Manus Island
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Manus Island is an island in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of 2,100 km2 (810 sq mi), measuring around 100 km × 30 km (60 mi × 20 mi). Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles which can be broadly described as lowland tropical rain forest. The highest point on Manus Island is Mt. Dremsel, 718 metres (2,356 ft) above sea level at the centre of the south coast.
Lorengau, the capital of Manus Province, is located on the island. Momote Airport, the terminal for Manus Province, is located on nearby Los Negros Island. A bridge connects Los Negros Island to Manus Island and the provincial capital of Lorengau. In the 2000 census, the whole Manus Province had a population of 50,321. The Austronesian Manus languages are spoken on the island.
The Australian-run Manus Regional Processing Centre was situated on Los Negros Island from 2001 to 2017, to house asylum seekers arriving by boat found within Australia's defined territorial borders.
Contents
History
In World War II Manus Island was the site of an observation post manned by Australian naval spotters[1][2] Manus was first bombed by the Japanese on 25 January 1942, the radio mast being the main target.[1] On 8 April 1942 an Imperial Japanese invasion force entered Lorengau harbour and several hundred Japanese soldiers of the 8th Special Base Force went ashore onto the Australian-mandated island. The vastly outnumbered Australians withdrew into the jungle.[1]
Later in 1942, Japan established a military base on Manus Island. This was attacked by United States forces in the Admiralty Islands campaign of February – March 1944.[3] An Allied naval base was established at Seeadler Harbor on the island and it later supported the British Pacific Fleet. The ammunition ship USS Mount Hood exploded in Seeadler Harbor on 10 November 1944 with a heavy loss of life of US Navy personnel.
In 1950–51 the Australian government conducted the last trials against Japanese war criminals on the island.[4] One case heard was that of Takuma Nishimura, who faced an Australian military court. He had already been tried by a British military court in relation to the Sook Ching massacre in Singapore and sentenced to life imprisonment. While on a stopover in Hong Kong he was intercepted by Australian Military Police. Evidence was presented stating that Nishimura had ordered the shootings of wounded Australian and Indian soldiers at Parit Sulong and the disposal of bodies so that there was no trace of evidence. In this trial he was found guilty and was hanged on 11 June 1951.
American anthropologist Margaret Mead lived on Manus Island before and after the war, and gave detailed accounts in Growing up in New Guinea and New Lives for Old.
Base Upgrade
In June 2021, the Australian ABC announced the Australian Defence Force would spend $175 million on a major upgrade for "Papua New Guinea's naval base on Manus Island". The state channel interview locals calling for "Australia to create long-term employment opportunities on Manus". The base upgrade, announced in 2018, includes an extension of the current wharf facility, improvements to the island's road and electricity network, and new accommodation and training facilities.[5]
The base will be owned and run by the PNGDF but Australian troops "will also be able to use the facility for joint training exercises and mentoring programs".[5]
Rating
References
- ↑ a b c https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/manus.html
- ↑ https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/medical.html
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.39003
- ↑ Piccigallo, Philip; The Japanese on Trial; Austin 1979; ISBN 0-292-78033-8, ch.: "Australia".
- ↑ a b https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-15/major-naval-base-on-png-manus-island-lombrum-adf/100216040
