World Earth Day falls today, Wednesday, April 22, 2009.
However, the United States (US) Embassy and the National Capital District Commission (NCDC) have collaborated to celebrate the annual ‘Earth Day’ event this Saturday 25, 2009.
This is a world event celebrated in 174 countries with the aim to raise environmental awareness and promote a sense of responsibility and pride in the beautiful natural environment of Port Moresby, as stated by Grace Maribu, Acting Manager of the Division of Public Relations with the NCDC.
This will be the second year to celebrate this event as it is an initiative of the NCD Governor, Powes Parkop, in line with the vision of making Port Moresby the best city in the South Pacific region by way of cleanliness and beauty.
This year’s event will include the clean-up of Ela Beach.
Ms Maribu says they are extending the clean up to the Sea Park if they get a big number of volunteers.
She said that last year, they got close to 500 volunteers, and is hoping that this year the number would increase.
“The Governor is calling on Port Moresby residents to use this opportunity to show you care for our city, and for parents to bring along school-aged children because this is an educational exercise that will help our children will become more conscious of their responsibilities to the environment,” Ms Maribu said.
She added that last year there were about 10 business houses that took part in the clean-up and hoped that this year there would be more than 10 business houses taking part.
Other events during the event will be face painting, drama presentation by Watete Theatre Group, and the presentation of awards to the winners of the Art Competition.
The art contest was launched about five weeks ago, especially for children to submit environmental art.
All the submissions were judged last Friday.
Ms Maribu is happy to announce that this event has received a lot of good sponsors, like
Air Niugini, giving the major prize for ticket for two to a choice of destination within PNG for the winner of the art contest; Daltron with prizes for the art competition as well;
Coca-Cola who will be providing the water and drinks during the event; Theodist with face painting; Trukai Industries; plus other generous sponsors.
The NCDC hopes to make Port Moresby the leading city in physical attractions, and this event is one way of making people aware of that.
Ms Maribu said the Governor had in line many new and exiting development plans for the city, as well as to redevelop reserves and parks in his beautification programme.
Thus, they have started off at Ela Beach because it is the most-used recreational area.
They have already constructed a volleyball court and a recreational theatre at the Ela Beach, and are now looking at redeveloping the jetty and the aquarium, as well as the Paga Ring Road and the business area there.
NCDC has engaged PNG Gardener Justin Tkatchenko in its beautification programme, with his work complementing the betelnut ban.
Ms Maribu said the privilege given to the informal sector especially the betelnut and cigarette sellers, had been taken back from them because of their irresponsibility.
She said there would be other designated areas to sell these products, thus, not hindering the progress in keeping the city clean.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Remembering the old Black Cat Trail
Wild flower along the Black Cat Trail
Lionel Aigilo pushes up the mountain+and+Solomon+Jawing+show+off+an+American.jpg)
Lionel Aigilo (left) and SolomonJawing show off an American WW11 gun
Komiatum villager with smoking sticks on Mount Tambu
Komiatum Niukem along the infamous Black Cat Trail+of+morobe+Tourism+Bureau+and+Lionel+Aigi.jpg)
Heni Denbis (front) of Morobe Tourism Bureau and Lionel Aigilo
Councillor's house at Komiatum
Climbing up to Guadagasul
Climbing Mount Tambu with panoramic views of the valley and ocean at Salamaua
Children bid farewell to visitors at Mubo
A landslide in the mountains between Salamaua and WauAn infamous WW11 icon of Papua New Guinea is the old Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau, Morobe province. Walk with me on the Black Cat...
On Remembrance Day, July 23, 2003, a small group of us honoured the day as well as the 60th anniversary of Salamaua, by trekking the old Black Cat Trail from Salamaua to Wau.
It was a five-day walk which started in Salamua on July 22 and ended in Wau on July 26.
Our thoughts were with the many soldiers and carriers of WW11 who lost their lives on this treacherous path in 1942 and 1943.
The old Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau, Morobe Province, makes the Kokoda Trail seem like a Sunday arvo stroll in the park.
This is because it is not an established trail like Kokoda, on which hundreds of trekkers regularly tread, but a forgotten World War 11 course that passes through some of the toughest and most-hazardous terrain in the world.
Leech and snake-infested jungle, moss -covered rocks and fallen tree stumps, precarious cliff crossings, and potentially-dangerous river crossings make the Black Cat arguably one of the toughest tracks in PNG and the world.
It is recommended only for the very- fit and experienced trekker.
