Fire Mountains of the Islands a History of Volcanic Eruptions and Disaster Management in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands
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Fire Mountains of the Islands A History of Volcanic Eruptions and Disaster Management in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands Fire Mountains of the Islands A History of Volcanic Eruptions and Disaster Management in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands R. Wally Johnson Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at http://epress.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Johnson, R. W. (Robert Wallace) Title: Fire mountains of the islands [electronic resource] : a history of volcanic eruptions and disaster management in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands / R. Wally Johnson. ISBN: 9781922144225 (pbk.) 9781922144232 (eBook) Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Subjects: Volcanic eruptions--Papua New Guinea. Volcanic eruptions--Solomon Islands. Emergency management--Papua New Guinea. Emergency management--Solomon Islands. Dewey Number: 363.3495095 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover image: John Siune. ‘Dispela helekopta kisim Praim Minista bilong PNG igo lukim volkenu pairap long Rabaul’. 1996. 85 x 60 cm. Acrylic on paper mounted on board. R.W. Johnson collection. Intellectual property rights are held by the artist. Cover design and layout by ANU E Press Printed by Grin Press This edition © 2013 ANU E Press Contents Tables ix Illustrations xi Foreword xvii Acknowledgements and Sources xxi Volcano Names and Totals xxiii 1. Burning Islands and Dampier’s Voyage: 1700 1 Track of the Roebuck .....................................1 Near Oceania, Melanesia and Melanesians ......................9 Early Ideas about Volcanic Activity ..........................14 Preview .............................................17 2. Volcano Sightings by European Navigators: 1528–1870 21 Saavedra, Retes and Mendaña .............................21 Schouten, Le Maire and Tasman ............................24 Carteret, Hunter, D’Entrecasteaux and Parker Wilson ..............26 European and Melanesian Viewpoints ........................33 3. European Intruders and the 1878 Rabaul Eruption: 1870–1883 39 Blanche Bay and the Tolai ................................39 Miklouho-Maclay .......................................43 Traders, Missionaries and a Gentleman Explorer .................46 1878 Eruption at Rabaul .................................50 Powell’s Voyage and a Possible Eruption ‘Pulse’ .................54 Volcanological Events Elsewhere ............................59 4. Volcanic Events of the German Era: 1884–1914 63 Colonial Partitioning .....................................63 Ritter Island Disaster ....................................65 Hahl and Sapper .......................................71 Time Cluster of Eruptions .................................77 v 5. Australian Colonists and the Volcanoes of Mainland New Guinea: 1849–1938 85 First Impressions .......................................85 British New Guinea and Victory Volcano ......................87 Evan R. Stanley in Papua .................................90 Australians in the Territory of New Guinea after 1920 .............93 Australians in the Territory of Papua before 1938 ................97 6. Calderas, Ignimbrites and the 1937 Eruption at Rabaul: 1914–1940 103 Garrison Life and Volcanoes ..............................103 Australian Expedition along the Bismarck Volcanic Arc ............106 Calderas and Ignimbrites ................................109 Eruption at Rabaul in 1937 ...............................112 Subsequent Investigations at Rabaul ........................119 7. Eruptions during the Pacific War and Postwar Recovery: 1941–1950 129 Fisher and Renewed Activity from Tavurvur ...................129 Kizawa and the Sulphur Creek Observatory ...................131 Eruptions at Goropu Volcano, Papua ........................136 Hiroshima, Surges and Postwar Recovery .....................140 Changing the Volcanological Leadership ......................143 8. Disaster at Lamington: 1951–1952 149 Higaturu and the Orokaiva ...............................149 Build-up to Catastrophe .................................151 Relief and Recovery ....................................156 Seeking Explanation and Meaning ..........................167 Aftermath ..........................................171 9. Tony Taylor and an Eruption Time Cluster: 1951–1966 179 Eruptions of 1951–1957 ................................179 Experiments in Prediction ................................182 Long Island Evacuation of 1953–1954 .......................183 