Madang (old

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 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 was first settled by the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

in the 19th century.

History

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize ...

Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay (russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Миклу́хо-Макла́й; 1846 – 1888) was a Russian Imperial explorer. He worked as an ethnologist, anthropologist and biologist who became famous as one o ...

was probably the first European to visit the area. In 1871 he stayed at Astrolabe Bay south of present-day Madang for 15 months. He had a good relationship with the local communities before leaving, suffering from

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...

. In April 1884 an expedition by the German New Guinea Company led by Otto Finsch and Eduard Dallmann arrived and named the landing point "Friedrich Wilhelmshafen"; however, they felt that the area was unsuitable for a settlement. A subsequent survey in 1888 mentioned good soil conditions that would make a coffee plantation possible. In the summer of 1891 a station was built and by September 1892 was the seat of the provincial administration; however, the Imperial Government Commissioner remained at Stephansort, some 23 kilometers away due to concerns about malaria. The name of "Madang" was used by Papuan natives who had accompanied the German administrators after their home island and only became the official name of the settlement towards the end of the German administration. Although the settlement was expanded from 1893-1894 with warehouses, a sawmill, hospital and other facilities, (including an ox-drawn railway to Stephansort) various ventures, such as the coffee plantations and atap palm processing proved economically ruinous, due to malaria and inclement climate. From 1895 and 1896 several German warships were stationed here for a survey of surrounding waters, during which time a total of 295 men came down with malaria. In 1899 the capital of the New Guinea Company was transferred to

Herbertshöhe Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Kokopo-Vunamami Urban LLG. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population of th ...

on the island of New Pomerania (now New Britain). Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the area was turned over to

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as part of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...

mandated

Territory of New Guinea The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian-administered United Nations trust territory on the island of New Guinea from 1914 until 1975. In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of Papua were established in an administrative union by the na ...

. The

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...

captured Madang without a fight 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1942. In September 1943, Australian forces launched a sustained campaign to retake the Finisterre Range and Madang. The town was captured on April 24, 1944, but during the fighting and occupation it was virtually destroyed and had to be rebuilt afterwards.

NGO presence in Madang

Madang is viewed by many in the country as being safer and more pleasant for

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

s than the larger cities of Lae and

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 ...

. Because of this, some NGOs have chosen Madang as the location of their main offices in country. CUSO (a Canadian NGO) and VSO (a British NGO) both have their headquarters in Madang.

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

, WWF, and World Vision are also present with branch offices in Madang. As a consequence Madang has a larger number of

s working and living in the town than its small population would suggest.

Transport

Climate

Like other parts of Papua New Guinea, Madang 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 southe ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Af''), with significant rainfall throughout the year and the temperature being hot year-round. The average annual high temperature is , while the average annual low temperature is . Temperatures remain consistent throughout the year, but there is variation between the month. February has the highest average high at . Multiple months have the highest average low at . July and August has the lowest average high at . July has the lowest average low at . Madang receives of rain over 224 precipitation days, with abundant rainfall throughout the year but a wetter and drier season. April, the wettest month, receives of rainfall over 23 precipitation days on average. September receives the least rainfall of any month, receiving of rainfall over 11 precipitation days. Madang receives 2184 hours of sunshine annually on average, with the sunshine being distributed fairly evenly across the year, with a noticeable dip in the wetter months. September receives the most sunshine, while March receives the least.

Education

Madang is the home of Divine Word University.

Madang Museum Madang Museum is a museum in Madang, Papua New Guinea, which displays objects from its locality and the East Sepik province. Background In 1975 the suggestion arose that a local museum should be created in Madang, an idea that was supported b ...

is a small museum that features natural science and ethnographic objects from the local area and East Sepik Province more widely. It shares a building with Madang Visitors and Cultural Bureau.

Products

Industry and farming are growing constantly in importance, especially for export. There are the widespread coconut palm plantations on the coast and cardamum is grown in Madang. The Kulili plantation is the second largest of

Kar Kar Island Karkar Island is an oval-shaped volcanic island located in the Bismarck Sea, about 30 kilometres off the north coast of mainland Papua New Guinea in Madang Province, from which it is separated by the Isumrud Strait. The island is about 25&n ...

's twelve plantations with its more than a thousand coconut palms and cocoa trees. 70% of the cocoa and 50% of the copra produced in Madang province comes from

Kar Kar Karkar Island is an oval-shaped volcanic island located in the Bismarck Sea, about 30 kilometres off the north coast of mainland Papua New Guinea in Madang Province, from which it is separated by the Isumrud Strait. The island is about 25&nb ...

. In Madang province 173 regional languages are spoken, some of them being extremely different from the others.

Images

File: Madang_(Flughafen).jpg ,

Madang Airport Madang Airport , is an airport located in Madang, Papua New Guinea. Airlines and destinations History World War II During World War II, occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army in January 1943, as a forward operating airfield for aircraft ...

File: Madang.png , Madang from space File: Madang-png-2006.jpg, Madang lagoon

Notable people

* Yolarnie Amepou - herpetologist and conservationist.

References

External links

* . An eyewitness recollection of the 1942 Japanese attack on Madang

Notes

{{Authority control Populated places in Madang Province Provincial capitals in Papua New Guinea Port cities in Oceania