Boluminski Highway
Encyclopedia
The Boluminski Highway is the main land transportation route on the island of New Ireland
in Papua New Guinea
. It runs from the provincial capital of Kavieng
for 193 km down the east coast of the island to Namatanai
. From Kavieng it is a sealed road for around 120 km until Bol village, and from there it has a crushed white coral road surface.
Originally named Kaiser-Wilhelm-Chaussee during the German protectorate, it was renamed in 1921 into East Coast Road. After Papua New Guinea gained independence (1975) the Highway was renamed again, this time after Franz Boluminski
who was the German District Officer from 1910 until the First World War. He built a large section of the highway by forcing individual villages along the coast to construct and maintain a section. If a section of the road fell into disrepair the village responsible would be punished by having to carry his sulky with him in it over the substandard section, and then his horse was reharnessed and he continued.
The quality of the highway was not rivalled on the mainland until the 1950s.
New Ireland (island)
New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. It runs from the provincial capital of Kavieng
Kavieng
Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2000, it had a population of 10,600....
for 193 km down the east coast of the island to Namatanai
Namatanai
Namatanai is a town on the island province of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. It is the second largest settlement on the island and connected to the largest and provincial capital of Kavieng by the Boluminski Highway. In 2005, Namantanai was estimated to have a population of 1300 people.During...
. From Kavieng it is a sealed road for around 120 km until Bol village, and from there it has a crushed white coral road surface.
Originally named Kaiser-Wilhelm-Chaussee during the German protectorate, it was renamed in 1921 into East Coast Road. After Papua New Guinea gained independence (1975) the Highway was renamed again, this time after Franz Boluminski
Franz Boluminski
Franz Boluminski was a German colonial administrator.Boluminski was born in Graudenz, Province of Prussia...
who was the German District Officer from 1910 until the First World War. He built a large section of the highway by forcing individual villages along the coast to construct and maintain a section. If a section of the road fell into disrepair the village responsible would be punished by having to carry his sulky with him in it over the substandard section, and then his horse was reharnessed and he continued.
The quality of the highway was not rivalled on the mainland until the 1950s.