New Guinea (;
Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of Motu, from the Austronesian l ...
: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the
world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in
Oceania in the southwestern
Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from
Australia by the wide
Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same
continental shelf. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the independent state of
Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as
Western New Guinea, forms a part of
Indonesia and is organized as the provinces of
Papua,
Central Papua,
Highland Papua,
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 ...
,
Southwest Papua
Southwest Papua ( id, Papua Barat Daya) is a province of Indonesia, and is a fraction of Western New Guinea. Despite being named southwest, it is a misnomer and this province is actually located in the northwest edge of Papua. The area that belo ...
, and
West Papua. The largest cities on the island are
Jayapura (capital of Papua, Indonesia) and
Port Moresby (capital of Papua New Guinea).
Names
The island has been known by various names:
The name ''Papua'' was used to refer to parts of the island before contact with the West.
Its etymology is unclear;
one theory states that it derived from
Tidore
Tidore ( id, Kota Tidore Kepulauan, lit. "City of Tidore Islands") is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. Part of North Maluku Province, the city includes the island ...
, the language used by the
Sultanate of Tidore
The Sultanate of Tidore ( Indonesian: كسلطانن تيدوري, ''Kesultanan Tidore'', sometimes ''Kerajaan Tidore'') was a sultanate in Southeast Asia, centered on Tidore in the Maluku Islands (presently in North Maluku Province). It was also k ...
.
Expedition by
Sultan of Tidore
The Sultanate of Tidore ( Indonesian: كسلطانن تيدوري, ''Kesultanan Tidore'', sometimes ''Kerajaan Tidore'') was a sultanate in Southeast Asia, centered on Tidore in the Maluku Islands (presently in North Maluku Province). It was also k ...
, with Sahmardan, ''Sangaji'' of
Patani
Patani Darussalam ( Bahasa Malayu Arabic : , also sometimes Patani Raya or Patani Besar, "Greater Patani"; th, ปาตานี) is a historical region in the Malay peninsula. It includes the southern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala (Jal ...
and
Gurabesi Gurabesi was a legendary Papuan leader from Biak in West New Guinea, present-day Indonesia, who had a large role in tying part of the Papuans to the Islamic Sultanate of Tidore. He is commonly believed to have flourished in the 15th or early 16th ...
managed to conquer some areas in New Guinea which was then reorganised to ''Korano Ngaruha'' ( "Four Kings") or
Raja Ampat
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...
, ''Papo Ua Gamsio'' ( "The Papua Nine ''Negeri''"), and ''Mafor Soa Raha'' ( The
Mafor "Four ''Soa''"). The name comes from the words ''papo'' ("to unite") and ''ua'' (negation), which means "not united" or, "territory that geographically is far away (and thus not fully integrated to Tidore proper)".
Anton Ploeg reports that the word ''papua'' is often said to be derived from the
Malay word ''papua'' or ''pua-pua'', meaning "frizzly-haired", referring to the very curly hair of the inhabitants of these areas. Another possibility, put forward by Sollewijn Gelpke in 1993, is that it comes from the
Biak phrase ''sup i papwa'', which means "the land below
he sunset
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
, and refers to the islands west of the
Bird's Head, as far as
Halmahera. The name ''Papua'' came to be associated with this area, and more especially with Halmahera, which was known to the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
by this name during the era of their colonization in this part of the world.
When Portuguese and Spanish explorers arrived on the island via the
Spice Islands
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are ...
, they also referred to the island as ''Papua''.
However, Westerners, beginning with Spanish explorer
Yñigo Ortiz de Retez Yñigo Ortiz de Retez ( ''fl.'' 1545) was a 16th-century Spanish maritime explorer of Basque origin, who navigated the northern coastline of the Pacific–Melanesian island of New Guinea, and is credited with bestowing the island's name (''"Nueva G ...
in 1545, used the name ''New Guinea'', referring to the similarities of the features of the indigenous peoples to those of native Africans of the
Guinea region of the continent.
The name is one of several
toponyms sharing similar
etymologies, ultimately meaning "land of the blacks" or similar meanings, in reference to the
dark skin of the inhabitants.
The Dutch, who arrived later under
Jacob Le Maire
Jacob Le Maire (c. 1585 – 22 December 1616) was a Dutch mariner who circumnavigated the earth in 1615 and 1616. The strait between Tierra del Fuego and Isla de los Estados was named the Le Maire Strait in his honour, though not without controver ...
and
Willem Schouten, called it ''Schouten island''. They later used this name only to refer to islands off the north coast of Papua proper, the
Schouten Islands
The Schouten Islands ( id, Kepulauan Biak, also Biak Islands or Geelvink Islands) are an island group of Papua province, eastern Indonesia in the Cenderawasih Bay (or Geelvink Bay) 50 km off the north-western coast of the island of New ...
or Biak Island. When the Dutch colonized this island as part of the
Dutch East Indies, they called it ''Nieuw Guinea''.
