Admiralty Islands

 

group of 40 volcanic islands, c.800 sq mi (2,070 sq km), SW Pacific, in the Bismarck Archipelago and part of Papua New Guinea. Lorengau, the chief port and administrative center of the group, is on Manus, the largest island. Copra, pearls, and marine shells are the principal products. Discovered by the Dutch navigator Willem Schouten in 1616, the group became part of German New Guinea in 1884 and an Australian League of Nations mandate in 1920.

For the island in Alaska, see Admiralty Island.

The Admiralty Islands are a group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, named after the largest island. The islands form part of Manus Province of Papua New Guinea. The total area is  km² ( sq mi).

The larger islands in the group include Manus Island, Los Negros Island, Tong Island, Pak Island, Rambutyo Island, Lou Island, St Andrews Islands, Baluan Island, and Ndrova Island. Many of the islands are atolls and uninhabited.

Climate and geography

The temperature of the Admiralty Islands varies little throughout the year, reaching daily highs of 30-32°C and 20-24°C at night. Average annual rainfall is  mm ( in) and is somewhat seasonal, with June-August being the wettest months.

Manus reaches an elevation of  m ( ft) and is volcanic in origin and probably broke through the ocean's surface in the late Miocene, 8-10 million years ago. The substrate of the island is either directly volcanic or from uplifted coral limestone.

Ecology

Due to the isolated location of the islands, Admiralty Islands are home to endemic species and is considered a separate ecoregion. The vegetation on the islands is broadly described as lowland tropical rain forest. The typical tree species in the forests are various Calophyllum and Sararanga species.^[1] The majority of the forests on Manus still remain, but some of the smaller islands have been cleared for coconut farming.  km² ( sq mi) Ndrolowa Wildlife Management Area was declared March 1985 south of Lorengau on Manus Island and contains both terrestrial and marine regions.^[2]  km² ( sq mi) protected area has been established around the highest mountain on Manus, Mt. Dremsel, but the level of protection is still undetermined in UNEP World Database on Protected Areas.^[3]

Three of the bird species endemic to Admiralty Islands have been listed as vulvenerable in IUCN Red List: Manus Fantail (Rhipidura semirubra), Superb Pitta (Pitta superba) and Manus Masked Owl (Tyto manusi). Three other birds are endemic to Admiralty Islands but are classified as non-threatened or least concern: White-naped Friarbird (Philemon albitorques), Manus Monarch (Monarcha infelix) and Manus Hawk Owl (Ninox meeki). In addition Admiralty Islands is home to two endemic mammals: Admiralty Island Cuscus (Spilocuscus kraemeri) and local Mosaic-Tailed Rat (Melomys matambuai).^[1]

History

Along with New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands, the Admiralty Islands were first inhabited approximately 40,000 years ago, in the initial wave of migration out of South-East Asia that also populated Australia. This early society appears to have cultivated taro, and to have deliberately introduced wild animals from New Guinea such as bandicoots and large rats. Obsidian was gathered and traded throughout the Admiralty Islands archipelago.^[4]

The Lapita culture arose around 3500 years ago, and its extent ranged from the Admiralty Islands to Tonga and Samoa. Its origins are contested, but it may well have been a product of another wave of migration from South-East Asia. Lapita society featured renowned pottery, stilt houses, the introduction of domestic animals such as pigs, dogs, and chickens, and substantial developments in agriculture and boat technology, allowing long distance trade to develop. Lapita society, as a distinct culture and extended trade network, collapsed around 2000 years ago.^[4]

The first European to visit the islands was the Dutch navigator Willem Schouten in 1616. The name Admiralty Islands was devised by Captain Philip Carteret RN in 1767.^[5]

Between 1884 and 1914 the area was administered as a German colony. In November 1914, the islands were occupied by troops of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force landed from the SS Siar. A few shots fired from a machine gun on Siar over the heads of the tiny German garrison at Lorengau were the last shots fired in the Battle of New Guinea. After the war, the islands were governed by Australia under a League of Nations mandate.^[6]

Japanese troops landed in the islands on 7 April 1942. In 1944, Japanese forces occupying the islands were attacked and defeated by Allied forces in Operation Brewer. ^[7]

See also

• Admiralty Islands languages

References and Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Admiralty Islands lowland rain forests (World Wildlife Fund)
2. ^ UNEP World Database on Protected Areas: Ndrolowa
3. ^ UNEP World Database on Protected Areas: Mt. Dremsel
4. ^ ^{a b} Spriggs, Matthew (1997), "Recent History (The Holocene)", in Denoon, Donald, The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 52-69
5. ^ Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier,. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, p. 433. ISBN 0-78581-307-1. 
6. ^ Mackenzie, S.S. (1927). Volume X – The Australians at Rabaul: The Capture and Administration of the German Possessions in the Southern Pacific (English). Australia in the War of 1914-1918 pp. 2, 178, 345-366. Australian War Memorial.
7. ^ Frierson, Major William C. (1946). The Admiralties: Operations of the 1st Cavalry Division, 29 February - 18 May 1944. American Forces in Action. U.S. Government Printing Office.

Coordinates: 2°05′S, 146°57′E

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