Lorengau is the major town in

Manus Province Manus Province is the smallest Provinces of Papua New Guinea, province in Papua New Guinea in terms of both land area and population, with a land area of , but with more than of water, and the total population is 60,485 (2011 census). The provi ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. The town is located on the edge of Seeadler Harbour on

Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...

, in the

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 40 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-cov ...

, and in 2000 Lorengau was recorded to have a population of 5,829.

History

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

was the site of an observation post manned by No. 4 Section, 'B' Platoon, 1st Independent Company, Australian Imperial Force., who also provided medical treatment to the inhabitants. Manus was first bombed by the Japanese on 25 January 1942, the radio mast being the main target. On 8 April 1942 an Imperial Japanese force consisting of the light cruiser ''Tatsuta'', destroyer ''Mutsuki'' and a troop transport ship ''Mishima Maru'' entered Lorengau harbour, and several hundreds of Japanese soldiers of the 8th Special Base Force, swarmed ashore onto Australia's mandated responsibility. With little and limited resources the Australian 4th section withdrew to the jungle. The Japanese established an administrative base and airstrip. In February 1944 the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n forces launched a six-week campaign to recapture the facility, which was eventually achieved on 18 March 1944. The Americans expanded the Japanese base and constructed a huge naval base at nearby Lombrum, Manus Naval Base. An airstrip capable of handling heavy bombers was constructed at Momote and it was here that the invasion to capture the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

was staged. After the war, the base was scrapped and all equipment was bulldozed into pits or the harbour.

Australian immigration detention centres

In 2017

Manus Regional Processing Centre The Manus Regional Processing Centre, or Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (MIRCP), was one of a number of offshore Australian immigration detention facilities. The centre was located on the PNG Navy Base Lombrum (previously a Royal Aus ...

was closed and the hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers who were indefinitely detained there by the Australian Government were moved, many by force, to three new centres in/near Lorengau. These new centers were West Lorengau Haus, Hillside Haus and East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre. At the time, the new centers were not finished and 60 men were left without a place to stay. Those detained at the new centres were allowed to leave the centres during the day (with restrictions), but could not leave Manus Island. Paladin Group, a multinational security company and service provider (owned and operated by two Australian men, through a Singapore holding company), are contracted to provide IT, security, local transport and some site management for the Lorengau Centres. Paladin's contract is worth over $400 million

AUD The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD; also abbreviated A$ or sometimes AU$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; and also referred to as the dollar or Aussie dollar) is the official currency and legal tender of Au ...

Climate

Lorengau has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

(Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.

Notes

References

* {{PNG Provincial Capitals Manus Province Provincial capitals in Papua New Guinea Populated places in the Islands Region