Daru Island

Daru Island

File:Daru-island-whirlwind-cropped.png Daru Island from space
Daru Island (Papua New Guinea)
Geography
Location	Torres Strait
Coordinates
Area
Length	5.0 km (3.11 mi)
Width	3.7 km (2.3 mi)
Highest elevation	27 m (89 ft)
Highest point	unnamed
Country
Papua New Guinea
Province	Western Province
District	South Fly District
LLG	Daru Urban
Largest settlement	Daru (pop. 12879)
Demographics
Population	12879 (as of 2000)
Density	876 /km2 (2,269 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Kiwai

Daru Island is an island in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, the town on the island goes by the same name and is the capital of the Province, housing the vast majority of its population of 20,524 (2009). It is elliptical in shape, with dimensions of 5.0 by 3.7 km², 14.7 km² in area, and up to 27 meters high. The island is separated from the mainland in the north, specifically the mouth of Oriomo River, by the 3.5 km wide Daru Roads. The shortest distance to larger Bristow Island (also called Bobo Island) in the south is 1.3 km.

Daru Island is one of the few of the Torres Strait Islands that do not belong to Australia, but to Papua New Guinea, and it is the most highly populated of all Torres Strait Islands, although scarcely any original Torres Strait Islanders live on the island. The main industry on the island is fishing although only a few fisheries are locally owned. The island has an international airport which is mainly used by Australian aircraft chartered by mining companies for customs clearance or to pick up jet fuel.

History

First recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Luís Vaez de Torres on 5 September 1606.