Some Australian soldiers have described the Black Cat as the hardest walk they’d ever done.
The Lonely Planet guidebook quotes a local expat as saying the Black cat is “suitable only for masochists and Israeli paratroopers”.
For those interested in WW11 history, the Black Cat Trail in the place for you, starting from the old gold mining town of Salamaua which was scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the war.
Old graves around Salamaua, which date back to the gold mining days, as well as Japanese tunnels and anti-aircraft guns, line the hill overlooking the isthmus.
Massive bomb craters from WW11 along the Black Cat Trail indicate the ferocity of the battles here in 1942.
The area also has magnificent flora and fauna.
Many soldiers and carriers of WW11 lost their lives on this treacherous path in 1942 and 1943.
Skin Diwai is a detour from the main Black Cat Trail – which continues on to Bitoi and eventually Wandumi village outside Wau - and is now the preferred choice of locals.
Skin Diwai was the site of a major Australian base during WW11 and is littered with live bombs, ammunition, other war junk including boots, and even the wreckage of a DC3.
For those interested in war history and relics, as well as untouched forests and flora and fauna, the Black Cat Trail is for you.
It was a five-day walk which started in Salamua on July 22 and ended in Wau on July 26.
Our thoughts were with the many soldiers and carriers of WW11 who lost their lives on this treacherous path in 1942 and 1943.
The old Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau, Morobe Province, makes the Kokoda Trail seem like a Sunday arvo stroll in the park.
This is because it is not an established trail like Kokoda, on which hundreds of trekkers regularly tread, but a forgotten World War 11 course that passes through some of the toughest and most-hazardous terrain in the world.
Leech and snake-infested jungle, moss -covered rocks and fallen tree stumps, precarious cliff crossings, and potentially-dangerous river crossings make the Black Cat arguably one of the toughest tracks in PNG and the world.
It is recommended only for the very- fit and experienced trekker.
Some Australian soldiers have described the Black Cat as the hardest walk they’d ever done.
The Lonely Planet guidebook quotes a local expat as saying the Black cat is “suitable only for masochists and Israeli paratroopers”.
For those interested in WW11 history, the Black Cat Trail in the place for you, starting from the old gold mining town of Salamaua which was scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the war.
Old graves around Salamaua, which date back to the gold mining days, as well as Japanese tunnels and anti-aircraft guns, line the hill overlooking the isthmus.
Massive bomb craters from WW11 along the Black Cat Trail indicate the ferocity of the battles here in 1942.
The area also has magnificent flora and fauna.
Many soldiers and carriers of WW11 lost their lives on this treacherous path in 1942 and 1943.
Skin Diwai is a detour from the main Black Cat Trail – which continues on to Bitoi and eventually Wandumi village outside Wau - and is now the preferred choice of locals.
Skin Diwai was the site of a major Australian base during WW11 and is littered with live bombs, ammunition, other war junk including boots, and even the wreckage of a DC3.
For those interested in war history and relics, as well as untouched forests and flora and fauna, the Black Cat Trail is for you.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Earth Day falls on April 22
Earth Day - April 22 - each year marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.
Among other things, 1970 in the United States brought with it the Kent State shootings, the advent of fiber optics, "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Apollo 13, the Beatles' last album, the death of Jimi Hendrix, the birth of Mariah Carey, and the meltdown of fuel rods in the Savannah River nuclear plant near Aiken, South Carolina - an incident not acknowledged for 18 years.
It was into such a world that the very first Earth Day was born.Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from
Earth Day 2009, April 22, will mark the beginning of The Green Generation Campaign, which will also be the focus of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2010.With negotiations for a new global climate agreement coming up in December, Earth Day 2009 must be a day of action and civic participation, to defend The Green Generation’s core principles:
• A carbon-free future based on renewable energy that will end our common dependency on fossil fuels, including coal.
• An individual’s commitment to responsible, sustainable consumption.
• Creation of a new green economy that lifts people out of poverty by creating millions of quality green jobs and transforms the global education system into a green one.
Australia woman trekker dies on the Kokoda Trail
A sad story from the Kokoda Trail in the lead-up to ANZAC Day next Saturday…
A WOMAN from
Samantha Killen, 36, of
It was believed she was suffering from dehydration, but the cause of death remained unclear yesterday.
Ms Killen, who worked at the ANZ Bank in
A relative yesterday declined to comment because the family was still too traumatised.
