Russell Soaba’s world

Welcome to Russell Soaba’s world.

He is the portrait of the odd man out, an individual, and a great thinker.

Russell Soaba is also one of he greatest, if not the greatest, writer in Papua New Guinea.

His works, particularly novels Maiba and Wanpis, are studied in universities all over the world by students of literature and philosophy.

Followers of the existentialism philosophy all over the world dote on the writings of Russell Soaba.

It is, however, a paradox that Russell Soaba is not even recognised in his own country Papua New Guinea for his great contribution to the country’s literature.

Only recently, he was awarded a Papua New Guinea independence medal, something that was supposed to have been given in 2000 but deferred because of the troubles on the University of PNG campus.

For this he is grateful, and adds that it is something for all the writers of Papua New Guinea, both young and old.

The 56-year-old, who speaks in parables, was born the “day after the 4th of July in 1950”.

“I think it’s about time,” he tells me in a rare interview.

“The only writer we have honoured, but in that matter for some other reason, is Sir Paulias Matane, with Michael Somare, Rabbie Namaliu, these people.

“But they are being honoured for some other reason than writing, and that’s the saddest thing.

“What these men must realise is that we deserve the same type of recognition as they do, even though they may think that the work they do differs from us.

“If you look at it closely, it all boils down to one important aspect of our society, and that is ‘communal service’.

“Every other journalist or scribe does exactly the same thing.

“So we must all be recognised on an equal footing.

“Ultimately, there is no denying that we all serve our community with the same amount of determination, commitment and dedication.

“What’s the difference between a good accountant who gets all his figures correct at the end of the day, and a writer who records the same sort of events in our lives, but in a different form?”

“It always comes back to what I always complain about.

“A writer is an unofficial ombudsman of the country.

“That means duties more in the area of human relationship.

“By that, I mean that as an ombudsman, or as an unofficial ombudsman, he does not set out to correct his neighbour, rather, what he is doing as that type of ombudsman, is lightly tapping a colleague on the shoulder and saying ‘listen brother, let’s no overdo this. It might have some negative results for both of us’.

“A writer is an ombudsman in that sense.

“He’s likely to correct a brother, who is likely to make a serious mistake.

“He’s acting more as a friend than a colleague or neighbour.”

Soaba then speaks three parables to me - that of the girl who does not serve him at Big Rooster, Asian efficiency as compared to his owned beloved country, and Alotau laziness – to point out the very serious attitude problem Papua New Guinea has.

“We as Papua New Guineans have this very bad attitude,” he says.

“If we change these bad attitudes, how much more easier, better and happier it would be?

“Looking at the way a writer looks at the society he lives in, and how he feels about certain things, why are things suddenly so wrong?

“We can’t blame the politicians too much.

“He is merely behaving like why is he a politician.

“The real wrong lies within out attitudes.

“I could write a long, long book about these bad attitudes we have as Papua New Guineans.

“You’re seeing the writer passing over as an unofficial ombudsman; a friend who cares to give some good advice because he cares about you.

“I see all of our writers as unofficial ombudsman of the society we live in.

“It comes back to the age-old slogan that ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’.

“Its might is seen when there’s so much of small detail faithfully recorded without any grudges, put with a great amount of passionate zeal.

“Because of its sense of simplicity, it lasts forever.”

Soaba, Australian-educated high school student from Cape Vogel in the Milne Bay Province, talks fondly about his schooling days including the visit of Prince Charles to Martyrs Memorial High School in 1967.

“We were able to push him and given him a nudge.

“It was quite an experience.”

In 1968 and 1969, this precociously-talented Papua New Guinean was awarded an Anglican Church Scholarship to Australia to complete 11 and 12 at Baldwyn High School in Melbourne.

“Around that time I read in the Melbourne Age about 10,000 Years in a Lifetime (by Albert Maori Kiki) and I became excited about a Papua New Guinean writing a book,” Soaba tells me with emotion.

“And then I read I bit in Melbourne about Uli Bier (literature lecturer) influencing on (UPNG) campus.

“Even when I qualified to enter any Australian university then, I discovered that it would be far more exciting if I came back to UPNG.

“I was able to terminate the church scholarship, come back, and apply for government scholarship at the university.

“In 1970, I became so excited meeting Leo Hannett, Uli Bier, Arthur Jawodimbari, Rabbie Namaliu, a certain angry student politician called John Kasaipwalova, and a certain angry young man from outside called Michael Somare.

“These people I felt thrilled in meeting in person in the years 1970 and 1971.

“And of course, the personality who really thrilled me most was Vincent Eri, author of the first Papua New Guinean novel called The Crocodile.

“There was another quite personality I felt proud to meet: that was the poet Kumulau Tawali, and also another poet called Jack Lahui.

“In a way, I felt proud to be among this famous group of PNG writers.

