Historically, the island may have lost up to two-thirds of its population between 1850 and 1920, according to Fred Damon, an anthropology professor from the University of Virginia who lived on Woodlark Island in the mid-1970s.
Historicamente, a illa puido perder ata dous terzos da súa poboación entre 1850 e 1920, segundo Fred Damon, un profesor de antropoloxía da universidade de Virxinia que viviu na illa Woodlark a mediados dos anos setenta.