Wogeo - History and Cultural Relations

Wogeo was discovered by the Dutch navigators Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten in 1616. Regular contact with Europeans did not begin until the late 1800s through traders, plantation labor recruiters, and government agents from New Guinea. In 1905 routine recruiting of plantation workers began; most men served for three to four years off the island. In 1934 a Roman Catholic mission was established. Contact with neighboring groups such as the Manam mostly involved organized trading expeditions every two or three years.