New Guinea

I

Introduction

New Guinea, island in the western Pacific Ocean, north of Australia, part of the Malay Archipelago. It is the second-largest island in the world, after Greenland. New Guinea is divided between two countries. The western half of the island consists of the province of Papua (formerly Irian Jaya) of Indonesia, and the eastern portion contains the bulk of the independent state of Papua New Guinea. The area of the island is about 828,800 sq km (320,000 sq mi).

II

Land and Resources

The island is generally long and narrow; its greatest width, north-west to south-east, is about 2,415 km (1,500 mi), and its greatest length, north to south, is about 690 km (430 mi). A long mountain range extends from north-west to south-east and, in the eastern portion, almost bisects Papua New Guinea. These mountains rise to 5,030 m (16,503 ft) at Puncak Jaya. The coasts are swampy, and much of the interior is covered with dense rainforests thickly grown with tropical vegetation and containing ebony, sandalwood, cedar, and camphor trees. The plains in the interior are fertile, but the absence of transport infrastructure have so far largely prevented their development. The interior also contains deposits of gold, silver, platinum, and copper. There are also petroleum and natural-gas deposits in New Guinea.

Lying immediately south of the equator, New Guinea has a tropical, humid climate. The annual rainfall ranges in different parts of the island from 760 to 5,840 mm (about 30 to 230 in). The fauna is similar to that of Australia, with only a few varieties of mammals, but it is notable for the many varieties of magnificently coloured birds, particularly birds of paradise. The plains and coastal swamps of the island are infested with mosquitoes.

III

Population and Economy

The indigenous people belong to three principal groups: the Negritos, Melanesians, and Papuans. The economy of New Guinea is undeveloped, and the great majority of people produce only enough food to satisfy immediate needs. The people subsist by hunting, fishing, and cultivating bananas, maize, manioc, sago, yams, and other crops. The island has a few large plantations, on which cocoa, coffee, and copra are produced for export. The total population of New Guinea in 1990, including some of the small islands surrounding New Guinea, was estimated to be 4,738,600.

IV

History

The first European to see the island was Antonio d'Abreu, a Portuguese navigator, in 1511, and the first to land here was the Spanish explorer Jorge de Menezes in 1526. The Spanish claimed the island in 1546 and named it Novo Guinea because they thought the natives were similar to the West African tribes. New Guinea became a calling place for many later explorers. Their reports as well as scientific interest in the region led to exploration by several private and governmental expeditions. In 1793 the entire island was claimed for Great Britain by the East India Company. The claim was disputed by the Netherlands, and in 1828 the Dutch East India Company took possession of the western half of New Guinea.

The north-eastern section, comprising all the territory not under British or Dutch sovereignty, was annexed by Germany in 1884. That same year the south-eastern portion was taken over by Great Britain, but in 1906 it was transferred to Australia as part of Papua. An Australian force occupied the German region in 1914, and Australia later received a League of Nations mandate over it, renaming it the Territory of New Guinea.

During World War II New Guinea was invaded by Japan, and a large Japanese force remained in the interior until September 1945. In 1946, the Territory of New Guinea was made a trust territory of the United Nations, with Australia as the administering power. The Netherlands relinquished control of the western part in 1962. It is now the Indonesian province of Papua. The eastern portion became independent as a part of Papua New Guinea in 1975.