81-464: The Carteret Islands (also known as Carteret Atoll , Tulun or Kilinailau Islands/Atoll) are Papua New Guinea islands located 86 km (53 mi) north-east of Bougainville in the South Pacific . The atoll has a scattering of low-lying islands called Han, Jangain, Yesila, Yolasa and Piul, in a horseshoe shape stretching 30 km (19 mi) in north-south direction, with
162-431: A Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.84/10, ranking it 17th globally out of 172 countries. Mangrove swamps stretch along the coast, and in the inland it is inhabited by nipa palm (Nypa fruticans), and deeper in the inland the sago palm tree inhabits areas in the valleys of larger rivers. Trees such as oaks, red cedars, pines, and beeches are becoming predominant in the uplands above 3,300 feet. Papua New Guinea
243-556: A blood and murder surprise attack to remove their relatives. Genealogical information suggest that the Halia invasion took place in the early 18th century. Lieutenant Erasmus Gower (sailing with Commander Philip Carteret ) reported the population as being dark-skinned in 1767. Like many other atolls throughout the Pacific Ocean, this one is very low-lying and its main constituent, the coral, needs to be covered in water most of
324-741: A land bridge , particularly during ice ages when sea levels were lower than at present. As the Indo-Australian Plate (which includes landmasses of India , Australia, and the Indian Ocean floor in between) drifts north, it collides with the Eurasian Plate . The collision of the two plates pushed up the Himalayas , the Indonesian islands, and New Guinea's Central Range . The Central Range is much younger and higher than
405-478: A landslide hit the village of Kaokalam in Enga Province , about 600 kilometers (372 miles) northwest of the capital, Port Moresby , at about 3 a.m. local time. The landslide buried more than 2000 people alive, caused major destruction to buildings, and food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country. The casualty figure surpasses the 2006 Southern Leyte mudslide tragedy where
486-703: A cachet. The monarch is represented by the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea , currently Bob Dadae . Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are unusual among Commonwealth realms in that governors-general are appointed by the Sovereign, the Head of State, upon nomination by the National Parliament, which nomination the Head of State is not obliged to accept. The Prime Minister heads the cabinet , which consists of 31 members of Parliament from
567-443: A chain of earthquakes hit Hela Province , causing widespread landslides and the deaths of 200 people. Various nations from Oceania and Southeast Asia immediately sent aid to the country. Another severe earthquake occurred on 11 September 2022, killing seven people and causing damaging shaking in some of the country's largest cities, such as Lae and Madang , it was also felt in the capital Port Moresby . On May 24, 2024,
648-519: A colony named German New Guinea , while the southern part of the country became a British protectorate . In 1888, the British protectorate, as well as some adjacent islands, were annexed by Britain as British New Guinea. In 1902, Papua was effectively transferred to the authority of the new British dominion of Australia . With the passage of the Papua Act 1905, the area was officially renamed
729-498: A cultivated crop planted in watered areas, by 2002 that had been forgotten by an island leader who complained about wild taro no longer growing. The Carteret Islands inhabitants are a Halia -speaking community closely related to the population of Hanhan Bay, in nearby Buka Island . Their customs are very similar to those of the Buka, although with some important adaptations to the atoll environment. The Carteret Islanders call themselves
810-530: A fishing expedition from Hahalis. According to the Halia tradition, the first attempt to reach the islands had a peaceful intention, but ended in the massacre of the Halia expedition. The Munihil, or paramount chief of Hanahan Bay then organized a large flotilla of canoes to attack the Polynesian population, and conquered the islands. By contrast, the Mortlock Islanders state that the Halia mounted
891-488: A more than twenty years' battle, building a seawall and planting mangroves . However, storm surges and high tides continue to wash away homes, destroy vegetable gardens and contaminate fresh water supplies. The natural tree cover on the island is also being impacted by the incursion of saltwater contamination of the fresh water table. Paul Tobasi, the atolls' district manager with Papua New Guinea's Bougainville province, and many other environmental groups have suggested that
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#1732787337456972-524: A national election and within 12 months of the next election. In 2012, the first two (of three) readings were passed to prevent votes of no confidence occurring within the first 30 months. This restriction on votes of no confidence has arguably resulted in greater stability, although perhaps at the cost of reducing the accountability of the executive branch of government. Elections in PNG attract numerous candidates. After independence in 1975, members were elected by
