Alotau

Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea

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Alotau is the capital of Milne Bay Province, located on the northern shore of Milne Bay at the southeastern tip of mainland Papua New Guinea.

It sits on a small peninsula in the Coral Sea, surrounded by forested hills and overlooking sheltered waters, and serves as the main transport and tourism hub for one of the country’s most geographically scattered regions, which includes hundreds of islands such as the Trobriands, D’Entrecasteaux, Woodlark, and the Louisiade Archipelago.

Historically, the area around Alotau was the site of the 1942 Battle of Milne Bay, where Allied forces repelled the first major Japanese land advance in the Pacific, and a war memorial in town commemorates that episode. Today Alotau is a small, relaxed port town with a busy wharf that handles both local boats and visiting cruise ships, banks, a supermarket, a lively market, and road and air links to nearby villages and dive‑rich islands, making it a practical gateway for exploring Milne Bay’s coral reefs, World War II relics, and rich Melanesian cultures.