September 16th 1975

It was a truly moving ceremony and indeed a grand finale to Australian rule in Papua New Guinea.
Tears fell freely for many, a moment they shall never forget, as the Australian flag came down for the last time.
Just after 5pm on Monday, September 15, 1975, George Ibor, Warrant Officer, 2nd Class, of the 1st Pacific Islands Regiment, stepped into the centre of the Hubert Murray Stadium in Port Moresby.
A military band, accompanied by the percussion of a thousand clicking camera shutters, played “Sunset” as Warrant Officer Ibor lowered the Australian flag, folded it and handed it to Sir John Guise, the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea.
Australian colonial rule in Papua New Guinea had ended.
Sir John stressed that the flag was being lowered and not torn down, and that the years of transition from Australian rule to Independence had been happy and peaceful.
Sir John Kerr, the Australian Governor-General, taking the liberties with history that such occasions permit, asserted that Papua New Guinea and Australia had “by and large” worked in harmony, and had thus avoided the policies and relationships which had proved so tragic elsewhere.
At midnight on Tuesday, September 16, 1975, Governor-General Sir John Guise declared: “Distinguished guests, visitors from overseas, people of Papua New Guinea.
“Papua New Guinea is now independent. The constitution of the independent state of Papua New Guinea, under which all power rests with the people, is now in effect.
“We have at this point in time broken with our colonial past and we now stand as an independent nation in our own right.
“Let us unite, with the almighty God’s guidance and help, in working together for a future as a strong and free country.”
At one minute past midnight, fireworks resembling the twin plums of a Bird of Paradise heralded the start of a new day, a new era and a new Nation State.
Simultaneously, a 101-gun salute from HMAS Stalwart of the Royal Australian Navy occurred accompanied by HMNZS Tarenaki.
On the morning of the first day of Independence for Papua New Guinea, flag raising ceremonies took place throughout the nation.
The ceremony in Port Moresby was conducted at Independence Hill overlooking the main city centre.
International guests in national dress and western dress assembled for the occasion.
Former Administrators D.O. Hay and J.K. Murray, and former Minister for External Territories C.E. Barnes were among the spectators.
Prince Charles unveiled a plaque to mark the site of the new National Parliament building.

The Governors-General of Papua New Guinea and of Australia followed by the Commander of the Defence Force Ted Diro and Police Commissioner Pious Kerepia inspected the plaque, which was followed by the planting of trees.
The Papua New Guinea flag was presented by the Governor-General to the Commander of the Defence Force and the Police Commissioner.
It was placed over three drums from the 1st Battalion Pacific Islands Regiment Band and blessed.
The Flag Party and guards slowly marched up Independence Hill and hoisted the new nation’s flag above the plaque commemorating the ceremony.
Prince Charles later officially opened the First National Parliament of Papua New Guinea.
He read a goodwill message from the Queen, and officially opened the first National Parliament.
He looked to a future of promise, opportunity and individual freedom, and reminded the elected representatives of the great burden of responsibility which they had shouldered.
The action moved back to the Hubert Murray Stadium where a crowd of 14,000 witnessed a long and colourful ceremony during which the country’s political and legal leaders pledged their allegiance and loyalty to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea,
Governor-General Sir John Guise was sworn in by the Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea, Sir Sydney Frost.
Deputy Prime Minister Sir Albert Maori Kiki was sworn in by the Governor-General, and the Prime Minister Michael Somare signed a Declaration of Allegiance.
Members of Parliament were sworn in by the Governor-General.
Cultural aides from Sogeri Senior High School represented Papua New Guinea in a ceremonial gift exchange with representatives of many nations, international organizations and the United Nations.
Messages from many lands expressed goodwill towards, and recognition of, the new nation of Papua New Guinea.
Prime Minister Michael Somare held a press conference where he preached the virtues and necessity of “pulling up our socks” to a largely sockless nation.
He also stressed a commitment to self-reliance while Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam gave a “categorical and unequivocal” assurance that Papua New Guinea would have first call on Australia’s aid program.
Celebrations continued throughout the land.
On Wednesday, September 17, the Royal Australian Air Force and Air Niugini carried the Royal Party on its tour of five provinces throughout the mainland: East Sepik, Eastern Highlands, Chimbu, Western Highlands and Western.
People returned to their villages, put away their spears, kundus (hand drums) and bilas (finery) and recommenced the familiar daily round.
What would Independence bring to them?
Only time – now 33 years – would tell.

Rural Papua New Guinea remains in the dark after 33 years of independence

It is one of the greatest ironies that Papua New Guinea, with all its fast-flowing rivers and streams, does not have rural electricity.
Rural electricity remains a far-off dream after 33 years of independence.
In September 1976, a year after independence, Public Utilities Minister Donatus Mola announced ambitious plans for rural electrification.
To this day, those dreams have not been fulfilled and rural electrification remains a political football.
In hindsight, rural electrification could have assisted in breaking down the rural-urban drift and the ensuing massive social problems experienced over the last 30 years.
It could have meant more opportunities and new fulfillment for the people when integrated with all aspects of development: agricultural, village, industrial, social and economic.
“The present plan is that where it is shown to be feasible, micro-hydro power will be developed in rural areas and from the station, distribution lines will be spread out to those places demanding the service,” Mr Mola said in 1976.
“In time, the distribution line will link together all the various micro-hydro stations, so that the second step can take place where one major hydro-electric power station can link up all the distribution lines and the minor power plants can be moved to a new area where the same plan commences.
“Thus, the spread of development depends on the needs of the consumer and his demand for the power produced.
“The distribution of this power must rest in the hands of the provincial authorities so that the people not only receive but actually own the power that is generated within their province.
“Any profits will be ploughed back into improving the living standards of the people of the province.
“The way that I anticipate that this will be done is that the National Government will arrange loan funds from various sources for the capital cost of the micro-hydro electric power stations or transmission from existing power sources.
“The province will utilise the profits from the sale of the power from existing power sources to distribute power to the villages, so spreading power to the villages according to the wishes and needs of their own people.
“The province will also be required to pay the loan for capital equipment.
“In this way, the province can feel that its people are the real and true owners of the power supply and that they determine the use to which the power is put.”
Mr Mola stressed: “It is not a dream, but a target for achievement.
“We can do it, we must do it if we are to function as a Government of the people, for the people, and it is my declared intention that we should do it, starting now we should light into the lives of our people, joy to their hearts and prosperity to their lives by bringing power to the villages.”
Rural PNG remains in the dark after 33 years of independence.

Happy Birthday Moasing

My only daughter, Moasing, the apple of my eye and my beautiful little Princess, turns 4 years old, on Wednesday, August 13th.

Sadly, her beautiful Mum, my late wife Hula, will bot be around to celebrate with us as she passed away on Easter Sunday this year.

Happy birthday, anyway, Moasing, from Mum, Dad, and your three brothers Malum Jr, Gedi and Keith.