1053-591: A short curve of the river's thalweg to where it meets the 141°01'10" E meridian flowing west, then southwards to the south coast. The 141° E meridian formed the entire eastern boundary of Dutch New Guinea according to its 1828 annexation proclamation. By the Treaty of The Hague (1895) the Dutch and British agreed to a territorial exchange, bringing the entire left bank of the Fly River into British New Guinea and moving
1134-403: A total land area of 0.6 square kilometres (0.2 sq mi) and a maximum elevation of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11.1 in) above sea level . The group is made up of islands collectively named after the British navigator Philip Carteret , who was the first European to discover them, arriving in the sloop HMS Swallow (1745) in 1767. As of 2005, about one thousand people live on
1215-468: A total of 1,126 people lost their lives as the debris flow from a landslide followed 10 days of heavy rain. With over 2,000 reported dead by the Papua New Guinea government, this disaster has now emerged as the deadliest landslide of the 21st century. The climate on the island is essentially tropical, but it varies by region. The maximum mean temperature in the lowlands is 30 to 32 °C, and
1296-679: Is a megadiverse country . Many of the other islands within PNG territory, including New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, the Admiralty Islands , the Trobriand Islands , and the Louisiade Archipelago , were never linked to New Guinea by land bridges. As a consequence, they have their own flora and fauna; in particular, they lack many of the land mammals and flightless birds that are common to New Guinea and Australia. Australia and New Guinea are portions of
1377-770: Is a full member of the Commonwealth of Nations , the Pacific Community , the Pacific Islands Forum , and the United Nations . Papua is derived from a local term of uncertain origin. Regarding the islands of New Guinea, the Portuguese captain and geographer António Galvão wrote that: The people of all these islands are blacke, and have their haire frisled, whom the people of Maluco do call Papuas. "New Guinea" ( Nueva Guinea )
1458-469: Is famous for its frequent seismic activity, being on the Ring of Fire . On 17 July 1998, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck north of Aitape . It triggered a 50-foot-high tsunami, which killed over 2,180 people in one of the worst natural disasters in the country. In September 2002, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Wewak , Sandaun Province , killing six people. From March to April 2018,
1539-623: Is no more than 1.5 m higher than sea-level. Also cited by Dr. Ray, "The region is also tectonically active and subsiding land is a real possibility." However, The Carteret Islands lie on the Pacific Plate , lying east of and above where the Solomon Sea plate is subducting underneath it. Fred Terry, the director of the United Nations Development Project on Bougainville, said the destruction of reefs in
1620-472: Is often the most efficient and reliable means of transportation. The highest peak is Mount Wilhelm at 4,509 metres (14,793 ft). Papua New Guinea is surrounded by coral reefs which are under close watch, in the interests of preservation. Papua New Guinea's largest rivers are in New Guinea and include Sepik , Ramu , Markham , Musa , Purari , Kikori , Turama , Wawoi and Fly . The country
1701-400: Is one of the few regions close to the equator that experience snowfall , which occurs in the most elevated parts of the mainland. The border between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia was confirmed by a treaty with Australia before independence in 1974. The land border comprises a segment of the 141° E meridian from the north coast southwards to where it meets the Fly River flowing east, then
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#17327873374561782-420: Is part of the humid tropics, and many Indomalayan rainforest plants spread across the narrow straits from Asia, mixing with the old Australian and Antarctic floras. New Guinea has been identified as the world's most floristically diverse island in the world, with 13,634 known species of vascular plants. Papua New Guinea includes several terrestrial ecoregions : Three new species of mammals were discovered in
1863-458: Is rich in various species of reptiles, indigenous freshwater fish and birds, but it is almost devoid of large mammals. Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth realm with Charles III as King of Papua New Guinea . The constitutional convention , which prepared the draft constitution, and Australia, the outgoing metropolitan power, had thought that Papua New Guinea would not remain a monarchy. The founders, however, considered that imperial honours had
1944-692: Is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire , at the point of collision of several tectonic plates . Geologically, the island of New Guinea is a northern extension of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate , forming part of a single land mass which is Australia-New Guinea (also called Sahul or Meganesia ). It is connected to the Australian segment by a shallow continental shelf across the Torres Strait , which in former ages lay exposed as
