Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Kokopo-Vunamami Urban LLG. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population of the town increased more than sixfold from 3,150 in 1990 to 20,262 in 2000. Kokopo was known as Herbertshöhe during the German New Guinea administration which controlled the area between 1884 and formally until 1919. Until 1910 it was the capital of German New Guinea. On Sunday, March 29, 2015, a strong earthquake, of a preliminary magnitude of at least 7.5, which at that time was the largest earthquake of 2015, was recorded near Kokopo, and a tsunami warning was issued. This was surpassed a month later by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake, which measured a magnitude 7.8. A research and conservation project has been suggested to study and protect spinner dolphins living around Kokopo beach, as this population may be threatened if construction of a new port for larger shipping lanes is initiated.
Communication links
The remains of the former capital Rabaul are located some to the north-east of Kokopo, when using the Kokopo-Rabaul Highway. There are around 4,000 inhabitants in Rabaul, down from over 17,000 before the latest volcanic eruption. Rabaul Airport, one of Papua New Guinea's largest domestic airports, is located a few kilometres east of Kokopo.
Events
In May, Goroka hosts the PNG Coffee Festival. The Goroka Show event takes place annually around the time of the country's Independence Day. It continues for two or three days. The Goroka Show is the oldest show in Papua New Guinea, over 50 years of "keeping the spirit alive".
Geography
It is a relatively small town, containing a bank, a police station, one of the few airports in the province, several stores, a hospital, a post office, a second-hand market, two food markets and several churches. The Highlands Highway is the only paved road that leads out of it, but there are several smaller, unpaved roads, including one of the roads to Mount Wilhelm. The Wahgi River runs along one side of Kundiawa, and the Simbu River, which runs on and becomes the Wahgi, flows along the other side. The terrain around Kundiawa is very steep and mountainous, and many people walk several kilometres each way to get to Kundiawa from their villages because they don't have access to roads.
