Though Agats had been populated by the
Asmat people for some time, as a largely waterfront settlement, the first non-native settlement originated in the late 1930s when a Catholic mission was established in the area, and later in 1938 the
Dutch East Indies government established an outpost there. Due to the
Second World War, however, the Dutch abandoned the Agats post in 1942 due to the Japanese presence. In 1953, the Catholic mission was made permanent and the following year the Dutch government of
Netherlands New Guinea established a permanent post in Agats, banning headhunting practices. During this period, Asmat woodcarving became popular, with collectors, museum representatives, ethnographers and scientists visiting the area. On 29 May 1969, the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Agats was established, with American
Alphonse Sowada becoming its first bishop. The
Asmat Museum of Culture and Progress (
Museum Kebudayaan dan Kemajuan Asmat) was opened in Agats in 1973. After Asmat became its own regency in 2002, Agats – being its administrative seat – saw a boost in building due to a need for government facilities and an increase of migrants, largely
Bugis and
Moluccans, with the annual population growth of Agats being as high as 22 percent between 2005 and 2011 compared to 3 percent for Asmat Regency. In recent years, the wooden roads in Agats have begun to be replaced by concrete ones by the regency's government. Following a major famine which struck Asmat Regency, in 2018 Indonesian President
Joko Widodo offered to relocate residents of more remote areas to Agats, though the relocation faced significant resistance. == Geography ==