Woodlark Island, known to its inhabitants simply as
Woodlark or
Muyua, is an island in
Milne Bay ProvinceMilne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. The province covers 14,000 km² of land and 252,990 km² of sea, within the province there are more than 600 islands, about 160 of which are inhabited...
,
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. It is called Murua by the inhabitants of some other islands in the province.
Muyuw languageMuyuw language is one of the Kilivila–Louisiades languages , spoken on the Woodlark Island ....
, one of the
Kilivila–Louisiades languagesThe family of Kilivila–Louisiades languages is a subgroup of the Peripheral Papuan Tip languages. It consists of 6 languages.-Components:*Kilivila: Budibud, , Muyuw*Misima-Paneati*Nimoa–Sudest: Nimoa, Sudest...
and part of the Austronesian language family, is spoken on the island.
The wider Woodlark Islands group also consists of
MadauMadau is an island in Papua New Guinea. Its area is 32 km², the highest point is 7 m above MSL. There is only one type of mammal, the kuskus, or Woodlark Cuscus ....
and Nusam to the west, Nubara to the east, and the
Marshall BennettMarshall Bennett Islands are several islands in Milne Bay and considered part of Papua New Guinea.They consist of* Gawa, the main island* Dugumenu* Iwa Island* Kwaiawata* Nagian Island* Wiakau Island* Yanaba Island...
group to the southwest.
Conservation
A plan by the Malaysian company Vitroplant to use 70% of the island for
palm oilPalm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...
production was scrapped after opposition from the islands inhabitants. The project was seen as a threat to
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
organisms on the island. As of 2009, a full wildlife survey of the island had not yet been carried out.
History
Operation ChronicleOperation Chronicle was the Allied invasion of Woodlark and Kiriwina Islands during World War II, in the South West Pacific as part of Operation Cartwheel. An early planning name for this operation was Operation Coronet...
was the name given to the landing of
AlliedThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
forces on Woodlark Island and
KiriwinaKiriwina is the largest of the Trobriand Islands, with an area of 290.5 km². It is part of the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. Most of the 12,000 people who live in the Trobriands live on Kiriwina. The Kilivila language, also known as Kiriwina, is spoken on the island...
on June 30, 1943, during World War II. Within a few months of the landing U.S. Navy Seabees had constructed a major airbase at
GuasopaGuasopa is a village on Woodlark Island, Milne Bay Province Papua New Guinea. It is served by Guasopa Airport....
Bay, known as Woodlark Airfield (later
Guasopa AirportGuasopa Airport , is an airport at Guasopa on Woodlark Island, in the Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea.-History:Built by the 60th US Naval Construction Battalion after Operation Chronicle, the occupation Woodlark Island during World War II. A single x coral surfaced runway was constructed...
).
External links