Aitape  Sandaun, Papua New Guinea
Location of Aitape in Papua New Guinea
Population:	8,000 (21st)
Established:	1905
Elevation:	5 m (16 ft)
Coordinates:	3°08′S, 142°21′E
Location:	126 km ESE of Vanimo 148 km WNW of Wewak
Aitape from space

Aitape is a small town of about 8,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun province. It is a coastal settlement that is almost equidistant from the provincial capitals of Wewak and Vanimo, and marks the midpoint of the highway between these two capitals. Aitape was established as a station by German colonists in 1905 as part of German New Guinea. During the Second World War the town was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army. Image File history File links Flag_of_Sandaun. ... Sandaun Province, formerly known as West Sepik, is the north-westernmost province of Papua New Guinea. ... Image File history File links Dot-yellow. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Port Moresby Lae Arawa Mount Hagen Wewak Kokopo Rabaul // Many of these figures were taken from the most recent PNG census, which was in the year 2000. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... Elevation histogram of the surface of the Earth – approximately 71% of the Earths surface is covered with water. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... “km” redirects here. ... Vanimo town from the air Vanimo is the capital of Sandaun province in Papua New Guinea. ... “km” redirects here. ... Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik region of Papua New Guinea. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Sandaun Province, formerly known as West Sepik, is the north-westernmost province of Papua New Guinea. ... Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik region of Papua New Guinea. ... Vanimo town from the air Vanimo is the capital of Sandaun province in Papua New Guinea. ... German New Guinea (Ger. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) (Kyūjitai: 大日本帝國陸軍, Shinjitai: , Romaji: Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun), or more officially Army of the Greater Japanese Empire was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945. ...

History

The first Christian missionary arrived in the Aitape area in 1896. It was Societatis Verbi Divini (the Society of the Divine Word) from Germany. By 1914 there were 68 missionaries and 6 new stations established along the coast. The town along with the rest of German New Guinea passed to Australian control after the First World War and became part of the Territory of New Guinea. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Territory of New Guinea was the name given to the Australia-controlled, League of Nations-mandated territory in the north eastern part of the island of New Guinea, and surrounding islands, between 1920 and 1949. ...

Second World War

Main article: Aitape-Wewak campaign

During the Second World War the town was occupied, along with the rest of the Territory of New Guinea, by the Imperial Japanese Army. Combatants Australia United States Empire of Japan Commanders  ?  ? Strength  ?  ? Casualties  ?  ? The Aitape-Wewak campaign took place in northern New Guinea between November 1944 and August 1945. ...

During the recapture American forces bypassed the Japanese 18th Army based at Wewak, taking Aitape on 22 April 1944. A base was developed here and repulsed a major Japanese counter-attack. The Americans were content to hold Aitape and not advance far towards Wewak. There was little or no strategic gain to be had in doing so as the Japanese force based at Wewak no longer posed a real threat – cut off, short of supplies, and weakened from battle and diseases. In mid-1944, General Douglas MacArthur, the American Commander-in-Chief of Allied forces in the South-West Pacific Area, secured an agreement from the Australian government for Australian forces to take over at Aitape. This article is about the American general; for the municipality in the Philippines, see General MacArthur, Eastern Samar. ...

The Aitape-Wewak campaign was the final Australian military campaign on mainland New Guinea. It ran from November 1944 to the war’s end in August 1945. It was fought by the 6th Division, Australian Imperial Force (AIF) with air and naval support. Combatants Australia United States Empire of Japan Commanders  ?  ? Strength  ?  ? Casualties  ?  ? The Aitape-Wewak campaign took place in northern New Guinea between November 1944 and August 1945. ...

Tsunami

Main article: 1998 Papua New Guinea earthquake

In July 1998 the area surrounding the town suffered from an enormous tsunami in which killed over 2,000 people in total. The earthquake, a magnitude 7.0, which triggered the tsunami occurred, just before 7 p.m., on Friday, 17 July 1998, it resulted in a large undersea earth slippage, which then in turn resulted in the tsunami. {| class=wikitable |- Bold text The 1998 Papua New Guinea earthquake was a magnitude 7. ... For other uses, see Tsunami (disambiguation). ... is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

The area worst hit was Sissano village about 8 km west of Aitape. The village was situated on a narrow spit between the coast and a large lagoon. It is estimated that waves with an average height of 10.5 metres passed over the spit into the lagoon.

In Popular Culture

Aitape was the seting for the 2007 film The Condemned, Although the film itself was shot in Queensland. The Condemned is a thriller film directed and written by Scott Wiper, and starring former WWE wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones, and Rick Hoffman. ... Slogan or Nickname: Sunshine State, Smart State Motto(s): Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Anna Bligh (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd...

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