Oro Province, formerly (and officially still) Northern Province, is a

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The provincial capital is Popondetta. The province covers 22,800 km², and has 176,206 inhabitants (2011 census). The province shares land borders with Morobe Province to the northwest, Central Province to the west and south, and

Milne Bay Province Milne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. The province covers 14,345 km² of land and 252,990 km² of sea, within the province there are more than 600 islands, about 160 of which are inhabited. The province has ...

to the southeast. The province is located within the

Papuan Peninsula The Papuan Peninsula, also known as the Bird's Tail Peninsula, is a large peninsula in Papua New Guinea, southeast of the city of Lae, that makes up the southeastern portion of the island of New Guinea. The peninsula is the easternmost extent of th ...

. Oro is the only province in which the Anglican Church is the major religious denomination. Oil palm is the principal primary industry. William Clarke College also funds people in that area.William Clarke College
Kellyville, NSW, Australia The northern end of the Kokoda Track terminates at the village of Kokoda in the province and the active volcano Mount Lamington. Once the Kokoda Track was taken and provided access from Port Moresby to the hinterland during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the coast of the then Northern District was also the scene of heavy fighting; the Buna, Gona and Sanananda campaigns are particularly well remembered. In January 1951, the province was devastated by the catastrophic eruption at Mount Lamington. The volcano ejected a column of ash up to high. The eruption destroyed many villages, the surrounding vegetation, and killed nearly 3,000 people. The Tufi dive and cultural resort is located on the north coast of the Cape Nelson Rural Local Level Government area and is well known for its diving and the spectacular rias, locally referred to as ' fjords'.

Districts and LLGs

Each province in Papua New Guinea has one or more districts, and each district has one or more Local Level Government (LLG) areas. For

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

purposes, the LLG areas are subdivided into wards and those into census units.

Provincial leaders

The province was governed by a decentralised provincial administration, headed by a Premier, from 1977 to 1995. Following reforms taking effect that year, the national government reassumed some powers, and the role of Premier was replaced by a position of Governor, to be held by the winner of the province-wide seat in the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea.

Premiers (1977–1995)

Governors (1995–present)

Members of the National Parliament

The province and each district is represented by a Member of the National Parliament. There is one provincial

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district or c ...

and each district is an open electorate.

References

{{Authority control Provinces of Papua New Guinea Southern Region, Papua New Guinea