Happy Birthday to Me

I turn 41 on Saturday, August 9th, 2008.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Memories of 1975

Where were you in 1975?
That is the question many people will be asking each other as Papua New Guinea celebrates 33 years of independence on September 16 this year.
Many others – the majority – will simply say “I wasn’t even born then”.
I was in Goroka in 1975 and can fondly say that it was one of the best years of my life.
The first thing that struck me about Goroka was the beautiful flowers, shrubs and roaring streams.
I was then seven years old, bound to turn eight later that momentous year, but the memories are still there – albeit fading – 33 years on.
The family of my mum, dad, elder sister, elder brother, my younger sister and me disembarked from an Air Niugini F27 Fokker Friendship one cold January morning in 1975.
I took my first breath – fresh, cool and clean mountain air – of what would be our home for the next three years until the end of 1977.
Back in 1975, mum, dad and my elder siblings were no newcomers to Goroka and the then Eastern Highlands District.
Mum and dad came here as newly weds to Iufi Iufa primary school, Asaro Valley, in the early 1960s.
My father Mathias was a school inspector and an ex Dregerhafen and Sogeri schoolmate of one Michael Somare while my Moasing mother was a missionary-trained nurse.
It was here that my elder sister Alison and my elder brother David were born.
I have so many pleasant memories of growing up in Goroka.
In those pre-independence and immediate post-independence days, colonialism was still in the air, hence, there being so many expatriates.
Goroka was a neat, well-planned colonial town, which – like Lae and Kainantu – was built around the airport.
And the airport then was a hive of activity, especially given Goroka being the base of Dennis Buchanan’s Talair and ex-Vietnam veteran Mal Smith’s Pacific Helicopters.
Throwing Frisbees and flying kites in the park, riding bikes, chasing muna (those seasonal beetles eaten by the locals), buying sweets, comic and books at West Goroka and dreaming on those endless summer afternoons in December were among our great passions.
Comic book trading – Donald Duck, Phantom, Walt Disney, Ritchie Rich, Casper The Friendly Ghost, Wendy The Good Little Witch, Bugs Bunny…and I could go on and on with the characters – was a way of life among us kids in those days.

I have no qualms that I learned more English and the nuances of grammar from those comic books than from school.
Professional boxing was all the rages in those days of inimitable fighters like Martin Beni, the late John Aba, his brother Tony, Mark Apai and the lot.
Through the late Norm Salter – the great fight promoter – Goroka was able to host its share of professional and amateur bouts as well as wrestling matches featuring men, women and even midgets from overseas.
Goroka’s YC Hall was the equivalent of Madison Square Gardens in the US - the true centre of boxing in the country.
The YC was also the centre stage for basketball in those days with national championships being held there in 1975, 1976 and 1977.
The showground, now the National Sports Institute, saw bone crushing rugby league matches as well as aerial rules football contests.
Of course, nothing in Goroka would be complete without the annual show, a colorful extravaganza of singsings, agricultural produce and those wonderful show bags we loved so much.
The West Goroka Theatre, now the NSI gymnasium, was where we would sit on old coffee bags and watch those good old Bruce Lee and James Bond movies, as well as thrillers like Airport ’75, Jaws, Towering Inferno and King Kong – the place being literally packed to the rafters.
Radio then was king – there being no such thing as EMTV or video – and it was a joy to listen to the Sunday night dramas, Grade 10 quizzes and the live coverage of rugby league and other sports on the National Broadcasting Commission’s Medium Wave transmission.
Yes, indeed, life was a wonderful dream for us who grew up in Goroka at the time.
Of course, in 1975, independence was in the air.
Young men who championed the cause, like Michael Somare, were treated with disdain by the lapuns and old colonials, who argued that independence, would be a catastrophe.
Little PNG flags and independence t-shirts and caps were very fashionable.
At school the teachers would ask us, one by one, to give our individual oratories about this thing called independence.
That year, in April, there was excitement all around the brand new PNG currency was introduced.
Shiny 10 and 20 toes coins were all the rage among us kids.
The venerable Australian dollars and cents, which had become part of our lives, continued to be legal tender until after independence.
Also that eventful year, by quirk of fate, a big frost in Brazil – the world’s biggest coffee producer – saw prices skyrocket.
It was a cause to celebrate with fortunes being made overnight, especially in the Highlands.
At the West Goroka shopping centre just down the road from where we lived, it was a common sight to see villagers in as tanget (leaf coverings, which were worn widely in those days instead of clothes) with huge wads of cash going on an orgy of spending, buying big cow legs, beer and stereos for the inevitable parties that followed.

These all added to the big party that was 1975.
September 15, 1975, was the last day for PNG to come under colonial rule
We sat up until 12am on September 16, when Governor-General Sir John Guise did the Proclamation of Independence, broadcast live over the ever-reliable NBC:
“Papua New Guinea is now independent.
“The Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, under which all powers rest with the people, is now in effect.
“We have at this point in time broken with out colonial past and we now stand as an independent nation in our own right.
“Let us unite, with almighty God’s guidance and help, in working together for a future as a strong and free country.”
And then the fireworks exploded into the Goroka night sky to herald the start of a new day, a new era and a new Nation-State.
It was a time for celebration, but also a poignant occasion, as the Australian flag came down for the last time.
In addition, many a tear was shed by the lapun man/meri (old men/women) as that great icon of colonialism was lowered.
Today, 33 years later, Goroka is still a beautiful place.
In fact, I spent four years there from 1998 to 2002, finding myself back on my childhood stomping grounds.
It was like arriving at a place I’d never left!
Memories of another day, those oh-so-happy childhood days, came rushing back.
And nostalgia filled my heart every time I saw something that reminded me of those blissful days.
Goroka still hasn’t lost its basic shape of 1975, 1976 and 1977 and still has that colonial feel about it.
Goroka, to me, is home.
After all, my siblings and I were born, raised and educated here.
In later years, my wife and I spent four wonderful years in Goroka, and it was there that my two elder sons were born.
I dream of a golden future for this pleasantly agreeable town with its perennial spring climate, majestic sentinel-like mountains and bouquet of perfumed flowers.

Warning of over government

Just one year after independence, in September 1976, Governor-General Sir John Guise warned that provincial governments could only lead to a lower quality of service going to the people.
He also spoke about the need to stop importing food as well as that for good public service.
The great statesman’s words ring true today as we celebrate 33years of independence on September 16
"In principle,” Sir John said,” provincial government is good and may perhaps give provinces the flexibility they desire and adequate scope for running their own affairs within a united Papua New Guinea.
"However, I am in favor of provincial government on a much broader aspect, i.e., on a regional level so that it can reflect and retain its own political identity within the nation without breaking the country into a good number of provincial governments.
" If we have 20 provincial governments, each with 15 members and each with a premier, that makes 320 persons who will need to be paid salaries, who will require office accommodation, transport, etc.
" The expense of 20 provincial governments frightens me; the fact that we will be over-governed frightens me – there will be more and more officials chasing the same village or townspeople.
"The quality of life in Papua New Guinea must deteriorate if we are subject to government directions into Port Moresby from each provincial headquarters, from each local government council and from patrol posts and provincial headquarters throughout the country.
"Some provinces have adequate resources and are geographically suited to having individual provincial governments.
"Other provinces are more suited to joining together on a regional basis.
"For example, the nation could be split into six Regions or States, each having its own Regional or State Government with powers bestowed on it by the Central Government.
"The regions could comprise Papua, Highlands, New Guinea Mainland, New Guinea Islands and Bouganville.
“Let us not be suspicious but rather let us be progressive in our thinking – provincial government must be made to work in order to safeguard the unity, and ultimately the freedom of every man, woman and child in Papua New Guinea.”
Sir John also spoke about the need for hard work and the need to be efficient and productive.
“We must work to replace our dependence on food products from overseas,” he said.
“The Government was recently criticised over the costs involved in establishing the Fresh Food Project within the Department of Primary Industry.
“That criticism was unjust and inaccurate.
“Replacement of imported foods with freshly-grown local produce is a means of income for our village farmers, it saves our country foreign reserves, and the produce is on the average nutritionally superior.
“The cost of stabilising the industry was K1.3 million, i.e. developmental costs, infrastructure and salaries including extension work.”
Sir John then stressed the need for good and honest public service.
“Actions speak louder than words and it is by our actions that our people will judge us,” he said.
“Every Papua New Guinean must be prepared to sacrifice self interest for national interest.
“We must place the needs of the majority, that is, the village people, before ourselves.
“The penalty for being greedy is high.
“There are sectors in the community which in the past have virtually held the government to ransom.
“To those, I say be careful and be warned Papua New Guineans will consider national interest before that of individuals.
“If you are a public servant, then repay your country with good, honest service.
“If you work in transport industries, communications, shipping, etc, then exercise self-restraint in your wages claim for the good of the nation.”
Sir John concluded: “We have done very well in this our first year as masters of our destiny.
“There are many years ahead and the seas are strewn with reefs.

