The northern part of Dutch New Guinea was occupied by Japanese forces in 1942. Allied forces drove out the Japanese after amphibious landings near Hollandia, from 21 April 1944. The area served as General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters until the conquest of the Philippines in March 1945. Over twenty U.S. bases were established and half a million US personnel moved through the area.
In 1945, the Dutch made Hollandia the capital of Netherlands New Guinea. After the territory was handed over to the United Nations, on 1 October 1962, the city became known by the Indonesian name Kota Baru, and retained the name when Indonesia took control, on 1 May 1963. The city was briefly renamed Sukarnopura, after President Sukarno, until the end of 1968, when it acquired its present name.
Jayapura was struck by the Aitape Tsunami after the 1998 Papua New Guinea earthquake.
Religious history
On 12 May 1949, the Apostolic Prefecture of Hollandia was established in the city. In 1963, it was renamed as the Apostolic Vicariate of Kota Baru. In 1964, it was again renamed as the Apostolic Vicariate of Sukarnapura. It was promoted in 1966 as the Diocese of Sukarnapura, renamed in 1969 as the Diocese of Djajapura, and finally renamed in 1973 as the Diocese of Jayapura.
Sport
Jayapura is the home of the Persipura, a professional football club that has produced many famous Indonesian footballers and have won the Indonesia Super League once in the 2008�09 season. Persipura plays its home matches in the Mandala Stadium
