The Duchateau Islands are an island group in the
Coral Sea, 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 ...
. They lie to the east of
Panarairai Island 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.
Geography
The Duchateau Islands consist of three small low-lying islands. They lie on the southwestern 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 ...
. The highest point is .
They are located south-east of the
Jomard Islands and immediately northeast of
Montemont Islands. Of the three islands, Pana Bobai Ana () in the west is the largest. It was formerly inhabited (village of Salunol) but the people have moved to
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 that ...
. they come each year back to the island to harvest yams and claim coconuts.
The two smaller islands, Pana Rura Wara () and Kukuluba (), are located on the north side of their shared lagoon.
References
Islands of Milne Bay Province
Louisiade Archipelago
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