Rabaul
Encyclopedia
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain
province, Papua New Guinea
. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. 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 due to being built on the edge of Rabaul caldera
, a flooded caldera
of a large volcano
.
Rabaul was the headquarters of German New Guinea
until captured by the British Commonwealth during World War I, when it became the capital of the Australian mandated Territory of New Guinea
until 1937. During World War II
it was captured by the Japanese in 1942, and it became the main base of Japanese military and naval activity in the South Pacific
. Settlements and military installations around the edge of the caldera are often collectively referred to as Rabaul despite the old town of Rabaul itself being reduced to practical insignificance by the volcanic eruption in 1994.
As a tourist destination, Rabaul was popular for scuba diving
and for snorkelling
sites and a spectacular harbour. Before the 1994 erruption, Rabaul was a popular commercial and recreational boating destination in Papua New Guinea. There are still several diving operators based there, but tourism has yet to recover to it's pre-erruption levels. Economic hardship in Rabaul have produced violent gangs, locally referred to as "rascals". These gangs prey on foreigners visiting by plane or aboard yachts, reducing tourism to a trickle and further increasing lawlessness in the area.
in the harbour.
) to Simpsonhafen. That settlement was thus substantially enlarged with official buildings and housing and renamed Rabaul, meaning mangrove
in Kuanua (the local language) as the new town was partially built on a reclaimed mangrove swamp.
At the outset of World War I
, at the behest of Great Britain, Australia occupied German New Guinea with the volunteer Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
. Following Germany's defeat at the end of the war, the occupied territory was delegated in 1920 to Australia as a League of Nations Mandate
(Class C). Rabaul became the capital of the Territory of New Guinea
.
and Vulcan
, exploded. 507 people were killed, and there was widespread damage.
Following this, the Australian administration for the Territory of New Guinea decided to move the territorial headquarters to the safer location of Lae
. All long-term steps to re-establish the territorial headquarters at Rabaul were forestalled during World War II.
it was apparent they would soon attack Rabaul. So, by December 1941, all women and children were evacuated. In January 1942 Rabaul was heavily bombed, and on January 23 the Battle of Rabaul
began with the landing of thousands of Japanese naval landing forces.
During their occupation the Japanese developed Rabaul into a much more powerful base than the Australians had planned after the 1937 volcanic eruptions, with long term consequences for the town in the post-War period. The Japanese army dug many kilometres of tunnels as shelter from the Allied
air forces. By 1943 there were about 110,000 Japanese troops based in Rabaul. The Japanese army also set up brothels in Rabaul where "perhaps 2000 or more women were deceived and forced into prostitution of a most demanding kind," according to Emeritus Professor Hank Nelson
from the Australian National University's Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
(RSPAS).
On April 18, 1943, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
, the architect of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
, was shot down and killed by a United States P-38 Lightning over South Bougainville after taking off from Rabaul. Japanese communications giving Yamamoto's flight itinerary were decrypted by United States Navy
cryptographers. Sixteen United States Army Air Forces P-38 Lightning
fighters took off from Guadalcanal and destroyed the two bombers of the Yamamoto flight and damaged some of the escorting Japanese fighters.
Instead of capturing Rabaul, the Allied forces bypassed it by establishing a ring of airfields and naval bases on the islands around it. Cut off from re-supply and under continual air attacks as part of Operation Cartwheel
, the base became useless. The Japanese held Rabaul until they surrendered at the end of the war in August 1945.
The last eruption prompted the relocation of the provincial capital to Kokopo
, the former German Herbertshöhe. Nonetheless, Rabaul is slowly rebuilding in the danger zone. Vulcan has remained dormant since the eruption, while small-scale eruptions from Tavurvur occur intermittently. A government volcano observatory is maintained in the northern portion of Rabaul. It also has responsibility for monitoring the other volcanoes on New Britain
and nearby islands in addition to the Rabaul caldera.
was completely destroyed in the 1994 eruption. The airport was in direct path of the falling ash from the nearby vents. The airport was later rebuilt at Tokua, farther away outside the caldera to the southeast, but has occasionally been closed by ashfall from the continuing volcanic activity in the Rabaul caldera.
Rabaul has a large, nearly-perfect circular harbour, Simpson Harbour
, one of the best in the South Pacific
region for shipping. Use of this harbour for the Imperial Japanese Navy
was one of the motivations for the Japanese invasion in 1942.