“That was it.

“Since then I attended Uli Bier’s creative writing classes.

“He exercised that same sort of influence he had in Nigeria.

“His presence merely motivated PNG writers to emerge into worldwide recognition like Vincent Eri, Albert Maori Kiki, and the plays of Leo Hannett, Arthur Jawodimbari and John Kasaipwalova.

“Writing flourished at that time.

“Since then I have enjoyed the privilege of being among these famous people.

“Since then, of course, I consider myself as a writer.

“But whether or not a successful or great writer, that is highly questionable.”

Soaba’s greatest works are Wanpis (1977) and Maiba 1986 – studied all over the world - and poem anthologies Naked Thoughts (1978 and Kwamra (2000), among various others.

“Since then, I sort of became lazy, not really lazy, but too much of teaching commitments,” he laughs.

“As such, much of the writing that I do has dwindled.

“It’s good to work and write at the same time.”

The government, Soaba feels, must give more support to writers.

“What the government of Papua New Guinea must do is institutionalise a writers’ and artists’ endowment fund, a grant programme,” he tells me.

“The government of PNG has no choice but do what is honourable by creating a grant programme for our writers and artists throughout the country.

“There is a place where this can be housed.

“This is the National Cultural Commission.

“The National Cultural Commission does have a Literature Board.

“What the government needs to do is use the literature board as the clearing house for this grant programme.

“The Somare government must recognise that, along with any government that comes along into power.

“It’s only honourable that they entertain it, support it in the best way possible.

“Consider the percentage of tax that government solicits out from business houses, companies, corporations.

“What I would ask for is 2 per cent tax money to go towards the writers’ grant scheme.

“The government can enjoy its 98 per cent.

“We have been ignored for too long.”

I ask Soaba about how he describes in writing, which I – personally – would describe as way beyond its time.

“My writing is highly personal, very intimate,” he replies,

“It addresses the individual man than the community as a whole.

“This is because I believe that this is where things start.

“Everything starts off with an individual and progresses to two people, on three, and then the community.

“Also, the characters that I create are these Papua New Guinean individuals.

“So really, if I concentrate on an individual, that doesn’t mean that I am working alone.

“In fact I’m speaking for the whole population.

“Each of these individuals gets born, cries to be heard, becomes an individual, and becomes a Papua New Guineans man or woman.

“Their fears, the hardships that they go through, their romantic experiences, tragedies, and all these things that is most human to us.”

So how this he feel about his books being studied all over the world by students of literature and philosophy?

“The books themselves are studied not only in literature out there, but also in philosophy, social work and cultural studies.

“There are a great number of universities throughout the world who use the novel Maiba as a textbook.

“There is a women’s university in the USA who use the book Maiba every now and then as a textbook.

“I recall how pleased I felt with that school at one time.

“The principal wrote to me about the book, and that they were happy to teach the book at the school, they regarded me as an up-and-coming African woman writer.

“I replied and said ‘thank you’,” Soaba laughs wickedly.

His future

“I am really anxious to publish one more novel before I call it quits

“I have had an offer from an Italian publisher who wants to translate Maiba and Wanpis into Italian.

“I also have recently selected a biographer to write my biographer.

“The other thing I would like to add is that I want to encourage our young writers of today to write seriously about us as Papua New Guineans.

“Give ourselves some kind of identity on the face of the world.”

About Aaron Hayes

Aaron Hayes first came to Papua New Guinea in 1997 to work with the Education Department as a guidance officer.

Part of his job involved providing careers counselling to students in the secondary schools, and helping them prepare for life after Grade 10 or 12.

Hayes wrote a book called the PNG School Leaver's Handbook which is still available in schools.

“In the book I tried to present all kinds of ideas for young people to be self-employed in the village instead of hanging around unemployed in the towns,” he says.

“While researching village tourism for the Handbook I found out that hardly any tour companies were offering village-based tourism products to overseas travel agents and tour wholesalers.

“When I enquired, tour operators said that village tourism was unreliable, difficult to book and difficult to sell.

“They also said they couldn't make any profit out of it because village guest houses didn't pay commissions to agents who send them tourists.”

Hayes took the bull by the horn, and when he finished his contract with the Education Department at the end of 2002, he decided to stay in Papua New Guinea and start up two companies.

One is PNG Development Services which helps design community projects and business ventures for people in rural areas and the other company is Ecotourism Melanesia. Ecotourism Melanesia is an inbound tour company which specialises in sending tourists into the rural areas of PNG.

“My company has a policy that every one of our tours must include at least one night in a village guest house or rural lodge, no matter ‘how high’ the tourist is,” Hayes says.

“We offer tours all over PNG and also do Kokoda Trail trekking.

“My main aim was to prove that village tourism could be successfully packaged and sold through travel agents all over the world and I have already proven this because my company is growing after four years.