2025-492: Is the most populous Pacific island country. The country is believed to be the home of many undocumented species of plants and animals. Papua New Guinea is classified as a developing economy by the International Monetary Fund ; nearly 40% of the population are subsistence farmers , living relatively independently of the cash economy. Their traditional social groupings are explicitly acknowledged by
2106-597: The Denisovans , indicating that the ancestors of Papuans interbred in Asia with these archaic hominins. Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7000 BC, making it one of the few areas in the world where people independently domesticated plants. A major migration of Austronesian-speaking peoples to coastal regions of New Guinea took place around 500 BC. This has been correlated with
2187-708: The East India Company for the mission. Although the Macartney Embassy returned to London without obtaining any concession from China, the mission could have been termed a success because it brought back detailed observations. Gower had planned a secret visit to Japan , the Philippines and Celebes while Macartney was in China but was frustrated by adverse weather conditions and lack of essential medical supplies. George Staunton , Secretary to
2268-528: The Falkland Islands , West Indies , Mediterranean , the East and Newfoundland until 1792, when he declined a baronetcy and was knighted . In 1792, Gower was named Commander of the first British diplomatic mission to imperial China and sailed in the 64-gun HMS Lion . This expedition was headed by Lord George Macartney . They were also accompanied by East Indiaman Hindostan , chartered from
2349-556: The Papua New Guinea Constitution , which expresses the wish for "traditional villages and communities to remain as viable units of Papua New Guinean society" and protects their continuing importance to local and national community life. Papua New Guinea has been an observer state in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) since 1976, and has filed its application for full membership status. It
2430-481: The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions , a pontifical institute, reestablished the mission on Woodlark Island, encountering sickness and resistance from local people. The country's dual name results from its complex administrative history before independence. Beginning in 1884, the region was split between two colonial powers. Germany ruled the northern half of the country for several decades as
2511-724: The Territory of New Guinea . In contrast to establishing an Australian mandate in former German New Guinea, the League of Nations determined that Papua was an external territory of the Australian Commonwealth; as a matter of law it remained a British possession. The difference in legal status meant that until 1949, Papua (former British protectorate Territory of Papua ) and New Guinea (former German territory German New Guinea ) had entirely separate administrations, both controlled by Australia. These conditions contributed to
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2592-817: The dark skin of the inhabitants. Archaeological evidence indicates that humans first arrived in Papua New Guinea around 42,000 to 45,000 years ago. They were descendants of migrants out of Africa , in one of the early waves of human migration. A 2016 study at the University of Cambridge by Christopher Klein et al. suggests that it was about 50,000 years ago that these peoples reached Sahul (the paleocontinent consisting of present-day Australia and New Guinea). The sea levels rose and isolated New Guinea about 10,000 years ago, but Aboriginal Australians and Papuans diverged from each other genetically earlier, about 37,000 years BP. Evolutionary geneticist Svante Pääbo found that people of New Guinea share 4%–7% of their genome with
2673-514: The first-past-the-post system, with winners frequently gaining less than 15% of the vote. Electoral reforms in 2001 introduced the Limited Preferential Vote system (LPV), a version of the alternative vote . The 2007 general election was the first to be conducted using LPV. Erasmus Gower American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars Admiral Sir Erasmus Gower (3 December 1742 – 21 June 1814)
2754-534: The 16th of September 1975 as the date of independence. Whitlam and then- Prince Charles attended the independence ceremony, with Somare continuing as the country's first Prime Minister. A secessionist revolt in 1975–76 on Bougainville Island resulted in an eleventh-hour modification of the draft Constitution of Papua New Guinea to allow for Bougainville and the other eighteen districts to have quasi-federal status as provinces. A renewed uprising on Bougainville started in 1988 and claimed 20,000 lives until it
2835-586: The Carteret islanders will be the first island community in the world to undergo an organized relocation in response to rising sea levels. The people of the Carteret are being called the world's first environmental refugees. In 2017 the Finnish Embassy in Canberra, which is involved in an aid project, reported that despite the relocation efforts, there are more people than ever living at the atoll, and