“I therefore call upon the captains of Government and private enterprise to consider Papua New Guinea first and themselves second, as we cannot prosper without the goodwill of the other.”

Honey production in Papua New Guinea

Honey bees, which were introduced to Papua New Guinea after World War 11, are now living in the bush in many areas of the country.
The fact that bees have survived and propagated suggests that there is huge potential for beekeeping.
Bees make honey from the nectar they collect from flowers.
This is their energy food.
Bees also collect pollen which they use for their protein food, and it seems to be abundant in PNG.
By the use of pollen traps on the hives’ entrances, pollen can also be collected which is surplus to the requirements of the colony.
This can be sold overseas where it is in demand as a health food.
The possibility of using it locally as a protein supplement has also been considered.
While the bees are collecting pollen, they do a valuable service that is not often recognised.
That is the cross-pollination or fertilisation of self-sterile flowers.
For the villager, beekeeping offers the opportunity to produce either a cash crop or a food crop without a demand on the land, and with the additional benefit of cross-pollination in nearby gardens.
In late 1976, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs was invited to help the Department of Primary Industry with a beekeeping project under a bilateral aid scheme.
Preparations were made to expand the trial hives to 500.
Then began the process of assembling the extra equipment required, splitting existing hives into small nuclei, and introducing good quality young queen bees.
As the new colonies expanded, production monitoring was started.
The initial period of production was disappointing. This was apparently the result of unusual climactic factors which affected the flowering cycles of many plants that the bees would normally have visited.
In 1978, a good production was recorded, which proved that honey production was definitely a viable proposition.
The large honey surplus collected from some wild colonies and subsequent beekeeping trials in the Highlands confirmed that honey production should be thoroughly investigated.
However, the last 30 years have been quite for PNG’s honey industry, and it has only been in 2006 that it has started attracting a lot of interest.
This has been exemplified by the visit of the-Trade and Industry Minister Paul Tiensten to various beekeeping and honey-processing projects in Goroka recently, which coincided with the Melanesian Spearhead Group meeting.
Mr Tiensten’s visit was a vote of confidence in this fledgling industry which has the potential to bring in a lot of foreign exchange into the country.
Isten Hailens Bikipas Asosiesen – Tok Pisin for Eastern Highlands Beekeepers’ Association – has been operating since the early 1980s.
Currently, the IHBA has almost 320 registered members, who have been selected based on their experience and expertise in the industry.
Funding will be sought to reactivate and reestablish the honey industry, and from this base of farmers, other farmers and newcomers can develop.
“IHBA honey is regarded as a very high quality, organic honey and when the association was established, the first task was to establish a stable supply chain with farmers in the region,” says board secretary Steven Rere.
“IHBA’s first step was to bid for a higher price – K5 per kilogram – and to work with farmers to restore their disused hives.
“This proved to be a slow process, but confidence has returned to the farmers and they are keen to sell as much honey as possible at K5 per kilo.
“The farmers sell to a number of honey processors in Goroka, mainly Niugini Fruit Company and PNG Organic Farm Products at K5 per kilogram.”
Mr Rere adds the project will focus on the PNG market.
The PNG domestic market for honey is relatively large by Pacific Island standards, with total sales of around 60 tonnes per year,” he says.
The consumers in Papua New Guinea are relatively price-sensitive and the high price of imported honey is around K14 per 500 gram jar.
All marketing is left to the honey buyers or processors and the IHBA has nothing to do with processing and marketing at this stage.”
ey competitors will actually be overseas suppliers, mainly from Australia.
he leading brands and their retail prices are Capilano (500g at K14.70 and 375g at K9.70) and Black & Gold (750g at K16.90)
The competitors suffer from high freight costs to PNG and high import duty on their honey,” Mr Rere explains.
Accordingly, their retail prices are twice those of IHBA honey and, with the right marketing strategy, it will not be difficult to capture a high proportion of their market share.
The PNG customers for honey will be the various retailers, boarding schools, universities, colleges, hospitals, prisons, bakeries, hotels, restaurants and the limited number of commercial users.
The retailers in PNG are similar to those in other countries – they require reliable supplies of consistently good quality products at competitive prices.
It is the cheapest honey on the shelves.
IHBA will sell raw honey to the processors in Goroka.”
HBA already enjoys a number of competitive advantages including:

Strong linkages with the honey producers;
Consistent supply of good quality honey through an effective extension service;
Relatively cheap prices for the honey sourced from farmers;
An ideal climate for honey production in the Highlands region;
A genuine organic source of nectar;
Road and airfreight access to the key regional markets in PNG;
Relatively low labour costs of around K30 per week;
Established customer base in Goroka; and
Strong practical experience in bee framing and honey production.

With the right kind of support, PNG’s honey industry can be a sweet success story.

Thought for today...

Sili Muli Women's Group of Enga province, Papua New Guinea

Songs of unity

Come September 16, 2008, Papua New Guineans will join together to celebrate our 33rd anniversary of independence, linking hands to the refrain of “Oh Arise All You Sons”.
As we all join hands, spare a thought for other unity songs of that eventful period of PNG’s history, which did so much to bring together the many different tribes of this country.
“Oh Arise All You Sons” – the National Anthem – was composed by Tom Shacklady, the bandmaster of the Royal PNG Constabulary Band, and won a competition for a new anthem in the period just before independence.
It is interesting to note that when the competition was on, the song “Papua New Guinea” – composed by the remarkable Geoffrey Baskett – was proposed by many people.

Papua New Guinea

Our land is the island of high mountains,
Of sunlit palms and coral sea,
Where our people sing while the drums are beating,
For our land is strong and free.
Papua……….New Guinea……….

Papua New Guinea our Motherland
Every tribe and race, let us work together,
United we shall stand

There’s a bright new day dawning for our land
As every tribe and race unite
Sons and daughters arise, we’ll advance together
With God to guide us in the right.
Papua……….New Guinea……….

Papua New Guinea our Motherland
Every tribe and race, let us work together
United we shall stand.

