Pacific Islands Political Geography

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New Guinea

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

New Guinea , island, c.342,000 sq mi (885,780 sq km), SW Pacific, N of Australia; the world's second largest island after Greenland. Politically it is divided into two sections: the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua in the west and the independent country of Papua New Guinea in the east. The island is c.1,500 mi (2,410 km) long and c.400 mi (640 km) wide at the center.

Largely tropical, New Guinea has vast, rugged mountain ranges such as the Owen Stanley and the Bismarck mts., and many parts of the interior remain quite isolated even today. Jaya Peak (16,503 ft/5,030 m) in Papua is the highest point. The lower courses of the large rivers (the Fly, Sepik, Mamberamo, and Purari) are generally swampy, with a few grassy plains. The inhabitants are Melanesians, Negritos, Papuans, and Malay Indonesians. The fauna consists largely of marsupials and monotremes, with venomous snakes among the reptiles. The island is known for its many unique species of butterflies and birds of paradise. There are mangrove and sandalwood forests. Near Tembagapura are the world's largest copper mines. In addition to copper, gold, silver, and manganese are mined and oil is extracted.

New Guinea is believed to have been settled by people migrating from Southeast Asia sometime before 40,000 years ago. The island's relatively close location to Australia makes New Guinea the likely source for the ancestors of the aborigines on the neighboring continent. A complex patchwork of tribes and peoples, speaking many languages, developed over time, and local agriculture apparently arose independently of outside influence, sometime between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago.

The island was sighted by the Portuguese explorer Antonio d'Abreu in 1511 and was named for its resemblance to the Guinea coast of W Africa. During the next two centuries, the island was visited by Europeans from many nations. In 1828 the Dutch formally annexed the western half of the island, and in 1885 the British proclaimed a protectorate over the southeastern coast and the adjacent islands under the name of British New Guinea; in the same year, the Germans took possession of the northeast. Australia obtained control of British New Guinea in 1905 and renamed it the Territory of Papua.

During World War I, Australian forces occupied the German-controlled region in the northeast, which was mandated to Australia by the League of Nations in 1920. Renamed the Territory of New Guinea, this area became a UN trust territory under Australian control after World War II. The island was the scene of bitter fighting between Japanese and Allied forces. In 1949 the territories of Papua and New Guinea were merged administratively, and in 1973 they were united into a self-governing country. Full independence was gained in 1975. Netherlands New Guinea was transferred to Indonesian administration in 1963 and became a province in 1969, but there has been ongoing resistance to Indonesian rule by many Papuans. Indonesian legislation in 2001 granted Papua limited local autonomy, but national control remains strong there, and the province was subsequently divided into two.

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"New Guinea." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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New Guinea

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | | Copyright

New Guinea, island which lies north of Australia—the world's largest after Greenland—which was divided into Dutch New Guinea (part of the Netherlands East Indies), the Australian territory of Papua, and the Australian mandate of New Guinea. The Australian mandate comprised the island's north-east quarter and extended to the islands of Bougainville, Buka, and the Bismarck archipelago which included New Ireland, the Admiralty Islands, and New Britain—at the eastern end of which was the mandate's capital, Rabaul—and all these were occupied by the Japanese, as was part of the island's northern coastline. In early 1944 an indigenous unit, 1st New Guinea Battalion, was formed in the mandate, and in October this became part of a new Australian Army unit, the Pacific Islands Regiment, which was quickly expanded by the addition of three more New Guinea battalions. These, and the indigenous New Guinea Constabulary, took an active part in the New Guinea campaign.

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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "New Guinea." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "New Guinea." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-NewGuinea.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "New Guinea." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-NewGuinea.html

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New Guinea

A Dictionary of Contemporary World History | 2004 | | Copyright

New Guinea The world's second largest island after Greenland, New Guinea is separated from Australia by the Torres Straits. In 1914 the western half formed part of the Dutch East Indies (since 1818), while the eastern half was divided between Britain and Germany in 1884. After 1920 the two eastern territories became a League of Nations Mandate of Australia. Under Murray's enlightened government, relations with the native peoples were relatively harmonious, though they were excluded from the country's government or administration. It was the scene of some of the heaviest jungle warfare in World War II. The presence of over one million US and Australian troops during this time did perhaps more to disrupt the traditional way of life of the native peoples than seven decades of European rule. The western half of the island joined Indonesia as West Irian in 1963, while the eastern half gained independence as Papua New Guinea on 16 September 1975.

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JAN PALMOWSKI. "New Guinea." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAN PALMOWSKI. "New Guinea." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-NewGuinea.html

JAN PALMOWSKI. "New Guinea." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-NewGuinea.html

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New Guinea

Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names | 2005 | | Copyright

New Guinea, Indonesia‐Papua New Guinea An island which comprises the Indonesian province of Papua in the west and the state of Papua New Guinea in the east. The island was first visited by the Portuguese in 1527 and given its name in 1546 by a Spanish explorer, Ynigo Ortiz de Retes, who considered that the black‐skinned people here resembled those found along the coast of Guinea in West Africa. The western half of the island became part of the Dutch East Indies in 1828; in 1884 the British assumed control of the south‐eastern quadrant while the Germans took the north‐east. In 1906 British New Guinea was passed to Australia which assumed a League of Nations mandate over German New Guinea in 1921.

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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "New Guinea." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "New Guinea." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-NewGuinea.html

JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "New Guinea." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-NewGuinea.html

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New Guinea

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

New Guinea World's second-largest island, part of the e Malay archipelago, in the w Pacific Ocean. Discovered in the early 16th century, New Guinea was colonized by the Dutch, the Germans and the British during the next two centuries. In 1904, the British-administered part transferred to Australia, and Australian forces seized German New Guinea during World War I. The e half eventually achieved independence as Papua New Guinea in 1975. The w half, Irian Jaya, became a province of Indonesia in 1969. The island has a tropical climate and is mountainous. Products: copra, cocoa, coffee, rubber, coconuts, tobacco. Area: 885,780sq km (342,000sq mi).

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New Guinea

The Oxford Companion to British History | 2002 | | Copyright

New Guinea. See Papua New Guinea.

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JOHN CANNON. "New Guinea." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "New Guinea." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-NewGuinea.html

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New Guinea

A Dictionary of British History | 2004 | | Copyright

New Guinea See papua new guinea.

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JOHN CANNON. "New Guinea." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Lecithoceridae (Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea) of New Guinea, Part III: a new... Magazine article from: Florida Entomologist; 6/1/2011
	The Northeast coast of Papua New Guinea: a bibliographic survey. Magazine article from: The Australian Library Journal; 8/1/2001
	Why we return to Papua New Guinea Magazine article from: Anthropological Quarterly; 7/1/1997