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

Malalo celebrates 100 years

It was one of those typically-beautiful Huon Gulf days on Friday, October 12, 2007, when we sailed from Lae to Malalo on Lutheran Shipping’s MV Rita for the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the historic Malalo Lutheran Mission Station.
It was a sunny day, not a cloud was in the sky, as if they did not want to spoil the celebrations.
Hundreds of people from all over Salamaua, Morobe Province, converged on Malalo that Friday for the centenary celebrations.
Work started on this icon - overlooking idyllic and historic Salamaua – exactly 100 years ago on October 12, 1907.
Surrounding villagers and guests from Lae, other parts of Morobe, and Papua New Guinea, converged on Malalo for the 100th anniversary celebrations.
The people of my mother’s Laukanu village rekindled memories of yore when they brought a kasali (ocean going canoe) to Malalo in a re-enactment of the arrival of the first Lutheran missionaries.
The people of Laukanu were among the greatest mariners of the Huon Gulf, making long ocean trips throughout the Huon Gulf to exchange goods, long before the arrival of the white man.
When the first Lutheran missionaries arrived in Finschhafen in the late 1880s, the Laukanu made the long sea voyage to Finschhafen, and helped to bring the Miti (Word of God) to the villages south of Lae.
The launch of the kasali celebrated not only the great seamanship of the Laukanu, but more importantly, coincided with the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Malolo Mission Station - overlooking idyllic and historic Salamaua – on October 12, 1907.
The people of Salamaua and surrounding villages, who make up the Malalo Circuit, converge on Malalo last week for this momentous occasion.
It was a time for all to celebrate the important role the church had played in their lives, as well as remember the many expatriate missionaries and local evangelists, who worked through the dark days of World War 1 and World War 11 to bring the Miti (Word of God) to the people.
These legendary missionaries include Reverend Karl Mailainder and Rev Herman Boettger (who started actual work on the Malalo station), Rev Hans Raun, Rev Friedrich Bayer, Rev Mathias Lechner, and Rev Karl Holzknecht.
Rev Raun suffered the humiliation of being interned by Australian authorities during WW1 while Rev Holzknecht (whose family has contributed much to the development of PNG) suffered the same fate during WW11 – their only crime being Germans.
Rev Bayer was taking a well-deserved leave in his homeland of Germany when he lost his life on July 24, 1932.
The heart-warming and touching story of Rev Bayer and his wife, Sibylle Sophie Bayer, is told in Sophie’s autobiography ‘He led me to a far off place’.
Rev Holzknecht replaced Rev Lechner in 1939 and was there when World War 11 broke out and wiped out Malalo and its famous neighbour of Salamaua.

Missionary’s wife Helene Holzknecht accompanied her husband on all but the trips along the Black Cat Trail into the Wau and Bulolo valleys, ministering to village women and helping the sick she found in these areas.
The outbreak of war in Europe in 1939 brought this idyll to an end.
Karl Holzknecht – being a German - was taken prisoner as an enemy alien by Australian authorities, leaving a pregnant and heartbroken Helene at Malalo.
Her eldest child and only daughter, Irene, was born at Sattelberg, on February 1, 1940, after Karl’s removal to Australia.
Helene and Irene were returned to Malalo, but were eventually evacuated after Japanese bombers attacked Lae and Salamaua.
Helene often talked of seeing those planes skimming the hills on their way to Salamaua, and the horror of the bombing of Salamaua.
Soon after their evacuation by DC3 to Port Moresby, Japanese aircraft also bombed the Malalo Station, destroying all the family’s possessions.
Reverend Karl Mailainder and Rev Herman Boettger started work on the Malalo Mission Station exactly 100 years ago last on October 12, 1907.
They had already checked out other places from Busamang to Kelanuc before settling at Asini at a place called Poadulu.
At Poadulu, work started on Malalo.
The local people were very happy and gave a large piece of land to the Lutheran Church.
The Laukanu people had two kasali so they sailed all the way to Finschhafen and brought missionaries’ cargo back to Malalo.
When Rev Mailainder was clearing land at Malalo, he had a surveyor, Mr Mayar, who worked alongside him.
Work had already started when Rev Boettger arrived and the station was established.
At that time, a church was made of sago leaves.
This was after the congregation membership increased to 500.
Work started on Malalo Mission Station on October 12, 1907, and the opening was on December 20, 1907.
In 1908, the work of confirmation started and work started on a new church building with proper roofing iron.
One missionary gave 1000 German Marks, while Munchen in Germany gave a big bell and a bowl for baptism.
Work started on the new church building and on January 30th, 1910, it was opened with Holy Baptism.
Malalo 100th anniversary organiser Elisah Ahimpum was pleased with the hundreds of people who turned up for the occasion, which also featured a cultural show.
Plaques with the names of all missionaries and evangelists who worked at Malalo were unveiled on the day.
Invited guests to the 100th anniversary celebrations include Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG leader Reverend Dr Bishop Wesley Kigasung, Morobe Governor Luther Wenge, Lae MP and prominent Lutheran Bart Philemon, Huon Gulf MP and Health Minister Sasa Zibe, as well as Bulolo MP Sam Basil as the Miti filtered into his area from Malalo.