“My main frustration is that I cannot do enough to promote village tourism in PNG because I am only one person and one small tour company.”

In 2004, Hayes and a few like-minded people set up a non-profit organisation to help village people get involved in ecotourism and to help market PNG village guest houses overseas.

This organisation is the Community-Based Tourism Foundation of PNG Inc.

The organisation plans to run proper training for village guest house operators with training books and videos in Tok Pisin, and have its own website with all the village guest houses in PNG listed on the website and provide a booking service for all the guest houses, and market village tourism on the internet.

“We printed an awareness pamphlet about village tourism and distributed the pamphlet through provincial tourism officers and we have been flooded with hundreds and hundreds of letters from village people all over the country requesting help and advice on village-based tourism,” Hayes says.

“What an opportunity to help the rural people!

“But the CBTF only ran well for a year with funding from the Tourism Promotion Authority and since then we have been unable to get any more funding so the Community-Based Tourism Foundation is currently inactive.

“Letters continue to arrive every week asking for help but we are unable to respond at the moment.

“This was the only organisation dedicated to supporting the growth of the village guest house industry in PNG so it is sad that this organisation cannot be better supported.

“Requests for help sent to various donors and government departments have not been answered.”

Ecotourism in Papua New Guinea

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.

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

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 targetted 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.”

The old Lae airport

Lae airport in its heyday in the 1970s

The old Lae airport

The old Lae airport has played a significant role in the history of the town, Papua New Guinea, and the whole world for that matter.

Mordern day Lae and PNG grew because of the airport.

The greatest airlift the world had ever known started from Lae to the Bulolo goldfields in the 1930s.

World attention was focused on Lae in 1937, and continues to this day, when it was the last port of called for the famed American aviatrix Amelia Earhart before she disappeared somewhere over the deep-blue South Pacific ocean.

Lae airstrip was bombed out by the Japanese on January 21, 1942, however, recovered to become a major player in the development of post-war PNG.

I still have unforgettable memories – as a child - of flying to Wewak, Rabaul, Buka, Kavieng, Goroka and many other places in those trusty old Ansett, TAA and later Air Niugini DC3s and F27s.

The old Lae airport started losing its thunder in 1977 when Nadzab, an American World War 11 strip, became operational.

Fierce political squabbling over the pros and cons of Lae and Nadzab continued until 1982, when, in an unsolved mystery (just like Amelia Earhhart), the Lae airport terminal was burned down.

Nadzab had taken away its glory; however, Lae continued to be used by Air Niugini and other third-level airlines until 1987.

Lae continued to be used as the base for the PNG Defence Force Air Transport Squadron until it was transferred to Port Moresby in 1992.

After that, one of the greatest icons of PNG history was literally left to the dogs, and became covered by bushes.

It was only recently that the land was sub-divided for commercial purposes as well as given back to the traditional landowners.

The story of the old Lae airport is a fascinating one, and is well-documented in the book Lae: Village and City, written by pioneer University of Technology lecturer Ian Willis.

The discovery of gold at Edie Creek above Wau in 1926 sparked off a gold rush which led to the exploitation of the rich deposits of the Bulolo-Watut river system by large-scale mechanised mining.

The rigours and cost of the eight-day walk into the goldfields and the difficulty of building a road from the coast led to the early introduc­tion of an aviation service.

The driving force behind the develop­ment of the goldfields was Cecil J. Levien, a former Morobe District Officer who has been described as a “rare and formidable combina­tion of opportunist, practical man and visionary”.

Levien persuaded the directors of Guinea Gold N.L. that startling profits would be made by any aviation company that could provide a service to eliminate the arduous walk between Salamaua and Wau.

He secured an option on a small DH-37 plane in Melbourne and engaged a pilot, E. A. “Pard” Mustar, to bring it to New Guinea.

He then selected Lae as the best place for the coastal airstrip and without bothering to obtain official permission, took on about 250 labourers to clear and level a landing ground under the supervision of Tommy Wright, the foreman of the agricultural station.

The construction of the airfield was perhaps the biggest enterprise ever undertaken at Lae and greatly perturbed the local villagers, who watched amazed as a vast area of bush was torn down and gardens were flattened.

They were in for further surprises when Mustar and his mechanic, A. W. D. Mullins, flew in from Rabaul, where they had been assembling and testing the plane.

Their arrival brought the full power of Western technology home to the villagers with a shock.

Mustar's account of his landing in Lae on 30 March 1927 gives a sharp sense of their mixed excitement and confusion:

“Our staff welcomed the machine . . . And the Kanakas! Good Lord! They came in droves to see the `big feller pidgeon'. My engineer, Mullins, was over six feet tall, while I am only 5ft. bins. short, and the Kanakas couldn't understand why the little man was `Number one masta longa pidgeon'. They examined the machine and decided it was `strong feller too much. Me no savvy this feller fashion belong white master'. Some of these natives had travelled for days down the mountains to see the 'pidgeon' .. . They took full measurements of the wings and all parts of the machine with lengths of cane to carry back to wondering villagers.”

