Wewak
Wewak | |
|---|---|
 One of Wewak's beaches | |
  Wewak Location within Papua New Guinea | |
| Coordinates:3°33′S143°38′E/ 3.550°S 143.633°E | |
| Country | Papua New Guinea |
| Province | East Sepik Province |
| District | Wewak District |
| LLG | Wewak Urban LLG |
| Established | 1919 |
| Elevation | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 25,143 |
| • Rank | 6th |
| Languages | |
| •Main languages | English,Tok Pisin,Kairiru,Boikin |
| •Traditional languages | Kairiru |
| Time zone | UTC+10(AEST) |
| Location | 260 km (160 mi) fromWuvulu Island |
| Mean max temp | 30.8 °C (87.4 °F) |
| Mean min temp | 24.2 °C (75.6 °F) |
| Climate | Af |
Wewakis the capital of theEast Sepikprovince ofPapua New Guinea.It is on the northern coast of the island ofNew Guinea.It is the largest town betweenMadangandJayapura.It is the see city (seat) of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Wewak.
History
[edit]Between 1943 and 1945, inWorld War II,Wewak was the site of the largestJapaneseairbase in mainland New Guinea. The base was subjected to repeated bombing by Australian and American forces, most notably inone massive attackon 17 August 1943. Directly to the west of the town centre is a peninsula known asCape Wom,which was the site of the surrender of Japanese forces in New Guinea on 13 September 1945. The site now houses a small memorial. The former Japanese airfield is still in use as theWewak International Airport.[1] In August 1945 two war crimes trials were held near Wewak for mutilation and cannibalism. First Lieutenant Takehiro Tazaki was convicted and sentenced to death (later commuted to 5 years imprisonment withhard labour) and another accused was acquitted.[2]
Geography
[edit]The old centre of the town is on a small peninsula, with the rest of the urban area occupying a narrow band of flat land between the ocean and the coastal range of mountains that emerges a short distance inland.
To the east of the town center is a small peninsula on which is located Boram Hospital,[3]andWewak International Airport,which is also known as Boram.
Wewak is linked by road to three villages on theSepik River:Angoram,Timbunke,andPagwi,though the roads are not always in good condition. Also, a coastal highway extends to the west, linking Wewak with the coastal towns ofAitapeandVanimo,which is the capital ofSandaunprovince.
Climate
[edit]Köppen-Geiger climate classification systemclassifies its climate astropical rainforest(Af).[4]
| Climate data for Wewak | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.6 (87.1) |
30.4 (86.7) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.9 (87.6) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31 (88) |
30.8 (87.4) |
31.1 (88.0) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.1 (88.0) |
31 (88) |
30.7 (87.3) |
30.9 (87.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.8 (80.2) |
26.7 (80.1) |
26.6 (79.9) |
26.8 (80.2) |
27.1 (80.8) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.6 (79.9) |
26.6 (79.9) |
27 (81) |
26.9 (80.4) |
26.9 (80.4) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.8 (80.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23 (73) |
23 (73) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.9 (73.2) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.4 (72.3) |
22.2 (72.0) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.9 (73.2) |
23 (73) |
22.8 (72.8) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 143 (5.6) |
144 (5.7) |
165 (6.5) |
181 (7.1) |
208 (8.2) |
191 (7.5) |
166 (6.5) |
161 (6.3) |
177 (7.0) |
216 (8.5) |
207 (8.1) |
157 (6.2) |
2,116 (83.2) |
| Average rainy days | 17 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 215 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Source 1:Climate-Data.org(altitude: 0m)[4] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Weather2Travelfor rainy days and sunshine[5] | |||||||||||||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 °C (84 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea".Pacific Wrecks.Retrieved6 June2010.
- ^Philip Piccigallo: The Japanese on Trial; Austin 1979;ISBN0-292-78033-8(Kap. 7 "Australia and Others" )
- ^"Twenty Gallons of Avgas For Two Lives".Samaritan Aviation.Retrieved6 June2010.
- ^ab"Climate: Wewak – Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table".Climate-Data.org.Retrieved18 December2013.
- ^ab"Wewak Climate and Weather Averages, Papua New Guinea".Weather2Travel.Retrieved18 December2013.
External links
[edit]
Provincialcapitals ofPapua New Guinea | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