Unfortunately, not all were able to attend, with only Assistant ELPNG Bishop Zao Rapa representing the church and Mr Philemon and Tewai-Siassi MP Vincent Michaels representing the government.
However, that did not spoil the occasion, with hundreds turning up to witness celebrations marking the centenary.

Port Moresby’s Garden of Eden

Port Moresby - Papua New Guinea's capital city – is fast becoming a rapidly growing urban jungle.

Many children who grow up in the city do not know, or perhaps never will know, of that flora and fauna that is so prolific all over our beautiful country.

But there is a temporary reprieve.

The National Capital Botanical Gardens can rightly be called Port Moresby’s “Garden of Eden”.

The gardens, since being taken over by the National Capital District Commission in 1993, have become one of the prime tourist attractions in the city.

Moreover, for caged-in city residents, they offer an oasis of peace and beauty amidst all the pressures.

The gardens also play a very important role in nature and conservation education as well as distribution of trees and flowers in the capital city.

Situated within the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) campus in Port Moresby, the gardens were established in 1971 by renowned gardener Andre Millar.

They were initially established as a teaching garden for the UPNG Biology Department and also as a nursery to supply plants for the university grounds.

When Mrs Millar left in the late 1970s, the gardens experienced problems with management and funding and eventually declined from a beautiful garden to a desolate piece of bush land.

When the NCDC took over the assets of the gardens in 1993 through the new curator Justin Tkatchenko, it established a major redevelopment programme.

Another expatriate Wolfgang Bandisch ran the gardens until his departure from the country last year.

The gardens today - under current acting general manager Judith Raka - have a huge collection of plants from all over PNG as well as other parts of the world.

These include palm species, bamboos, heliconias, cordyline, pandanus, native trees and shrubs.

The gardens are well known for their extensive collection of PNG orchid species housed in large greenhouses.

They have large orchid houses for orchid hybrids producing cut flowers for the flower shop.

There are a number of animals on display, like tree climbing kangaroos, gouria pigeons, birds of paradise, cockatoos, lorikeets, parrots and many other birds.

One of the new tenants is a strange looking tree kangaroo, hailing from the Sepik, which has a very long tail.

An orchid research centre was established some years ago.

It includes a small herbarium and a fully equipped ochid tissue culture laboratory where thousands of orchid plants are produced annually from seed and tissue cuIture.

The gardens' collection of flora and fauna is the only place in the city that offers educational attractions and an -depth view and appreciation of what PNG has to offer.

They provide valuable scientific and environmental education for school children.

Tours are offered to school children and cover a variety of subjects

A typical guided tour begins with the snake house, the palm collection, birds and animal collection, the mini rainforest, the timber tree collection, the vanilla collection, the orchid nursery and its collection and finally to the insect collection.

The tours help instill in children a responsible attitude towards the environment and help them learn and appreciate the remarkable natural beauty of PNG.

"It's good for parents to bring their children here, especially those who don't go back to their villages," says scientific and education officer Linda Pohai.

"The school children can really learn a lot."

One of the exciting projects the garden has embarked on with the Forest Industry Association, Rotary Club and the Department of Environment and Conservation is a school nursery project.

“It’s about a national school nursery project,” Ms Pohai explains.

“It’s mainly about planting trees.

