New Guinea Ecology History External Link

The island is divided politically along east-west lines, roughly into equal halves. The portions of the island of New Guinea (Irian in Bahasa Indonesia) located west of 141°E longitude are incorporated into Indonesia as the province of Papua. A longstanding active separatist movement has sought independence for the area. The eastern part, Papua New Guinea, has been an independent country since 1975.

Populated by nearly a thousand different Papua Melanesian tribal groups since 45,000 BC, it is the home of the world's oldest independent societies and a staggering number of separate languages, the Papuan languages.

1 Ecology

With some 786,000 km² of tropical land, New Guinea has an immense ecological value: 11,000 plant species; nearly 600 unique bird species, including the birds of paradise; over 400 amphibians; 455 butterflyFor other uses of the term "butterfly", see butterfly (disambiguation). Superfamily Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae Superfamily Papilionoidea: Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae Libytheidae Lyceanidae A butterfly is a flying insect of the o species; marsupialSuperorder Ameridelphia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Superorder Australidelphia Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Marsupials are mammals in which the female typically has a pouch (called the marsupium from whs including bondegezou , Goodfellow's tree kangarooAbout 9; see text. Tree kangaroos are macropods adapted for aboreal life. They are found only in the rainforests of New Guinea, far north-eastern Queensland, and nearby islands, usually in mountainous areas. It is understood that tree kangaroos evolved fr, Huon tree kangaroo, long-beaked echidna, tenkile , alpine wallabyFor the Australian national Rugby Union team, nicknamed the Wallabies see Australia national rugby union team. A wallaby (sometimes (erroneously?) spelt wallabee is any of about 30 species of macropod. Essentially, a wallaby is any macropod that isn't con, cuscus and possumA possum is any of about 25 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupials native to Australia. The name derives from their resemblance to the opossums of the Americas and, unlike most names applied to Australian fauna in the early years of European colonisatis; and various other mammal species. Most of these species are shared, at least in their origin, with the continent of Australia, which was until fairly recent geological times, part of the same landmass. See Australia-New GuineaAustralia-New Guinea also called Meganesia is made up of the continent of Australia and the islands of New Guinea and Tasmania. Although these land masses are separated by the Torres Strait (Australia and New Guinea) and the Bass Strait (Australia and Tas for an overview.

2 History

The first European claim occurred in 1828, when the Netherlands formally claimed the western half of the island. In 1883, following a short-lived French annexation of New Ireland, the self-governing colony of Queensland annexed south-eastern New Guinea. However, the Queensland government's superiors in the United Kingdom revoked the claim, and (formally) assumed direct responsibility in 1884, when Germany claimed north-eastern New Guinea as a protectorate. The first Dutch trading posts were constructed in 1895 and in 1910 they begun work upon a Capital township called Hollandia.

In 1906 the British government transferred total responsibility for south-east New Guinea to Australia. During World War One, Australian forces seized German New Guinea, which in 1920 became a League of Nations mandated territory of Australia. The Australian territories became collectively known as The Territories of Papua and New Guinea (until February 1942).

Netherlands New Guinea and the Australian territories were invaded in 1942 by the Japanese Empire. The Australian territories were put under military administration and were known simply as New Guinea. The highlands, northern and eastern parts of the island became key battlefields in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War Two. Papuans often gave vital assistance to the Allies, fighting alongside Australian and US troops, and carrying equipment and injured men across New Guinea. Following the return to civil administration, the Australian section was known as the Territory of Papua-New Guinea (1945-49) and then as Papua and New Guinea. Although the rest of the Dutch East Indies achieved independence as Indonesia, the Netherlands regained control of western New Guinea.

During the 1950s the Dutch government began to prepare Western New Guinea for full independence and allowed elections in 1959; an an elected Papuan Council took office on April 5 1961. The Council decided on the name of West Papua, a national emblem, a flag called the Morning Star, and a national anthem; these were adopted and the flag was first raised — next to the Dutch flag — on December 1 1961. However, Indonesia invaded on December 18 1961 and annexed the fledgling nation. Under Indonesian control it was known initially as West Irian and then as Irian Jaya.

From 1971, the name Papua New Guinea was used for the Australian territory. In 1975, Australia granted full independence to Papua New Guinea.

In 2001, amid increasing discontent and opposition to Indonesian rule, Irian Jaya was formally renamed "The Province of Papua". However, formal independence was not granted.

3 External link

The Intoxicating Birds of New Guinea by John Tidwell

Islands Melanesia New Guinea

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