Mailu Island | |
|---|---|
  Mailu Island Location within Papua New Guinea | |
| Coordinates:10°23′13″S149°21′22″E / 10.387°S 149.356°E /-10.387; 149.356 | |
| Country | Papua New Guinea |
| Province | Central Province |
| District | Abau District |
| LLG | Amazon Bay Rural LLG |
| Population (2000) | |
• Total | 770 |
| Languages | |
| • Main languages | Mailu language |
| Time zone | UTC+10 (AEST) |
| Location | 250 km (160 mi) ESE ofPort Moresby |
Mailu Island (sometimes known as theToulon Island[1]) is a small, 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long,island inCentral Province,Papua New Guinea. It lies 250 km (160 mi) ESE fromPort Moresby.
Mailu is an island that has been inhabited since ancient times.[2] It is located 8 km (5.0 mi) south of the New Guinean coast.Bananas,taro,yams,betel,sugarcane, as well ascoconut,areca nut andsago palms grow on the island. The village is located on the NE shores. There is a smaller island right off Mailu's southern point.Pottery[3] was made by the women on Mailu Island and traded with goods from the coast, mainly the South Cape and the Aroma people to the NW.
First recorded sighting of Mailu island was by the Spanish expedition ofLuís Vaez de Torres, that landed on it on 24 August 1606. It was charted asSan Bartolomé. Spaniards reported that its inhabitants called itRatiles. All the nearby land including the coast ofNew Guinea was called by the SpaniardsMagna Margarita to honour the wife of the king of Spain at that timePhilip III,Margaret of Austria. Still today the nearby coastal village ofMagarida keeps this name.[4]
This island was visited by PolishanthropologistBronisław Malinowski in 1914.Mailu Island was also visited byAustrian anthropologist and photographerHugo Bernatzik in 1932. Bernatzik, who published anethnography a few years later, described Mailu as a very pleasant place and had a good impression of the Mailuans, as reliable people of a good character and skilled seafarers. He admired the buildings and the boats and took photographs of Mailu houses from the inside and outside. Bernatzik also took pictures of the islanders and their artifacts, reflecting a culture that he deemed was dying in contact with the modern world.[5]Frank Hurley also visited Mailu during his journeys.[6]
Between 1972 and 1974New ZealandarchaeologistGeoffrey Irwin[7] carried out a survey of Mailu Island and the neighbouring coast where linguistically related groups, speakers ofMailuan languages, live.
Islands ofPapua New Guinea | |
|---|---|
| Bismarck Archipelago | |
| Louisiade Archipelago | |
| North Solomon Islands | |
