New Britain

New Britain, largest island of the Bismarck Archipelago, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in Papua New Guinea. It is situated 55 miles (88 km) east of the Huon Peninsula of eastern mainland New Guinea. Measuring about 370 miles (600 km) long by 50 miles (80 km) at its widest, the crescent-shaped island has a 1,000-mile (1,600-km) coastline bordered by reefs. From narrow coastal plains it rises to a rugged central mountain spine composed of the Whiteman, Nakanai, and Baining ranges, with several peaks exceeding 7,000 feet (2,100 metres). The island has an equatorial climate. There are three areas of active volcanism: in the extreme west, on the north coast bordering Open and Kimbe bays, and in the northeast on the Gazelle Peninsula near Rabaul, where nearby craters such as Mount Tavurvur and Vulcan Crater present a constant threat to that town, which was formerly the largest settlement on the island. An eruption in 1937 killed 263 people. A 1994 eruption caused Rabaul’s entire population to be evacuated, and the town was buried under volcanic ash; although structural damage was repaired, only a small proportion of the evacuated residents had returned by the early 21st century.

New Britain was sighted in 1616 by the Dutch navigator Jakob Le Maire, who believed it was part of a landmass including New Guinea and New Ireland. His theory was disproved (1699–1700) by the Englishman William Dampier, who named the island, and Philip Carteret, who found St. George’s Channel (east) in 1767. As Neu-Pommern (New Pomerania), the island became part of a German protectorate in 1884. It was mandated to Australia following World War I, taken by the Japanese in 1942, and reoccupied in 1945. It subsequently formed part of the UN Trust Territory of New Guinea and was administered by Australia. It became part of Papua New Guinea in 1975 when that nation attained independence.

The most developed and populous area of the island is the Gazelle Peninsula in the northeast, where, on the rich coastal plains, copra and cocoa are produced on commercial plantations and small plots. These same crops (as well as oil palms) are raised at other points along the coast and shipped from smaller harbours such as Talasea in the northwest. A feature of this development was the success of local cooperative societies. A variety of other crops are grown in village gardens for local consumption. In the interior a system of shifting cultivation is practiced, involving a rotation of plots used only at long intervals. Other island resources are timber, copper, gold, iron, and coal. Area 14,100 square miles (36,500 square km). Pop. (2000) 404,641.