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Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean 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 has a population of 10,600.
The area was first charted by Dutch explorers in 1516, but it was not until the early 1900s that Kavieng was founded by the German 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, Kavieng came under a massive aerial bombardment by Japanese forces. That night, the vast majority of Australians 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. Twenty-three of these were executed in the Kavieng Wharf Massacre in March 1947, which later led to the perpetrators being sentenced for war crimes. By the time the Allies retook the island in 1944, Kavieng had been almost completely destroyed.
Kavieng is the main port on the island, and is both a trading and tourist destination. Several dive companies out of the town, as the area is known for its diving, both for natural sights and wreckage dating from the Second World War. There are several plane and ship wrecks in Kavieng Harbour itself, as well as several more nearby.
The town is serviced by Kavieng Airport, with daily connections to Port Moresby. It is linked with other settlements on the island by the 193km-long Boluminski Highway.
Further Reading
- Mary Murray, Hunted, A Coastwatcher's Story
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