United Nations congratulates PNG winner of climate change contest

The United Nations (UN) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) would like to congratulate Biliso Osake from Goroka, who has won first prize in the Pacific Category of the Asia-Pacific Cartoon Contest.

Osake has won US$1,000 and his cartoon will be portrayed on international websites as well as international exhibitions and events related to Human Development and Climate Change.

Biliso Osake's prize-winning cartoon

 The theme of the contest was Climate Change in Asia-Pacific, A People’s Perspective and Osake’s cartoon was selected as the winner by an international panel of experts.

“Biliso’s cartoon is creative, funny, and an excellent portrayal of the impact climate change is beginning to have on thousands of people in the Pacific.

“This is a lived reality for many people in the region, and Biliso’s cartoon gets to the heart of the issue.

“We are extremely proud that a Papua New Guinean has won and is representing the Pacific on such an issue,” remarked UN resident coordinator, David McLachlan-Karr.

Osake has previously worked with the UN in PNG on cartoons promoting human rights to the general PNG public.

The objective of contest (www.cartooncontestasiapacific.com) was to support advocacy that brings people to the centre of climate change and human development debates.

The contest encouraged people from Asia-Pacific developing countries to portray issues of concern related to climate change in the region from a people’s perspective.

  Climate change presents a major development challenge to sustainable livelihoods as it threatens to undermine international, national, and community efforts to combat poverty, and exacerbates already existing inequalities between and within countries.

The contest was co-organised by the UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre and the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

New Zealand graduate uses flowers to help PNG women

By JUDITH LACY of Fairfax NZ News

Taro and exotic flowers sound like the stuff of tropical holidays, but for New Zealander Jessica Bensemann, they are – she hopes – the means of improving life for Papau New Guinean women.

 Bensemann, who has just finished her master of agricommerce at Massey University, leaves at the end of the month to spend a year in East New Britain, a province of PNG.

The 27-year-old will be a business development adviser for Volunteer Service Abroad, working with the East New Britain Women and Youth in Agriculture Co-operative. 

Branching out…Palmerston North's Jessica Bensemann will spend a year in East New Britain, helping women grow their small agricultural businesses

The co-op has about 50 members who want to develop their small agricultural businesses.

Bensemann had been thinking of working for VSA for a while, and when she saw the position advertised, was keen, since it is a mix of agriculture, business and working with women.

The timing was right to do something that made a difference, she said.

After meeting former VSA volunteers, Bensemann expects she will get as much out of her experience, in terms of skill development and personal growth, as she will provide the women with.

VSA provides accommodation, a living allowance, flights and vaccinations.

Bensemann has already travelled to Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia and Vietnam and is excited Papua New Guinea is not on the normal tourist routes.

The East New Britain co-operative is exploring flower-growing opportunities.

The island's tourist industry is growing with visitors attracted by diving around World War II shipwrecks.

Bensemann understands most hotels currently use plastic flowers in their foyers.

The co-operative has taken one experimental shipment of the island's taro to Port Moresby, and exporting the staple to New Zealand is a possibility.

Bensemann sees her role as helping the women to help themselves.

She said she will go with an open mind looking at what the co-operative does, what the women's goals are and how she can help them by drawing on her agribusiness and economic study and work experience.

Bensemann's master's thesis explored the decisions New Zealand farmers make when selling their lamb.

Bensemann grew up on a sheep and beef farm near Nelson.

She has a bachelor of commerce with honours in economics and finance from Victoria University.

In 2006 she joined Beef + Lamb New Zealand, first as a trade policy analyst, then in the data collection team.

That experience made her want to study agriculture, so she started at Massey University in 2010.

VSA is a volunteer organisation that sends Kiwis on long and short-term assignments to share their skills with the people of Melanesia, Polynesia and Timor Leste.

Since it began 50 years ago, 3, 500 people have volunteered their time.

Microbank banks on women’s talent

NATIONWIDE Microbank (NMB) has appointed Gima Kepi as manager women’s banking to honour the country’s female population on International Women’s Day last Thursday, The National reports.
Managing director Tony Westaway said the appointment of Kepi had strengthened their belief that by investing in women, a multiplier effect was provided on the well-being of their households and communities.