2916-529: The Carterets with dynamite might be the cause of flooding on Carteret Islands. There have been a number of different relocation schemes initiated since the 1980s. These have had mixed success with many of the relocated families subsequently returning home. On 25 November 2003, the Papua New Guinean government authorized the government-funded total evacuation of the islands, 10 families at a time;
2997-791: The Embassy, was charged with producing the official account of the expedition after their return. This multi-volume work was taken chiefly from the papers of Lord Macartney and from the papers of Commander Gower. Sir Joseph Banks , the President of the Royal Society , was responsible for selecting and arranging engraving of the illustrations in this official record. Soon after returning from China, Gower, in HMS Triumph (1764) (74) played an important role in Cornwallis's Retreat when
3078-582: The Territory of Papua, and the Australian administration became formal in 1906. Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Australian forces captured German New Guinea and occupied it throughout the war. After Germany and the Central Powers were defeated in the war, the League of Nations authorised Australia to administer this area as a League of Nations mandate territory, which became
3159-510: The Tuluun. Like the Halia, Hakö, Selau and Solos groups in Buka and Bougainville , the Tuluun reckon descent matrilineally . They are primarily organized into two moiety -like groups, the Nakaripa and Naboen. Unlike moieties in a true dual organization system, Nakaripa and Naboen are not exogamous in practice, though a strong preference for exogamy is usually reported. Exogamy is important in
3240-690: The ancient supercontinent of Gondwana , which started to break into smaller continents in the Cretaceous period, 65–130 million years ago. Australia finally broke free from Antarctica about 45 million years ago. All the Australasian lands are home to the Antarctic flora , descended from the flora of southern Gondwana, including the coniferous podocarps and Araucaria pines, and the broad-leafed southern beech ( Nothofagus ). These plant families are still present in Papua New Guinea. New Guinea
3321-535: The atoll and trek back and forth to the smaller ones by walking the reef at low tide or by small canoes. Much of the taro is grown away from the inhabited island. It is often very vulnerable to salt-water inundation, but by being away from the living area is protected from human-waste contamination. It was widely reported in November 2005 that the islands have progressively become uninhabitable, with an estimate of their total submersion by 2015. The islanders have fought
Carteret Islands - Misplaced Pages Continue
3402-584: The atoll has practically doubled its population. Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea , is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia ). It shares its only land border with Indonesia to
3483-546: The atoll, with the intent to harvest snail meat and edible bird nests for the Chinese market. Departing after a fatal attack on his crew, Morrell named the islands the Massacre Islands . Food staples have been cultivated: taro and coconut and fishing supports the people. The area had been inhabited for about 1,000 years before European contact in about 1880, when the copra trade and other activities altered
3564-500: The complexity of organising the country's post-independence legal system. The highland valleys were first explored by Australians in the 1930s and were found to be inhabited by over a million people. During World War II , the New Guinea campaign (1942–1945) was one of the major military campaigns and conflicts between Japan and the Allies . Approximately 216,000 Japanese, Australian, and U.S. servicemen died. After World War II and
3645-490: The country is the eastern half of New Guinea island, where the largest towns are also located, including Port Moresby (capital) and Lae ; other major islands within Papua New Guinea include New Ireland , New Britain , Manus and Bougainville . Located north of the Australian mainland, the country's geography is diverse and, in places, extremely rugged. A spine of mountains, the New Guinea Highlands , runs
3726-471: The economy and customs. Population grew rapidly in the early 1900s, and overcrowding in the 1930s caused a population decline. Food shortages since the 1960s, in recent times caused by international commercial fishers, caused resettlement of some islanders to the Kuveria area of Bougainville from 1984 through the late 1980s. In the 1990s the islanders were identified as economic refugees. Although taro has been
3807-435: The evacuation was expected to be completed by 2007, but access to funding caused numerous delays. In October 2007 it was announced that the Papua New Guinea government would provide two million kina (US$ 736,000) to begin the relocation, to be organized by Tulele Peisa of Buka, Bougainville. Five men from the island moved to Bougainville in early 2009 who built some houses and planted crops for their families to follow. There
