Kokopo

Kokopo
Satellite image
Kokopo Location within New Britain and Ireland
Coordinates:
Country	Papua New Guinea
Province	East New Britain
District	Kokopo District
LLG	Kokopo-Vunamami Urban
Elevation	4 m (13 ft)
Population (2000)
• Total	20,262
• Rank	8th
Languages
• Main languages	Kuanua, Tok Pisin, English
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
Location	20 km (12 mi) from Rabaul
Mean max temp	31.0 °C (87.8 °F)
Mean min temp	23.3 °C (73.9 °F)
Annual rainfall

Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. 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 the German colonial administration.

On Sunday, March 29, 2015, a strong earthquake, of a preliminary magnitude of at least 7.5, which if confirmed would be the strongest earthquake in the world up to that point for 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.

Communication links

The remains of the former capital Rabaul are located some 20 km (12 mi) to the north-east of Kokopo, when using the Kokopo-Rabaul Highway. There are still some 4,000 inhabitants in Rabaul, down from over 17,000 before the latest volcanic eruption.

Rabaul Airport (also called Tokua Airport), one of Papua New Guinea's largest domestic airports, is located a few kilometres east of Kokopo.

PNG Hunters

The Papua New Guinea Hunters (PNG Hunters) are a rugby league football club based in Kokopo. They were established in 2013 and currently compete in the QRL's Entrust Super Cup. The Hunters' home ground is Kalabond Oval in Kokopo and their team colours are red, black and gold.