Baskett, the founder of Lae-based Kristen Redio, also wrote three other songs which are printed is a hymn book that is in wide use in PNG.
Two of these songs – “Islands and Mountains” and “We Are Free” – reflect his great love of a country he spent nearly 60 years in and for which he was awarded the MBE in 1990.
Baskett was born at Kohat in the high Himalayan mountains of India and lived a fascinating life, one which every schoolboy dreams of.
As a teenager, he left Sydney for a six-week visit to Kwato, an island off the southeast coast of Papua.
That visit turned into nearly 60 years of service to the nation of PNG.
Baskett first came to PNG in 1933 and worked day and night shifts on tractors and a gold dredge on the Bulolo gold fields, served on the islands and mainland with Australia New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) during World War 11 when he rose through the ranks from private to captain.
He also worked in various capacities on the staff of the well-known Kwato Mission and founded a complex for the production of Christian radio programs for 19 radio stations before his “retirement” to Australia.
Baskett tells of the songs he wrote, and his love for PNG, in his autobiography “Islands and Mountains”.
“Four songs I have written are now printed in a hymn book that is in wide use in Papua New Guinea, and I have often thought that these songs have contributed more to this nation than any book I could have written,” he writes in the book.
“After all, a book once it has been read is usually put away on a shelf for a very long time before it is read again, whereas a song, usually a hymn, is used time and time again, often long after the death of the composer.
“One of the songs in the hymn book is called ‘Islands and Mountains’…the first verse reads:
Islands and mountains, sunshine and breeze,
Flowers and moonlight, swaying palm trees,
Jungles and rivers, white coral sand.
This is my country, this is my land.
“I wrote that for a children’s concert at Kwato, making up a tune with a suitable waltx-like rhythm.
“As it was often sung to visiting tourists, it became quite popular, especially among the Scouts and Guides.
“When some Guides sang it at a gathering in Port Moresby, it was learned by a group of Australian Guides who then took it back with them.
“Soon afterwards, I was asked if it could be printed in their Australian Guides’ songbook and I of course gave them permission.
“It is now known through international Guides’ circles as the ‘Song of Kwato’.”
Such was the impact of the song that a tobacco firm in Australia actually plagiarised its words and used them to promote its cigarette sales in Fiji.
Baskett reveals: “There is an interesting story about this song.
“A friend of mine was working for a firm in Australia which makes ‘floppy’ discs for gramophones.
“These were made by the thousands and given away as advertisements by various firms.
“One day, I received a phone call from him asking me if I knew that a tobacco firm in Australia was using my song commercially to boost their sales in Fiji.
“It appeared that he was working on the production of several thousands of discs which would be enclosed in a Fijian newspaper.
“The firm had used my tune but altered the words of some of the verses to fit the Fijian scene and my friend had already printed hundreds of the discs before he thought of phoning me.
“The words were also printed on an enclosed brochure extolling the firm’s cigarettes and this was put in every newspaper to make sure people got the message.
“I wasn’t particularly happy with the idea of my song being used to promote tobacco sales – being a non smoker – but as two of the lines said ‘we’ll build Fiji now as God has planned, make this his country, make this his land’, I was very much in favor of that idea spreading through their nation.
“So on that basis, I wrote to the manager of the firm and told him that they should have asked for my permission before printing my song and going ahead with their advertising venture.
“However, as they had already spent a great deal of money on the advertisement, it would be in order for them to proceed.
“The manger answered very apologetically and sent me a cheque for A$100 so that settled that!
“But I always feel that it was more than just conincidence that of the millions of men in Australia, the one who had been given the job of printing the floppy discs should have been a personal friend of mine who knew the tune I had composed.”
“Papua New Guinea” was composed when Baskett was working with the Department of Information.
He recalls that the director called him up one day and said that the team going to the South Pacific Games was looking for an anthem to sing, and as at that time PNG did not have a national anthem, could he do something about it for them?
“I had always enjoyed a tune which is very widely known around Port Moresby ‘Papua e, oi natumu ahaodia…’ and I thought of using this and putting new words in English to make it suitable for the occasion,” Baskett writes in Islands and Mountains.
“As the song was always sung in Motu, it was not widely known throughout the country and I thought it would be a good chance to teach others this most-attractive melody.
“Later, it was written out for the Police Band, and in time the tune was known nationwide.
“When there was a competition for a new National Anthem, this song was proposed by many people, but one that was written by the bandmaster at that time ‘Arise All You Sons’ was chose and is now the PNG National Anthem.
“Papua New Guinea” has become a popular national song and is often heard on the radio.
“The same song was sung by a group of students during a visit by Sir Paul Hasluck, who later became Governor-General of Australia,” Baskett recalls.
“After listening to the song, which speaks to us about uniting to build our nation, Sir Paul said, ‘well there is no need to make my speech now, you have sung all that I planned to say out!’”
Also at the time of independence, Baskett entered a song, which won first prize in the solo section, although he did not sing the solo.
Entitled “We Are Free”, it is now played on the radio each year during Independence Day broadcasts.
“So, as I said, I think there is more value in composing a song that is known to many thousands of people than in writing a book that is read by relatively few,” Baskett says.

Islands and Mountains

Islands and mountains, and sunshine and breeze,
Flowers and moonlight, swaying palm trees,
Jungles and rivers, white coral sand,
This is my country, this is my land.

Dark were the days when men lived in fear,
Fear of the arrow, stone club and spear,
Fighting and hatred filled every land,
That was my country, that was my land

Then came the change that brought peaceful days,
News of our Saviour, learning his ways,
Darkness is fading out of our land,
We know the peace of His guiding hand.

What of the future? Soon we shall be,
Teachers and leaders of our country,
We’ll build our nation as God had planned,
Make this His country, make this His land.

Then shall our country be free and strong,
Homes will be filled with laughter and song,
Peace in our hearts and work for our hands,
Unite our nation with other lands,
Unite our nation with other lands.

We Are Free

Like the birds as they fly over high mountains,
Like the fish as they swim in the sea,
Like the clouds as they float in the clear blue sky,
We are free! We are free! We are free!

Like the songs of a bird at the break of day,
Like the wind in the leaves of a tree,
Like the waves as they break on a coral shore,
We are free! We are free! We are free!

Independence has come, now we all must work
To unite Papua New Guinea,
We shall build our new nation in peace and love,
We are free! We are free! We are free!
We are free! We are free! We are free!

Thomas Shacklady - Composer of Papua New Guinea's National Anthem

As Papua New Guinea celebrated 30 years of Independence on September 16, 2005, and as we all joined hands to “sing of our joy to be free”, there was not much thought for the man who composed our National Anthem.
His name is Thomas Shacklady (pictured above), who died of a stroke early Wednesday January 25, 2006, in his home in Sydney, Australia at the age of 88.
He is remembered by many Papua New Guineans as the legendary bandmaster of the great Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Band from 1964 to 1982.
Picture at right, above, shows Superintendant Thomas Shacklady (left) with an American Admiral inspecting a Royal PNG Constabulary Guard of Honour circa 1975
"His name is embedded in Papua New Guinea's history,” said Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare.
"He will be remembered with pride for a very long time - as long as every school child stands in the morning assembly to sing the national song, or as long as our national sporting heroes stand tall at a podium."
The RPNGC Band gained international acclaim under Shacklady’s leadership and toured many countries including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, South East Asia, other Pacific Islands, and in 1970, the Edinburgh Tattoo in Scotland.
But it is through the words of the Papua New Guinea National Anthem that Shacklady has been immortalised.
Shacklady was a World War 11 hero who fought with distinction for the British Royal Marines.
For his war service he received the 1939-45 Star, Italy Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal and War Service Medal.
Like thousands of others being discharged from the forces, Shacklady found that work was not easy to find and had several jobs over the next three years; night-watchman, butler, and working as a freelance musician.
He ran and worked with several private dance bands, while playing bass trombone with the BBC's Scottish Orchestra.
It was a couple of years after this while in London that Shacklady saw an ad in a newspaper calling for volunteers for the Australian Defence Forces and on September 21, 1951, he enlisted in the Australian Army.
The family took passage aboard the RMS Asturius sailing from Southampton on December 1 for Melbourne, Victoria.
On arrival at Melbourne they spent four or five days being processed before being sent by train to Adelaide in South Australia where Shacklady joined the Kensington Central Command Band based at the Inverbrakie Camp, Woodside.
Over the next six years Shacklady trained three bands a year from the National Service intakes.
In 1953 he was promoted Corporal and added the EIIR Coronation Medal to his awards.
In early 1955 he was raised to the rank of Sergeant, and was awarded the British Empire Medal for his service to the formation of NS bands.
In 1957, Shacklady was transferred to the Papua New Guinea Army band based at Port Moresby and was promoted to Warrant rank.
He returned to Australia in 1959 and for the next five years was Bandmaster of the Enogerra Base, Army band, in Brisbane.
He also took on the unenviable task of managing the base's swimming pool.
He was discharged from the Australian Army on March 6, 1964, and on the 14th, commissioned into the Papua New Guinea Constabulary as Bandmaster with the rank of Inspector.
One of Shacklady’s fondest memories occurred at the Mount Hagen Show in 1965, an annual event involving the gathering of tens of thousands of New Guinea's tribesmen in the highland township.
The event was officially opened by the Earl Mountbatten of Burma who was reported in the press as being highly surprised and delighted that the Band of the Papua New Guinea Police, in one of the most primitive and remote locations on Earth, was playing the Earl's personal march, the Preobrajenski.
The official procedures were halted whilst the Earl walked over to the Band to congratulate Shacklady and comment that he had correctly assumed that the Bandmaster must be an ex Royal Marine.
The RPNGC Band gained considerable recognition under Shacklady’s direction, touring many countries from 1967 to 1975 including Australia on several occasions, New Zealand, the United States, South East Asia, other Pacific Islands and in 1970, the Edinburgh Tattoo in Scotland.
In April 1970, he was transferred to general police duties at Rabaul on East New Britain for a year and then returned to Kila where he remained as Bandmaster until 1975.
This was the year that PNG was granted independence from Australian administration and was to be the highlight of Shacklady’s career.
With Independence, Shacklady was promoted to Chief Inspector and Bandmaster and as such was responsible for transferring the Band to a new training establishment at Bomana, while the new independent nation of Papua New Guinea adopted “Arise All Ye Sons of the Land”, composed by Shacklady, as its National Anthem.
The national song calling the sons (and daughters) of Papua New Guinea to arise and to “sing of our joy to be free” was adopted by the Constituent Assembly to be sung on Independence Day.
Unlike the National Flag and Emblem which were adopted four years earlier, the National Anthem was not decided until just a week before Independence Day.
It was even mooted that there would be no national song until after Independence, even though this song and others had been submitted in a nationwide competition well ahead of Independence Day.
The National Executive Council decided only on September 10, 1975, to adopt the song whose words and music were composed by Chief Inspector Thomas Shacklady, the then bandmaster of the ever-popular Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Band.
The words are:

