Kokopo is the capital of
East New Britain Province in
Papua New Guinea. It is administered under
Kokopo-Vunamami Urban LLG
Kokopo/Vunamami Rural LLG is a local-level government (LLG) of East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea.
Wards
*01. Karavi
*02. Vunamami
*03. Bitarebarebe
*04. Vunabalbal
*05. Gunanba
*06. Tinganavudu
*07. Malakuna
*08. Ulagunan
*09. Livuan
* ...
. The capital was moved from
Rabaul
Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...
in 1994 when the
volcanoes
Tavurvur and
Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population of the town increased more than sixfold from 3,150 in 1990 to 20,262 in 2000.
Kokopo was known as Herbertshöhe (''Herbert's Heights''), named in honour of Herbert, eldest son of German Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...
, during the
German New Guinea administration, which controlled the area between 1884 and formally until 1919. Until 1910, it was the capital of German New Guinea.
On Sunday, March 29, 2015, a strong earthquake, of a preliminary magnitude of at least 7.5, which at that time was the largest
earthquake of 2015, was recorded near Kokopo, and a tsunami warning was issued. This was surpassed a month later by the
April 2015 Nepal earthquake, which measured a magnitude 7.8.
In 2015, a research and conservation project was suggested to study and protect
spinner dolphins living around Kokopo beach, as this population may be threatened if construction of a new port for larger shipping lanes is initiated.
Communication links
The remains of the former capital Rabaul are located some to the north-west of Kokopo, when using the Kokopo-Rabaul Highway. There are around 4,000 inhabitants in Rabaul, down from over 17,000 before the latest volcanic eruption.
Rabaul Airport
Rabaul Airport, also called Tokua Airport, is an airport serving Kokopo and Rabaul, the current and former capitals of East New Britain Province on New Britain island in Papua New Guinea.
Before the 1994 volcanic eruption destroyed the town of ...
(also called "Tokua Airport"), one of Papua New Guinea's largest domestic airports, is located a few kilometres east of Kokopo.
Climate
Kokopo has a
tropical rainforest climate (
Köppen ''Af'') with heavy rainfall and hot temperatures year-round.
PNG Hunters
The
Papua New Guinea Hunters (PNG Hunters) are a
rugby league football club based in Kokopo. They were established in 2013 and currently compete in the
QRL's
Intrust Super Cup. The Hunters' home ground is
Kalabond Oval in Kokopo and their team colours are red, black and gold.
See also
*
References
{{PNG Provincial Capitals
Populated places in East New Britain Province