Yos Sudarso Island


Pulau Yos Sudarso or Pulau Dolok is an island separated only by the narrow Muli Strait from the main island of New Guinea. It is part of the Merauke Regency, in the Indonesian province of Papua. The island is leaf-shaped, about long with an area of. It was known as Frederik Hendrik Island until 1963. Local and alternative names of the island include Dolok, Kimaam and Kolepom.
With about 11,000 inhabitants, the island's population density is less than. The native population speaks Kolopom languages, including Kimaghima, Ndom, and Riantana/Kimaan. Communities on the island include Kaba, Kimaan, Kladar, Pembre, Wan, and Yomuka. Kimaan is the main settlement. It lies in the southeast on the Buaya Strait that separates the smaller island of Komoran from Dolak.

History

The island was discovered by Europeans in about January 1606 when Willem Jansz and his crew on the ship Duyfken rounded it on their way to and returning from their discovery of Australia. The Duyfken spent considerable time in the bight in between the island and the mainland. Jansz's map of the expedition describes the island as lowland and muddy land and with the name "Tiuri". When rounding the prominent southwest cape, jutting into the Arafura Sea, in 1623, Jan Carstensz named it Valse Kaap, a name retained to date.
It was considered to be a part of mainland New Guinea until 1835, when between April 26 and May 9 the Dutch captains Langenberg, Kool and Banse sailed their schooners Postillon and Sireen through the narrow channels. They named the waterway 'Princess Marianne Strait' and the island after Prince William Frederick Henry, a grandson of the king, who lived in the Dutch East Indies for a while. Until at least 1884 Komoran was thought to be part of Dolak. After the handover of Western New Guinea to Indonesia in May 1963, the Indonesian government renamed the island after the Indonesian naval officer Yos Sudarso, who was in charge of a raid on the New Guinea coastline to the northwest in January 1962, but was killed in the process.

Languages

The Kolopom languages and Komolom languages are spoken on Yos Sudarso Island. The former is part of the Trans-New Guinea language family, while the latter is an independent language family.