The mastery of Europeans, previously seen in their goods and possessions, was now indisputable.

The aviation service was a success from the start.

After two unsuccessful flights around the mountains south of the Markham ­no one knew exactly how to find Wau from the air.

Mustar landed at Wau for the first time on 16 April.

He began the service the next day with a shipment of six 100 lb bags of rice, charging a shilling a 16, and, making two trips a day, five days a week, carried 84 passen­gers and

27, 000 lbs of cargo in the first three months.

Rival aviation companies were not long in arriving to share the profits.

Ray Parer, the proprietor of Bulolo Goldfields Air Service who had been com­peting keenly with Mustar to be the first to land at Lae, came from Rabaul after many delays, and A. “Jerry” Pentland and P. “Skip” Moody soon joined them.

There was ample business for all, and by April 1928, a year after the service began,

Guinea Airways (the aviation company that grew from Guinea Gold N.L.) had acquired two extra planes and was employing three further pilots and two more mechanics.

Then in March 1929 a new company, Morlae Air­lines, began a weekly Lae-Port Moresby run, meeting ships from Australia and bringing passengers and frozen foods across to Wau, Bulolo, Salamaua and Lae.

This service cut the time needed to get from Port Moresby to the goldfields from six days to one.

The town developed quickly as the volume of traffic increased.

What had been a rough clearing in the bush in early 1927 soon acquired workshops, hangars, storage sheds, offices, houses and bar­racks.

At first the growth was unsupervised and chaotic.

Guinea Gold N.L. had built the airstrip without permission and had no power to prevent other operators from using the land or erecting buildings.

As a result early Lae grew as a large European squatter camp.

Each new arrival simply set himself up wherever he pleased without concern for ownership.

Levien in particular was concerned at the uncontrolled building, which he believed was becoming a hazard to aircraft.

No one was sure who owned the land, but that the local villagers may have had rightful claims does not seem to have been considered.

The question of ownership was finally settled in favour of the administration.

The government, with might on its side, ended the squabbling between the various contenders by resuming a large area including the airstrip in August 1927.

Earlier the land had been put up for sale by tender by the Custodian of Expropriated Properties, who had control of it because it was the property that had been expropriated from the Neu Guinea Compagnie.

The administration had been a tenderer, but concerned that it might be outbid by an ambitious, go-getting company like Guinea Gold N.L., it withdrew its tender and resumed the land instead.

The government took a huge slice-the entire 11721 acres of the Compagnie's holding­ stating that it needed the land for an aerodrome, a shipping depot, an agricultural station, and native reserves.

Those wanting to build now had to arrange a lease with the government.

The administration was strongly influenced by an officer of the Department of Civil Aviation, W. J. Duncan, who had been seconded by the Australian government to the New Guinea administration to report on and supervise the founding of aviation services in New Guinea.

Dun­can's report, which he submitted in late 1927, recommended that the administration should take responsibility for airport construction and maintenance, that it should sub-divide the area around the airstrip into a series of blocks, each three chains wide and five chains long with a roadway between them and lease each for £20 a year.

Lae thus became the prototype for New Guinean towns built around airstrips.

In such places the airstrip dominates the shape and form of the town, usually occupying the central position. (Later air­port towns were Goroka, Mount Hagen, Kainantu and most sub­district headquarters opened since World War I1).

The airstrip in New Guinea is perhaps analogous to the railway station of an earlier era in America and Australia, because it has generally decided the shape and the settlement pattern of the town.

In early Lae this was obvious: the workshops and hangars clustered between the end of the airstrip and the wharf, the Europeans lived to the east of the strip, near the river terrace, while the New Guinean labourers generally lived on the far or western side.

An important impetus to the growth of Lae was the decision of the gold mining interests to airlift in sections the heavy mining machinery they used for treating the Bulolo and Watut River gravels.

At first Bulolo Gold Dredging Ltd and its parent company, Placer Development Ltd, had thought of building a road to the goldfields, but the length of time it would take and the high cost of construction and maintenance persuaded the companies to accept Guinea Air­ways' proposition that “skyways are the cheapest highways”.

On the advice of Mustar, Bulolo Gold Dredging purchased three all-metal, tri-motored Junkers G-31 aircraft from Germany, which Guinea Airways was to operate under licence for the gold mining company.

Guinea Airways also purchased a Junkers G-31 of its own.

They were huge planes, each capable of carrying a payload of 7100 lbs or 14 short tons together.

The airlift began in April 1931 and continued for eight years: the first dredge began work in March 1932, the eighth in November, 1939.