The name ''Irian'' was used in the Indonesian language to refer to the island and Indonesian province, as ''Irian Barat'' (West Irian) Province and later ''Irian Jaya'' Province. The name Irian was suggested during a tribal committee meeting in Tobati, Jayapura, formed by Atmoprasojo under van Eechoed, to decide on a new name because of the negative association of ''Papua''.
Frans Kaisiepo, the committee leader, suggested the name from Mansren Koreri myths, ''Iri-an'' from the
Biak language of
Biak Island, meaning "hot land" referring to the local hot climate, but also from ''Iryan'' which means heated process as a metaphor for a land that is entering a new era. In Serui ''Iri-an'' ( "land-nation") means "pillar of nation", while in Merauke ''Iri-an'' ( "placed higher-nation") means "rising spirit" or "to rise".
The name was promoted in 1945 by Marcus Kaisiepo, brother of
Frans Kaisiepo.
The name was politicized later by Marthin Indey, Silas Papare, and others with the
Indonesian backronym ''Ikut Republik Indonesia Anti Nederland'' ("Join the Republic of Indonesia Oppose the Netherlands").
The name was used until 2001, when ''Papua'' was again used for the island and the province. The name ''Irian'', which was originally favored by natives, is now considered to be a name imposed by the authority of
Jakarta.
Geography
New Guinea is an island to the north of the
Australian mainland
Mainland Australia is the main landmass of the Australian continent, excluding the Aru Islands, New Guinea, Tasmania, and other Australian offshore islands. The landmass also constitutes the mainland of the territory governed by the Commonwea ...
, south of the equator. It is isolated by the
Arafura Sea
The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea.
Geography
The Arafura S ...
to the west, and the
Torres Strait and
Coral Sea to the east. Sometimes considered to be the easternmost island of the
Indonesian archipelago, it lies north of Australia's
Top End, the
Gulf of Carpentaria and
Cape York Peninsula, and west of the
Bismarck Archipelago and the
Solomon Islands archipelago.
Politically, the
western half of the island comprises five
provinces of Indonesia:
Papua,
Central Papua,
Highland Papua,
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 ...
, and
West Papua. The eastern half forms the mainland of the country of
Papua New Guinea.
The shape of New Guinea is often compared to that of a
bird-of-paradise (indigenous to the island), and this results in the usual names for the two extremes of the island: the
Bird's Head Peninsula
The Bird's Head Peninsula ( Indonesian: ''Kepala Burung'', nl, Vogelkop) or Doberai Peninsula (''Semenanjung Doberai''), is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces ...
in the northwest (''Vogelkop'' in Dutch, ''Kepala Burung'' in Indonesian; also known as the Doberai Peninsula), and the Bird's Tail Peninsula in the southeast (also known as the
Papuan Peninsula).
A spine of east–west mountains, the
New Guinea Highlands
The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, is a long chain of mountain ranges on the island of New Guinea, including the island's tallest peak, Puncak Jaya , the highest mountain in Oceania. The range is home ...
, dominates the geography of New Guinea, stretching over across the island, with many mountains over . The western half of the island contains the highest mountains in
Oceania, with its highest point,
Puncak Jaya, reaching an elevation of 4,884 m (16,023 ft). The
tree line is around elevation, and the tallest peaks contain equatorial
glaciers—which have been
retreating since at least 1936. Various other smaller mountain ranges occur both north and west of the central ranges. Except in high elevations, most areas possess a warm humid climate throughout the year, with some seasonal variation associated with the northeast monsoon season.
Another major habitat feature is the vast southern and northern lowlands. Stretching for hundreds of kilometres, these include lowland rainforests, extensive wetlands, savanna grasslands, and some of the largest expanses of mangrove forest in the world. The southern lowlands are the site of
Lorentz National Park, a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. The northern lowlands are drained principally by the
Mamberamo River and its tributaries on the western side, and by the
Sepik
The Sepik () is the longest river on the island of New Guinea, and the second largest in Oceania by discharge volume after the Fly River. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG) provinces of Sandaun (formerly West Se ...
on the eastern side. The more extensive southern lowlands are drained by a larger number of rivers, principally the
Digul in the west and the
Fly in the east. The largest island offshore,
Dolak, lies near the Digul estuary, separated by a strait so narrow it has been named a "creek".
New Guinea contains many of the world's ecosystem types: glacial,
alpine tundra,
savanna,
montane
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...
and lowland rainforest,
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...
s,
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...
s, lake and
river ecosystems,
seagrasses, and some of the richest
coral reefs on the planet.
The entire length of the
New Guinea Highlands
The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, is a long chain of mountain ranges on the island of New Guinea, including the island's tallest peak, Puncak Jaya , the highest mountain in Oceania. The range is home ...
system passes through New Guinea as a vast watershed. The northern rivers flow into the
Pacific Ocean, the southern rivers into the
Arafura Sea
The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea.
Geography
The Arafura S ...
and the
Gulf of Papua
The Gulf of Papua is located in the southern coast region of New Guinea. It has a total surface area of .
