Manokwari

For the regency (kabupaten), see Manokwari Regency.

Manokwari
—  City  —
Left top to bottom: Manokwari Skyline; Swiss-Belhotel International;A cruise ship at Manokwari Harbor Center: Rendani Airport Right top to bottom: Japanese Veterans Memorial at Table Mountain (West Papua); The Bank Negara Indonesia Tower and the financial district; Pantai Abasi; view of Manokwari from Swiss-Belhotel
Manokwari Location of the town in the Bird's Head Peninsula
Manokwari Location of the town in Indonesia
Coordinates: 0°52′S 134°05′E / 0.867°S 134.083°E / -0.867; 134.083
Country	Indonesia
Province	West Papua
Regency	Manokwari Regency
Population (2010)
– City	136,302
– Metro	286,079
Time zone	WIT (UTC+9)

Manokwari is a city in Indonesia. It is the largest city and, since 2003, the capital of the province of West Papua, at the western end of New Guinea. The city has many resorts and is a major tourist area. It is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manokwari–Sorong. It is also the administrative seat of Manokwari Regency. The city is also included of the Manokwari-Northeastern Bird's Head Peninsula MSA. It is the largest city in the metro area. The city is also a major port, financial center, and tourist area that is important to West Papua and the Eastern Indonesia.

Demographic Information

There are over twenty-four different tribal groups living in Manokwari. Each tribe has its own unique language and culture. The most prominent of the tribal groups are the Asmat and the Dani tribes people. The traditional house of Papua is the Honai, a rounded house made of a wood and grass roof covering. Due to the variety of cultures in Manokwari, several different regional instruments have been popularized to include the Atowo, Tifa and the Fu. Manokwari is a urbanized region, but in several of the regencies you can still find traditional garb. A Koteka is a hollowed out gourd used by tribesmen to cover their genitals. These tribal people are well-known for their wooden sculptures of virility and beauty. These sculptures are sold both locally and globally and are part of Manokwari's exports. Among the other tribes are Kuri, Simuri, Irarutu, Sebyar, Mascona, Mairasi, Kambouw, Onim, Sekar, Maibrat, Tohit, Imeko, Moi, Tipin, Maya, and Biak. ^[1]

University

The State University of Papua was established on November 3, 2000. This university was created help with the local education of the people of Papua. Among their achievements is the Beccariana, an academic journal published by the university ^[2]. This publication contains all the research done by the university in the field of herbalism. The university is strategically located on a hill facing the city, surrounded by a dense tropical rain forest. This allows the researchers instant access to the biological samples and case studies.^[3]

History

On April 12, 1942, a Japanese convoy steamed into Dore Bay and began landing approximately 4,000 men. At the beginning of 1942, the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) garrison at Manokwari consisted of approximately 125 KNIL troops, which included a number of civilians reservists and home guard who had been called up at the start of February 1942.^[4] As the KNIL ground force had no chance of successfully engaging the Japanese invasion force, it withdrew into the interior of Dutch New Guinea and initiated guerilla warfare.^[4]

Climate

Manokwari Monthy Climate Chart

Manokwari is three meters above sea level on the coast of West Papua. Its average temperature is 26.3 °C or 79 °F and its temperature fluctuation is only 1 °C. It receives a 2597mm of rain per year, approximately 216mm per month. It is located close to 53 degrees south of the equator and has a 86.3% average humidity. The annual sunshine hours is 2127; an average of 5.8 hours of sunlight per day. To date there are no recorded days of frost or snow fall in Manokwari.^[5]

Airport Accident

On 14 April 2010, Merpati Nusantara Airlines flight MZ 836, a Boeing 737-300 (registration PK-MDF) with 103 persons on board, broke into pieces as it bounced off the tarmac at Rendani Airport near Manokwari after landing in poor weather. The tail of the aircraft broke off and came to rest in the creek off the northern end of Runway 35. All passengers survived, but 21 injured people were admitted to hospital. The flight originated in Sorong, West Papua.^[6][7]

Natural Disaster

On January 5, 2009 a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Manokwari. At 04:43 UTC + 9 as far away as Australia a 35KM deep earthquake killed four people. The earthquake injured 19 more and 167,000 people were left without power. Local residents were evacuated to Manokwari Military Academy in order to seek shelter from possible tsunamis and aftershocks that were felt throughout the day. Amongst the damage, structures included Mutiara Hotel, the Navel hospital, and several other buildings. Manokwari Regional Airport had significant damage being closest to the epicenter and all four deaths resulted there. Among the deaths was a four year old girl Yolanda Mandofi. Indonesian government sent a team of seven doctors to Manokwari to assist with the wounded. Originally, the team was projected to be ten people, but due to the severe damage of the runway only seven were able to be transported in.^[8] This was not unlike the previous quakes in October 10, 2002 when another 7.6 magnitude quake shook the region. In 1996 similar quakes also halted progress in the local region but, there is not record of the recorded magnitude. ^[9]

Sister Cities

City	Country
Podgorica	Montenegro
Thimpu	Bhutan

Notes

1. ^ Discover Indonesia, 23 October 2011
2. ^ Beccerina, 23 October 2011
3. ^ State University of Papua, 23 October 2011
4. ^ ^{a b} L, Klemen (1999-2000). "The capture of Manokwari, April 1942". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942. http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/manokwari.html. 
5. ^ Climate and Temprature, 23 October 2011
6. ^ Plane skids off runway in Indonesia, ABC Online, 13 April 2010
7. ^ Merpati Boeing 737 skids off the runway at Manokwari, Miyuru ( K FLYER ), airlineindustryreview.com, 13 April 2010
8. ^ Health Ministry sends Makassar medical team to Manokwari, 23 October 2011
9. ^ Earthquakes lay waste to Manokwari, kill four, 23 October 2011

See Also

Roman Catholic Diocese of Manokwari–Sorong Manokwari Metropolitan Area State University of Papua Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Table Mountain (West Papua) Rendani Airport Manokwari Regency West Papua (province) Bird's Head Peninsula References L, Klemen (1999-2000). "Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942". http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/index.html.  Coordinates: 0°52′S 134°05′E / 0.867°S 134.083°E / -0.867; 134.083