Two top PNG bloggers share their secrets

I have been inundated with queries from all over the country about Blogging since I started writing on the subject last fortnight and again last week.
For the benefit of these people, I have asked two of Papua New Guinea’s esteemed Bloggers, Emmanuel Narakobi and Robert Schilt, to share their thoughts on Blogging - one of the fastest-growing means of mass communication.
Emmanuel runs the Masalai Blog (http://masalai.wordpress.com/) while Robert runs http://www.trupela.com/ out of Goroka.
“I had been hearing allot about it in the media and on the Internet throughout 2006 and after seeing the beautiful writing on one of my own friend’s Blog, http://islandbaby.blogspot.com/, I decided I’d give it a go,” Emmanuel recalls.
“The initial purpose was to provide a medium other than my company website where I could be less formal in discussing what was going on at my business.
“In a way I saw it as an alternative way of advertising.
“After getting started, like any website, I was now asking myself how I get people to see my writing and to leave comments.
“So I started visiting PNG Scape, the popular PNG forum.
“I would leave comments on there in the IT section and then I would have links back to my Blog so people could come and comment.
“After employing this trick for a while I noticed that it started to work and so my hits then began to increase.
“But then I ran in to some issues with the owners of the PNG Scape Forum, who after a while, stopped me from posting anything on the Forum because they believed that it was taking people away from the forum, especially in their IT section.
“After some discussions with them we compromised that as long as I put up their link on my Blog and if I kept most of the articles on their website then they would allow me again to post comments on their forum.”
The rest, as they say, is history and the hits began to climb, as can be verified by http://masalai.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/masalai-blog-statistics/, from 442 hits a month in December 2006 to 5,205 hits in June this year.
“I guess, after all that, the hits began to climb quickly each month,” Emmanuel continues.
“So I now average between 4,500-5,000 hits a month, which has been absolutely amazing to me.
“A lot of what I write about is ICT-related, but I try not to get too technical and to keep it fun so as to keep the attention of the readers.
“As many active bloggers like Malum Nalu can tell you, it’s wonderful how many different and like-minded people you meet through the Blog.
“I now have a growing list of contacts in my industry that actually relate to my work and it has even led to a new article in the Pacific Islands Business magazine, which is published in Fiji for the South Pacific.
“Blogging isn’t for everyone, because you have to update it frequently.
“So you have to have a passion for what you are writing about and a keen interest in it.
“Because obviously, the more you update it, the more people keep coming back to read what you have to say.
“From a business perspective, it can be one of the best ways to advertise online.
“Tourism companies in PNG would be a great example of a perfect use for a Blog to tell people about travels and places to stay when you are in PNG.
“It’s been 19 months now since I stared and I’m up to 70,837 hits, so to anyone who wants to give it go, start right now.
“It’s free and all it will cost is your time to share your thoughts with the world.”
Schilt, an expatriate IT manager at the Goroka Base Hospital, is another of the keen Bloggers in PNG.
“I have been an avid blogger since early 2005 and although I have never attracted thousands of regular readers nor created layouts to blow your mind, I have thoroughly enjoyed the process and have remained reasonably consistent as far as the frequency and the content that I publish,” he says.
“What triggered the whole blogging thing for me was when I decided to come and work as a volunteer in Papua New Guinea back in early 2005, I was seeking a means to share the adventure with the family and friends back at home.
“A so-called Blog, or Weblog, seemed like the perfect medium for achieving this need and so this is when blogging for me got off to a flying start.
“There are currently thousands of online articles, news feeds, websites, and of course blogs available for the Blogger, just ask Google! - from tips and techniques, to customisation guides and of course a myriad on the esoteric topic of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
“Blogging can be as simple or as complex, as fun or as serious, as little work or as time consuming as you want.
“In the end and if you decide to start your own Blog - you and only you can decide the what, the when and the how’s - the means, the guidance and resources to do it are generally widely available.
“Believe it or not but there are folks around that have found a way to make a comfortable living out of blogging.
“Whether it’s designing blogs for another people, writing stories, or even those that have found a way of creating an unattended blog - one that is capable of automatically ‘pinching’ stories/posts from other websites/blogs/newsfeeds and then re-publishing them as their own, these blogs normally carry adverts which of course make money for the owner.”
Robert adds: “There are times I wished that I was in a position to immerse myself into blogging full-time - then again I’m glad that I have other responsibilities in my life which drag me away from the potentially addictive nature of this cyber past-time.
“Although my basic reason for blogging remains the same as it was back in early 2005 when I started out, the interest and curiosity in the incredibly-diverse selection of tools available to bloggers has really caught my fancy.
“There are many times when I can see how caught up I have become in the periphery tasks associated with blogging such as customisation, SEO and function.
“In the end it’s the quality and content that attracts the readers plus it has always been my intention to preserve uniqueness and individuality of my web presence.
“When I reflect on this I always end up making a decision to drop the nerdy/techo stuff and refocus on my primary reason for blogging: the writing and the sharing.”

