Kokopo
city
Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain Province 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 (Herbert's Heights), named in honour of Herbert, eldest son of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, 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.
In 2015, a research and conservation project was 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 20 km (12 mi) to the north-west 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.
The public source identifies “Kokopo” as city. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Kokopo and city.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Kokopo”, the useful work is to connect “city” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 21, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q1017369. VIAF identifies the subject as 130391439. The Library of Congress control number is n2004113902. Authority coordinates are -4.350, 152.274. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1994, 1990, 2000 and 1884.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kokopo”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kokopo primary sources, Kokopo archive and Kokopo research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kokopo”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kokopo” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.