“What we do is we have a nursery here funded by all these organisations.

“We facilitate workshops for teachers on how to grow trees and build a nursery.

“Once they build a nursery, they can come and pick up trees.

“We’ve done it for the whole year last year, with a lot of schools from NCD attending. “There are two schools that have already collected their trees - that’s Ward Strip and St Therese Primary School at Badili.

“The trees that we grow are mainly useful trees like medicinal trees, fruit trees and trees that can provide shade or firewood to the community.

“We also try to get the community involved, such as teaching a group of boys from Koki how to grow trees, build nurseries and then giving them free trees.”

Apart from flora and fauna, there are recreational areas where barbeques, weddings and other functions can be held.

The Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery

Welcome to the depth and diversity of Papua New Guinea in the National Museum and Art Gallery.
The Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery is the “spiritual house” for the rich natural, cultural and contemporary heritage of this country.
The museum is owned by the people of Papua New Guinea and to date has well over 30,000 anthropological collections, more than 25,000 archeological collections, more than 18,000 natural science collections, more than 20,000 war relics and more than 7000 contemporary art collections.
It consists of three premises which are the main museum located at Waigani in Port Moresby, the Mordern History (sometimes known as War Museum) at Gordons in Port Moresby, and the J.K. McCarthy Museum at Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province.
The main museum at Waigani consists of five display galleries which are the Masterpiece Gallery, the Independence Gallery, the Sir Allan Mann Gallery (for temporary exhibits), Life and Land (natural history and prehistory) Gallery and the Sir Michael Somare (new acquisitions) Gallery.
In addition, there is a central court yard with live animals and birds, a theatrette, amphitheatre, amenities area, souvenir shop, four large storage rooms, conservation laboratory, photographic laboratory, carpentry workshop, graphic rooms and editing equipment rooms.
It is one of the “must visit” icons of Port Moresby like the neighbouring National Parliament and the National Capital District Botanical Gardens at Waigani.
It is open to the general public from Monday to Friday (8.30am to 3.30pm) and Sunday (1pm to 3pm).
It is closed to the public on Saturdays except for organised visits.
The Mordern History premises at Ahuia Street, Gordons, consist of office space, two storage rooms, display room and a library.
The collection includes aircraft, vehicles and war artifacts from pre-independence and post-independence.
Some of the unique objects in the national collection include a P-38F Lockheed Lightning aircraft, the oldest P-38 in a museum in the world.
The J.K. McCarthy Museum in Goroka consists of six display galleries which are the Niugini Room, Giddings Gallery, Leahy Wing, Soso Subi Gallery and the Archeological Room.
It also has offices for scientific and administrative staff, a storage room and a gift shop.
Its main collections are artifacts and specimens from the Highlands region.
Artifacts include wooden dishes, stone mortars, stone blades, magic stones, and sandstones for making stone blades.

Independence Gallery

This gallery features a stunning Kula canoe from the Trobriand Islands of the Milne Bay Province.
The upper section of the exhibit contains a fine collection of traditional fishing equipment, bilums (string bags), pottery, traditional ceremonial and casual dress and cooking utensils.
Traditional musical instruments and a variety of PNG’s renowned kundu and garamut drums are also on display.

Masterpiece Gallery

This gallery brings to you a unique selection of the museum’s most-important cultural objects in terms of religious significance and aesthetic excellence.
In this collection are tall posts from the Sepik which are used to decorate haus tambarans (spirit houses), ancestral boards from the Sepik and intricately-carved Malangan masks from New Ireland.
Papua New Guinea’s astonishing diversity and depth of spiritual expression is demonstrated here.

Michael Somare Gallery

This gallery is named in honour of Papua New Guinea’s first Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and displays temporary exhibits.
It was opened in 1986 with an exhibition of Independence and State gifts Sir Michael received over the years.

Life and Land Gallery

This exhibition records the lives of the early inhabitants of New Guinea who arrived up to 50,000 years ago.
Archeological excavations have revealed the early Highlanders were among the world’s first farmers.
Within this gallery is a colourful collection of preserved bird specimens including a variety of birds of paradise, while seashore to mountain diorama shows the variety of PNG vegetation and wildlife from the swampy mangroves to the cool of the Highlands.