Geography
Some of New Guinea's largest rivers, such as the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River, Purari River, and Wawoi River flow ...
. On the north side, the largest rivers are the Mamberamo, Sepik and Ramu.
Mamberamo
The Mamberamo (''Indonesian: Sungai Mamberamo'') is the second longest river on the island of New Guinea, after Sepik River (1,146 km) and third largest in Oceania by discharge (5,500 m3/s) volume after Fly River (7,500 m3/s) and Sepik (7,000 m3/ ...
was born from the confluence of two large inland rivers.
Tariku comes from the west to the east and
Taritatu from the east. These rivers meander through swamps with huge internal descents and then merge. The Mamberamo thus formed reaches the ocean by breaking through the Coastal Mountains. Mamberamo River is navigable to Marine Falls. The
Sepik
The Sepik () is the longest river on the island of New Guinea, and the second largest in Oceania by discharge volume after the Fly River. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG) provinces of Sandaun (formerly West Se ...
is a much more important river. Similarly, it collects water from a spacious pool. It is 1,100 kilometers from the
Victor Emanuel Range to the estuary, making it the longest river in New Guinea. The winding, muddy, sluggish river can be navigated for 500 km.
Ramu is a 650 km long river. Its lower section is navigable, but its upper flow is high-falling, fast-flowing. The energy of the river is used by a power plant near the city of
Kainantu. On the south side, the most significant rivers are
Pulau, Digul, Fly,
Kikori
Kikori is a small town in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea.
Kikori lies in the delta of the Kikori River at the head of the Gulf of Papua. This area is particularly biologically rich with a diversity of ecosystems and densely forested, wit ...
and
Purari. The largest river in the western part of the island is
Digul. It originates from the
Star Mountains
The Star Mountains ( Dutch ( colonial)'': Sterrengebergte''; Indonesian'': Pegunungan Bintang'') are a mountain range in western Papua New Guinea and the eastern end of Highland Papua, Indonesia, stretching from the eastern end of Indonesia t ...
, which rise to an altitude of 4,700 m. The coastal plain is bordered by a swamp world hundreds of kilometers wide. Digul is the main transport route to the fertile hills and mountains within the island.
The river
Fly is born near the eastern branches of the Digul. It is named after one of the ships of the English Royal Fleet, which first sailed into the mouth of the river in 1845. The total length of the river is 1,050 km. Smaller boats can sail 900 km on the river. The estuary section, which decomposes into islands, is 70 km wide. The tide of the sea can have an effect of up to 300 kilometers.
Strickland, a tributary of the Fly, reaches the Papuan Plain through wild gorges. Fly and Strickland together form the largest river in New Guinea. The many rivers flowing into the
Gulf of Papua
The Gulf of Papua is located in the southern coast region of New Guinea. It has a total surface area of .
Geography
Some of New Guinea's largest rivers, such as the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River, Purari River, and Wawoi River flow ...
form a single delta complex. The rivers of the island are extremely rich in water due to the annual rainfall of 2,000–10,000 mm. According to a modest calculation, the New Guinea River carries about of water into the sea. Fly alone carries more water than all the rivers in
Australia combined.
Relation to surroundings
The island of New Guinea lies to the east of the
Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago.
Geologically it is a part of the same
tectonic plate as Australia. When world sea levels were low, the two shared shorelines (which now lie 100 to 140 metres below sea level),
and combined with lands now inundated into the tectonic continent of
Sahul,
also known as Greater Australia. The two landmasses became separated when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the end of the
last glacial period.
Anthropologically, New Guinea is considered part of
Melanesia.
New Guinea is differentiated from its drier, flatter, and less fertile southern counterpart, Australia, by its much higher rainfall and its active volcanic geology. Yet the two land masses share a similar animal fauna, with marsupials, including
wallabies and
possums, and the egg-laying monotreme, the
echidna
Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...
. Other than bats and some two dozen indigenous rodent genera, there are no pre-human indigenous
placental mammals. Pigs, several additional species of rats, and the ancestor of the
New Guinea singing dog
The New Guinea singing dog or New Guinea Highland dog is an ancient ( basal) lineage of dog found in the New Guinea Highlands, on the island of New Guinea. Once considered to be a separate species in its own right, under the name ''Canis hallst ...
were introduced with human colonization.
Prior to the 1970s, archaeologists called the single
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...
landmass by the name ''Australasia'',
although this word is most often used for a wider region that includes lands, such as
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, which are not on the same continental shelf. In the early 1970s, they introduced the term ''Greater Australia'' for the Pleistocene continent.
Then, at a 1975 conference and consequent publication,
they extended the name ''Sahul'' from its previous use for just the Sahul Shelf to cover the continent.