vi Bam Tragedy of 1954–1955 .............................187 Evacuation of Manam and the 1956–1966 Eruptions .............193 Tuluman 1953–1957 and the Obsidian Miners of Lou ............199 10. Plate Tectonics and False Alarms: 1960–1972 207 Advances in Science and Technology .......................207 Gas Emissions from Two Highlands Volcanoes .................212 Volcanic-Disaster Preparations at Wau Township in 1967 .........214 Evacuation from Dawson Strait in 1969 ......................217 Origin of the Dawson Strait Earthquakes and a Note on Volcanic False Alarms .........................................221 Tectonic Earthquakes and the End of the Taylor Era .............224 11. Cooke-Ravian and a Volcanic Resurgence: 1971–1979 231 New Eruption Time Cluster ..............................231 Ulawun and the Threat of Cone Collapse .....................235 Long Island Disaster and Tibito Tephra .......................239 Yomba and Cook: Two ‘Mystery’ Volcanoes ...................245 Fatal Eruption on Karkar in 1979 ..........................246 12. Eruption Alert at Rabaul Caldera: 1971–1994 255 Crisis Build-up and Stage-2 Alert ...........................255 Scientific Responses to the Caldera Unrest ....................263 Worldwide Volcanic Crises and Developments in Risk Awareness ....267 Costs, Benefits and Crisis Decline: 1985–1994 ................273 Volcanic Alert on Simbo Island ............................277 13. Eruptions at Rabaul: 1994–1999 283 First Three Weeks .....................................283 Physical Damage .....................................289 Post Mortem and New Directions for RVO ....................293 Ongoing Eruptions and New Insights ........................298 Restoring the North-eastern Gazelle Peninsula ..................303 vii 14. Eruptions of the Early Twenty-first Century: 1998–2008 311 International Developments and Modern Near Oceania ............311 Ulawun: A Decade Volcano ..............................313 Ulawun 2000: A Short-lived, Powerful Eruption ................316 Pago 2002–2003: An Unexpected Eruption ...................319 Threat of a Caldera-Forming Eruption at Pago-Witori ..............322 Manam 2004–2005: Abandoning a Volcanic Island? .............326 Rabaul 2006 and other Volcanic Crises in 1999–2007 ............330 15. Reassessing Volcanic Risk in the North-eastern Gazelle Peninsula: 2000–2012 341 Restructuring a Society .................................341 Volcanic Hazards ......................................344 Early Warnings and a New Model for Rabaul Volcano .............348 Determining Risk Today .................................351 16. Historical Analysis and Volcanic Disaster-Risk Reduction 359 Patterns in the Historical Record ...........................359 Evacuations, Early Warnings and False Alarms .................363 Artefacts and Oral Traditions .............................367 International Disaster-Risk Reduction .......................372 Observatories and Volcanic Disaster-Risk Reduction .............373 Strengthening At-Risk Communities in Near Oceania .............376 An Epilogue 381 Appendix: Acronyms and Glossaries 383 Index 387 viii Tables Table 1. Volcanoes in Eruption in Near Oceania from 1875 to 1878 58 Table 2. Volcanoes in Eruption in Near Oceania from 1884 to 1899 78 Table 3. Volcanoes in Eruption in Near Oceania from 1951 to 1957 180 Table 4. Volcanoes in Eruption in Near Oceania from 1972 to 1975 234 Table 5. Stages of Volcanic Alert at Rabaul 258 Table 6. VEI Values for Major Eruptions 268 Table 7. Dates of Major Eruptions from Witori (W–K) and Dakataua (Dk) 324 Volcanoes Table 8. Nine Bismarck Volcanic Arc Volcanoes in Eruption or Restless 334 between August 2002 and October 2006 Table 9. Thirteen Evacuations in Papua New Guinea 363 ix Illustrations Volcano Names and Totals Volcanoes of Near Oceania xxiii Chapter 1 Figure 1. Map by William Dampier showing track of the Roebuck in 1700 2 Figure 2. Ulawun volcano on map and sketch by William Dampier in 1700 4 Figure 3. Ritter Island as seen by William Dampier in 1700 5 Figure 4. Long and Crown islands as seen by William Dampier in 1700 7 Figure 5. Portrait of William Dampier 8 Figure 6. New Oceania showing selected volcanoes and modern 11 bathymetry Figure 7. Giant beneath Etna volcano in 18th century engraving 15 Chapter 2 Figure 8. Detail of New Guinea area from the 17th Century chart Insulae 23 Molvccae Figure 9. Manam Island as seen by Abel Tasman in 1643 25 Figure 10. Rabaul volcanoes as seen by Philip Carteret in 1767 27 Figure 11. Rabaul volcanoes as seen by John Hunter in 1791 28 Figure 12. Bagana volcano as seen by John Parker Wilson in 1842 31 Chapter 3 Figure 13. Rabaul Harbour as mapped by Simpson and Greet in 1872 41 Figure