Sir Allan Mann Gallery

This gallery is named in honour of the Museum’s first Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
The gallery makes the display of traveling and temporary exhibitions possible.
This gallery has displayed a variety of important exhibitions over many years.

Other Features

Right in the heart of the museum is an enclosure of live birds and animals including hornbills, parrots and ducks.
The museum bookshop is located at the front of the entrance.
The bookshop sells a variety of carvings, bilums and cards as well as books on Papua New Guinea, which are excellent gift ideas.
A pleasant shady courtyard/reception area is also available for hire at a reasonable rate.
Within the museum is a small multi-screen lecture room, normally used for educational activities and a theatre that can hold up to 250 people.

Science and Research Division

The Science and Research Division consists of Mordern History, J.K. McCarthy Museum, Anthropology, Prehistory, Natural History, Conservation and Contemporary Arts.
These are specialised scientific and research areas that carry out the main functions of the museum’s heritage and cultural collections.

Export Permits

Please be aware that an export permit is needed to take artifacts out of the country.
The permit, as gazetted under the provision of the National Cultural Property (Preservation) Act, is issued at the National Museum.
To obtain a permit, consult the museum and provide either the artifacts or a photograph for inspection.
If the items are permitted exports, an export permit will be issued.

Contact details:

Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery
P.O. Box 5660
Boroko
National Capital District
Papua New Guinea
Telephone: (675) 3252522
Facsimile: (675) 3251779
Email: pngmuseum@global.net.pg

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.
Six 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!

Florence Jaukae makes the world her stage

Everyone under the perennial-springtime climate of Goroka seems to know Florence Jaukae.
She has time for everyone, her smiles are contagious, and she is heavily involved in community affairs and charity work.
I know, because I spent almost five years working in Goroka for the Coffee Industry Corporation, and often passed her on her way to work at Frameworks Architects.
Such is the popularity of this 36-year-old woman that, in a male-dominated society such as that of the Eastern Highlands, Jaukae is a Ward 4 councillor in the Goroka Rural Local Level Government.
And she is known for her no-nonsense approach during council sessions!
However, it is with the seemingly-ubiquitous bilum, that she is making a name for herself, Goroka, and Papua New Guinea.
Florence Jaukae hit the world stage in Melbourne in March 2006 when the Papua New Guinea team wore her products at the Commonwealth Games.
The mean wore bilum ties and the women bilum dresses supplied by her Goroka-based company Jaukae Bilumwear.
It was a proud moment for her, more so, when Ryan Pini won gold for Papua New Guinea in that moment forever etched in time.
Another big break for Jaukae came in September 2006 when the Small Business Development Corporation arranged for her to travel to Hanoi, Vietnam, to attend an APEC seminar on supporting and enhancing capacity for women exporters.
Entrants in the Miss Papua New Guinea quest wore her dresses at crowing night last December.
Now, in a seemingly never-ending story, the Investment Promotion Authority arranged for her to attend an expo in Australia.
Indeed, Jaukae has made the world her stage, from very humble beginnings at her Kama village in Goroka about five years ago.
It was then that she started making and wearing dresses made like bilums.
The fad caught on in Goroka, the rest of Papua New Guinea, and the world is now Jaukae’s stage.
“We’re doing very well,” Jaukae says.
“SBDC has been very supportive and this has enabled us to get a loan from the Rural Development Bank.
“We’re got overseas customers, however, that I will not disclose because of increasing competition from other bilum dress makers.
“All I can say is that we’ve got a lot of interest from people overseas, mainly Australians.”
Jaukae Bilumwear involves about 50 women who spin and weave the wool to make dresses and other items of clothing at Kama.
“I buy the wool, give it to them, and they weave the dresses,” Jaukae says.
“They give the dresses to me and I find the customers.
“It is a labour-intensive industry.
“It can take up to two months to make a dress.
“That’s why the average cost per dress is about K300.
“The reality of it is that I don’t benefit.

