Country Papua New Guinea LLG Arawa Rural LLG Mean max temp 32 °C (90 °F) | District Central Bougainville Time zone AEST (UTC+10) Local time Tuesday 1:59 AM | |
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Location 12 km (7.5 mi) from Arawa Weather 23°C, Wind W at 0 km/h, 93% Humidity Province Autonomous Region of Bougainville | ||
Kieta is a port town located on the eastern coast of the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, near the township of Arawa. After extensive destruction during the 1990 Civil Uprising on Bougainville, Kieta has few inhabitants now, and is known mainly for its transport connections (wharf and airfield).
Contents
Map of Kieta, Papua New Guinea
History
On 17 May 1885, agreements were made between Germany and the United Kingdom over the islands of Bougainville and Buka in the area of the German sphere of interest. On 20 September 1905 a station was built with a post office and customs. Since 1902, there was a Catholic mission station in Kieta.
Kieta was occupied by the Japanese during the Second World War.
The majority of the town was destroyed in the 1990 Civil Uprising on Bougainville. The airfield has a 5,400 feet (1,600 m) runway which was used by the Japanese in World War II, and was recently serviced by Air Niugini until 1990. Since then, the only aircraft to service the area have been the Royal Australian Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Forces (C130 Hercules) in support of the Peace Monitoring Group.
A number of Papuan languages are spoken in the Kieta district, such as Naasioi.
Climate
Kieta has a mean maximum temperature of 32 °C (90 °F), mean minimum temperature of 23 °C (73 °F), and annual rainfall of 3,037 mm (119.6 in).