Telefomin is a station town on the border of Sandaun

Sandaun

Sandaun Province, officially West Sepik Province, is the north-westernmost province of Papua New Guinea. It covers an area of 36,300 km² and has a population of 185,741 . The capital is Vanimo...

 and Western Provinces

Western Province (Papua New Guinea)

Western Province is a coastal province in southwestern Papua New Guinea, bordering the Indonesian province of Papua. The provincial capital is Daru, on the island of Daru. The largest town in the province is Tabubil...

 in 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 started during the Second World War after Mick Leahy

Mick Leahy

Michael "Mick" James Leahy MBE was an Australian explorer and colonialist, famed for his discovery of the Highlands area of Papua New Guinea...

 was assigned to engineer an air-strip in 1944 for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 for use against the Imperial Japanese Army

Imperial Japanese Army

-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...

 forces based in New Guinea.

The Sepik River runs west-east south of the town. The Baptist Mission of Telefomin contains a notable museum and fossils have been found in the area.

The Telefomin peoples are noted for their use of huge conical masks in healing rituals and tradiationally have carved designs onto tall boards for the entrances of their houses.