Political divisions
The island of New Guinea is
divided politically into roughly equal halves across a north–south line:
* The
western portion of the island located west of
141°E longitude (except for a small section of territory to the east of the
Fly River
The Fly River is the third longest river in the island of New Guinea, after the Sepik River and Mamberamo River, with a total length of and the largest by volume of discharge in Oceania, the largest in the world without a single dam in its cat ...
which belongs to Papua New Guinea) was formerly a
Dutch colony, part of the
Dutch East Indies. After the
West New Guinea dispute
The West New Guinea dispute (1950–1962), also known as the West Irian dispute, was a diplomatic and political conflict between the Netherlands and Indonesia over the territory of Dutch New Guinea. While the Netherlands had ceded sovereignty ov ...
it is now five
Indonesian provinces:
**
West Papua with
Manokwari as its capital.
**
Papua with the city of
Jayapura as its capital.
**
Highland Papua with
Wamena
Wamena is a town and the capital of the Indonesian province of Highland Papua. It also serves as the seat of Jayawijaya Regency. It is the largest town in Indonesian Papua's highlands, in the Baliem Valley and had a population of 64,967 at the ...
as its capital.
**
Central Papua with
Nabire
Nabire is a town in the Indonesian province of Central Papua, at the western end of New Guinea. The town is the administrative seat of the Nabire Regency, and has been designated to be the administrative capital of the new province. It is served b ...
as its capital.
**
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 ...
with
Merauke as its capital.
* The eastern part forms the mainland of
Papua New Guinea, which has been an independent country since 1975. It was formerly the
Territory of Papua and New Guinea
The Territory of Papua and New Guinea, officially the Administrative Union of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea, was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New G ...
governed by Australia, consisting of the
Trust Territory of New Guinea (northeastern quarter, formerly
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 , ...
), and the
Territory of Papua (southeastern quarter). Three of Papua New Guinea's
four regions are parts of New Guinea island:
**
Southern, consisting of
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
,
Gulf,
Central,
Oro (Northern) and
Milne Bay provinces.
**
Highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Albania
* Dukagjin Highlands
Armenia
* Armenian Highlands
Australia
*Sou ...
, consisting of
Southern Highlands,
Hela Province,
Jiwaka Province
Jiwaka is a province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is temporarily located in Kurumul. Mostly all provincial matters are handled in Kurumul while few are handled in Banz and Minj.
The province covers an area of 4,798 km², and ...
,
Enga Province,
Western Highlands,
Simbu and
Eastern Highlands
:''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.''
The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabw ...
provinces.
**
Momase, consisting of
Morobe,
Madang
Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century.
Histo ...
,
East Sepik and
Sandaun
Sandaun Province (formerly West Sepik Province) is the northwesternmost mainland province of Papua New Guinea. It covers an area of 35,920 km2 (13868 m2) and has a population of 248,411 (2011 census). The capital is Vanimo. In July 1998 the a ...
(West Sepik) provinces.
People
The current population of the island of New Guinea is about fifteen million. Many believe human habitation on the island dates to as early as 50,000
BC, and first settlement possibly dating back to 60,000 years ago has been proposed. The island is presently populated by almost a thousand different tribal groups and a near-equivalent number of separate languages, which makes New Guinea the most linguistically diverse area in the world.
Ethnologue's 14th edition lists 826 languages of
Papua New Guinea and 257 languages of
Western New Guinea, total 1073 languages, with 12 languages overlapping. They can be divided into two groups, the
Austronesian languages, and all the others, called
Papuan languages
The Papuan languages are the non- Austronesian and non- Australian languages spoken on the western Pacific island of New Guinea in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, as well as neighbouring islands, by around 4 million people. It is a strictly geogr ...
for convenience. The term ''Papuan languages'' refers to an areal grouping, rather than a linguistic one, since so-called Papuan languages comprise hundreds of different languages, most of which are not related.
The separation is not merely linguistic;
warfare among societies was a factor in the evolution of the ''men's house'': separate housing of groups of adult men, from the single-family houses of the women and children, for mutual protection from other tribal groups. Pig-based trade between the groups and pig-based feasts are a common theme with the other peoples of southeast Asia and Oceania. Most societies practice agriculture, supplemented by hunting and gathering.
Current evidence indicates that the Papuans (who constitute the majority of the island's peoples) are descended from the earliest human inhabitants of New Guinea. These original inhabitants first arrived in New Guinea at a time (either side of the
Last Glacial Maximum, approx 21,000 years ago) when the island was connected to the Australian continent via a
land bridge
In biogeography, a land bridge is an isthmus or wider land connection between otherwise separate areas, over which animals and plants are able to cross and colonize new lands. A land bridge can be created by marine regression, in which sea leve ...
, forming the landmass of
Sahul. These peoples had made the (shortened) sea-crossing from the islands of
Wallacea and
Sundaland (the present
Malay Archipelago) by at least 40,000 years ago.
The ancestral Austronesian peoples are believed to have arrived considerably later, approximately 3,500 years ago, as part of a gradual seafaring migration from
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
, possibly originating in Taiwan. Austronesian-speaking peoples colonized many of the offshore islands to the north and east of New Guinea, such as
New Ireland and
New Britain, with settlements also on the coastal fringes of the main island in places. Human habitation of New Guinea over tens of thousands of years has led to a great deal of diversity, which was further increased by the later arrival of the Austronesians and the more recent history of European and Asian settlement through events like
transmigration.
