West New Britain Province

Coordinates: 5°50′S 150°0′E / 5.833°S 150°E / -5.833; 150

West New Britain Province
—  Province  —
Flag
Country	Papua New Guinea
Capital	Kimbe
Government
– Governor	Peter Humphreys (2007-)
Area
– Total	8,108.1 sq mi (21,000 km2)
Population (2007)
– Total	184,508
– Density	22.8/sq mi (8.8/km2)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)

West New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea on the islands of New Britain. The provincial capital is Kimbe. The area of the province in 21,000 km², and there are 184,508 inhabitants (2000 census). West New Britain produces palm oil for export. There are seven major tribes, the Nakanai, Bakovi, Kove, Unea, Maleu, Kaulong and Arowe, speaking a total of about 25 languages.

People from West New Britain are widely referred to as "Kombes" throughout Papua New Guinea, in metonymic reference to the significant Kove (or Kombe) people. The Kove people were extensively reported on by the anthropologist Ann Chowning in National Geographic magazine during the 1960s and in consequence a photographic record of their traditional lifestyle has been widely disseminated. Within Papua New Guinea they are most widely noted for their practice of superincision of the penis — circumcision is generally though inaccuratedly referred to among Papua New Guineans as "the Kombe cut" — a practice formerly also in other regions of northern coastal regions of New Guinea island and the New Guinea Islands but which has elsewhere lapsed.

The predominant religious affiliation is Roman Catholic, though there is a sizeable Anglican presence at the extreme western tip of the province and Bishop James Ayong, the recently-retired Anglican Primate of Papua New Guinea, is originally from West New Britain.

There are substantial oil palm plantations on the north coast of the province especially in the Kimbe region, and logging activities in the interior and on the south coast. The Walindi dive resort near Kimbe is a significant tourist destination for overseas visitors to Papua New Guinea.

Districts and LLGs

There are two districts in the province. Each district has one or more Local Level Government (LLG) areas. For census purposes, the LLG areas are subdivided into wards and those into census units.^[1]

District	District Capital	LLG Name
Kandrian-Gloucester District	Kandrian	Gasmata Rural
		Gloucester Rural
		Kandrian Coastal Rural
		Kandrian Inland Rural
		Kove-Kaliai Rural
Talasea District	Kimbe	Bali-Witu Rural
		Bialla Rural
		Hoskins Rural
		Kimbe Urban
		Mosa Rural
		Talasea Rural

Members of the National Parliament

The province and each district is represented by a Member of the National Parliament. There is one provincial electorate and each district is an open electorate. The following table lists Members before and after the 2007 general election.

Electorate	Previous member (party)	2007 winner (party)
West New Britain Provincial	Clement Nakmai (PHP)	Peter Humphreys (NA) [2]
Kandrian-Gloucester Open	David Sui (PNC)	Tony Puana (NGP) [3]
Talasea Open	John Vulupundi (Independent)	Francis Marus (PANGU) [2]

References

1. ^ National Statistical Office of Papua New Guinea
2. ^ ^{a b} "NA ahead on 8". Post Courier Online. http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20070724/news01.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-24. 
3. ^ "All three WNB MPs lose seats to rival candidates". The National. http://www.thenational.com.pg/072407/nation4.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-24.