O arise all you sons of this land
Let us sing of our joy to be free
Praising God and rejoicing to bee
Papua New Guinea

Shout our name from the mountains to sea
Papua New Guinea
Let us raise our voices and proclaim
Papua New Guinea

Now give thanks to the good Lord above
For His kindness, His wisdom and love
For this land of our fathers so free
Papua New Guinea

Shout again for the whole world to hear
Papua New Guinea
We’re Independent and we’re free
Papua New Guinea

On June 11, 1977, for his services to PNG he was invested a Member of the British Empire (MBE), and received the PNG Police Service Medal and PNG Independence Medal to add to his other decorations.
1978 saw him promoted to Superintendent and Director of Music RPNGC.
In 1979, Shacklady purchased some $A5.00 tickets in an Art Union (raffle) run by the Mater hospital in Brisbane, the grand prize being a fully furnished luxury home.
The winner of the 1979 home in the brand new suburb of Springwood was one Superintendent Thomas Shacklady BEM MBE!
1980 saw Shacklady promoted to Chief Superintendent, Director of Music RPNGC, the position he held until 1982 when he retired from the police, returned to Brisbane and settled in his prize home at Springwood with his family.
Three years later they sold the home at Springwood and moved to an ocean side home at Redland Bay.
Sadly, in September 1985, Danae, his wife for 48 years, quietly passed away at their bayside home.
With both his sons married and fled the nest, Tom sold the family home in 1991 and purchased the small but comfortable unit in the Forest Place retirement village at Durack, a southern suburb of Brisbane, where he now lives.
A long time member of the RMA Queensland, Tom could no longer attend meetings and take part in the social life of the association but was kept informed of its activities by their monthly journal and visits by another old member, Roy Leaney, who lived close by.
He received regular visits from his son Paul, with his three children Zoe, Katie and Suzie, when he visited Brisbane, and from Noel and his two children, David and Justine, who also live in Brisbane.

Memories of Taiwan

I must admit that it was a big culture shock for me when I arrived in Taiwan capital, Taipei, on the night of Sunday July 22, 2007, after a three-hour flight from Narita Airport in Tokyo.

Yes, I’d heard from friends and colleagues about the technological powerhouse that is Taiwan, but seeing is believing.

Neon lights bedazzled the night, skyscrapers were everywhere, and vehicles of every description zoomed by on super highways.

In the distance, a juggernaut soared into the sky, which I correctly presumed to be the 101-storey Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world.

Welcome to Taiwan!

I was in Taipei to attend a week-long APEC Digital Opportunities Centre (ADOC) Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Entrepreneurship Workship funded by the Taiwanese government.

Taiwan has a total land area of only 36,000 square kilometres, a population of 22.7 million, and per capita income of US$15,659 (K47, 000).

It is the world’s 17th-largest trading nation and has 1.25 million enterprises, 1.22 million (97.8 per cent) of whom are SMEs.

While advanced Asian countries have emphasised large corporate units, the Taiwanese economy is dominated by SMEs.

While this might seem a disadvantage, the industry is structured in such a way that clusters of SMEs can service larger enterprises.

The Taipei 101 epitomises Taiwan’s reach for the sky to become one of the most-prosperous and competitive economies in the world.

With a height of 508 metres – and 101 stories above ground and five stories – the Taipei 101 has surpassed the 462-metre Sears Tower in Chicago and the 451-metre Petronas Twin Tower in Malaysia to acquire the title “world’s tallest building”.

Designed by world-renowned architect C.Y. Lee, the exterior of the building resembles bamboo segments, with eight stories to each segment because the number “8” signifies prosperous growth.

Each segment is shaped like a sceptre, with ancient coins on the exterior of the 26th floor to give this modern building a Chinese style.

To prevent the building from swaying during typhoons or earthquakes, an 800-tonne, US$4 million, ball-shaped damper is used to dissipate lateral vibration to a spring system underneath.

For the first time in architectural history, the damping system is not hidden, but part of the building’s design.

The world’s largest damper ball has a diameter of 5.5 metres and is visible from the 88th and 89th floors.

Taiwan is one of the most-prosperous and high-tech countries in the world, and there is no such thing as poverty or unemployment.

Its “cradle to the grave” health care and education systems are rated as among the best in the world.

Everyone seems to have a mobile phone and computer, and there is wireless Internet everywhere, meaning you can use the Internet on your laptop anywhere, without the need for a wire connection.

Taiwan, in fact, is now the world leader in producing notebook computers.

Everone seems to have one or more credit cards!

The capital Taipei never sleeps and there are just so many people.

And yet, just 50 years ago, Taiwan was a resource-poor under-developed tropical island.

Through sustained good policies over the past few decades, it has lifted its population from poverty, joining the ranks of the most-prosperous and competitive economies in the world.

Unlike Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong, it was able to weather quite unharmed the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

Today Taiwan is a technological powerhouse that ranks among the world’s top producers of notebook personal computers, flat panel displays, modems, motherboards, and other electronic components and products.

In 2004 it ranked fourth globally in the production value of its IT hardware.

It is also fifth in the World Economic Forum’s 2005-2006 Global Competitiveness rankings, with a strong showing in the area of technology and innovation, ranking third in the world in the technology index.

The 2005-2006 Global Competitiveness Report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional strength in technology issues, including an impressive capacity for innovation, firm-level technology, absorption, university/industry collaboration in research, and its pre-eminent position in the use of the latest technologies, from mobile telephones to personal computers and the Internet.

Taiwan’s transition from a poor agricultural society into an increasingly-sophisticated powerhouse of high-technology manufacturing and the world’s leading producer of information and communication technology is, without doubt, one of the most-compelling development stories of the past half century.

In his case study on Taiwan in the 2004-2005 Global Information Technology Report, F.C. Lin traces the evolution of Taiwan’s ICT industry through the first economic miracle of Taiwan’s transformation from an agricultural to an industrial economy (1953-1986) and describes the second miracle of its industrial restructuring (1987-2000), when low technology industries were forced to relocate overseas and were replaced by technology-intensive industries, particularly in the information technology sector.

