Kokopo is the capital of
East New Britain Province
East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, consisting of the north-eastern part of the island of New Britain and the Duke of York Islands. The capital of the province is Kokopo, not far from the old capital of Rabaul, which was largely ...
in
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 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
volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...
es
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 ...
, during the
German New Guinea
German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...
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
The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the Gorkha earthquake) killed 8,964 people and injured 21,952 more. It occurred at on Saturday, 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of 7.8 Mw or 8.1 Ms and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of X (''Extrem ...
, which measured a magnitude 7.8.
In 2015, a research and conservation project was suggested to study and protect
spinner dolphin
The spinner dolphin (''Stenella longirostris'') is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which it rotates around its longitudinal axis as it leaps through the air. It is a ...
s 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
A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...
(
Köppen ''Af'') with heavy rainfall and hot temperatures year-round.
PNG Hunters
The
Papua New Guinea Hunters (PNG Hunters) are a
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
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