Like many other Australians, the Killen family was attempting the 96km walk to commemorate the loss of more than 600 Australian soldiers in some of the fiercest fighting of World War II.
Ms Killen’s group reportedly hoped to finish the walk in time for Anzac Day this Saturday.
A spokesman from the Australian foreign affairs and trade department confirmed that a Victorian woman had died while walking the trail.
“Consular officers from the High Commission in
Former executive officer of the Kokoda Track Authority Warren Bartlett had heard from one tour guide, Dik Knight, that the woman was one of about half a dozen hikers seen to be struggling last Friday morning.
“Everyone was in really bad condition,” Mr Bartlett said.
“Apparently, the woman while having breakfast, complained that she felt dizzy when she got up.
“She sat down but she got up again and continued walking but collapsed and died along the track.”
Mr Knight, who was walking in the opposite direction, believed he had been talking to Ms Killen at the Va’ Ule Creek campsite and her group the night before she died and they seemed in good spirits.
When Mr Knight last saw Ms Killen’s group, they were preparing for the eight-hour trek up the demanding Ioribaiwa Ridge.
Black Cat Trail war relics
WW11 plane wreck at Skin Diwai
Live bombs at Skin Diwai
Live ammunition at Skin Diwai
Australian WW11 soldier's boot found at a dump at Skin DiwaiThe old Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau, Morobe province, is one of the history of the gold rush days as well as WW11. War relics, including live bombs, abound to this day. In thus series of articles on WW11 icons in Papua New Guinea in the lead-up to ANZAC Day, we look at the war relics of the Black Cat Trail...
The thick jungle between Salamaua and Wau, Morobe Province, is littered with relics from World War 11.
Students of history as well as WW11 enthusiasts would not be disappointed at what is there to be seen.
Live bombs from 1942 and 1943 are prolific along the old Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau.
Villagers told me of huge unexploded bombs in the jungles and rivers that they avoid like the plague.
Australian and PNG bomb experts have yet to defuse these bombs.
In 1997, during the El Nino, bushfires sparked off by dry bushes detonated WW11 bombs as terrified villagers fled.
Huge bomb craters from WW11 testify to the ferocity of the battles along the trail between Salamaua and Wau.
At Skin Diwai – a major Australian base during WW11 - locals showed me unexploded bombs, live ammunition, Australian army boots, as well as the bush covered wreck of a DC3 supply plane.
All along the Black Cat Trail, you can see the helmets of Australian, US, and Japanese forces that fought here in WW11.
Those dark days of WW11 are well and truly over but their legacy lives on in the jungles between Salamaua and Wau.
The jungle also conceals many secrets of the gold mining days of the 1920s and 1930s.
Local lore has it that somewhere between Wau and Salamaua lays the wreck of a gold – laden plane.
Whether true or not, the fact is that locals avoid the thick jungle, saying that it is masalai (spirit) place where dark forces await unwary human beings.
Students of history as well as WW11 enthusiasts would not be disappointed at what is there to be seen.
Live bombs from 1942 and 1943 are prolific along the old Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau.
Villagers told me of huge unexploded bombs in the jungles and rivers that they avoid like the plague.
Australian and PNG bomb experts have yet to defuse these bombs.
In 1997, during the El Nino, bushfires sparked off by dry bushes detonated WW11 bombs as terrified villagers fled.
Huge bomb craters from WW11 testify to the ferocity of the battles along the trail between Salamaua and Wau.
At Skin Diwai – a major Australian base during WW11 - locals showed me unexploded bombs, live ammunition, Australian army boots, as well as the bush covered wreck of a DC3 supply plane.
All along the Black Cat Trail, you can see the helmets of Australian, US, and Japanese forces that fought here in WW11.
Those dark days of WW11 are well and truly over but their legacy lives on in the jungles between Salamaua and Wau.
The jungle also conceals many secrets of the gold mining days of the 1920s and 1930s.
Local lore has it that somewhere between Wau and Salamaua lays the wreck of a gold – laden plane.
Whether true or not, the fact is that locals avoid the thick jungle, saying that it is masalai (spirit) place where dark forces await unwary human beings.
Salamaua
Salamaua Point
Salamaua isthmus
Salamaua as seen from the hill overlooking it
A Japanese WW11 gun at SalamauaIn the build-up to ANZAC Day, we continue to feature WW11 icons of Papua New Guinea, and this time shift to Salamaua, Morobe province, one of the most-famous places in Papua New Guinea because of its colonial, gold rush, and WW11 history...