Lin attributes these to the following factors: strong government leadership in maintaining a high growth rate and a strong fiscal situation, manpower development with a high level of science and technology graduates, the coalescing of high-tech clusters following the model of Silicon Valley, the development of venture capital supporting hi-tech small and medium enterprises, and a highly-energetic private sector.

He identifies the future challenges as breaking into the advanced industrial and research areas of application integration, technological innovation, and standards formulation as global competition reduces profit margins.

In addition to manufacturing them, Taiwan is already moving fast to adopt ICT.

The Institute for Information Industry (III) estimates that there were 8.92 million Internet users in Taiwan as of June 2004, with an Internet penetration rate of 39 per cent, growing 2 per cent the previous year, and showing signs of reaching saturation.

About 12.2 million people, of 54 per cent of Taiwan’s population, were general Internet users – slightly more men (56 per cent) than woman (52 per cent).

As for age groups, 95 per cent of people between 15 and 24 years, but less than 10 per cent of people over 60 were Internet users.

Papua New Guinea can learn so much from the Taiwanese experience if we are to take our place in this ever-changing world.

Sir Tei Abal

Sir Tei Abal

The late Sir Tei Abal, Leader of the Opposition at Independence in 1975, carried the Highlands traditions of fight and moga into the 20th century political arena without any difficulties.

During the colonial administration when he was a Ministerial Member, he tried to delay early Independence because he felt his Highlands compatriots were not ready.Sir Tei virtually became a Highlands hero.

Essentially a traditional leader, he found his destiny when he saw the similarities at home and the political system introduced by Australia.

When he first arrived in Port Moresby as a member of the Legislative Assembly in 1964, he was out of his depth, having no formal education.

Matter of factly, he used to describe how his first real knowledge of the job of a politician came from a week’s training in parliamentary procedures.

But by the time he was visiting African countries in 1968, he had a pretty firm idea of what was expected of a politician.

Sir Tei fought for the Westminster system of government to be introduced in Papua New Guinea because it had so many similarities to traditional PNG life.

“The moga talks are much the same as meetings of Parliament,” he once said.

“One man wants to kill his pig now, and another wants to kill his pig a week from now.

“It could be that the coastal men want to have their pigs now, while the Highlanders claim they are not yet ready.”

Sir Tei was the face of the Enga people until the time of his death.At the same time, he was a man with a mandate rather than a mission.

A good Christian, nonetheless Sir Tei began his political career by being nominated in his absence.

He was a well-known medical assistant in the Wabag area, on patrol with his boss, when he was nominated and his nomination fee paid before nominations closed for the 1964 elections.

Sir Tei had heard the kiap talk about the elections and several people had urged him to stand, but he had nothing about it as he was not really sure what it was all about.

He won his seat unopposed, replacing Kibungi, who had represented Enga in the previous Legislative Council.

Since then, Sir Tei was returned to Parliament virtually unopposed in every election.

He was leader of the United Party until young guns such as Iambakey Okuk (Chimbu) and Raphael Doa (Western Highlands) started leading a campaign against him and his star started to wane.

Intra-party squabbling in the Opposition United Party started soon after Sir Tei gained the leadership when Mathias Toliman died in 1973.

An interpreter who later became an aid-post orderly, he never had any formal education.

On record, he made it clear that he felt “a more capable man” should lead the party.

However, what seemed to hold him back was the fear that once he was gone, the United Party could become the staging point for disunity and instability – which have proven to be prophetic words.

The Abal legacy continues in the current Parliament with Sir Tei’s son Sam Abal being the current Wabag MP.

Michael Somare sets a date for Papua New Guinea Independence

Chief Minister Michael Somare’s first target date for Papua New Guinea independence had been December 1974.

But half way through 1975 and still no decision had been made.

At one stage Somare had hoped to fix independence for April 19, 1975, to coincide with the anniversary of the formation of the first elected coalition government in 1972, but for some reason many members argued that no date could be set until the organic law and related legislation had been passed.

Nevertheless, the government still managed to commemorate the anniversary, for April 19 became Kina Day, the day when Papua New Guinea’s own currency was first introduced to the people.

Writing in his autobiography Sana: “Frustration at the delay in settling the independence date grew, and many people were beginning to say that independence wouldn’t happen in 1975!

“Even the press began to play with it that way.

“One headline read:’ ‘Somare angry – I Day in danger…An independence date in September may have to be ruled out.”

April and May 1975 were difficult months for Somare with demonstrations by university students against his decision to have the queen as titular head of state, as well as the National Pressure Group accusing him of trying to push the constitution through with undue haste.

On top of this, Somare had the Bouganville issue on his hands.

“Leo Hannett, whom I once appointed as my personal advisor on Bouganville affairs had started abusing me publicly on the radio and in the press for not listening to the wishes of the Bouganvilleans and their provincial government,” he wrote in Sana.

“He forgot that I had been personally responsible for introducing the legislation that brought Bouganville’s provincial government into being.

“Father John Momis, the regional member for Bouganville and deputy chairman of the Constitutional Planning Committee, had always preached national unity, but now he began to join with Hannett.

“John Kaputin, the member for Rabaul, had also started attacking the government.

“The people encouraging secession were the very people who, in the past, had claimed to be champions of nationalism.

“With all the problems I was facing, I found it difficult to obtain support in the House.

“It was time to work out my tactical moves.

“I asked two of my senior ministers from the Highlands, Thomas Kavali, the member for Jimi Open and minister for lands, and Iambakey Okuk, the member for Chimbu regional and minister for transport and civil aviation, to lobby for Highlands support.”

On May 25, 1975, Somare organised a barbeque picnic at 17-Mile outside Port Moresby to gauge feelings of Members of the House of Assembly (MHAs) about independence.

Somare found that the majority of MHAs agreed to rescind the resolution that he moved on July 9, 1974 “that this house resolves that Papua New Guinea do move to independent nation status as soon as practicable after a constitution has been enacted by this house and that any proposed date for independence is to be endorsed by this House”.

On Wednesday, June 18, 1975, Somare decided at his breakfast table to test his strength – to determine whether he still had the kind of support he had had in the past.

He recalls that if he were to move the date he would be given a good indication of support.

So he told his cabinet that he was going to prepare the date that day.

The threat of Bouganville secession gave him the ideal opportunity to make a quick move.

The clock was ticking away towards that momentous occasion in Papua New Guinea history.

The House resumed at 2pm on that day, Wednesday, June 18, 1975.

It dealt with government business until 3.30pm.

At that time, the Speaker called on him and Somare asked leave to make an important statement.

Leave was not granted so he immediately moved to suspend standing orders.

He received the support of 52 members.

Opposition leader Tei Abal tried to amend the motion but was unsuccessful, losing 52-13 when a division was called.

Somare moved that “the House do rescind the motion of 9 July 1974”.

He then introduced that most-important and historic motion setting the date for independence.

Somare told the House of Assembly: “Mr Speaker, the time has come to make a firm decision on the date for independence.

“Our people everywhere are waiting for us to make up our minds, to take the initiative, to show we are not weak and indecisive.

“We are the nation’s leaders.

“The time has come to lead.

“We have put this off for too long.

“Let us act now.

“I have said this many times and I say it again: ‘Independence will bring strength and stability and unity’.

“Some could not believe me and said ‘giaman’.

“Now we all see the truth because of these events.

“When things happen that threaten our stability, when emergencies affect the well-being of our people, we must act and act quickly.

“That strength and authority will come when we are a truly independent nation.

“There are many things to be done and preparations made.

“Many nations or their representatives will be coming to join us at Independence Day celebrations.

“These important visitors must make their plans and preparations months in advance.

