History
In the 1920s prospective gold miners used Salamaua as a staging post to explore for gold in the inland areas. Gold was discovered at Wau and miners came from all over and made for the goldfields via the rough Black Cat Track.
The town was captured by the Japanese on 8 March 1942 during World War II and later retaken by Australian and United States forces led by General Douglas MacArthur on 11 September 1943 during the Salamaua-Lae campaign. During reoccupation the town was destroyed.
Today the villages of Kela and Lagui occupy the site as well as holiday houses, mainly for expatriates based in Lae.
Early in 2007, a video production company from California explored the rain forests of Salamaua. The "Destination Truth" expedition team was looking for the ropen, a cryptid that is described in terms suggesting a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur. The explorers, including the leader Joshua Gates, videotaped a glowing flying object that seemed to correspond to local native ideas about the glowing ropen.
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