Time Traveller

On September 19, the eruptions of the Tavurvur and Vulcan volcanoes on the Gazelle Peninula in East New Britain almost completely wiped out the then provincial capital of Rabaul and nearby villages. Amazingly, only five people died, because the population had been evacuated earlier. The Lakunai airport and town area was blanketed in a thick coating of ash that caused most buildings to collapse, as shown in this photograph, taken a few days after the rumblings. The main street of Mango Avenue can still be clearly seen and the two structures that remained more or less intact, and were surprisingly still in use years later, were the Kaivuna Resort Hotel (bottom right) and the Rabaul Travelodge (centre). — JOHN BROOKSBANK