Kieta is a port town located on the eastern coast of the island of Bougainville in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, near the township of Arawa. After extensive destruction during the 1990 Civil Uprising on Bougainville, Kieta has few inhabitants now, and is known mainly for its transport connections (wharf and airfield).

History

On 17 May 1885, agreements were made between Germany and the United Kingdom over the islands of Bougainville and Buka in the area of the German sphere of interest. On 20 September 1905 a station was built with a post office and customs. Since 1902, there was a Catholic mission station in Kieta. Kieta was occupied by the Japanese during the Second World War. The majority of the town was destroyed in the 1990 Civil Uprising on Bougainville. The

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

has a runway which was used by the Japanese in World War II, and was recently serviced by

Air Niugini Air Niugini Limited is the flag carrier of Papua New Guinea, based in Air Niugini House on the site of Port Moresby International Airport, Port Moresby. It operates a domestic network from Port Moresby to 12 major airports while its subsidiary ...

until 1990. For some time after that the only aircraft to service the area had been the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

and

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

s (

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

) in support of the Peace Monitoring Group. As of 2021, Kieta Airport is serviced by PNG Air with flights to

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

and Buka. A number of Papuan languages are spoken in the Kieta district, such as Naasioi.

Climate

Kieta has a mean maximum temperature of , mean minimum temperature of , and annual rainfall of .

References

Populated places in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville Populated coastal places in Papua New Guinea {{Bougainville-geo-stub