New Britain (island)

New Britain volcanic island (1990 pop. 315,649), c.14,600 sq mi (37,810 sq km), SW Pacific, largest island of the Bismarck Archipelago and part of Papua New Guinea, in which it forms two provinces (East and West New Britain). Rabaul is the chief town and port. The island is mountainous, with active volcanoes, hot springs, and peaks over 7,000 ft (2,130 m) high. The major export is copra, and some copper, gold, iron, and coal are mined.

Visited and named by the English explorer William Dampier in 1700, New Britain became part of German New Guinea in 1884. Germany called it Neu Pommern (New Pomerania). In 1920 it was mandated to Australia by the League of Nations and in 1947 was made a UN trust territory under Australian control. In 1937 and again in 1994 Rabaul was severely damaged by volcanic activity.

New Britain, Papua New Guinea, USA Papua New Guinea: an island first sighted by a European in 1616. It was given its present name in 1699 by William Dampier (1651–1715), a British buccaneer and explorer. When the island became part of a German protectorate in 1884 it was renamed Neu Pommern ‘New Pomerania’. At the end of the First World War Australia assumed a League of Nations mandate and the original name was restored. It became part of Papua New Guinea in 1975 when independence was achieved.