Milne Bay Province takes in the land at the extreme eastern end of Papua New Guinea together with seven groups of islands; the Trobriands, Woodlark, Laughlan, Louisiade Archipelago, the Conflict Group, the Samarai Group and the D’Entrecasteaux Group. The names come from a variety of explorers from as early as 1660.
Madang Province is on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea and has many of the country’s highest peaks and active volcanoes. It also has the widest mix of languages.
The name Jiwaka came about when the first two letters of Jimi, Waghi and Kambia were combined to make a portmanteau word. The province shares its borders with the Western Highlands, Chimbu and Madang provinces. It has three districts—Jimi, North Waghi and Anglimp-South Waghi—and two growing towns, Minj and Banz. Jiwaka was formed by an Act of Parliament in 2009. The centre of Jiwaka is the fertile Waghi Valley, which is surrounded by mountains.
Enga is the highest and is the second most rugged province in Papua New Guinea. Most of the province is over 2000 metres above sea level, but there are also many valleys which feed into the two major river systems that drain the province: the Lagaip, a tributary of the Fly River, and the Lai, a tributary of the Sepik River.
Hela is a smaller province of Papua New Guinea, comprising three districts previously part of Southern Highlands Province. It is home to the Huli Wigmen, who are internationally recognised for their distinctive face paint and elaborate wigs made from human hair.
Chimbu shares its borders with Gulf, Eastern Highlands, Southern Highlands, Jiwaka and Madang provinces. The bustling commercial and administrative centre of Kundiawa perches on a mountainside beside the Chimbu River.
Two islands make up most of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ARB): the larger main island for which the region is named, as well as Buka, separated by the Buka Passage, one of the fastest-running currents in the world. Since 2000, ARB has had a unique status among PNG’s provinces, possessing a greater degree of autonomy. The region encompasses smaller atoll chains with rich fishing waters. Bougainville has its own time zone: it is one hour ahead of elsewhere in PNG.
Central Province occupies the southern side of the Owen Stanley Ranges and the area of coast from Bereina in the north, to Gaire Village in the south. The entire National Capital District sits within the province’s boundaries and Port Moresby doubles as the capital of Central. Its proximity to the National Capital District, has led to significant infrastructure development in the province.
Also referred to as the Admiralty Islands, Manus Province comprises 18-plus islands covering about 2000 square kilometres of land and 220,000 square kilometres of sea. It is Papua New Guinea’s smallest province. Manus Island is the largest of the islands.