“It is the women who make bilum dresses who benefit.
“About two-thirds of income goes to them while one-third comes to me, mainly to cover telephone and other administrative costs.
“We’ve come a long way over the last five to six years.”
Jaukae, however, feels that the women weavers need a lot more government assistance, especially in marketing.
She also feels that women must have readily-available access to credit, training in business, and knowledge of computers in this day and age.
“Every woman can make a bilum,” she says.
“It comes to us naturally as Papua New Guinean women.
“The government must help us find a market because the benefits trickle right down to the unemployed mothers.
“It will also fight against poverty.
“This is a new industry we’ve created in the country.
“We don’t want flattering remarks.
“We want your help.
“Marketing is the problem.
“We are looking at the government to help us find markets outside of the country.”
The future?
“I want to see this become a big industry in the country, because it is an industry for the grassroots,” Jaukae replies.
“The government should also look at creating a national dress for the country, and of course, I’m putting my hand up for bilum wear!”
People who wish to purchase genuine Jaukae bilum products can contact Florence Jaukae on mobile (675) 6868994 or email jaukaebilumwear@hotmail.com.

Flower pot man is a university graduate

Chris Dally is familiar sight outside Gerehu Stop N Shop Supermarket, Rainbow Village, and other parts of Gerehu in Port Moresby.
The tall, dreadlocked Dally, 44, from Busamang village in the south coast of Morobe province, ekes out a living by selling beautifully-crafted flower pots made from old tyres.
Many a house in Gerehu and Rainbow Village is decorated with trademark Chris Dally flower pots.
He fashions them himself at his Gerehu Stage 5 home and then takes them to Gerehu Stop N Shop, and Rainbow Village, where his biggest clientele is.
Dally averages K300 weekly, which is enough to put food on the table for his young family, pay the bills, and put his two children to school.
He is adamant Papua New Guinea would not have such a huge unemployment problem if people eat humble pie and go into such small business.
He is also proud that he is quietly contributing to the fight against pollution and global warming by discouraging people from throwing away and burning old tyres – something for which Papua New Guineans are notorious.
But, unknown to may people, Dally isn’t just a simple flower pot peddler.
The pithy saying, “never judge a book by the cover”, rings true for him.
Chris Dally is a graduate in Building Technology from the University of Technology in Lae and, before that, completed secondary education at Sogeri National High School.
It is with disbelief that former schoolmates of university and Sogeri, friends, and wantoks pass Dally under the shady neem trees outside Gerehu Stop N Shop.
He worked with a number of firms as a building designer before, literally, being run over by old tyres.
It was quite by accident, about two years ago, that Dally took up making flower pots from old tyres.
“I learned through trial and error,” he recalls.
“I had two old types, which I sold to some men from Pindiu (Morobe province).
“They found some faults with the tyres and came back to me demanding their money back.”
Dally fashioned the two tyres into flower pots and, lo and behold, “my neighbours said that they would buy the flower pots”.
“I saw that I could make good money so I continued.
“I make small pots, large pots, and hanging ones.
“Sales are very good.
“Everything I produce is sold.
“I can make up to K300 a week.
“I pick up old tyres all over the place.
“A lot of old tyres end up being burned.
“I try to stop people from burning tyres.
“At Gerehu Stage 5, where I live, I find a lot of tyres in the main drain which runs into the swamps behind Gerehu.
“I collect the tyres, dry them, mark them with chalk, and cut them out.
“I then make holes in the tyres, wire them up, thoroughly clean them up, and paint them.
“I can make six flower pots from an average-sized tyre, which I sell for K10 each.
“So you are looking at K60 from an old tyre!
“I can make K60 per tyre, and in one week, I can work on five tyres, which add up to K300.”
Dally is a crusader for self-employment and believes that there should be no such thing as unemployment in Papua New Guinea.
“I’ve passed on some of my skills to boys on the street and they are making their own money,” he says.
“There are a lot of ways for unemployed people to make money, rather than resorting to crime.
“I think people are just too lazy.
“A lot of people are also too proud to get into such small activities.
“For example, I have brought in some young boys, but they feel embarrassed standing out on the streets selling flower pots.
“Some of my ex schoolmates (from university and Sogeri) see me and they wonder what I’m doing out there, selling flower pots, but I don’t feel embarrassed.
“The problem with Papua New Guinea is that people don’t want to work hard.
“They just want to sit back and wait for handouts.”
Dally does get the occasional building job; however, he plans to stay on in the flower pot-making business.
At the beginning of this year, he registered a business name, to run his own company.