Gima Kepi is congratulated by Tony Westawayon International Women's Day last Thursday

“We believe that banking on women is good business and is also good for long-term sustainable development,” he said.
“There is significant unfulfilled demand from women for financial services.
“But lending with women or providing suitable products is only part of the story.
“We need the wider community to understand that women are key contributors to national economic growth.”
Westaway said they needed to train their bank staff in gender sensitivity and serving women’s business needs.
“And we need to train women in business management, confidence building and networking.”
Kepi, from Central, had vast experience in both the private and public sectors in administration and human resources.
NMB had in recent times conducted workshops with the Women’s Advisory Centre of Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Port Moresby.
Kepi would not only facilitate these workshops, but would also be tasked to drive women’s programmes in connection with “mobile money” and micro-insurance.
Westaway said the appointment of Kepi was strategic and could not have come at a better time for NMB.
Through the support of New Zealand Aid (NewZAID), Women’s World Banking (WWB) had this week announced it would work with NMB to conduct a gender baseline study with their client base, which in turn would be used to develop products and strategies that were most effective in reaching and impacting on women.
Over the past 15 years, WWB had conducted research with micro-finance Institutions in over 15 countries.
Its work focused mainly on how microfinance products such as savings, credit and micro-insurance, and the service delivery mechanism, could be designed to best serve the needs of the target population, in particular low income women.
“For NMB to continue growing, we need to develop a deeper understanding of our customers’ lives and how we can best serve their needs,” Westaway said.
 “In recent gender studies overseas, it had been found that when financial services for poor women are targeted to address gender inequities, the ability of these women to lift their families out of poverty is unstoppable.”

A painful journey

By GABRIEL LAHOC in The National

One of the most eventful developments since the worst maritime disaster in Papua New Guinea on February 2, 2012 was the special and emotionally-charged voyage to Bobongara, Finshafen, by over 250 family members of missing passengers and crews of the sunken inter-island ferry, mv Rabaul Queen.

For them, the trip was an important one as they like the authorities have now officially recognised their loved missing ones as dead.

It was an opportunity to retrace the last moments of the missing people and ultimately pay their last respects.

Fathers, mothers, grandparents and children representing the different families of the more than 200 passengers and crews believed to be missing, made the solemn trip which was facilitated by the Morobe provincial disaster committee on a chartered trip on board Lutheran Shipping’s mv Mamose.

Two mothers from different ethnic background weeping in each others arms as others cast out their wreaths and flowers.-Nationalpics by GABRIEL LAHOC

Reverend Wala Baru Arua at the captain’s wheelhouse (centre) making the final prayer through the ship’s intercom before the casting of wreaths, witnessed by acting provincial deputy administrator, district services, Tony Ase (left) while mv Mamose captain Stephen Peki navigates the ship.

Family members of the missing tearfully casting their wreaths and bundles of flowers into the sea at Bobongara.

Three parents from different ethnic backgrounds,  after casting wreaths and paying their last respects,  starring out into the sea with teary eyes, lost in their own reminiscence of their loved ones.

Family members of the missing, facing the ocean and weeping as mv Mamose turns back to for the return trip to Lae.

Family members in calmer waters viewing the scenic Finschhafen coastline.

Families of missing passengers and crew on arrival at Maneba station, where the locals welcomed them in an emotional ceremony.

The Arua family led by United Church retired Reverend Wala Baru Arua (right), whose son was the missing chief engineer of mv Rabaul Queen, singing a traditional hymn during the special memorial service led by Simbang Lutheran parish Pastor Gaigami Tala.

Reverend Wala Baru Arua addressing the audience after the service. He plans to write a book and use proceeds towards the planned annual pilgrimage to Maneba and Pontification point which lied inland from Bobongara.

Locals lining the Maneba wharf and waving goodbye to the families of missing crew and passengers.