“It is very important we let them know as soon as possible.

“I am asking every member of the house to support me so that we can join together to decide on this date and make this day of independence a time that will bring us all great rejoicing – a day that our children and their children will always remember.”

Somare’s motion calling for independence on September 16, 1975, was debated and adopted by the House on the voices.

It took exactly 45 minutes!
John Kaputin and Josephine Abaijah, who had screamed about independence, walked out of the chamber before it was put to the vote.

Father Momis was not there to vote.

Somare reflects: “It took me months to get the self-government date of December 1, 1973, passed by the House of Assembly but only 45 minutes to set the date for Papua New Guinea’s independence.

“It was one of the happiest days of my life.

“With some of my colleagues, I had labored for three years to effect the constitutional changes necessary to bring Papua New Guinea to nationhood.

“When I decided to go into politics in early 1967, the one purpose I had in mind was to be instrumental in bringing the country to self-government and eventual independence.

“An Australian minister for external territories, CE Barnes, said in 1968 that it would be 50 years before Papua New Guinea became independent.

“At a Pangu Pati convention rally in 1971, I said it was my aim to bring Papua New Guinea to independence during my term in parliament.

“I am happy that in the face of Barnes’ gloomy prediction, it took me just seven years to achieve my aim.”

Ecotourism in Papua New Guinea

Picture above shows ecotourists from Lithuania visiting a village near Woitape in Central Province.

Ecotourism involves visitors coming to interact with the natural and cultural attractions of a place rather than visiting man-made attractions like resorts, fun parks, museums, and so forth.
In some countries ecotourism is also taken to mean tourism that has very little impact on the natural environment, even to the extent of implementing measures like composting toilets, raised walkways and solar power to make ecotourism facilities environmentally friendly.
Australian Aaron Hayes, who runs Ecotourism Melanesia, a Port Moresby-based inbound tour company which specialises in sending tourists into the rural areas of Papua New Guinea, is one those who takes a special interest.
“Here in PNG, we use the word ‘ecotourism’ more generally to mean ‘nature and culture based tourism’,” Hayes expounds.
“Other catchphrases these days are ‘responsible tourism’ and ‘community-based tourism’.
“Responsible tourism denotes tourism that cares for both the environment and the local people by ensuring that the tourism activity treads softly on the environment and also has decent benefits for local communities.
“These days many tourists browsing holiday pamphlets and websites tend to ask tour operators for information about how their tours benefit local communities.
“Community-based tourism involves tourism ventures that are actually owned and operated by people who live in the community area where the tourism activity takes place.
“For example village guest houses and village tours.
“Over at Tufi the Dive Resort takes groups of tourists to see a demonstration of sago-making in a local village beginning with cutting the sago stands and ending with cooking and eating the sago in somebody's home and this is an excellent example of community-based tourism.
“Some community-based tourism ventures like village guest houses are run by individuals and families whereas larger ventures like a Wildlife Management Area or village singsing experience might involve the whole village.
“Community-based tourism enterprises owned by whole villages are generally not sustainable here in PNG because there are too many hands out for a share and the income from the enterprise is generally too low to satisfy every shareholder's expectations.
“Many politicians and donors have given money to kick-start village-based lodges and eco-resorts but how many of them are still operating today?
“Not many.
“Generally they collapse due to poor management, lack of marketing, and disputes which arise when shareholders are not satisfied with the amount of money they are receiving compared to the effort they are giving.
“One sad case is the Kamiali Guest House in Morobe which is owned by the Lababia Village community and situated in a magnificent Wildlife Management Area.
“This place could be the biggest ecotourism attraction in PNG but it is poorly marketed and poorly managed.
“My company refuses to send any more tourists there after a number of our clients reported disappointment with the accommodation and tour activities there.”
These days many tourism destinations in our region have focused on mass tourism that caters for the Australian holiday market, what we call "beach-and-palm-tree tourism".
These tourists don't mind if they go to Fiji or Bali, whichever one is cheaper, as long as there's a beach with palm trees and a nice resort with a swimming pool.
If you look at the pamphlets and advertisements put out by tourism operators in Malaysia, Bali, Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Samoa and even the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland, you'll see that they are all advertising the same thing: a resort holiday by the beach where tourists can relax and enjoy themselves.
“If PNG tries to compete in the beach-and-palm-tree mass tourism market we are doomed,” Hayes warns.
“PNG doesn't have enough postcard-perfect white beaches in accessible locations where resorts can be built, and even if we did there are too many turn-offs in PNG that resort developers will shy away from including the urban crime problem, a generally violent society nationwide, health risks like malaria and TB and the mess created by betel nut everywhere.
“If beach-and-palm tree tourists have a choice between a resort in PNG and a resort in Vanuatu or Queensland, they won't pick PNG because in many ways PNG is less visually attractive and coming here involves higher risk for the traveler.
“Last year my company made arrangements for a wealthy resort developer from Brazil to fly down to an uninhabited island in Milne Bay where he wanted to build a luxury getaway resort.
“But when he arrived in Port Moresby he took one look at Jackson's Airport terminal and said ‘cancel the trip to the island, there's no way I can bring my guests through this grubby looking airport with people spitting red stuff everywhere’.
“And he turned around and left on the next flight out.
“I wasn't worried because I don't think luxury resorts offer much for Papua New Guineans anyway ... most of the money just goes into some millionaire's pocket and the only benefits for local people are those few who get jobs in the resort which are mostly low-paid jobs anyway.”
If the Papua New Guinea tourism industry is smart it will not try to compete in the mass tourism market but will focus on offering "niche" (specialised) tourism products that appeal to travellers with specific interests, including scuba diving, surfing, fishing and even unusual interests like volcano climbing and collecting beetles.
Travellers with special interests tend to stay longer and spend more.
“For example, my tour company Ecotourism Melanesia gets a steady stream of cultural tourists interested in ‘primitive’ cultures,” Hayes says.
“Many of them live in Europe and North America, they are often very wealthy and they spend two or three months every year travelling the world visiting different cultures.
“They read National Geographic magazine and International Travel News and they subscribe to websites like http://www.responsibletravel.com .
“They have visited many countries already and are looking for somewhere new and different to experience so they come to PNG.
“These visitors often stay three to four weeks in the country and visit four or five different destinations and do outdoor activities like hiking from village to village to meet the people and really experience the country.
“They often spend K10,000 to K15,000 per head on the ground while in the country and a lot of this money goes straight into the pockets of local people that my company pays to provide guest house accommodation, village tours, village singsing entertainment, dinghy and road transport, access to special sites and trekking guide services.
“These ‘high-yield’ tourists also spend a lot on local souvenirs like tapa cloth, carvings, shells and paintings that they like to take home with them.
“Compare this with the average beach-and-palm-tree tourist from Australia who goes to Fiji or Vanuatu for five nights.
“This tourist on average spends less than K5000 in the country, and most of that goes into the resort owner's pocket with only a little filtering through to the salaries of the local staff working there.
“There is almost no direct benefit to people living out in the villages.”
Although the overall economic benefit from ecotourism is not as high as mass tourism, local communities get a greater proportion of the money that is spent by ecotourists compared to resort tourists.
If Papua New Guinea could be marketed world-wide as an ecotourism destination offering the best ecotourism experiences in the world such as village-to-village trekking, bird watching and encounters with traditional cultures, we could attract more of these high-yield ecotourists which would better satisfy the needs of all the empty village guest houses all over PNG.
Over the past 10 years, hundreds and hundreds of village guest houses have popped up all over Papua New Guinea but most of them have not had any guests yet, or have only had a few.
“Every week my company receives letters and faxes from village guest house owners asking us to send tourists to their guest houses,” Hayes says.
“As we are only one small company we cannot possibly supply enough tourists to meet the demand from all of PNG's village guest houses.
“This demand will only be met when the number of ecotourists visiting PNG increases and when more tour companies start selling ecotourism as a tour product.
“The main impediment to the growth of ecotourism is the lack of targeted marketing.
“We need to reach the type of travellers interested in ecotourism experiences in ‘frontier’ countries like PNG.
“We need to advertise PNG in places where these types of travellers are likely to see the advertising such in nature magazines and on travel-related websites.
“Ecotourists tend to do a lot of research on the internet when planning their trips but PNG is not advertised on the internet enough, we are still spending too much money on sending tourism officials to travel agent trade shows overseas instead of advertising on the internet where we can get 1000 times the exposure for a fraction of the price.
“I think some tourism officials are hooked on overseas trips and that is why they are resistant to refocusing on web-based marketing.
“At the moment only a couple of private tourism operators are spending money advertising PNG on major information sites like Google and Yahoo! while the government is spending nothing.
“Even the main PNG tourism website is not helping us very much; the site needs a complete make-over to make it more attractive and user-friendly.
“At the moment the first thing you see when you log on to the PNG tourism web portal is a guy with teeth stained black by betel nut... what a turn-off, somebody is not thinking right.
“The lack of marketing is also a problem in village tourism training workshops which are held around the country.
“These workshops focus on how to build and operate a guest house but do not provide enough training in how to market it and manage it profitably.
“Village people get excited and run back to their village and build a guest house and then sit in their empty guest house waiting for tourists to appear by magic.
“Tourism officials keep saying we have to do the awareness and the training before we can do the marketing otherwise if tourists come and we are not prepared for them they will not have a good time and they will never come back.
“That's all poppycock.
“I've never met an ecotourist who didn't have a good time in PNG, no matter what goes wrong ecotourists are always thrilled with the experience of visiting this country and always very forgiving for any problems because they understand PNG is a frontier country with a less-developed tourism industry.
“They like it like that... if everything in PNG were developed it wouldn't be attractive to ecotourists any more.
“Too much tourism training is done by officers from NGOs and government organisations that don't actually run tourism businesses themselves, they are all theorists.
“And when they do cover marketing it's all theoretical gobbledygook without any hands-on skills training on how to design a pamphlet or how to work out the price to charge for a day trip for a group of visitors, or whatever.
“Tourism trainers keep referring to village-based tourism as ‘projects’ - they're not projects, they are business ventures and they have to be marketed and operated so that they will make a profit, that's what it's all about.
“Village people need money to buy supplies and pay school fees; they are not setting up village guest houses for the fun of it.”

