1943, set out that Goodenough Island, which was garrisoned by an Australian infantry battalion group with attached service groups and two Radar stations, was to be reinforced and prepared as an air force operating base with two landing strips, initially suitable for fighters, but with one being upgraded to handle heavy bombers. The fighter strip was available on 15 June. By the end of July, there were 3,614 RAAF personnel on the island. The bomber strip was completed on 20 October, although it is recorded that the first offensive use of the airfield was on 17 May by Beauforts of No. 100 Squadron RAAF. As a part of Operation Cartwheel, Vivigani Airfield became an important staging point for Australian and American operations in the South West Pacific Area, an objective of which was to attack Rabaul in New Britain, the stronghold of Imperial Japanese forces. RAAF Units active on Goodenough Island RAAF logistics units active on Goodenough Island Culture The four languages of Goodenough (Bwaidoka, Iduna, Diodio, and Buduna or Wataluma) belong to the Milne Bay Family of Austronesian languages. The dominant language, Bwaidoka, was adopted as a lingua franca by the Wesleyan (Methodist) Mission at the turn of the century. At the 2000 census the population was 20,814. List of villages working clockwise around Goodenough Island starting at Vivigani Airfield on the northeast coastal plain, as shown in Google Earth. Vivigani (this is not an actual village per se, although there are several in the vicinity of the airstrip) Bolubolu (the administrative centre) Mataita Faiava Wailagi (United Church mission station and 1–6 Elementary School) Wagifa Kilia Lauwela Auwale Debenefue Diodio Tatala Waibula Ufaufa Wataluma Mission and Plantation Ulutuya Mission Protected area The Oya Madawa Wildlife Management Area in the centre of the island has an area of . It provides a critical landscape function with a relatively high number of endemic, endangered and vulnerable species. The small black dorcopsis (Dorcopsis atrata), the only wallaby known to be endemic to a Pacific island, is endangered and needs careful management. Another species, the agile wallaby (Macropus agilis), was abundant but cannot be found today. See also Battle of Goodenough Island List of volcanoes in Papua New Guinea Goodenough Island Rural LLG References External links Jenness M.A. and Rev. A. Ballantyne. (1920) The Northern D'Entrecasteaux, Oxford University Press. Pacific Wrecks website University of New South Wales News D'Entrecasteaux Islands Islands of Milne