The remote Halmahera island, also called Gilolo or Jailolo, is the
largest island in Maluku (the Moluccas), K-shaped almost like a
miniature Sulawesi. With white sandy beaches, unspoiled forests and the
spectacular Mt Mamuya in the distance, this island offers stunning
scenery. This is a rugged and mountainous landscape and much of the
island is still covered in forest. While the island covers an enormous area of over 17,000 square
kilometers, it is sparsely populated. This island is the core of a
larger region, called Moro that includes the island and the coastline of
Halmahera, and is closest to Morotai to the north.
During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Halmahera was largely
under the dominion of the powerful sultanate of Ternate. In the
mid-sixteenth century, the island was the site of a Portuguese Jesuit
mission, most noted of whom was St. Francis Xavier (known here as St.
Franciscus Xaverius). The Muslim states on Ternate and Halmahera
rejected Christianity, and managed to drive the mission away from the
island in 1571. However its influence remains evident as today half the
population is Muslim and half are Christian.
In the seventeenth century, Ternate further exerted its power over
Morotai by repeatedly forcing major parts of the population to migrate
from the island.
Halmahera had an important role during World War II. It was here that
the Americans started their allied invasions against the occupied
Philippines and South Pacific Islands. General McArthur resided on a
small island close to Daruba where he planned and coordinated countless
air strikes, sea invasions and counter-attacks against the Japanese. The
American Daruba Airlfield has seven runways and can still be sighted
today. Due to the enormous amount of explosives, ammunition and guns
still found in the shallow waters, the island remains out of bounds for
divers. Only designated surveyors dive here.
Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