Knol is open to everyone…and set to displace Wikipedia

As of Thursday last week, Google started making Knol available to everyone, starting with those who have a Google Gmail or Blogspot account such as me.
I was quite intrigued by the concept of Knol, when introduced to it by Google, that I went right into it, and once I got the hang of it, created a Knol on Papua New Guinea which I will slowly develop over time.
I may, in fact, have been the first Papua New Guinea to try out this concept which analysts all over the world predict will soon surpass Wikipedia as the No. 1 online encyclopedia.
Given all that PNG has to offer, it is a good opportunity for our writers, academics, medical doctors, professional people and simple villagers to improve their reputations as well as fatten their wallets as Google offers to chance to make money through its internationally-renowned AdSense programme.
For starters, most of the featured Knol articles are on various diseases, although I especially enjoyed the ones on backpacking and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), given my passions for adventure and information technology.
So what is a Knol?
A few months ago, Google announced it was testing a new product called Knol.
Knols are authoritative articles about specific topics, written by people who know about those subjects.
For instance, Malum Nalu, being a Lae boy who loves his home town, has already created a Knol on it.
The web contains vast amounts of information, but not everything worth knowing is on the web.
An enormous amount of information resides in people's heads: millions of people know useful things and billions more could benefit from that knowledge.
Knol will encourage these people to contribute their knowledge online and make it accessible to everyone.
The key principle behind Knol is authorship.
Every Knol will have an author, or group of authors, who put their name behind their content.
It's their Knol, their voice, their opinion.
“We expect that there will be multiple Knols on the same subject, and we think that is good,” Google announced on its official Blog.
“With Knol, we are introducing a new method for authors to work together that we call ‘moderated collaboration’.
“With this feature, any reader can make suggested edits to a Knol which the author may then choose to accept, reject, or modify before these contributions become visible to the public.
“This allows authors to accept suggestions from everyone in the world while remaining in control of their content.
“After all, their name is associated with it!
“Knols include strong community tools which allow for many modes of interaction between readers and authors.
“People can submit comments, rate, or write a review of a Knol.
“At the discretion of the author, a Knol may include ads from our AdSense programme.
“If an author chooses to include ads, Google will provide the author with a revenue share from the proceeds of those ad placements.”
A Knol is basically an Internet encyclopedia designed to give people a chance to show off - and profit from - their expertise on any topic.
The service, dubbed ‘Knol’ in reference to a unit of knowledge, had been limited to an invitation-only audience of contributors and readers for the past seven months.
Now anyone with a Google login like me will be able to submit an article and, if we choose, have ads displayed through the Internet search leader's marketing system.
The contributing author and Google will share any revenue generated from the ads, which are supposed to be related to the topic covered in the knol.
The advertising option could encourage people to write more entries about commercial subjects than the more academic topics covered in traditional encyclopedias.
Since Google disclosed its intention to build Knol, it has been widely viewed as the company's answer to Wikipedia, which has emerged as one of the web's leading reference tools by drawing upon the collective wisdom of unpaid, anonymous contributors.
But Google views Knol more as a supplement to Wikipedia than a competitor, writes Cedric Dupont, a Google product manager.
Google reasons that Wikipedia's contributors will be able to use some of the expertise shared on Knol to improve Wikipedia's existing entries.
With a seven-year head start on knol, Wikipedia already has nearly 2.5 million English-language articles and millions more in dozens of other languages.
Knol is starting out with several hundred entries.
The initial topics covered include an overview of constipation by a University of San Francisco associate professor of gastroenterology and backpacking advice from one of Google's own software engineers.
Unlike Wikipedia, Knol requires the authors to identify themselves to help the audience assess the source's credibility.
Google doesn't intend to screen the submissions for accuracy, Dupont says, and instead will rely on its search formulas to highlight the articles that readers believe are credible.
"At the discretion of the author, a Knol may include ads," according to the official Google Blog.
"If an author chooses to include ads, Google will provide the author with substantial revenue share from the proceeds of those ads."
The key idea behind the Knol project is to highlight authors (either singularly or in groups) willing to put their names behind their content on a wide of range of topics, "from scientific concepts, to medical information, from geographical and historical, to entertainment, from product information, to how-to-fix-it instructions”.
Google will not edit the content in any way, but, like Wikipedia, readers will have access to community tools that will allow them to submit comments, questions, edits, and additional content - in addition to being able to rate or write a review of a Knol.
Founded in January 2001, the online Wikipedia encyclopedia has more than 8.2 million articles in more than 200 languages, including more than 2 million in English. Unlike Google Knol, Wikipedia is not ad-supported and its operating expenses are funded mainly by private donations and grants funneled through the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, whose laudatory mission is to support the free dissemination of information.
Just how free the information on Wikipedia is has been called into question lately, primarily because of the collaborative nature of its entries.
WikiScanner (also known as Wikipedia Scanner), a tool released by Virgil Griffith in August 2007 that identifies the authors behind Wikipedia edits, revealed that people at the IP addresses of several major companies had made changes to their own or competitors' Wikipedia entries.
It's too early to tell what effect Knol will have on Wikipedia and similar sites, but at the very least adding author identification, ranking, and the profit motive to Wikipedia's group contribution approach certainly seems to have the potential to upset the Wikipedia apple cart.