 Location of the Manus Island among the Admiralty Islands | |
  Manus Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 2°06′S146°54′E / 2.1°S 146.9°E /-2.1; 146.9 |
| Archipelago | Admiralty Islands |
| Area | 2,100 km2 (810 sq mi) |
| Length | 100 km (60 mi) |
| Width | 30 km (19 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 718 m (2356 ft) |
| Highest point | Mt. Dremsel |
| Administration | |
Papua New Guinea (PNG) | |
| Province | Manus Province |
| Largest settlement | Lorengau (pop. 5,829) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 50,321 (province)[1] (2011) |
Manus Island is part ofManus Province in northernPapua New Guinea and is the largest of theAdmiralty 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 lowlandtropical 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. Manus Island isvolcanic in origin and probably broke through the ocean's surface in the lateMiocene, 8 to 10 million years ago. The substrate of the island is either directly volcanic or from upliftedcorallimestone.
Lorengau, the capital of Manus Province, is located on the island.Momote Airport, the terminal for Manus Province, is located on nearbyLos 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 AustronesianManus languages are spoken on the island.
Papua New Guinea allowed the government of Australia to run a controversial offshore immigration detention centre, theManus Regional Processing Centre, which was situated on adjacent Los Negros Island from 2001 to 2017, to house asylum seekers arriving by boat found within Australia's defined territorial borders.
Manus Island is home to theendemicemerald green snail, whose shells were harvested to be sold as jewellery; this continues, albeit at a lesser scale, as due to the snail's status as a threatened species, its sale for this purpose is now illegal in many jurisdictions.
The first recorded sighting of Manus Island by Europeans was by Spanish explorerÁlvaro de Saavedra on board thecarrackFlorida on 15 August 1528, while trying to return toNew Spain from theMaluku Islands. Saavedra circled Manus Island, and landed possibly on Muraiislet to the south west. Murai was found to be inhabited and some natives came out incanoes, attacking withbows andarrows. Three of these men were captured by the Spaniards, and were returned by Saavedra to the same island, on his second attempt to return to North America the following year. Manus Island was charted asUrays la Grande or Big Urays, which is probably a projection of Murai to signify "big Murai".[2]
InWorld War II Manus Island was the site of an observation post manned by No. 4 Section, 'B' Platoon,1st Independent Company, Australian Imperial Force,[3] who also provided medical treatment to the inhabitants.[4] Manus was first bombed by the Japanese on 25 January 1942, the radio mast being the main target.[3]
On 8 April 1942 an Imperial Japanese force consisting of the light cruiserTatsuta,destroyerMutsuki and a troop transport shipMishima Maru enteredLorengau harbour and several hundred Japanese soldiers of the 8th Special Base Force invaded the island. The vastly outnumbered Australians withdrew into the jungle to fight a guerilla campaign.[3] Later in 1942, Japan established a military base on Manus Island, using prisoners of war (notably Sikh prisoners of the 5th/11th Sikh regiment taken in theFall of Singapore) as slave labor.[5]
The island was attacked by United States forces in theAdmiralty Islands campaign of February – March 1944.[6] AnAllied naval base was established atSeeadler Harbor,Manus Naval Base, on the island and it later supported theBritish Pacific Fleet. The ammunition shipUSS 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 againstJapanese war criminals on the island.[7] One case heard was that ofTakuma Nishimura, who faced an Australian military court. He had already been tried by a British military court in relation to theSook 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 atParit Sulong and the disposal of bodies to cover up the killings. In this trial he was found guilty and was hanged on 11 June 1951.
AmericananthropologistMargaret Mead lived on Manus Island before and after the war, and gave detailed accounts inGrowing up in New Guinea andNew Lives for Old.
In addition to its resident population, asylum seekers have been located on Los Negros between 2001 and 2004 and since 2012.[8][9]
Australia set up the Manus Regional Processing Centre on Manus Island in 2001 as part of itsPacific Solution immigration policy. In August 2012, the Australian Government controversially[10] announced it would resume offshore processing; in November 2012 the relocation of asylum-seekers to Manus Island resumed.[11]
On 26 April 2016, theSupreme Court of Papua New Guinea ruled that the detention of asylum seekers on Manus Island was illegal,[12] and Prime MinisterPeter O'Neill announced that the centre would be closed.[13] After a stand-off involving PNG military and police, all remaining men were removed to new accommodation at the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre, Hillside Haus and West Lorengau Haus[14] by 23 November 2017.[15][16]
In late 2019, the remaining asylum seekers were moved toPort Moresby, and upon request by the PNG government, theAustralian Government terminated the contracts of the service providers for the detention centre and other facilities as of 30 November 2019.[17]
_crew_arrives_in_Manus%2c_Papua_New_Guinea%2c_on_Aug._14%2c_2022.jpg)
On 20 September 2018,The Australian reported that Australia and Papua New Guinea were discussing providing port facilities to theRoyal Australian Navy andUS Navy on Manus Island.[18] Australia and the United States would help expandLombrum Naval Base, so there would be facilities for Australian naval vessels there.[19] The newspaper reported that Australia was countering interest China had placed in expanding Papua New Guinea's port facilities atWewak,Kikori,Vanimo and Manus Island. Manus Island is the most important of these four ports, as it is a deep-water port near important shipping lanes. The RAN operated a naval base on Manus Island from the 1950s until transferred to thePapua New Guinea Defence Force in 1974.[20]
In April 2022, the 2014 meteor calledCNEOS 2014-01-08 was confirmed to have been the first known object from beyond theSolar System to have struck Earth. Some debris had reached the surface off the coast of Manus Island and may be recoverable.[21]
Proof Committee Hansard
Australian officials have expressed concerns over Chinese interest in the redevelopment of four PNG ports, at Wewak, Kikori, Vanimo and Manus Island, fearing the Asian superpower is working towards gaining a military foothold in the region.
Islands ofPapua New Guinea | |
|---|---|
| Bismarck Archipelago | |
| Louisiade Archipelago | |
| North Solomon Islands | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