Large areas of New Guinea are yet to be explored by scientists and anthropologists. The Indonesian province of
West Papua is home to an estimated 44
uncontacted tribal groups.
Biodiversity and ecology
With some 786,000 km
2 of tropical land—less than one-half of one percent (0.5%) of the Earth's surface—New Guinea has an immense
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
, containing between 5 and 10 percent of the total species on the planet. This percentage is about the same amount as that found in the United States or Australia. A high percentage of New Guinea's species are
endemic, and thousands are still unknown to science: probably well over 200,000 species of insect, between 11,000 and 20,000 plant species, and over 650 resident bird species. Most of these species are shared, at least in their origin, with the continent of Australia, which was until fairly recent geological times part of the same landmass (see
Australia-New Guinea for an overview). The island is so large that it is considered 'nearly a continent' in terms of its biological distinctiveness.
In the period from 1998 to 2008, conservationists identified 1,060 new species in New Guinea, including 218 plants, 43 reptiles, 12 mammals, 580 invertebrates, 134 amphibians, 2 birds and 71 fish. Between 2011 and 2017, researchers described 465 previously undocumented plant species in New Guinea. As of 2019, the Indonesian portion of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands is estimated to have 9,518 species of vascular plants, of which 4,380 are endemic. In 2020, an international study conducted by a team of 99 experts cataloged 13,634 species representing 1,742 genera and 264 families of vascular plants for New Guinea and its associated islands (
Aru Islands
The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a ...
,
Bismarck Archipelago,
D'Entrecasteaux Islands,
Louisiade Archipelago), making it the world's most floristically diverse island, surpassing
Madagascar (11,488),
Borneo (11,165),
Java (4,598), and
the Philippines (9,432).
Biogeographically
Biogeography is the study of the species distribution, distribution of species and ecosystems in geography, geographic space and through evolutionary history of life, geological time. Organisms and biological community (ecology), communities of ...
, New Guinea is part of
Australasia rather than the
Indomalaya
The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia.
Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Indi ...
n realm, although New Guinea's flora has many more affinities with Asia than its fauna, which is overwhelmingly Australian. Botanically, New Guinea is considered part of
Malesia, a floristic region that extends from the
Malay Peninsula across Indonesia to New Guinea and the
East Melanesian Islands. The flora of New Guinea is a mixture of many
tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equa ...
species with origins in Asia, together with typically Australasian flora. Typical Southern Hemisphere flora include the
conifers ''
Podocarpus
''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. The name comes from Greek πούς (poús, “foot”) + καρπός (karpós, “fruit”). ''Podocarpus'' species ...
'' and the rainforest emergents ''
Araucaria'' and ''
Agathis,'' as well as
tree ferns and several species of ''
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...
''.
New Guinea has 284 species and six orders of mammals:
monotremes, three orders of
marsupials,
rodents and
bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
s; 195 of the mammal species (69%) are endemic. New Guinea has 578 species of breeding birds, of which 324 species are endemic. The island's frogs are one of the most poorly known vertebrate groups, totalling 282 species, but this number is expected to double or even triple when all species have been documented. New Guinea has a rich diversity of coral life and 1,200 species of fish have been found. Also about 600 species of reef-building coral—the latter equal to 75 percent of the world's known total. The entire coral area covers 18 million hectares off a peninsula in northwest New Guinea.
As of 2020, the Western portion of New Guinea, Papua and West Papua, accounts for 54% of the island's primary forest and about 51% of the island's total tree cover, according to satellite data.
Ecoregions
Terrestrial
According to the
WWF, New Guinea can be divided into twelve
terrestrial ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
s:
*
Central Range montane rain forests
*
Central Range sub-alpine grasslands
*
Huon Peninsula montane rain forests
*
New Guinea mangroves
The New Guinea mangroves is a mangrove ecoregion that covers extensive areas of the coastline New Guinea, the large island in the western Pacific Ocean north of Australia.
Location and description
The New Guinea mangroves cover an area of , ...
*
Northern New Guinea lowland rain and freshwater swamp forests
*
Northern New Guinea montane rain forests
*
Southeastern Papuan rain forests
*
Southern New Guinea freshwater swamp forests
*
Southern New Guinea lowland rain forests
The Southern New Guinea lowland rain forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical moist forest ecoregion in southeastern New Guinea. The ecoregion covers portions of New Guinea's southern lowlands.
Geography
The eco ...
*
Trans-Fly savanna and grasslands
*
Vogelkop montane rain forests
The Vogelkop montane rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in western New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the mountains of western New Guinea's Bird's Head and Bomberai peninsulas.
Geography
The ecoregion includes the montane fores ...
