Milne Bay Province

About Milne Bay

Districts

  • Alotau
  • Esa'ala
  • Kiriwin-Goodenough
  • Samarai-Murua

Capital

Alotau

Government

  • Governor -Hon. Titus Philemon
  • Provincial Administrator - Mr. Michael Kape
  • Provincial Treasurer - Mr. Cliff Mailau
Area Total

  • 5,405.4 sq mi (14,000 km2))

    • Population Total

  • 209,054

    • Density

  • 38.7/sq mi (14.9/km2)

    • PCaB Status

    In 2016, Milne Bay Province graduated from PCaB after 10 years of support in areas of financial management and ICT capacity building. The PCaB Advisor has now been moved to Gulf Province, however support is still provided to the province from PCaB headquarter in Port Moresby when requested.

    Milne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. The province covers 14,000 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 about 210,000 inhabitants, speaking about 48 languages, most of which belong to the Eastern Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. Economically the province is dependent upon tourism, oil palm, and gold mining on Misima Island; in addition to these larger industries there are many small-scale village projects in cocoa and copra cultivation. The World War II Battle of Milne Bay took place in the province.

    Culturally the Milne Bay region is sometimes referred to as "the Massim," a corruption of the name of Misima Island. Massim societies are usually characterized by matrilineal descent, elaborate mortuary sequences and complex systems of ritual exchange including the Kula ring. From Island group to Island group and even between close lying islands, the local culture changes remarkably. What is socially acceptable on one island may not be so on another.

    The coral reef systems of Milne Bay are some of the most bio diverse in the world, and as such attract equal attention from dive operators and conservation groups. The D'Entrecasteaux Islands still have volcanic activity, especially around Dobu and Fergusson Islands.

    The waters from the Amphlett group to the Trobriand Islands are poorly charted, and, as a result, are rarely visited by tourists or yachts passing through. On the other hand, the Louissiade Archipelago is a stopover for yachts travelling around the world and ones visiting from Australia. However, the area sees few general tourists. The gold mine at Misima is no longer operational. Mining ended at Misima in 2001, with stockpile milling continuing into 2004. During its life, Misima has produced over 3.7Moz of gold and 18Moz of silver. Operations now are mainly focused on mine-closure requirements and environmental rehabilitation.

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

    District District Capital LLG Name
    Alotau District Rabaraba
    • Alotau Urban
    • Daga Rural
    • Huhu Rural
    • Makamaka Rural
    • Maramatana Rural
    • Suau Rural
    • Weraura Rural
    Esa'ala District Esa'ala
    • Dobu Rural
    • Duau Rural
    • West Ferguson
    Kiriwin-Goodenough District Losuia
    • Goodenough Island Rural
    • Kiriwina Rural
    Samarai-Murua Districtt Misima
    • Bwanabwana Rural
    • Louisade rural
    • Murua Rural
    • Yalevamba Rural