East New Britain
East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, on the north-eastern part of the island of New Britain and it also includes 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 the 1994 volcanic eruption...
province, 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...
. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. 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
Kokopo
Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. 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....
, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) away. Rabaul is continually threatened by volcanic activity due to being built on the edge of Rabaul caldera
Rabaul caldera
Rabaul caldera is a large volcano situated in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. It derives its name from the town of Rabaul situated inside the caldera. The highest of its multiple peaks is ....
, a flooded caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
of a large volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
.
Rabaul was the headquarters of German New Guinea
German New Guinea
German New Guinea was the first part of the German colonial empire. It was a protectorate from 1884 until 1914 when it fell to Australia following the outbreak of the First World War. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups...
until captured by the British Commonwealth during World War I, when it became the capital of the Australian mandated Territory of New Guinea
Territory of New Guinea
The Territory of New Guinea was the Australia-controlled, League of Nations-mandated territory in the north eastern part of the island of New Guinea, and surrounding islands, between 1920 and 1949...
until 1937. 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...
it was captured by the Japanese in 1942, and it became the main base of Japanese military and naval activity in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
. Settlements and military installations around the edge of the caldera are often collectively referred to as Rabaul despite the old town of Rabaul itself being reduced to practical insignificance by the volcanic eruption in 1994.
As a tourist destination, Rabaul was popular for scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
and for snorkelling
Snorkeling
Snorkeling is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn...
sites and a spectacular harbour. Before the 1994 erruption, Rabaul was a popular commercial and recreational boating destination in Papua New Guinea. There are still several diving operators based there, but tourism has yet to recover to it's pre-erruption levels. Economic hardship in Rabaul have produced violent gangs, locally referred to as "rascals". These gangs prey on foreigners visiting by plane or aboard yachts, reducing tourism to a trickle and further increasing lawlessness in the area.
History
Rabaul's proximity to its volcanoes has always been a source of concern. In 1878 before being established as a town an eruption caused the formation of VulcanVulcan (volcano)
Vulcan is a pumice cone in Papua New Guinea. It is a sub-vent of the Rabaul caldera and lies on the western rim of the larger feature. Its most recent eruption was in 1994, when in conjunction with another vent, Tavurvur, the eruptions of Vulcan forced the abandonment of the city of Rabaul and the...
in the harbour.
Colonial period and aftermath
In 1910 the German colonial government during the administration of Governor Albert Hahl relocated offices, the district court, a hospital, and customs and postal facilities from Herbertshöhe (today’s KokopoKokopo
Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. 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....
) to Simpsonhafen. That settlement was thus substantially enlarged with official buildings and housing and renamed Rabaul, meaning mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
in Kuanua (the local language) as the new town was partially built on a reclaimed mangrove swamp.
At the outset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, at the behest of Great Britain, Australia occupied German New Guinea with the volunteer Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force was a small volunteer force of approximately 2,000 men, raised in Australia shortly after the outbreak of the First World War to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Guinea in the south-west Pacific...
. Following Germany's defeat at the end of the war, the occupied territory was delegated in 1920 to Australia as a League of Nations Mandate
League of Nations mandate
A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administering the territory on behalf of the League...
(Class C). Rabaul became the capital of the Territory of New Guinea
Territory of New Guinea
The Territory of New Guinea was the Australia-controlled, League of Nations-mandated territory in the north eastern part of the island of New Guinea, and surrounding islands, between 1920 and 1949...
.
1937 eruption
Under the Australian administration, Rabaul developed into a regional base. Then in 1937, catastrophic volcanic eruptions destroyed the town after the two volcanoes, TavurvurTavurvur
Tavurvur is an active volcano that lies near Rabaul in Papua New Guinea. It is a sub-vent of the Rabaul caldera and lies on the eastern rim of the larger feature...
and Vulcan
Vulcan (volcano)
Vulcan is a pumice cone in Papua New Guinea. It is a sub-vent of the Rabaul caldera and lies on the western rim of the larger feature. Its most recent eruption was in 1994, when in conjunction with another vent, Tavurvur, the eruptions of Vulcan forced the abandonment of the city of Rabaul and the...
, exploded. 507 people were killed, and there was widespread damage.
Following this, the Australian administration for the Territory of New Guinea decided to move the territorial headquarters to the safer location of Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
. All long-term steps to re-establish the territorial headquarters at Rabaul were forestalled during World War II.
