Merauke is a large town and the capital of the

South Papua South Papua, officially the South Papua Province ( id, Provinsi Papua Selatan), is an Indonesian province located in the southern portion of Papua, following the borders of Papuan customary region of Anim Ha. Formally established on 11 November 2 ...

province,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. It is also the administrative centre of

Merauke Regency Merauke Regency is a regency in the far south of the Indonesian province of South Papua. It covers an area of 46,791.63 km2, and had a population of 195,716 at the 2010 Census and 230,932 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2 ...

. It is considered the easternmost city in Indonesia. The town was originally called Ermasoe. It is next to the

Maro River The Maro River also known as Sungai Merauke and Merauke-rivier, Merauki River flows in Merauke Regency, Papua, Indonesia. It is located just to the west of the Bensbach River of Western Province, Papua New Guinea. Hydrology The Maro flows fr ...

where the Port of Merauke is located. As of the 2010 census, Merauke had a population of 87,634 which at the 2020 Census had increased to 102,351.

History

Merauke was established in February 1902 as a military post by the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, to prevent raids by the

Marind-anim The Marind or Marind-Anim are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the province of South Papua, Indonesia. Geography The Marind-anim live in South Papua, Indonesia. They occupy a vast territory, which is situated on either side of the Bi ...

into neighbouring

British New Guinea The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...

and the northwest

Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their total land ...

( Boigu, Dauan and Saibai). The Dutch also tried to establish a rice colony there to no avail. The Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier in Merauke is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Merauke The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Merauke ( la, Merauken(sis)) is an archdiocese located in the city of Merauke in Indonesia. History * 24 June 1950: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Merauke from the Apostolic Vicariate of Amboina * 15 Nov ...

Merauke was the site of an

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

air and naval base, Naval Base Merauke, 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 ...

and there was ground fighting between

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

and

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

patrols in the area. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Merauke was used as a transit point between Java, and the Boven-Digoel internment camp where many

Indonesian Communist Party The Communist Party of Indonesia ( Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965 ...

members were being sent. The expression " Sabang to Merauke" is used as shorthand for the territorial extent of Indonesia from west to east, for instance in the name of Sabang Merauke Raya Air Charter. For instance, President

Suharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...

stated in 1968 that independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity from Sabang to Merauke are for the Indonesian people matters of principle".

Climate

Merauke has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Aw'') with moderate to little rainfall from May to November and heavy rainfall from December to April.

Education

Merauke hosts the Musamus Merauke University, a state-run public university. It was founded as an academy in 2001 and officially became university in 2006.

Merauke as the name

Merauke is used for the name of

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

navy ship, USS Merauke (ID-2498).

References

Regency seats of South Papua {{Indonesia-geo-stub

History

Climate

Education

Merauke as the name

See also

References