It proceeded smoothly because of the spirit of co-operation existing between Bulolo Gold Dredging and Guinea Airways, and because of their streamlined operation.

At Lae they had a wharf 75 feet long, with half a mile of railway running around the foreshore to the storage sheds at the airport.

Because of the unsatisfactory harbour facilities at Lae-unstable foreshore, open anchorage and steeply sloping seafloor-all cargo had to be lightened ashore in barges, which were then unloaded by steam crane.

Another crane at the airstrip lifted the heavy machinery into the planes and a rail crane unloaded them at Bulolo.

Eventually operations became so efficient that nine round trips a day were possible.

The airlift was a remarkable undertaking. It pioneered the use of aviation in the transport of heavy cargo and, in the words of one writer, “in every respect it constituted a world record”.

While it lasted the power of Western technology was daily impressed on the local people, who stood by bemused as the town grew around them.

The airlift stimulated the steady development of the town and by 1942, when it was destroyed by Japanese bombing, it had about 120 European residents, about sixty Chinese and perhaps several hundred New Guineans.

It became a bustling, busy place, and though it remained chiefly a centre of the aviation industry, it developed a distinctive town life of its own.

Something of its busyness can be seen in a 1935 report in the Pacific Islands Monthly:

“Lae is now a township ranking high in the Mandated Territory of New Guinea. It is a centre of great activity . . . and one of the biggest (if not the biggest) aircraft centres in the southern hemi­sphere. The European population is now around the hundred mark and is increasing with each steamer. Accommodation is being taxed; so much so that a new hotel has been commenced and is expected to be completed in a month or two."

A death that momentarily focused world attention on Lae was that of the American aviatrix, Amelia Earhart Putnam, who vanished with her navigator, Fred Noonan, after leaving Lae in June 1937 on the longest leg of their trip around the world.

Old Lae residents used to recall entertaining the couple in the Hotel Cecil the night before their departure, and then seeing them off the next morning.

Their plane was so overloaded with its eight tons of fuel that it was still barely clearing the waves as it disappeared from sight, flying east along the Huon Gulf coast on its way to Howland Island 2600 miles to the north.

On such occasions Laeites, regardless of class or social position, felt they were part of history.

Beyond the Coral Sea

East of Java and west of Tahiti a bird of dazzling plumage stalks the Pacific over the Cape York Peninsula of Australia.

In her wake, she spills clusters of emeralds on the surface of the deep.

These are the unknown paradise islands of the Coral, Solomon and Bismarck Seas lying off the east coast of Papua New Guinea.

The islands were the last inhabited place on earth to be explored by Europeans and even today many remain largely unspoilt, despite the former presence of German, British and even Australian colonial rulers.

Beyond the Coral Sea – a book which portrays Papua New Guinea in a new light – is now being sold in bookshelves around the world.

Written by Australian Michael Moran, the book is arguably the most- comprehensive travel book to be written about PNG in many years, and introduces a new area to travel literature.

Beyond the Coral Sea introduces the adventurers, mercenaries, explorers and missionaries – past and present – who have inhabited the islands and brings them vividly to life.

“My PNG book has sold well in paperback but is not really a bestseller as normally understood, but for a book on PNG it has done brilliantly, particularly in international reviews and prizes,” Moran says.

“I have received many private letters from all sorts of people, also Papua New Guineans, who love the book.

“I notice on the internet the book is also in many university libraries around the world – Oxford, Cambridge, Australia and many in the US.

“This is excellent news for me and I am proud of it.

“In March 2005 I was invited to deliver the prestigious Monday lecture to the Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society in London – a great honour – and I used many slides of PNG and some rare recordings Malinowski made of cannibal laments in the Trobriand Islands. It was very successful.

“The book was short-listed for the world’s premier travel book prize in 2004 – The Thomas Cook Travel Book Award.

“This also was a great achievement – a first for an Australian travel writer and a first for PNG.

“Unfortunately I did not win but was runner-up.

“It gave excellent publicity for tourism to PNG.”

Moran begins his journey on the island of Samarai, historic gateway to the old British Protectorate, as the guest of the benign grandson of a cannibal.

But rather than a tale of cannibals and blood, this is a journey in the romantic and adventurous spirit of Robert Louis Stevenson and an exploration of encroaching change in remarkably diverse cultures.

Along the way Moran explores the role of superstition, magic rites and the occult in the lives of the islanders, including the trading route of the Kula Ring which unites many tribal island groups in a mystical exchange of symbolically valuable objects, one set travelling clockwise around the ring, the other anti-clockwise.

Moran describes the historic anthropological work of Malinowski in the Trobriand Islands and also catches up with some of the adventurers, mercenaries, explorers, missionaries and prospectors he has encountered on previous journeys.

