Popondetta

Popondetta, town, eastern Papua New Guinea, southwestern Pacific Ocean. The town, on a tributary of the Girua River, was an Allied air base during World War II; the airfield is now used for civil aviation. In addition, Popondetta is the focus of a road network 300 miles (500 km) long, extending from the port of Oro Bay to Kokoda, in the Owen Stanley Range of the central highlands. The area produces cocoa, coffee, rubber, and palm oil. There is some tourism centred on the nearby peaks, one of which, volcanic Mount Lamington (20 miles [32 km] to the south), erupted in 1951, killing 3,000 people and destroying the town of Higaturu. Popondetta has a high school, a vocational institute, and an agricultural college. Pop. (2000) 19,556.