How Voco Point, Lae, got its name

Point of history

Voco Point, Lae, is one of the busiest coastal trading points in the country!

On any given day, coastal vessels from throughout the country – from Alotau to Manus, from Lihir to Vanimo – line up at the wharves.

The passenger boats ferry people to Finschhafen, the Siassi islands, Kimbe, Rabaul, New Ireland, Oro Bay, Alotau, Madang, and Wewak.

The local shops make fortunes every day and the roads are chock-a-block with humans and vehicles.

In a nutshell, Voco Point is one of the busiest coastal trading points in the country.

It continues a great tradition started by Morobeans of long ago.

The pre-World War 11Vacuum Oil Company – Mobil – had a depot at the site of Voco Point; hence, Voco is short for Vacuum Oil Company.

Mobil Oil Australia was established in Australia in 1895 and traded as Vacuum Oil Company.

It was the first oil company to operate in Australia, New Guinea, and of course Lae.

As Lae boomed with the Wau and Bulolo goldfields in the 1920s, a shipping depot connected by railway to the airstrip was established at Vacuum Oil Company (Voco) Point, and remained as the main wharf until after the war.

The local Lae villages call Voco Point Asiawi, and in days of yore, it was a traditional trading ground that bustled with activity.

They came from as far away as the Siassi and Tami Islands, Bukawa, Salamaua, and Labu to meet and exchange goods in this ancient market place.

Researchers know that around the Huon Gulf, a complex and extensive trading system – dependent on canoe voyages – had existed long before contact with Europeans.

The greatest mariners were the Siassi and Tami Islanders, whose boats sailed up the Rai Coast towards Madang, plied the coast of New Britain, and penetrated far to the south in the Huon Gulf.

The Lae, unlike their Labu neighbors, were not great mariners but did build two types of canoes: a small dugout for local fishing and the larger Kasali (sailing canoe) for longer trips.

Supply lines stretched across the Vitiaz Strait to New Britain, up the Rai Coast towards Madang, and deep into the Upper Markham and the high valley of the Huon Peninsula.

According to one researcher, the distinctive feature of this trade was specialisation in the production of certain goods.

The Lae produced taro and fruits; the Labu specialised in woven handbags and baskets; the Bukawa produced taro, fruit, rain capes and mats of pandanus leaves sewn together; the Tami Islanders carved a variety of wooden bowls; while Siassi Islanders acted as middlemen, trading Huon Gulf products into New Britain and bringing back obsidian for knife blades and ochre for paints.

The inlanders and mountain people brought to the beach produce that the coast did not grow so well: yams, sweet potato, and tobacco.

They also brought with them items of wealth such as birds of paradise plumes, dog’s teeth, and cockatoo feathers.In return, they took shells and shells ornaments, pigs, fish, and salt.

The inland trade route at Lae ran through Yalu to the Markham Valley and through Musom to the highlands of the Huon Peninsula.

Trading was carried out through a system of partnership with certain individuals and families at different ports.

This may explain how traces of the old Ahi – Wampar language are said to exist as far away as the coast of West New Britain.

It may also explain the undercurrent of friendship and co-operation between the people of the Huon Gulf coast, from Salamaua to the Siassi islands.

In 1979, a strange phenomenon occurred when a whirlpool came and tore away a large chunk of land and destroyed part of the Yacht Club.

This surprised many people, but not the local landowners, who said it was an evil spirit called Yaayaa.

According to the traditions of the Gwatu clan of Butibam Village, their original village, Ankuapoc, was near Asiawi.

Asiawi, according to mythology, used to be a long point which went out much further than today but was eaten by the evil spirit called Yaayaa which comes in a whirlpool and takes away chunks of land, the last of which was in 1979.

As Lae boomed with the Wau and Bulolo goldfields in the 1920s, a shipping depot connected by railway to the airstrip was established at Voco Point and remained as the main wharf until after the war.

Voco Point is now the terminal for local shipping and small boats, second to the Lae Port.

But it has made an indelible mark on the history of Lae, Morobe Province, and Papua New Guinea, and continues in the same vein.

Where once ancient mariners braved the rough seas, with only the moon and stars to guide them, now modern coastal vessels load machinery for the new gold mine on Lihir.

This is Voco Point, also known as Asiawi.

