Rabaul
From dKosopedia
Rabaul is a small town on the island of New Britain with one of the finest natural harbors and scariest threats from erupting volcanoes on the planet. With a population of 17,044 (in 1990), the town is located within an active caldera surrounded by volcanoes. The seas off Rabaul offer some of the best diving on the planet.
History
Imperial Germany re-located its capital of colonial New Guinea in Rabaul in 1910. At the end of the First World War, the German possession was given to Australia, which used Rabaul as the capital of the Australian Territory of New Guinea from 1920 to 1941. Volcanic eruptions nearly destroyed the town in 1937 and again in 1994. Heavily destroyed by Allied bombing during the Second World War, the town was rebuilt.
On January 23, 1942, invading Japanese military forces overwhelmed the Australian miltiary garrison defending the town and then established a major Japanese naval and air base for their projected invasion of Australia at Rabaul. The Japanese fortress included 5 airstrips, a float plane base, a submarine base, 15 hospitals and 200,000 troops. British Indian POWs were used to dig some 500 kilometers of of tunnels. When Australian forces took control of Rabaul after the surrender of Japan they took custody of 57,368 Japanese Army personnel, 31, 923 naval personnel and 19,861 civilian workers. They freed 5,589 Indian, 1,397 Chinese, 688 Malayan, 607 Indonesia and 28 European POWs.
July 5, 2002 Election Returns
Candidate | Party | Incumbent | Votes | Percent | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Allan Marat | People's Progress Party | Challenger | 6042 | 59.4% | |
John Rumet Kaputin | Independent | Incumbent | 1751 | 17.2% | |
John Topeono | Independent | Challenger | 1326 | 13% | |
Robin Henry Minding | Independent | Challenger | 333 | 3.3% | |
Paulias Nelson Eddie | National Alliance Party | Challenger | 214 | 2.1% | |
Kachialau Pondrilei Francis Independent | Independent | Challenger | 180 | 1.8% | |
Papat Robin | National Vision for Humanity Party | Challenger | 173 | 1.7% | |
Thomas Tobunbun | Papua and Niugini Union Party | Challenger | 147 | 1.4% |
References
- Gavin Long. 1963. The Final Campaigns. Canberra: Asutralian War Memorial. Pp. 556-557.