*
Vogelkop-Aru lowland rain forests
Freshwater
The
WWF and
Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Nat ...
divide New Guinea into five
freshwater ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
s:
*
Vogelkop–Bomberai
*
New Guinea North Coast
*
New Guinea Central Mountains
*
Southwest New Guinea–Trans-Fly Lowland
*
Papuan Peninsula
Marine
The WWF and Nature Conservancy identify several
marine ecoregion
A marine ecoregion is an ecoregion, or ecological region, of the oceans and seas identified and defined based on biogeographic characteristics.
Introduction
A more complete definition describes them as “Areas of relatively homogeneous species ...
s in the seas bordering New Guinea:
*
Papua
*
Bismarck Sea
The Bismarck Sea (, ) lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean within the nation of Papua New Guinea. It is located northeast of the island of New Guinea and south of the Bismarck Archipelago. It has coastlines in districts of the Islands Regi ...
*
Solomon Sea
* Southeast Papua New Guinea
*
Gulf of Papua
The Gulf of Papua is located in the southern coast region of New Guinea. It has a total surface area of .
Geography
Some of New Guinea's largest rivers, such as the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River, Purari River, and Wawoi River flow ...
*
Arafura Sea
The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea.
Geography
The Arafura S ...
History
Early history
The first inhabitants
Indigenous people of New Guinea
The indigenous peoples of West Papua in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, commonly called Papuans, are Melanesians. There is genetic evidence for two major historical lineages in New Guinea and neighboring islands: a first wave from the Malay Arch ...
, from whom the Papuan people are probably descended, adapted to the range of ecologies and, in time, developed one of the earliest known agricultures. Remains of this agricultural system, in the form of ancient irrigation systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, are being studied by archaeologists. Research indicates that the highlands were an early and independent center of agriculture, with evidence of irrigation going back at least 10,000 years.
Sugarcane was cultivated for the first time in New Guinea around 6000 BC.
The gardens of the
New Guinea Highlands
The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, is a long chain of mountain ranges on the island of New Guinea, including the island's tallest peak, Puncak Jaya , the highest mountain in Oceania. The range is home ...
are ancient, intensive
permacultures, adapted to high population densities, very high rainfalls (as high as 10,000 mm per year (400 in/yr)), earthquakes, hilly land, and occasional frost. Complex mulches, crop rotations and tillages are used in rotation on terraces with complex irrigation systems. Western agronomists still do not understand all of the practices, and it has been noted that native gardeners are as, or even more, successful than most scientific farmers in raising certain crops. There is evidence that New Guinea gardeners invented crop rotation well before western Europeans. A unique feature of New Guinea permaculture is the
silviculture
Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production.
The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests and wo ...
of ''Casuarina oligodon'', a tall, sturdy native
ironwood tree, suited to use for timber and fuel, with root nodules that fix nitrogen.
Pollen studies show that it was adopted during an ancient period of extreme deforestation.
In more recent millennia, another wave of people arrived on the shores of New Guinea. These were the
Austronesian people, who had spread down from
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, through the
South-east Asian archipelago, colonising many of the islands on the way. The Austronesian people had technology and skills extremely well adapted to ocean voyaging and Austronesian language speaking people are present along much of the coastal areas and islands of New Guinea. They also introduced pigs and
dogs. These Austronesian migrants are considered the ancestors of most people in insular Southeast Asia, from
Sumatra and
Java to
Borneo and
Sulawesi, as well as coastal new Guinea.
Precolonial history
The western part of the island was in contact with kingdoms in other parts of modern-day Indonesia. The ''
Negarakertagama
The ''Nagarakretagama'' or ''Nagarakṛtāgama'', also known as ''Desawarnana'' or ''Deśavarṇana'', is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire. It was written on lontar as a '' kakawin'' by Mpu Pra ...
'' mentioned the region of Wanin and Sran, in eastern
Nusantara as part of
Majapahit's tributary. This 'Wanin' has been identified with the Onin Peninsula, part of the
Bomberai Peninsula near the city of
Fakfak., while '
Sran' had been identified as region of
Kowiai, just south of Onin peninsula.
The sultans of
Tidore
Tidore ( id, Kota Tidore Kepulauan, lit. "City of Tidore Islands") is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. Part of North Maluku Province, the city includes the island ...
, in the
Maluku Islands, claimed sovereignty over various coastal parts of the island.
During Tidore's rule, the main exports of the island during this period were resins, spices, slaves and the highly priced feathers of the
bird-of-paradise. In a period of constant conflict called 'hongi wars', in which rival villages or kingdoms would invoke the name of Tidore Sultan, rightly, for punitive expeditions for not fulfilling their tributary obligations, or opportunitively for competitions over resources and prestige.
Sultan Nuku, one of the most famous Tidore sultans who rebelled against Dutch colonization, called himself "Sultan of Tidore and Papua",
during his revolt in 1780s. He commanded loyalty from both Moluccan and Papuan chiefs, especially those of
Raja Ampat
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...
Islands, from his base in
Gebe. Following Tidore's subjugation as Dutch tributary, much of the territory it claimed in western part of New Guinea came under Dutch rule as part of Dutch East Indies.
