Nadzab
| Nadzab | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
 Nadzab
|
|
| Coordinates: 6°32′0″S 146°40′0″E / 6.53333°S 146.66667°E | |
| Country |
 Papua New Guinea
|
| Province | Morobe Province |
| District | Huon District |
| LLG | Wampar LLG |
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10) |
Nadzab Village is in the Markham Valley, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea on the Highlands Highway. The Nadzab Airport is located East of Nadzab Village and was the site of the only Allied paratrooper assault in New Guinea on 5 September 1943.
Nadzab is located on the Erap River, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) North of the Markham River and 42.5 kilometres (26.4 mi)42 km North West of Lae. The settlements of Gabmatsung/Gabmatzung and Gabsonkek are located on the East side of the airport.
The present distribution of grasslands in New Guinea is a product of forest clearance and/or burning by man. Lane-Poole (1925) in on surveying the forest of the lower Markham Valley near Yalu, hypothesised that;
In about 1910 the Gabmatsung/Gabmazung Lutheran mission station was established at Nadzab. and established an airfield for use by small planes until the outbreak of the Pacific War when it became overgrown with dense kunai grass.
In the 1919 the Melbourne Argus newspaper ran this classified advertisement;
Between April 1943 and July 1943, the Allied Geographical Section of South West Pacific Area (command) conducted reconnaissance after the Japanese invasion. The Terrain Handbook states at page 18;
The Landing at Nadzab was the first parachute jump for the 503rd Parachute Regiment on 5 September 1943. In conjunction with the Amphibious Landing East of Malahang, was to be the start of the liberation of Lae from Japanese Occupation.
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