Kiriwina

Kiriwina is the largest of the Trobriand Islands in Papua New Guinea.

Geography

The island is about 50 km long and in most places very narrow and tortuous. The west coast of the island forms the eastern boundary of a lagoon. A built by the U.S. Army road leads from the northern tip of island - at Kaibola about Losuisa and Bwadela until after Gilibwa at the southern tip of the island.

According to the 2000 census was 22,163 inhabitants Kiriwina. It gave the following 82 villages and separate facilities ( census units), of which 81 to 25 statistical census tracts ( wards ) grouped ( Gilibwa is expected to further enumeration Vataka on the homonymous island ). Five villages, however, were uninhabited. The largest were Kavataria with 961 and Tukwaukwa with 845 inhabitants. These places are near the (smaller) island main town Losuia on the lagoon coast of the northern part of the island. Losuia is also the capital of the Kiriwina Rural LLG (Local Level Government) Area of the district Kiriwina - Goodenough of Milne Bay Province. For LLG next to the Trobriand Islands are also located in the western subsequent LUSANCAY Islands.

History

During the Second World War ended as part of Operation Chronicle U.S. Infantry on 30 June 1943 Kiriwna and the more eastern Woodlark Iceland. The joint operation with Australia met with no resistance of the Japanese troops. In the following weeks after the amphibious landing American pioneers built a 2000 m long, fortified by a layer of coral airstrip, which was used from August by the Australian Air Force.

Economy

On Kiriwina long been paid for with the banana leaf currency Doba. With increasing contact with the Außenwewelt this is increasingly losing its value and is determined by the currency of the Tola (dollars) displaced.

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