He explores the former capitals of German New Guinea and headquarters of the disastrous Neu Guinea Compagnie, its administrators decimated by malaria and murder.

He travels along the inaccessible Rai Coast through the Archipelago of Contented Men, following in the footsteps of the great Russian explorer “Baron” Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay.

His narrative is interwoven with the fabulous and humorous stories of eccentric residents such as the glamorous “Queen” Emma on New Britain, the deranged Marquis de Rays who attempted to found a utopian colony on a malaria-infested shore of New Ireland and the impetuous sexual exploits of a young Errol Flynn.

“Queen Emma” of New Britain, who was born of an American father and a Samoan mother, built up a large empire of copra plantations, as well as traded in the fabled obsidian (black volcanic glass) and entertained on a lavish scale with imported food and French champagne.

Moran journeys by light plane, jeep and banana boat to reach former colonial capitals and occult heartlands.

He uses the historic anthropological work of Bronislaw Malinowski to guide him through the seductive labyrinth of the Trobriand “Islands of Love” and the sensual erotic dances of the yam festival.

“People are impressed with the appearance and general ‘seriousness’ but relaxed writing style of the book and my colour photographs of the lovely blonde children (of New Ireland) and landscapes,” Moran said.

“Those amazing New Ireland men in tatanua masks on the jacket have hardly ever been seen in the UK.

“The island provinces of PNG are regarded as incredibly exotic here.”

The book has been well reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement, a very prestigious journal, and the Daily Mail newspaper, which has a circulation about 2.5 million as well as others.

Moran said PNG High Commissioner to Great Britain Ms Jean Kekedo liked the book very much.

“She knows everybody I mentioned by name, particularly the Milne Bay area,” he said.

“We have come to similar conclusions about the problems of PNG, as she has a serious social conscience.

“The book is not 100 per cent positive, of course, as I tried to present a balanced picture of the more sensational and incredible events of its original ‘Western survey’ as well as a generally-glowing picture of the peaceful and beautiful people island people I met.

“The Highlands and the problems of that region could be on another planet compared to the island provinces.”

Moran concluded: “I truly hope that this happy, charming and informative book will assist tourism to your beautiful country – it really needs some positive press.”

Beyond the Coral Sea: Travels in the Old Empires of the South-West Pacific
by Michael Moran
Format: Hardback
Price: £18.99
Imprint: HarperCollins

The story of Nadzab airport

Nadzab airport before just before its opening in 1977

The story of Nadzab airport


Longtime Lae resident, the late Horace Niall, once predicted that Nadazab would one day become the main international airport for Papua New Guinea.