European contact
The first European contact with New Guinea was by Portuguese and Spanish sailors in the 16th century. In 1526–27, Portuguese explorer
Jorge de Meneses saw the western tip of New Guinea and named it ''ilhas dos Papuas''. In 1528, the Spanish navigator
Álvaro de Saavedra also recorded its sighting when trying to return from
Tidore
Tidore ( id, Kota Tidore Kepulauan, lit. "City of Tidore Islands") is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. Part of North Maluku Province, the city includes the island ...
to
New Spain. In 1545, Spaniard
Íñigo Ortíz de Retes sailed along the north coast of New Guinea as far as the
Mamberamo River, near which he landed on 20 June, naming the island 'Nueva Guinea'. The first map showing the whole island (as an island) was published in 1600 and shows it as 'Nova Guinea'. In 1606,
Luís Vaz de Torres explored the southern coast of New Guinea from
Milne Bay to the
Gulf of Papua
The Gulf of Papua is located in the southern coast region of New Guinea. It has a total surface area of .
Geography
Some of New Guinea's largest rivers, such as the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River, Purari River, and Wawoi River flow ...
including
Orangerie Bay, which he named ''Bahía de San Lorenzo''. His expedition also discovered
Basilaki Island
Basilaki Island (Moresby Island) is an island in the Louisiade Archipelago in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. It is located at the eastern end of the New Guinea mainland.
History
First recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish exp ...
naming it ''Tierra de San Buenaventura'', which he claimed for Spain in July 1606.
[Translation of Torres’ report to the king in Collingridge, G. (1895) ''Discovery of Australia'' p.229-237. Golden Press Edition 1983, Gladesville, NSW. ] On 18 October, his expedition reached the western part of the island in present-day Indonesia, and also claimed the territory for the King of Spain.
A successive European claim occurred in 1828, when the Netherlands formally claimed the western half of the island as
Netherlands New Guinea. Dutch colonial authority built
Fort Du Bus
Fort Du Bus was a Dutch administrative and trading post established in 1828 on Triton Bay on the southwest coast of New Guinea, in the current Indonesian regency of Kaimana, West Papua. Intended to counter British encroachment, it was the first ...
an administrative and trading post established near Lobo, Triton Bay, but by 1835 had been abandoned.
Considering that New Guinea had little economic value for them, the Dutch promoted Tidore as suzerain of Papua. By 1849, Tidore's borders had been extended to the proximity of the current international border between Indonesia and
Papua New Guinea, as it formed extensive trade pact and custom of ''Uli-Siwa'' ( federation of nine ).
In 1883, following a short-lived French annexation of
New Ireland, the British colony of
Queensland annexed south-eastern New Guinea. However, the Queensland government's superiors in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
revoked the claim, and (formally) assumed direct responsibility in 1884, when
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
claimed north-eastern New Guinea as the protectorate of
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 , ...
(also called
Kaiser-Wilhelmsland
Kaiser-Wilhelmsland ("Emperor William's Land") formed part of German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neuguinea), the South Pacific protectorate of the German Empire. Named in honour of Wilhelm I, who reigned as German Emperor () from 1871 to 1888, ...
).
The first Dutch government posts were established in 1898 and in 1902: Manokwari on the north coast, Fak-Fak in the west and Merauke in the south at the border with
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 ...
. The German, Dutch and British colonial administrators each attempted to suppress the still-widespread practices of inter-village warfare and
headhunting
Headhunting is the practice of hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing the victim, although sometimes more portable body parts (such as ear, nose or scalp) are taken instead as trophies. Headhunting was practiced in h ...
within their respective territories.
In 1905, the British government transferred some administrative responsibility over southeast New Guinea to Australia (which renamed the area "
Territory of Papua"); and, in 1906, transferred all remaining responsibility to Australia. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Australian forces seized German New Guinea, which in 1920 became the
Territory of New Guinea, to be administered by Australia under a
League of Nations mandate. The territories under Australian administration became collectively known as The Territories of Papua and New Guinea (until February 1942).
Before about 1930, European maps showed the highlands as uninhabited forests. When first flown over by aircraft, numerous settlements with agricultural terraces and stockades were observed. The most startling discovery took place on 4 August 1938, when
Richard Archbold discovered the
Grand Valley of the Baliem River, which had 50,000 yet-undiscovered Stone Age farmers living in orderly villages. The people, known as the
Dani, were the last society of its size to make first contact with the rest of the world. A 1930 expedition led by the prospector Michael Lehay also encountered an indigenous group in the highlands. The inhabitants, believing themselves to be the only people in the world and, having never seen Europeans before, initially believed the explorers to be spirits of the dead due to the local belief that a person's skin turned white when they died and crossed into the land of the dead.
World War II
Netherlands New Guinea and the Australian territories were invaded in 1942 by the
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 ...