Salamaua, Morobe Province, played a pivotal role in the history of Papua New Guinea.
World-famous Salamaua Point, scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of World War 11 in PNG, on September 11 in 2003 marked the 60th anniversary of its recapture from the Japanese.
This jewel in Morobe’s crown, an icon that time has forgotten, is now more or less a forgotten ghost town.
In 2002, Kokoda celebrated its 60th anniversary with commemorative ceremonies in both PNG and Australia, which rekindled interest in its history.
What many do not know is that the Japanese launched their attack on Port Moresby over the Kokoda Trail from Salamaua, and when the attack failed, turned the port into a major supply base.
It was eventually attacked by Australian troops flown into Wau.
Japanese reinforcements failed to arrive and the town was taken in September 1943 in what has become known as the Battle of Salamaua.
Salamaua – the “town of gold”- has never regained its shine.
The Australians recaptured Salamaua in September 1943 but by then, it was too late, as places like Lae and Port Moresby had taken its glory.
Veterans in both Australia and PNG have called for similar recognition to be accorded the battlefield of Salamaua as it marked the 60th anniversary of its recapture in September 2003.
It was the main port and airstrip for the goldfields of Wau and Bulolo during the gold rush days of the 1920s and 1930s.
It was headquarters for the all-powerful New Guinea Goldfields Ltd, had its own shops liked the famed Burns Philp, New South Wales and Commonwealth banks, named streets, hospital, bakery, theatre, bars where characters like the legendary Errol Flynn once strutted his stuff before becoming a Hollywood legend, and was a famed port of call for swashbuckling gold miners from all over the world.
It was here that expeditions into the undiscovered hinterland – including the famous exploration into the Highlands of New Guinea by the Leahy brothers and Jim Taylor – were launched.
Rivalry between Salamaua and Lae for the capital of New Guinea following the demise of Rabaul in the 1937 volcanic eruption was legendary.
But for all that Salamaua has contributed to the development of PNG and the world – through the millions in gold that was taken out - it is one of the greatest ironies that it is now a forgotten backwater, left to the mercy of the vast Huon Gulf which threatens to swamp its narrow isthmus any moment, despite repeated calls for a seawall to be built.
Development is limited despite efforts by the Morobe Provincial Government, there is little economic activity, and the price of outboard motor zoom has skyrocketed recently contributing to massive inflation.
The people, to this day, are resentful at the mining companies that made millions from their land and left them with nothing, and at both being made victims of a war that was not their doing.
Never mind that these days its beautiful bathing beach and coral reefs are havens for people from Lae – mainly the expatriate community - who have built weekend houses on the peninsula to get away from the traffic, phones, and bustle of the city.
The discovery of gold at Edie Creek above Wau in 1926 sparked off a gold rush of massive proportions, which led to the development of Salamaua as capital of the Morobe District.
The rigorous walk between Salamaua and Wau took up to a week, the flamboyant Errol Flynn writing of how the gold fields had to be approached from Salamaua by 10 days’ march through leech-infested jungle, in constant fear of ambush, and at night wondering “whether that crawly sound you heard a few feet away might be a snake, a cassowary or maybe only a wild board razorback…I have seen Central Africa, but it was never anything like the jungle of New Guinea”.
Lae was but a “company” town and was very much a satellite of Salamaua.
Salamaua sprang up before Lae and because it was the administrative and commercial centre of the District and also the port for the goldfields, it continued to dominate its sister across the Huon Gulf right up till WW11.
Shipping interests refused Lae as a port, probably because they had already established themselves at Salamaua before Lae developed.
The powerful New Guinea Goldfields Ltd – following a dispute with Guinea Airways – purchased its own plane and established its own aerodrome on Salamaua in 1929.
The government also resisted pressure to have Lae built up as the chief town of Morobe District, and at times, even affirmed its preference for Salamaua by stubbornly refusing to use either the aviation or shopping facilities at Lae.
Following the disastrous volcanic eruption in Rabaul in May 1937, a protracted and bitter debate over the merits of Salamaua and Lae ensued, when Australian minister for territories W.M. Hughes – who in his days as prime minister had been responsible for New Guinea coming under Australia’s mandate - chose Salamaua as both port and capital.
Hughes was accused of being bribed by Burns Philp and New Guinea Goldfields, the Australian government was accused of apathy and irresponsibility in its attitude towards New Guinea affairs, and the Pacific Islands Monthly and Rabaul Times led the anti-Hughes and anti-government debate.