World War II
By the time the Japanese attacked Pearl HarborPearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
it was apparent they would soon attack Rabaul. So, by December 1941, all women and children were evacuated. In January 1942 Rabaul was heavily bombed, and on January 23 the Battle of Rabaul
Battle of Rabaul (1942)
The Battle of Rabaul, also known by the Japanese as Operation R, was fought on the island of New Britain in the Australian Territory of New Guinea, in January and February 1942. It was a strategically significant defeat of Allied forces by Japan in the Pacific campaign of World War II...
began with the landing of thousands of Japanese naval landing forces.
During their occupation the Japanese developed Rabaul into a much more powerful base than the Australians had planned after the 1937 volcanic eruptions, with long term consequences for the town in the post-War period. The Japanese army dug many kilometres of tunnels as shelter from the Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
air forces. By 1943 there were about 110,000 Japanese troops based in Rabaul. The Japanese army also set up brothels in Rabaul where "perhaps 2000 or more women were deceived and forced into prostitution of a most demanding kind," according to Emeritus Professor Hank Nelson
Hank Nelson
Hank Nelson is one of Australia's foremost historians of the Pacific, particularly Papua New Guinea. His interest in the region began in 1966 when he took a teaching position at the University of Papua New Guinea...
from the Australian National University's Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
The Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies was founded in 1946 as an institute of advanced study at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.-History:...
(RSPAS).
On April 18, 1943, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Isoroku Yamamoto
was a Japanese Naval Marshal General and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and a student of Harvard University ....
, the architect of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, was shot down and killed by a United States P-38 Lightning over South Bougainville after taking off from Rabaul. Japanese communications giving Yamamoto's flight itinerary were decrypted by United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
cryptographers. Sixteen United States Army Air Forces P-38 Lightning
P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
fighters took off from Guadalcanal and destroyed the two bombers of the Yamamoto flight and damaged some of the escorting Japanese fighters.
Instead of capturing Rabaul, the Allied forces bypassed it by establishing a ring of airfields and naval bases on the islands around it. Cut off from re-supply and under continual air attacks as part of Operation Cartwheel
Operation Cartwheel
Operation Cartwheel was a major military strategy for the Allies in the Pacific theater of World War II. Cartwheel was a twin-axis of advance operation, aimed at militarily neutralizing the major Japanese base at Rabaul...
, the base became useless. The Japanese held Rabaul until they surrendered at the end of the war in August 1945.
1994 eruption
In 1983 and 1984 the town was ready for evacuation when the volcanoes started to heat up. Nothing happened until 19 September 1994, when again Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted, destroying the airport and covering most of the town with heavy ashfall. There were only 19 hours of warning before the eruption and the city's inhabitants evacuated before the eruption. Only five people were killed—several of them by lightning from the eruptive column. The planning and evacuation drills helped keep the death toll low. Most of the buildings in the southeastern half of Rabaul collapsed due to the weight of ash on their roofs.The last eruption prompted the relocation of the provincial capital to Kokopo
Kokopo
Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. 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....
, the former German Herbertshöhe. Nonetheless, Rabaul is slowly rebuilding in the danger zone. Vulcan has remained dormant since the eruption, while small-scale eruptions from Tavurvur occur intermittently. A government volcano observatory is maintained in the northern portion of Rabaul. It also has responsibility for monitoring the other volcanoes on New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
and nearby islands in addition to the Rabaul caldera.
Transportation
Rabaul AirportRabaul Airport
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....
was completely destroyed in the 1994 eruption. The airport was in direct path of the falling ash from the nearby vents. The airport was later rebuilt at Tokua, farther away outside the caldera to the southeast, but has occasionally been closed by ashfall from the continuing volcanic activity in the Rabaul caldera.
Rabaul has a large, nearly-perfect circular harbour, Simpson Harbour
Simpson Harbour
Simpson Harbour is a sheltered harbour of Blanche Bay, on the Gazelle Peninsula in the extreme north of New Britain. The harbour is named after Captain Cortland Simpson who was surveying the bay while in command of in 1872. The former capital city of Rabaul is on its shores.The harbour is a huge...
, one of the best in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
region for shipping. Use of this harbour for the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
was one of the motivations for the Japanese invasion in 1942.
External links
- East New Britain Tourism & Trade Directory
- Tavurvur, Rabaul Caldera
- PNG National Game Fishing Titles Rabaul 2008
- Historic images: 80 historic images from 1933 in the collection of the National Library of AustraliaNational Library of AustraliaThe National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...