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Rabaul is the former provincial capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. It was evacuated and nearly destroyed in 1994 when the nearby volcano Tavurvur erupted. As a tourist destination, Rabaul is popular for scuba diving and for snorkeling sites and also offers a spectacular harbor. Because of its war-time history, it attracts many Japanese visitors. This article covers Rabaul and the neighboring town of Kokopo, to which the authorities moved the provincial capital after the eruption.
Rabaul is on the Gazelle Peninsular in the northeast of New Britain island. Most of the indigenous people are Tolais. During the eruption, 80% of the buildings in Rabaul collapsed. Although there has been much reconstruction the city always runs the risk of further volcanic activity.
Rabaul (the word means Mangrove in one of the local languages as it was built on a mangrove swamp) was the headquarters... Read more
Rabaul is the former provincial capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. It was evacuated and nearly destroyed in 1994 when the nearby volcano Tavurvur erupted. As a tourist destination, Rabaul is popular for scuba diving and for snorkeling sites and also offers a spectacular harbor. Because of its war-time history, it attracts many Japanese visitors. This article covers Rabaul and the neighboring town of Kokopo, to which the authorities moved the provincial capital after the eruption.
Rabaul is on the Gazelle Peninsular in the northeast of New Britain island. Most of the indigenous people are Tolais. During the eruption, 80% of the buildings in Rabaul collapsed. Although there has been much reconstruction the city always runs the risk of further volcanic activity.
Rabaul (the word means Mangrove in one of the local languages as it was built on a mangrove swamp) was the headquarters of German New Guinea until captured by Commonwealth troops during World War I. The Australian administration was moved to Lae in 1937 after an eruption that caused over 500 deaths. In January 1942, it was heavily bombed on January 23 thousands of Japanese troops were landed. By 1943 there were about 110,000 Japanese troops based in Rabaul and around 2000 local women were forced into prostitution. The Japanese army dug many kilometers of tunnels as shelter from the Allied air forces and many of these can still be seen today.
On 19 September 1994, Tavurvur and Vulcan volcanoes erupted, destroying the nearby airport and covering most of the town with heavy ash. Fortunately, the city's inhabitants evacuated before the eruption and only a handful of people were killed. Most of the buildings in the southeastern half of Rabaul collapsed due to the weight of ash.
LOCAL TIME
10:48 am
May 25, 2022
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So, what did we know about the country before going? We has heard stories about cannibals, soldiers with caps made of pumpkins and an unfortunate instance about a murdered pig. That is all. Of course, one day to visit the country was not enough. Nevertheless, we took a tour through the village of... |