It hasn’t, as yet, however, is capable of receiving international flights and remains one of the busiest airports in the country.
Niall was one of those who helped to build Nadzab back in 1943 into one of the busiest airstrips of World War 11.
And he fondly recalls that Nadzab was almost in every respect an “international airport” in those days, with loudspeakers calling for passengers to Honolulu, Los Angeles, Australia and many other faraway places.
Nadzab fell into disuse after WW11, however, rose from the ashes of the war to be reopened in 1977 and eventually took over from Lae as the main airport.
“Having had so much to do with Nadzab, I was happy to hear in 1973 that it was to be made operational again,” Niall wrote in 1978.
“I doubt that it will ever be as busy as it was from late 1943 to 1945, but I have a feeling in my bones that one day it will become the main international airport for Papua New Guinea.”
The first airfield in the Nadzab area of the Morobe Province’s Markham Valley was established by the Lutheran Mission for use by small planes serving the mission station at Gabmatzung.
It was not used very often and, after the outbreak of the Pacific War, it soon became overgrown with dense kunai grass.
It was with the capture of Japanese-occupied Lae in mind that the Allied forces decided to use the Nadzab area as a landing craft for Dakota and other aircraft.
On September 5, 1943, about 1600 men of the 503rd American Parachute Infantry Regiment, with an Australian battery of 25-pounders, were dropped at Nadzab.
The Americans were in 82 Dakota transports, the Australian gunners in five.
Before the attack, part of the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion, with a Papuan Infantry Battalion (PIB) company and an Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) detachment with almost 1000 Papua New Guineans as carriers and labourers, had been assembled at Tsili Tsili airstrip in the Lower Watut area, to the southwest of Nadzab.
“The ANGAU detachment was under my command,” Niall takes up the story.
“All of us made a three-day march from Tsili Tsili to a point overlooking the Markham River and almost opposite the area where the paratroopers were to land.
“Before the drop, the site was heavily strafed by Mitchell bombers and fighter planes.
“At the same time the Lae airstrip was also coming under heavy bombardment.
“During the strafing, large areas of kunai grass were set alight.
“The paratroopers landed with no opposition.
“The overland troops and carriers crossed the Markham River just west of the junction with the Erap River but their progress to the drop area was held up because a track had to be cut through the tall pitpit (a wild sugarcane)
“By dark, Lieutenant Colonel J.T. Lang, CO of the Pioneers, and myself had reached the site of the proposed new airstrip.
“Word was sent back along the track for all to sleep where they could and to be at the old airstrip site by first light.
“This happened and by 7.30am I was able to report that, by a superhuman effort on the part of the Papua New Guinea labourers, the old strip was cleared and ready for planes to land on it.
“On hearing this, the 5th Air Force headquarters began moving troops of the Australian 7th Division, the first arrivals landing about 11.30am.
“Cover for the incoming aircraft was provided by the US paratroopers.
“The next day I was told to report to Colonel Price of the US Army engineers, who instructed me to accompany him to a site, marked on aerial photograph of the area, which appeared suitable for a large airstrip.
“We travelled at breakneck speed across country to the site of the present Nadzab airstrip.
“After driving up and down the proposed site a few times the colonel said he was satisfied it would be suitable.
“We then arranged for 50 labourers to be put to work clearing the kunai and other rubbish.
“A camp site, which is still recognisable, was selected for ANGAU personnel near the present turn-off from the Highlands Highway to the airport.”
Grass knives and machetes were dropped and some large tractor drawn mowers were sent from Port Moresby.
However, they could not be used until large stones and bush covering the area had been cleared.
Then six bulldozers were flown in.
They cleared a track as they drove to the site of the planned strip.
That track was almost in the same position as the track which today leads from the airport to the racecourse.
“The ‘dozers quickly leveled the area but in doing so they raised a pall of black dust, caused by the kunai being set alight, which made working conditions unpleasant, especially since drinking water had to be carried several miles,” Niall recalls.
“Another danger was the death adders which turned up by the score.
“Most were large and angry at being disturbed and each had to be caught and killed before work could proceed.
“Luckily no one was bitten and I think the adders helped augment the meat rations of some workers!”
Next came the Marsden steel matting which was laid on the new strip by the US engineers.
Two days after work had begun, the first flight of Mitchell bombers landed. The strip had already been tested by a few Dakota landings and a makeshift control tower, made from poles cut from the nearby bushes and tied with wire and kunai vines, had been erected.
In the days that followed Lae was recaptured and the US 5th Air Force headquarters was moved from Port Moresby to Nadzab.
Two more strips were prepared plus an emergency landing ground.
Dispersal bays were made and connecting roads, most of which were sealed with bitumen flown from Port Moresby, were laid.
An Australian Construction Squadron also built two strips near the entrance to the present-day Nadzab airport for use by RAAF aircraft.
The main airstrip was, at first, used mostly by medium and heavy bombers such as Liberators and Flying Fortresses which were attacking Madang, Wewak, Rabaul and Hollandia (now Jayapura in West Irian).
They came and went from dawn till dark.
This went on until Hollandia was captured by US troops.
The heavy aircraft were then moved to Hollandia, and to Morotai in the northern Moluccas.
Nadazab then became home to the Combat Replacement Training Centre (CRTC).
Planes were flown in from Australia and the United States and the crews were given their final training before combat.
“Nadzab was almost in every respect an international airport,” Niall remembers.
“All day long, one could hear loudspeakers calling for passengers to Honolulu, Los Angeles, Australia and many other faraway places.
“Most air operations for the transport aircraft were controlled by civilians in uniform.
“One told me they were getting ready for the period after the war when they would be traffic controllers for US civil airlines.
“It must have been excellent training for them!
“We were hoping to have the use of a lot of the army-built huts at Nadzab after the 5th Air Force moved on but to our disappointment nearly all were dismantled and flown to Hollandia.
“Only the concrete floors were left, many of which can be seen at Nadzab today.”
The war over, Nadzab fell into disuse, nearly all air movements being made from Lae.
“Two years later, the only sign of activity was the ‘graveyard’ of dozens of wrecked Liberators and Fortress bombers plus a few Dakotas and fighter planes,” Niall continues.
“These were bought by an enterprising group who set up a furnace, smelted down the pieces into ingots and shipped them from Lae at what was said to have been a very handsome profit.
“It was sad to see the old bombers being chopped up.
“On their sides were a great selection of humourous paintwork – fancy names, markings signifying the number of missions, numbers of ships hit or sunk and other aircraft shot down in combat.
“Practically nothing is left today of the ‘graveyard’ which was at the western end of the present airstrip.”
In 1962, the main strip at Nadzab was resealed by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Works and lengthened to make it suitable for Mirage fighters, even though they never materialised.
However, it was always maintained by the Australian Department of Civil Aviation as an alternative to Lae in poor weather conditions.
Likes its predecessor in Lae, Nadzab has made an indelible impact on the history of Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea and the world.