Accompanying the families were government officials led by acting deputy provincial administrator for district services, Tony Ase, the Morobe provincial disaster and emergency services officers, police and military personnel and the media.

The captain Stephen Peki sailed out of the LuShip wharf at Voco Point at 7am into a glorious morning complemented by fine weather and calm seas.

After eight hours the ship sailed into scenic the Maneba station which houses the Luship wharf, for the scheduled special memorial church service.

Locals at the wharf led by the local Mama Gejamsao (women’s group) from the local Lutheran Simbai parish, tearfully welcomed their visitors with their traditional mourning songs which set the emotional tone for the rest of the trip.  

They shared in their visitors’ mourning, reminding them that their loved ones, despite being strangers to them had died in their environment.

From a makeshift shelter at Maneba station some kilometers away from Bonga and Lakuna village, which are located inland from the famous Bobongara spot, the locals joined their heavy hearted visitors in the service led by Pastor Gaigami Tala, who commended the families for making that special trip.

After the service, Lakuna elder Tami Leona and Bonga elder Afeke Itum Eriasa took the stage to give their visitors an insight of the nature of the Bobongara and their firsthand account and experience of that fateful day when the ship sank.

The legendary Bobongara, the dreaded location just off Pontification point near the two villages, features the clash of some of the strongest currents which flow along the Vitiaz Strait located between Siassi Island and the Finschhafen mainland separating the northern Bismark Sea and Solomon Sea located on the south.

They said traditionally, passengers and seafarers demonstrated deep sense of respect of the Bobongara when crossing by being silent, and also by offloading cargo into the sea when the waves got bigger.

The locals who also spent their time in the search and rescue operation, said on that Wednesday afternoon, 12 hours before the ferry sank, they noticed the arrival of the Bobongara through the gathering of dark clouds on the horizon and tremors, without knowing that a tragedy was going to happen.

The most-touching message to the families was when the locals revealed that they had done traditional rituals in gathering the spirits of the missing before coming to meet the visitors.

“Their spirits are here with us, as we gather together today,” said Miring Bamiringnuc.

Reverend Wala Baru Arua, spokesperson of the aggrieved families, described their missing loved ones as voiceless victims.

“After losing my son, I now know how God felt when his son died, and I want to thank you the people of Finchhafen, we the families now know that our missing relatives are now with friends,” he said.

His request for permission for an annual pilgrimage and a monument at Pontification point was gladly granted by local elders.

After more than an hour the visitors were given a fitting traditional farewell for the final leg of the trip to Bobongara, local mothers tearfully sang and waved them farewell in true Morobe mourning fashion.

Just off Pontification Point some nautical miles, Captain Peki steadied the ship while Rev Arua led the families in prayer through the ship’s intercom before they cast their wreaths into the sea.

Loss and grief was the only thing these families and individuals had in common.

 It was an emotional scene, people from different ethnic backgrounds crying together for their loved ones.

Men, women and children solemnly paid their last respect, cast their wreaths of flowers, personal items of the missing, performed traditional burial rituals, wept openly and comforted each other on a calm, beautiful open sea.

Government disaster committee, after consulting the locals two weeks earlier, advised against the sinking of headstones and crosses.

 mv Mamose sailed into Voco Point at 1am Monday morning, families departed with soft spoken goodbyes and solemn faces.

The final task of Ase’s committee now is to establish a monument at Pontification point, inscribed with the names of all missing crew and passengers.

The monument will ensure regular visits   from families of the missing, who have established relationships with the locals.

Ase thanked all individuals and organisations who assisted to make the event a success.

Rev Arua plans to write a book about the shipping disaster and use the proceeds of its sale to organise and assist the new network of families who lost loved ones, to go on yearly pilgrimage to the monument.

How Frieda River copper and gold was discovered

By MALUM NALU

FRIEDA River copper and gold project, a tributary of the mighty Sepik River, is mooted as one of the great prospects in Papua New Guinea.

It was discovered by the legendary former kiap (patrol officer), Sepik River crocodile hunter and Member for Angoram in the first House of Assembly in 1964, John Pasquarelli.

