ADMIRALTY ISLANDS  , a group of about forty islands lying north of New Guinea, between 1° and 3° S., and 146° and 148° E., within the Bismarck Archipelago, belonging to Germany . The largest, Manus, is about 6o m. in length, and its highest point is about 3000 ft. above the sea; the others are very small, and rise little above sea-level . Most are of coral formation, but the hills of Manus are believed to be extinct volcanoes . The islands were discovered by the Dutch in 1616, and visited in 1767 by Philip Carteret; but no landing seems to have been effected, owing to the surrounding reefs, until the arrival of the " Challenger " in 1875 . The natives are of the Papuan type, but show signs of mixed origin . They are cannibals, and many murders of whites have taken place .