Goroka and Eastern Highlands Province

What is it about Goroka and the Eastern Highlands in general that makes outsiders fall in love with the place?

Having lived in Goroka from 1998 to 2002, where I worked for the Coffee Industry Corporation, I can understand why people go there and never leave.

That’s where my wife and I settled together, where our first two sons were born.

Five years after leaving Goroka, I can honestly say that it’s a place that we’ve never quite left and our hearts will always be there.

Before that, from 1975 to 1977, I did my early years of primary school in Goroka.

And in the 1960s, my mum and dad lived there, and that’s where my elder sister and brother were born.

So I guess you can say that Goroka has always been a second home to us.

The first and foremost attraction of Goroka and Eastern Highlands has been the friendly, peace–loving people.

Secondly, there’s the famed “perennial spring” weather of the province.

Eastern Highlands Province is made up of eight districts.

They are Goroka, Kainantu, Henganofi, Unggai/Bena, Obura/Wonenara, Asaroka, Lufa and Okapa.

Eastern Highlands has a total land area land of 11, 347 square km.

The Province shares a common administrative boundary with Madang, Morobe and Gulf Provinces and Simbu Provinces.

Eastern Highlanders like to think of themselves as the friendliest people in the Highlands and have less tribal fights compared to other Highlands provinces.

Eastern Highlands has a total population of 432, 792 people.

The Eastern Highlands makes up 8.3 per cent of the total PNG population, which is the fourth highest population in the country after Southern Highlands, Morobe and Western Highlands Provinces.

They are hardworking people who attend to their food gardens, coffee and livestock while the educated ones work in the towns or cities.

Many from all over the country and expatriates have made this province their home either because of work or marriage.

The Province is home to a number of national institutions such as: Coffee Industry Corporation, PNG Institute of Medical Research, University of Goroka, National Sports Institute, Summer Institute of Linguistics, Aiyura National High School, National Agriculture Research Institute, Coffee Research Institute, and Yonki Hydro Power Station.

Non-government organisations such as Research & Conservation Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society, Save the Children and Eastern Highlands Family Voice have a strong presence in Goroka.

The PNG Coffee Festival & Trade Fair every May and the Goroka Show every September are two major events on Goroka’s calendar.

The province is the regional trucking centre, having one of the Highlands region's major trucking company's operating in Goroka.

The East-West Trucking Company freights cargo and provides service to the entire Highlands region. Apart from that, there are other private trucking firms that freight cargo.

The province's economy lies in the production and export of coffee, which provides the economic backbone and livelihood for all Eastern Highlanders.

Leading exporters of coffee based in the Province are PNG Coffee Exports and New Guinea Highlands Coffee Exports as well as PNG's ground coffee manufacturers Goroka Coffee Roasters, Kongo Coffee and Arabicas Ltd.

The Coffee Industry Corporation headquarters is also located in Goroka.

Eastern Highlands is the leading producer of coffee in the Highlands region.

It produces large quantities of coffee annually for export.

Almost all rural households within the province own a small plot of coffee as a small family project.

A lot of families have now taken to supplementing their family's income by engaging in small agricultural and livestock businesses.

The introduction of vanilla, wheat and rice has had a huge impact on agricultural enthusiasts throughout the Province.

Rice and wheat is being grown for own consumption and/or selling while the vanilla is sold to the international market.

Pigs, rabbits and especially chickens are readily farmed while fresh vegetables are still grown for the local and national markets.

Traditional houses, built circular or horizontal and walls weaved from pitpit canes or bamboo, are common in villages.

Traditional housing is built in a circular or rectangular shape and the walls weaved from pitpit canes or bamboo.

Cooking is done either by using bamboos, roasting sweet potatoes in the open fire or using earth ovens known as mumu.

Monthly rainfall follows a seasonal pattern with a wet season from December to early April having mean monthly rainfalls of about 203mm to 305mm.

Eastern Highlands Province is made up of rugged mountain terrain and broad valleys.

It has low coastal areas in the Markham and Ramu valleys.

The Province's two highest peaks, Mt Tabletop and Mt Michael, are located on Kratke and Bismarck Range respectively.

They rise at a height of more than 3000 metres above sea level.

Specifically, Mt Michael is situated 3750 metres above sea level while Mt Tabletop is at 3686 metres.

Asaro and Lamari rivers both flow into the Purari, which is one of PNG's five major river systems.

The Ramu River feeds the Yonki Hydro-Power Station.

The Province is entered through the Kassam Pass and exited to other Highlands provinces at Daulo Pass.

Kassam Pass offers a picturesque view of the Markham and Ramu valleys while Daulo Pass reveals a breath taking view of Goroka's lush, green valleys.

Grasslands dominate a broad area of land especially in the valleys, which is predominantly inhabited by people.

To surmise, there’s no other place like Goroka or Eastern Highlands!