. The Australian territories were put under military administration and were known simply as New Guinea. The highlands, northern and eastern parts of the island became key battlefields in the
South West Pacific Theatre
The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory of ...
of
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 opposing ...
. Papuans often gave vital assistance to the
Allies, fighting alongside Australian troops, and carrying equipment and injured men across New Guinea. Approximately 216,000 Japanese, Australian and U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen died during the New Guinea Campaign.
Since World War II
Following the return to civil administration after World War II, the Australian section was known as the Territory of Papua-New Guinea from 1945 to 1949 and then as
Territory of Papua and New Guinea
The Territory of Papua and New Guinea, officially the Administrative Union of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea, was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New G ...
. Although the rest of the Dutch East Indies achieved independence as Indonesia on 27 December 1949, the Netherlands regained control of western New Guinea.
During the 1950s, the Dutch government began to prepare Netherlands New Guinea for full independence and allowed elections in 1959; the elected
New Guinea Council
The New Guinea Council ( nl, Nieuw-Guinea Raad) was a unicameral representative body formed in the Dutch colony of Netherlands New Guinea in 1961.
History
Prior to the formation of the New Guinea Council, there existed a Council of Directors, w ...
took office on 5 April 1961. The Council decided on the name of West Papua (''Papua Barat'') for the territory, along with an emblem,
flag, and
anthem to complement those of the Netherlands. On 1 October 1962, after
some military interventions and negotiations, the Dutch handed over the territory to the
United Nations Temporary Executive Authority, until 1 May 1963, when Indonesia took control. The territory was renamed West Irian (''Irian Barat'') and then Irian Jaya. In 1969, Indonesia, under the 1962
New York Agreement
The New York Agreement is an agreement signed by the Netherlands and Indonesia regarding the administration of the territory of Western New Guinea. The first part of the agreement proposes that the United Nations assume administration of the terr ...
, organised a referendum named the
Act of Free Choice, in which the military hand picked Papuan tribal elders to vote for integration with Indonesia.
There has been significant reported resistance to Indonesian integration and occupation,
[Philippe Pataud Celerier]
Autonomy isn’t independence; Indonesian democracy stops in Papua
Le Monde Diplomatique, June 2010 both through civil disobedience (such as publicly raising the Morning Star flag) and via the formation of the
Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM, or Free Papua Movement) in 1965.
Amnesty International has estimated more than 100,000 Papuans, one-sixth of the population, have died as a result of government-sponsored violence against West Papuans. Reports published by
TRT World and
De Gruyter Oldenbourg have put the number of killed Papuans since the start of the conflict at roughly 500,000.
From 1971, the name Papua New Guinea was used for the Australian territory. On 16 September 1975, Australia granted full independence to Papua New Guinea. In 2000, Irian Jaya was formally renamed "The Province of Papua" and a Law on Special Autonomy was passed in 2001. The Law established a
Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) with representatives of the different indigenous cultures of Papua. The MRP was empowered to protect the rights of Papuans, raise the status of women in Papua, and to ease religious tensions in Papua;
block grants were given for the implementation of the Law as much as $266 million in 2004. The
Indonesian courts' enforcement of the Law on Special Autonomy blocked further creation of subdivisions of Papua: although President
Megawati Sukarnoputri was able to create a separate West Papua province in 2003 as a
fait accompli, plans for a third province on western New Guinea were blocked by the courts. Critics argue that the Indonesian government has been reluctant to establish or issue various government implementing regulations so that the legal provisions of special autonomy could be put into practice, and as a result special autonomy in Papua has "failed".
In 2022, the Indonesian Government split Papuan Province into 4 provinces. In addition to
Papua Province proper (capital
Jayapura), the three new provinces are
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 ...
(capital
Merauke),
Central Papua (capital
Nabire
Nabire is a town in the Indonesian province of Central Papua, at the western end of New Guinea. The town is the administrative seat of the Nabire Regency, and has been designated to be the administrative capital of the new province. It is served b ...
) and
Highland Papua (capital
Wamena
Wamena is a town and the capital of the Indonesian province of Highland Papua. It also serves as the seat of Jayawijaya Regency. It is the largest town in Indonesian Papua's highlands, in the Baliem Valley and had a population of 64,967 at the ...
).
The culture of
inter-tribal warfare and animosity between the neighboring tribes are still present in New Guinea.
Notes
References
Further reading
*
Jared Diamond
Jared Mason Diamond (born September 10, 1937) is an American geographer, historian, ornithologist, and author best known for his popular science books '' The Third Chimpanzee'' (1991); ''Guns, Germs, and Steel'' (1997, awarded a Pulitzer Priz ...
, ''
Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the last 13,000 Years'', 1997.
External links
Facsimile of material from "The Discovery of New Guinea" by George CollingridgeScientists hail discovery of hundreds of new species in remote New GuineaPapuaWeb official website
*
{{Authority control
Islands of the Pacific Ocean
Divided regions
International islands
Melanesia
Islands of Indonesia
Islands of Papua New Guinea
Former Spanish colonies