3888-660: The first Papua New Guinean Chief Minister of the Territory. In December, Whitlam was elected as Prime Minister at the 1972 Australian federal election . The Whitlam Government then instituted self-governance under the rule of Somare in late 1973. Over the next two years, further arguments for independence were forwarded, culminating in the Whitlam Government passing the Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 in September 1975, citing
3969-650: The first administrator of this new council. In 1964, the Council was replaced by the 64-member House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea , which for the first time had a majority of Papua New Guinean members. The Assembly increased to 84 members in 1967 and 100 by 1971. Debate began over Australian administration both in Papua New Guinea and Australia, with the Bougainville independence movement pushing for greater autonomy as Australian mining company Rio Tinto 's exploitative practices became extremely controversial to
4050-416: The flooding is the result of sea level rise associated with global warming. He also stated that small storm surges were becoming more frequent. Those convinced the islands are sinking, not the sea-level rising, also propose that, "Some depletion of the fresh water aquifer may also contribute to the sinking," but do not explain how depletion of the fresh water aquifer could be significant on an island that
4131-570: The forests of Papua New Guinea by an Australian-led expedition in the early 2010s. A small wallaby, a large-eared mouse and a shrew-like marsupial were discovered. The expedition was also successful in capturing photographs and video footage of some other rare animals such as the Tenkile tree kangaroo and the Weimang tree kangaroo. Nearly one-quarter of Papua New Guinea's rainforests were damaged or destroyed between 1972 and 2002. Papua New Guinea had
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#17327873374564212-475: The introduction of pottery, pigs, and certain fishing techniques. In the 18th century, traders brought the sweet potato to New Guinea, where it was adopted and became a staple food . Portuguese traders had obtained it from South America and introduced it to the Moluccas . The far higher crop yields from sweet potato radically transformed traditional agriculture and societies. Sweet potato largely supplanted
4293-594: The island until the 19th century, although Portuguese and Spanish explorers, such as Dom Jorge de Menezes and Yñigo Ortiz de Retez , had encountered it as early as the 16th century. Traders from Southeast Asia visited New Guinea beginning 5,000 years ago to collect bird-of-paradise plumes. Christianity was introduced to New Guinea on 15 September 1847 when a group of Marist missionaries came to Woodlark Island . They established their first mission on Umboi Island . Following that year, they were forced to withdraw their mission endeavour. Five years later on 8 October 1852,
4374-529: The island's long houses, a demonstration of past practices. According to Marianna Torgovnick, writing in 1991, "The most fully documented instances of cannibalism as a social institution come from New Guinea, where head-hunting and ritual cannibalism survived, in certain isolated areas, into the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies, and still leave traces within certain social groups." Little was known in Europe about
4455-546: The islands. Han is the most significant island, with the others being small islets around the lagoon . The main settlement is at Weteili on Han. The island is near the edge of the large geologic formation called the Ontong Java Plateau . The inhabitants of the Carteret Islands have lived in this island group for more than 200 years. The islands are named in honour of Philip Carteret , who discovered
4536-535: The legally distinct Territory of New Guinea being established out of the former German colony as a League of Nations mandate . The nation was the site of fierce fighting during the New Guinea campaign of World War II . Papua New Guinea became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as its Queen. Since Elizabeth II's death in 2022, Charles III has been the King . There are 840 known languages of Papua New Guinea (including English), making it
4617-509: The length of the island of New Guinea , forming a populous highlands region mostly covered with tropical rainforest , and the long Papuan Peninsula , known as the 'Bird's Tail'. Dense rainforests can be found in the lowland and coastal areas as well as very large wetland areas surrounding the Sepik and Fly rivers. This terrain has made it difficult for the country to develop transportation infrastructure. This has made it so that air travel
4698-590: The minimum 23–24 °C. In the highlands above 2100 metres, colder conditions prevail and night frosts are common there, while the daytime temperature exceeds 22 °C, regardless of the season. Many species of birds and mammals found on New Guinea have close genetic links with corresponding species found in Australia. One notable feature in common for the two landmasses is the existence of several species of marsupial mammals , including some kangaroos and possums , which are not found elsewhere. Papua New Guinea