Feedback to the Nadzab Airport story

I received this comment from one Larry Kasperek in regards to the Nadzab Airport story below (which has been used previously in this Blog): "The airstrip at Nadzab was built by the 836th Aviation Engineer Battalion.

"They arrived from Lae on Dec. 17, 1943 and spent their first Christmas in the Pacific there.

"In addition to the airstrip, they built a control tower, access roads, laid water pipe to the hospital area and the largest playhouse in thousands of miles, complete with a sound system.
"The John Wayne Show entertained them there.

"Of note in their history was a tea house run by the Australians.

"They departed in March of 1944.

"My father was a member, and they still hold annual reunions."

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 (Picture above showsNadzab, just before it was opened in late 1977)

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.

Storm Boy brings back memories of another day

It was while searching a second-hand shop in Port Moresby for books that I found a real gem.

That book was Storm Boy, written by Australian Colin Theile, and which was later made into a classic Australian film of the same name in 1976.

I immediately pounced on the book as Storm Boy was a movie that touched my heart – and those of so many other children - so many years ago as a child in Lae.

And, indeed, my children enjoyed every minute of me reading the book to them, which just goes to show the timelessness of Storm Boy.

It also brought back so many memories of another day, particularly of the now-extinct movie theatres, which once abounded all over Papua New Guinea.

A whole generation in Papua New Guinea has sadly grown up without knowing the experience of watching movies in a cinema.

In the “happy days” of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, cinemas were commonplace all over the country.

Those of us who grew up in that roaring and memorable period will know the joy of watching films on the big screen.

These days, with the advance of television, video, VCDs, and the Internet, the movie projector has become as antiquated as the time-honored typewriter.

Anyway, it was in 1978, when I was 10, that my father brought my elder brother David and I to the Huon Theatre in Lae one rainy night to watch Storm Boy.

I remember sitting with my eyes glued to the big screen, following Storm Boy’s every move, until I broke down and wept with him when his pet pelican Mr Percival was shot by hunters along a lonely, windswept Australian shore.

Every once in a while there is a special film, a film that appeals to all ages, a classic family entertainment that celebrates life and joyfully touches the heart.Storm Boy is that film.

Storm Boy (Mike) lives with his recluse father, Hide-Away Tom, on South Australia's lonely and beautiful coast.

Years before, when Storm Boy’s mother had died, Hide-Away Tom had left Adelaide and gone to live like a hermit by the sea.

Here his Storm Boy’s spirit roams with his pet pelican, Mr Percival, and his secret Aboriginal friend, Fingerbone Bill.

He knows no other world.

Suddenly there are intruders: the local school teacher who wants him to take lessons, a resentful wildlife ranger, duck shooters, hooligans with loud music.

Storm Boy, growing up, is forced to choose between a life of continued isolation and the challenges of the outside world.

One time the hunters are in the area, Mr Percival is shot down and Mike does a mad search through the long grass to find him.

The search is unsuccessful and Mike cries as he walks along the beach remembering times they spent together.

Fingerbone eventually finds Mr. Percival and buries him.

He shows Storm Boy the grave he dug, and there are a few moments of sadness, but this is turned to hope when Fingerbone shows Storm Boy a nest with a freshly hatched pelican in it: "Mr. Percival all over again, a bird like him never dies."

The film was one of the first Australian feature films made for children to become well-known and both the book and film are still widely used in school English programmes.

Fundraising Dance

Click to enlarge image

First University of Goroka debate and panel discussion launched

Last Tuesday night (10th July 2008), the University of Goroka launched its first-ever student debate and panel discussion about events currently in the media.

The topic of the debate was centred on the controversial issues of mining and exploration.

Two teams of students competed in the debate, presenting their arguments for and against the topic, to win the approval of the adjudicators.

Some poignant ideas were presented throughout the debate, which ensured an interesting and entertaining event witnessed by staff and students.

Strong competition from each competing side meant a tough decision was reached to award one team the winner on the night.

Chief organiser of the event, Associate Professor Dr Michael Mel, commented: “Great societies can discuss things if they can articulate their points of view [and] it’s very important today as we look at these kinds of issues…affecting our pockets and our levels of survival”.

He also quoted Vanuatu orator Jean-Maree Tjibaou: “As long as talk remains hidden in our minds we will never develop a common conscience”.

The debate was followed by an open discussion on the Prime Minister’s actions to intervene into certain commissions of inquiry about matters of national interest.

The discussion raised several important points made by staff and students relating to the topic regarding transparency, good governance, democracy, unbiased information from the media and justice for crimes committed against the state.

Dr Mel commented: “We live in a world where information is constructed…[and yet] the truth is only relative”.

The evening proved to be popular with staff and students alike and was deemed a success, enjoyed by all.

Similar events are planned to be held later in the year.