John Pasquarelli with two locals on the day he discoovered Frieda River prospect on November 22, 1963. Sirum (right) was later take to Australia as a guest of Mount Isa Mines (MIM)

Pasquarelli came upon Frieda River quite by chance on November 22, 1963, a day forever etched in history as the day in which US President John F Kennedy was assassinated.
He has given his personal notes and pictures exclusively to The National.

John Pasquarelli with a local in new shorts on November 22, 1963. The local's nose has been completely eroded by yaws

“In November 1963, I was on a shield collecting expedition on the Frieda River, which is an upper tributary of the famous Sepik River system in Papua New Guinea,” Pasquarelli recalls.
“As the official collector for the Basel Museum in Switzerland at that time, I was exploring all the major Sepik tributaries for artefacts and this trip brought me to the Frieda River camp of Paupe.

Frieda River circa 1970-71. Jet barge in backwater at Frieda River. Wheelhouse at rear, foredeck and cargo-carrying area in front

“I was travelling in my large single dugout canoe that had been carved from a huge red cedar log that had cost me 10 Australian pounds and was powered by a Mercury 65HP outboard motor.
“Eight 44 gallon drums of fuel could be laid, end on end, lying down or standing up in this hull.
“The canoe had a Mercury steering wheel system and a canopy to protect passengers from the sun.

Caterpillar D6 at Frieda River - circa 1970-71. Norm Martin behind blade. Frank Martin working on engine and Kinook behind Frank

“I was accompanied by my team of Sepiks and one of my bosbois Sal, who hailed from Finschhafen and who was my first PNG employee when I met him on the lawns of the Wewak Hotel when I arrived on the Sepik as a cadet patrol officer in 1960.
“I was at the Paupe camp on the banks of the Frieda River, the day JFK was shot - Friday, November 22, 1963.

The first plane to land at Frieda River, a Britten Norman Islander, circa 1970-71

 “At the time of that first visit, the Paupe people had their houses high up on the surrounding ridges, giving them a good view of what was happening down on the river.
“Their camp on the river allowed them to do some hunting and gardening but they were not canoe people.

Frieda River airstrip circa 1970-71. Looking west from river. native labour camp on right and admin buildings on the left.

“I had mined opal at Coober Pedy in 1959, had some knowledge of PNG’s mining history and always carried a gold panning dish and geologist’s pick with me.”
Pasquarelli and his men walked upstream on the western bank of the Frieda a few kilometres before turning right into the Nena River and proceeding upstream.

Frieda airstrip circa 1970-71. Hangar building.

“Panning revealed good gold trace in the feeder creeks and rock samples that I recovered along the way were identified to me later as copper pyrites and copper sulphides,” he remembers.
 Pasquarelli’s communications with the famous Professor Alfred Buhler of the Basel Museum dated December 13, 1963,  record that this particular trip up the Frieda took one month,  during which time they walked over from the headwaters of the Frieda River to the headwaters of the Leonard Schultze River,  retracing their route,  returning back down the Frieda to the Sepik, travelling downriver and then up the Leonard Schultze River for a considerable distance, finally returning to Ambunti government station then Angoram.

Frieda airstrip circa 1970-71. Laura Martin wading ashore. She flew out in a Missionary Aviation Fellowship floatplane.

“I took my rock samples literally in a sugar bag and showed them to the famous explorer and prospector  Mick Leahy, when I spent Christmas 1963 with the Leahys at their farm at Zenag on the Lae -Bulolo Road,”he adds.
“  Mick told me to take out a prospecting authority but being 26,  and flat out running my trading business as well as learning all about Sepik art plus the fact that the then gold and copper prices were very ordinary, meant that I pursued what I was good at but kept the Frieda on my radar.

Helicopter landing at Frieda River airstrip, circa 1970-71

“Carpentaria Exploration (MIM) was granted PA 58 on March 20, 1968 over the Frieda River and surrounding areas and I was later to have dealings with their geologists Bob Hall and John Hartley.
“During 1966-1967 I met geologists Duncan Dow and Peter Macnab from the Bureau of Mineral Resources in Canberra.”

