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Location
Locatd on the north coast of New Guinea, with Morobe Province to the south and East Sepik Province to the north.
Wartime History
The Japanese occupied the town and surrounding area on January
1, 1943. During the war, Lt. General Hatazo Adachi, commander of Japanese XVIII
Army briefly had his HQ at Madang. Also the 20th and 41 Division of the
Japanese Army were stationed in Madang.
There are some interesting
WWII sites in Madang and along the North Coast Road and in Alexishafen. These
bases were bypassed by American forces, and not invaded until much later
when Australian 15 and 21 Brigades and 7th Division recaptured Madang
on April 25, 1944, and Alexishafen on April 26, 1944. The coastal waters
around this area of the north coast contain several shipwrecks and sunken
planes.
Inland is Dumpu, the base from where the attack
on Shaggy Ridge was launched by Australians. The Finnesteire Mountain between
Madang and Lae was where many Japanese died of starvation and
disease while fleeing from battles to the south. Some of the
Papuan people who live in these areas are almost small enough
to be termed pygmies, and their highland homes are in some of
the roughest country in PNG.
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Madang Area |
Madang |
Occupied by
the Japanese, liberated by Australians |
Madang Harbor |
Harbor and ofshore islands |
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Ship wrecks
and sunken planes for SCUBA divers |
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Village
south of Madang, along Astrolabe Bay. |
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Village
south of Yabobo, along Astrolabe Bay. |
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Located
on Astrolabe Bay, south of Madang |
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Coastal village on Astrolabe Bay south of Madang |
Kepler Point |
North coast of New Guinea, south-east of Madang |
Astrolabe Bay |
Bay to the south-east of Madang |
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Ofshore Islands |
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Island
ofshore Madang with wreckage of MIA P-38 |
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Island off Madang Harbor, B-25 sunken wreckage |
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Japanese had a supply base |
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Island ofshore from Madang, to the north-west |
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Island ofshore from Madang |
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Alexishafen Area |
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Japanese lookout |
Alexishafen |
Japanese airfield,
anti-aircraft batteries and harbor |
St Fidelis College |
Former Alexishafen mission at Alexishafen |
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Secondary Japanese
airfield near Alexishafen |
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Located to the north of Alexishafen |
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Inland Areas |
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Australian battle inland approach in the mountains |
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MIA B-24 wreck
discovered in 1989 |
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Village where A-20 "Hell'n
Pelican" force landed |
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Inland airfield
along the Ramu River |
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Inland village
with aircraft wrecks. |
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North Coast |
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Japanese occupied
base and airfields |
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Japanese airfield
and prewar strip at Hansa Bay |
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Japanese airfield
at Hansa Bay |
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Town located
sw of Hansa Bay |
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Harbor
between Bogia and Madang |
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Village
near the north coast, west of Kar Kar Island |
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Mountains with
aircraft crashes and MIA sites |
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Finisterre Area |
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Mountain
chain with aircraft crashes and MIA sites |
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Developed into a large American base. |
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Highland town
that had a brief role in the war. |
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Last Updated
April 30, 2009
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