4779-411: The most linguistically diverse country in the world. It is also one of the most rural countries, with only 13.25% of its population living in urban centres in 2019. Most of its people live in customary communities . Although government estimates reported the country's population to be 11.8 million, it was reported in December 2022 that its population was in fact closer to 17 million. Papua New Guinea
4860-435: The mountains of Australia, so high that it is home to rare equatorial glaciers . There are several active volcanoes , and eruptions are frequent. Earthquakes are relatively common, sometimes accompanied by tsunamis . On 25 February 2018, an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 and depth of 35 kilometres struck the middle of Papua New Guinea. The worst of the damage was centred around the Southern Highlands region. Papua New Guinea
4941-413: The organization of political power. Male and female chiefs attempt to organize cross-moiety marriages, the main reason for this being that the legitimation of chiefly power requires the participation of the opposite moiety. Oral tradition states that the Carteret Islands were originally inhabited by a Polynesian group closely related to the Nukumanu , or Mortlock Islanders . The islands were discovered by
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#17327873374565022-414: The previous national election. In the early years of independence, the instability of the party system led to frequent votes of no confidence in parliament, with resulting changes of the government, but with referral to the electorate, through national elections only occurring every five years. In recent years, successive governments have passed legislation preventing such votes sooner than 18 months after
5103-447: The previous staple, taro , and resulted in a significant increase in population in the highlands. Although by the late 20th century headhunting and cannibalism had been practically eradicated, in the past they were practised in many parts of the country as part of rituals related to warfare and taking in enemy spirits or powers. In 1901, on Goaribari Island in the Gulf of Papua , missionary Harry Dauncey found 10,000 skulls in
5184-408: The region's indigenous landowners, with demands for compensation being made. Australian Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam visited Papua New Guinea in 1970 and 1971, amid further calls for independence by the Tolai people in Gazelle Peninsula . He called for self-governance for the Territory as early as 1972. At the 1972 Papua New Guinean general election in July, Michael Somare was elected as
5265-412: The ruling coalition, which makes up the government. The current prime minister is James Marape . The unicameral National Parliament has 111 seats, of which 22 are occupied by the governors of the 22 provinces and the National Capital District . Candidates for members of parliament are voted upon when the prime minister asks the governor-general to call a national election, a maximum of five years after
5346-419: The sand is blown and washed towards the calmer shore. It is easy to determine the direction of the prevailing winds by observing the position and condition of the islets on the reef. Palms or trees that become exposed in storms usually die by losing their grip in the little sand left at the end of the storm season. Sometimes whole islets get washed away. People live on the larger island or islands formed around
5427-409: The set of islands aboard HMS Swallow on 24 June 1767. When visited in 1830 by Benjamin Morrell in the schooner Antarctic, several islands had a native population who were growing several crops. One small island was uninhabited and covered with heavy timber. With the approval of the area's ruler, Morrell's crew began construction on the southwest corner of the island in the northeast part of
5508-430: The small squadron under Vice-Admiral Sir William Cornwallis escaped from a French fleet of superior numbers. Cornwallis later wrote The steady conduct of the Triumph was admirable – Sir Erasmus Gower treated the scattered fire of the Enemy with the utmost contempt, and by firing single well directed Guns, the Enemy’s Ships were deterred from approaching . During the devastating Spithead and Nore mutinies in 1797 Gower
5589-413: The southern border east to the Torasi Estuary . The maritime boundary with Australia was confirmed by a treaty in 1978. In the Torres Strait it runs close to the mainland of New Guinea, keeping the adjacent North Western Torres Strait Islands ( Dauan , Boigu and Saibai ) under Australian sovereignty. Maritime boundaries with the Solomon Islands were confirmed by a 1989 treaty . Papua New Guinea
5670-447: The third-largest island country . Papua New Guinea is part of the Australasian realm , which also includes Australia , New Zealand , eastern Indonesia , and several Pacific island groups, including the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu . Including all its islands, it lies between latitudes 0° and 12°S , and longitudes 140° and 160°E . It has an exclusive economic zone of 2,402,288 km (927,529 sq mi). The mainland of