Hamilton jetboat running upriver. John Pasquarelli driving.

From  1964-1968 , Pasquarelli was the elected MP for the Angoram Open Electorate and during this time had the Haus Tambaran at Kanganaman declared national cultural property and was the prime mover behind the Gavien Land Resettlement Scheme at Angoram.
At the end of 1968, he organised selling his trading business Las Kompani, to Warren Hanson who had been his manager and took a year off in Sydney, where he bought a house in Balmain.

Frieda airstrip circa 1970-71. Wewak Transport office. Paul Martin (third from left), Jimmy Gordon (sitting leaft front), Frank Martin (sitting front and right of Jimmy Gordon) Norm Martin (standing behind Frank Martin) and John Pasquarelli (standing front right).

“During this time, I planned the construction of a tourist lodge at Amboin on the Karawari River and the method of transporting tourists safely and quickly would be by jet boat,” Pasquarelli says.
“I had built a trade store at Amboin under the Las Kompani banner, collected artefacts in that area and had already selected a site on the hill overlooking the Amboin patrol post, offering great views towards the Chambri Lakes to the north-west.”

Frieda airstrip circa 1970-71. Missionary Aviation Fellowship floatplane VH-WET at Frieda airstrip.

Frank Martin had been with Pasquarelli in the first House of Assembly as the MHA for Madang-Sepik (Special) and he and his schoolteacher wife Laura, operated Wewak Transport Service.
On his return to PNG, Frank and his brother Norm Martin joined him on the Karawari Lodge project and he started work on site preparation and soon had a team of Sepik carvers working on carving chairs and house posts, using traditional designs -from the beautiful and dense red hardwood, kwila.

Frieda airstrip circa 1970-71, Jimmy Gordon supervising uploading of Isuzu 6x6 tipper.

 The main feature of the lodge was the Haus Tambaran which housed the dining, recreational and office facilities.
In early 1970, Pasquarelli flew to Christchurch, New Zealand where he organised for two twin Holden 308 V8 powered fibreglass jet boats, fitted with Hamilton Colorado jet units, to be shipped to Madang, PNG.

Frieda airstrip circa 1970-71. May River and Frieda labourers clearing airstrip site.

Carpentaria Exploration had been drilling up on the Frieda River and the renowned chopper pilot Bill Dossett was doing a lot of the aerial work supplying the drill sites.
 Frank Martin told him that he had been approached by Carpentaria Exploration to build an airstrip on the banks of the Frieda River near the Paupe settlement and that McIntyres, a firm of engineers from Townsville would be involved.
Martin told Pasquarelli that a D6 dozer, International Drott tracked loader, grader and tip-trucks would have to be shipped to the site.
“It was a slow, hard grinding trip with a few scary moments but the D6 finally made it ashore to the Frieda River airstrip site,” Pasquarelli writes.
“The building of the Frieda River airstrip was a monument to the drive and natural mechanical and engineering skills of Frank Martin and the hard work of his PNG workers, led by Jimmy Gordon.
“Norm Martin and myself did our bit as did Kinook, Sal, Weliwan, Bundi, Patoman, Asa and the Frieda and May River locals who were recruited as labourers.
“Helicopters played a crucial role in the development of the Frieda project and still do but contact with the wider world was achieved with the first landing of Mount Isa Mine’s Norman Britten Islander on the new Frieda River airstrip.
“It is now 48 years since I made the first discovery of gold and copper mineralisation in that region of the Frieda River that Mt Isa Mines and now Xstrata Copper and its Joint Venture partner Highlands Pacific, have proved up in such a spectacular fashion - with Xstrata recently announcing a considerable increase in measured resources.
“If the Frieda River deposit proceeds to production, it is vital that this project is properly managed by government and the company to ensure that PNG and the Sepik people receive their just rewards.
“ For far too long, the East and West Sepik Provinces have been  left behind compared to development in other areas but now is the time for the Sepiks to seize this huge opportunity to change their standard of living for the better - time will tell.