The Tami Islands are a small island group located seven nautical miles SSE of Finschhafen in the Huon Gulf (see also Solomon Sea). It is part of today's Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. In the days before European contact, its natives were known throughout the Solomon and South Sea islands for their distinctive wooden bowls, their cult figure carvings, and their ceremonial masks. During World War II, the islands were briefly occupied by the Japanese; Tami Islands were secured after the landings and Nassau Bay, Lae and Nadzab.