"In the Mouth of the Volcano" a Rabaul Travel Page by Bwana_Brown

Rabaul was one of the most scenic spots in Papua New Guinea during my 3-years spent in the country. Located at the eastern tip of New Britain Island, it took about 2-hours by turbo-prop airplane to reach Rabaul from Port Moresby - the Capital city located on the main island of New Guinea.

Located in a large volcanic calendria, blasted out by nature sometime in the 6th century, Rabaul has 'played with fire' ever since it was settled by humans. Although long inhabited by native tribes, Europeans first settled in this part of Papua New Guinea in the 1870s when trading stations were set up to service whalers and other mariners who were in search of supplies. Coconut plantations were also well established by 1884 when this island was made a German protectorate.

The first big brush with disaster came in 1937 when one of the volcanoes located on the rim of the caldera suddenly blew, killing 441 people. Other than a small 'burp' in 1941, things were quiet for decades, including from 1979-82 when I was in the area. Things came alive again on Sept. 19, 1994 when two volcanic cones on either side of the 6-km wide caldera began to erupt. Eventually, the town of Rabaul had to be evacuated and a great deal of damage was done to buildings because of the weight of the ash deposited on them. Please check my 'General' tip for a map of New Britain Island and the location of Rabaul.

This is a harbour scene from one of my visits, showing the 'Mother' and 'South Daughter' volcanos to the left and 'Matupit' to the right.