The Jomard Islands are an uninhabited island group in the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...

, belonging to

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, It lies to the east of Montemont Islands in the

Louisiade Archipelago The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands in Papua New Guinea. It is located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread ...

Administrative

Politically they belong to the province of Milne Bay in the southeastern part of Papua New Guinea . They are controlled by the chief of Utian Island, the nearest inhabited island.

History

The Jomard Islands are situated within a passage which was used by the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

to invade the Coral Sea in order to capture

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 2016, the islands were designated as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area.

Geography

The Jomard Islands are located on the south side of Jomard Passage, a 9 km wide passage between the Atoll Bramble Haven in the west and the western edge of the barrier reef of

Vanatinai Vanatinai Island (also called Tagula and Sudest, for the names of the extreme capes of the island) is a volcanic island in the south-east of the Louisiade Archipelago within Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The reef-fringed island is approxi ...

to the east. The largest of the islands, Pana Waipona (79 ha ), located on a small reef in the middle of Jomard passage. It is used as a garden for Laeloga family of

Utian Utian (also Miwok–Costanoan, previously Mutsun) is a family of indigenous languages spoken in Northern California, United States. The Miwok and Ohlone peoples both spoke languages of the Utian language family. It has recently been argued tha ...

. The smaller island Panarairai (17 ha) located 3.5 km east on a larger reef on the eastern edge of Jomard -Passage. Both islands are low-lying, forested and are situated on the northern edges of their flat, lagoon . They are located 3 km north west of the Montemont Islands. The Jomard Islands are in the category "Mixed objects" that combines both criteria of the cultural and natural heritage. Together with the

Conflict Group The Conflict Group is an atoll in Papua New Guinea. The group was sighted in 1879 by HMS Cormorant, by moonlight; it was named in 1880 by Bower, captain of HMS Conflict. Irai Island is the center of population of the group. The small Panasesa ...

, Bramble Haven,

Samarai Samarai is an island and former administrative capital in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. The island is historically significant as the site of a trading port and stop-over between Australia and East Asia. Samarai town was established on ...

and

Lunn Island Lunn Island is a solitary island of Papua New Guinea in the Solomon Sea, belonging to the Louisiade Archipelago. It belongs to Milne Bay Province, to the ward of Conflict Group The Conflict Group is an atoll in Papua New Guinea Papua ...

, they form the Milne Bay Seascape (Pacific Jewels of Marine Biodiversity) and the government of Papua New Guinea applied to add this seapark to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites.Milne Bay Seascape (Pacific Jewels of Marine Biodiversity)
''UNESCO'', World Heritage Centre

References

Islands of Milne Bay Province Louisiade Archipelago {{MilneBayProvince-geo-stub