Yos Sudarso Island
{{Short description|Island in South Papua, Indonesia}}
{{Infobox islands
|name = Kolepom
Yos Sudarso, Dolok, Kimaam
|image_name =Yos Sudarso NASA 138.38068E 7.82292S.png
|image_caption =NASA satellite image.
| pushpin_map = Indonesia South Papua
| pushpin_label =
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_relief =
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|native_name =
|native_name_link =
|location = South East Asia
|coordinates= {{coord|7|57|S|138|24|E|type:isle_scale:2500000|display=inline,title}}
|archipelago =
|total_islands =
|major_islands =
|area_km2 = 11742
|rank = 67th
|highest_mount =
|elevation_m =
|country = {{flag|Indonesia}}
|country_admin_divisions_title = Province
|country_admin_divisions = South Papua
|country_largest_city = Kimaam, Merauke
|country_largest_city_population =
|population = 11,000
|population_as_of =
|density_km2 =
|ethnic_groups =
}}
Kolepom Island or Pulau Yos Sudarso is an island separated by the narrow Muli Strait from the main island of New Guinea. It is part of the Merauke Regency, in the Indonesian province of South Papua. The island is leaf-shaped, about {{convert|165|km|abbr=on}} long with an area of {{Convert|11740|km2|abbr=on}}. It was known as Frederik Hendrik Island until 1963. Local and alternative names of the island include Dolok and Kimaam. This is the 11th largest island in Indonesia.
With about 11,000 inhabitants, the island's population density is less than {{Convert|1|/sqkm|round=0.5}}. The native population speaks Kolopom languages, including Kimaghima, Ndom, and Riantana/Kimaan. Communities on the island include Kaba, Kimaan, Kladar, Pembre, Wan, and Yomuka.[http://geofactoftheday.blogspot.com/2015/08/yos-sudarso-island.html Yos Sudarso Island] at GeoFact of the Day, August 21, 2015. Kimaan (or Kimaam) is the main settlement. It lies in the southeast on the Buaya Strait that separates the smaller island of Komoran from Dolak.
History
The island was first sighted by Europeans in about January 1606 when Willem Jansz and his crew on the ship Duyfken rounded it on their way to and returning from their discovery of Australia. Duyfken spent considerable time in the bight in between the island and the mainland. Jansz's map of the expedition describes the island as lowland and muddy land and with the name "Tiuri".T D Mutch, [http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600631h.html#0600631h-06 The First Discovery of Australia With an account of the Voyage of the "Duyfken" and the Career of Captain Willem Jansz.], May 2006 When rounding the prominent southwest cape, jutting into the Arafura Sea, in 1623, Jan Carstensz named it Valse Kaap (Dutch for "False Cape"), a name retained to date (Indonesian Tanjung Vals, English "Cape Vals").E. J. Brill, [https://books.google.com/books?id=CO2Xft4l9IMC&pg=PA604 De Zuidwest Nieuw-Guinea-expeditie 1904/5:], 1908, pp. 603-4
{{stack|File:New_Guinea_and_New_Caledonia_1884_(Papua_New_Guinea).jpg}}
It was considered to be a part of mainland New Guinea until 1835, when between April 26 and May 9 that year the Dutch captains Langenberg, Kool and Banse sailed their schooners Postillon and Sireen through the narrow channels. They named the waterway 'Princess Marianne Strait' (now Muli Strait) and the island after Prince William Frederick Henry, a grandson of the king, who lived in the Dutch East Indies for a while.[https://archive.org/details/reizennaarneder00crabgoog/page/n466 Reizen naar Nederlandsch Nieuw-Guinea], Koninklijk instituut voor taal-, land- en volkenkunde, 1879, pp. 424-426 Until at least 1884 Komoran was thought to be part of Dolak. After the handover of Western New Guinea to Indonesia in May 1963, the Indonesian government renamed the island after the Indonesian naval officer Yos Sudarso, who was in charge of a raid on the New Guinea coastline {{convert|700|km|abbr=on}} to the northwest in January 1962, but was killed in the process.
Languages
The Kolopom languages, part of the Trans-New Guinea language family, and the Mombum (or Komolom) languages, an independent language family, are spoken on Yos Sudarso Island.{{cite book |last=Palmer |first=Bill |editor1-last=Palmer |editor1-first=Bill |date=2018 |title=The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide |chapter=Language families of the New Guinea Area |series= The World of Linguistics |volume=4 |location=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=1–20 |isbn=978-3-11-028642-7}}
References
{{Portal|Islands}}
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