5751-408: The time. Land is created by the ocean when some vegetation, such as a coconut palm or mangrove shoots, take hold in the much shallower parts of the reef. One tree leads to a slight buildup of coral sand around its base. This leads to more trees (palms) and the size of the individual islets on the reef grow. Over the long period the islands progress from the seaward edge of the atoll towards the lagoon as
5832-550: The victory of the Allies, the two territories were combined into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea . This was later referred to as "Papua New Guinea." After World War II, Australia administered the two newly combined territories of Papua and New Guinea. By 1951, a 28-member Legislative Council was instituted, although this was largely dominated by Australian administrative members, with only 3 seats allocated to Papua New Guineans. Sir Donald Cleland , an Australian soldier, became
5913-732: The west and its other close neighbours are Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital, located on its southern coast, is Port Moresby . The country is the world's third largest island country , with an area of 462,840 km (178,700 sq mi). Split in the 1880s between German New Guinea in the North and the British Territory of Papua in the South, all of present-day Papua New Guinea came under Australian control following World War I , with
5994-625: Was a Welsh naval officer and colonial governor. Gower, aged 13, joined the Royal Navy in 1755 under the patronage of his uncle, Captain John Donkley. He was present at the Battle of Quiberon Bay under Admiral Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke and served under Byron 's command on HMS Dolphin from 1764 to 1766. He was promoted to lieutenant, serving with distinction under Commander Philip Carteret from 1766 to 1769. He then served in
6075-430: Was a choice between greater autonomy within Papua New Guinea and full independence for Bougainville, and voters voted overwhelmingly (98.31%) for independence. Negotiations between the Bougainville government and national Papua New Guinea on a path to Bougainville independence began after the referendum, and are ongoing. At 462,840 km (178,704 sq mi), Papua New Guinea is the world's 54th-largest country and
6156-585: Was a plan to bring another 1700 people over the next five years. However, there has been no large-scale evacuation seem set into effect as of November 2011. In 2016, Ursula Rakova 's Tulele Peisa expressed its target to relocate half the population before 2020. Tulele Peisa has 85 hectares of land at the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, to the east of mainland Papua New Guinea, to resettle 35 families. As of 2021, 10 families have been relocated to Tinputz . In 2007, CNN reported that
6237-692: Was given command a fleet in the upper Thames River to oppose the more than 10,000 strong mutineers it was thought would move up river from the Nore and attack London. At the end of the mutiny he sat on the courts martial which tried over 400 men. Gower was promoted rear-admiral of the white in February 1799 and hoisted his flag in HMS Princess Royal in the Channel Fleet and Ireland, with his protege David Atkins as flag captain. In 1804, he
6318-506: Was promoted to vice-admiral of the white and appointed governor and commander-in-chief of Newfoundland. Gower Street in St. John's is named in his honour. In late 1804, Gower sent the hired cutter Queen Charlotte , under a Lieutenant Morrison, to Labrador to investigate reports of an influx of American fishing boats. As a result of the report, the Admiralty decided to station a sloop in
6399-628: Was resolved in 1997. Bougainville had been the primary mining region of the country, generating 40% of the national budget. The native peoples felt they were bearing the adverse environmental effects of the mining, which contaminated the land, water and air, without gaining a fair share of the profits. The government and rebels negotiated a peace agreement that established the Bougainville Autonomous District and Province. The autonomous Bougainville elected Joseph Kabui as president in 2005, who served until he died in 2008. He
6480-468: Was succeeded by his deputy John Tabinaman as acting president while an election to fill the unexpired term was organised. James Tanis won that election in December 2008 and served until the inauguration of John Momis, the winner of the 2010 elections. As part of the current peace settlement, a non-binding independence referendum was held, between 23 November and 7 December 2019. The referendum question
6561-579: Was the name coined by the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez . In 1545, he noted the resemblance of the people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa. Guinea, in its turn, is etymologically derived from the Portuguese word Guiné . The name is one of several toponyms sharing similar etymologies , ultimately meaning "land of the blacks" or similar meanings, in reference to
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