It became a matter of great controversy that that Canberra press corps, which had been faithfully reporting new developments for six months, in December 1938 produced a satirical newspaper Hangover containing a parody of the controversy under the title “Lae off Salamaua: Capital crisis causes crater cabinet confusion”.
The article reads: “A new crisis has arisen overshadowing the budget, the coal strike, and Hitler. Alarming tensions were created when the Prime Minister received the following urgent message from Mr Hairbrain, M.H.R: ‘Lae off Salamaua, Joe! Natives hostile!’Mr Hairbrain’s message has created the profoundest sensations in Federal political circles. It is feared that the natives may try to make capital out of it. The situation is fraught with grave possibilities and impossibilities. Mr Lyons summoned cabinet immediately. ‘Wow!’ said the Prime Minister as he staggered from the cabinet room after the tenth day with the problem apparently nearer no solution. ‘That’s it!’ yelled a chorus of weary ministers. ‘Why the hell didn’t we think of Wau before?’ Mr Hughes collapsed. The crisis had passed.”
Rabaul, however, continued to remain as capital of New Guinea until 1941 when renewed volcanic forced the transfer to Lae in October 1941 right up to the Japanese invasion in January 1942.
War, however, had begun in the Pacific with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941.
Rabaul was bombed on January 4, 1942 followed by Lae, Salamaua, and Bulolo on January 21.
This was the beginning of the end of Salamaua’s ephemeral reign as the “town of gold”.
To go into detail about the long and bitter fighting that took place between Salamaua and Wau in 1942 and 1943 would fill pages.
Many hundreds of Japanese, Australians, as well as Papua New Guineans were killed in the two years of fighting.
To this day battlefields like Salamaua Point itself, Mubo along the famed Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau, The Pimple, Green Hill, Observation Hill, Bobdubi Ridge, Komiatum Ridge, Nassau Bay, Tambu, Mount Tambu, Ambush Knoll, Orodubi, Salus Lake, Lababia, Davidson Ridge, and Roosevelt’s Ridge bear the scars of those bloody battles.
Briefly, the Japanese landed at Lae and Salamaua on March 8, 1942.
The New Guinea Volunteer Rifles and survivors of the 2/22nd Battalion from Rabaul destroyed all military supplies and withdraw into the hinterland where they observed the Japanese build-up.
In May, Kanga Force, which included the 2/5th Independent Company, was airlifted into Wau to operate as a guerrilla force against the Japanese in the Markham Valley.
On June 29, Kanga Force raided Salamaua inflicting heavy casualties and capturing the first Japanese equipment and documents taken by the Australian Army.
On August 31, a strong Japanese group arrived at Mubo but with the Japanese on the offensive along the Kokoda Trail and at Milne Bay, reinforcements were not available for Kanga Force until October when 2/7th Independent Company joined.
The 3rd Australian Division slowly fought its way towards Salamaua in a series of exacting and grim battles from April to August 1943 in a campaign largely overshadowed by the Papuan campaign the preceded it and by the capture of Lae that followed.
The Salamaua campaign was designed to screen the preparations for the Lae offensive and to act as a magnet to draw reinforcements from Lae to Salamaua.
The capture of Lae, the centre of the Japanese defensive line in New Guinea, was the allied target after the defeat of the Japanese in Papua.
General Sir Thomas Blamey, the Australian Commander-in-Chief, directed that Salamaua be starved out after Lae was captured.
On August 26, 1943, Major General Savige and his 3rd Division headquarters were relieved by General Milford and his 5th Division headquarters.
The 5th Division conducted the final operations around Salamaua, which was occupied by the 42nd Battalion on September 11, a week after the Lae offensive opened and five days before the 7th and 9th Australian Divisions entered Lae.
The legendary Australian cinematographer, Damien Parer, captured some of these dramatic moments for posterity in his famous works “Assault On Salamaua” and “Frontline At Salamaua”. Following Kokoda’s 60th anniversary, many Australian veterans of Salamaua also want their battlefield to be accorded the same recognition, as it too had its 60th anniversary in September 2003.
The same call has been echoed by old men in the Salamaua villagers – many of whom have died without being justly compensated – who served as carriers for both Australians and Japanese during WW11.
Maybe then, at least for a day, Salamaua will rise again.
World-famous Salamaua Point, scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of World War 11 in PNG, on September 11 in 2003 marked the 60th anniversary of its recapture from the Japanese.
This jewel in Morobe’s crown, an icon that time has forgotten, is now more or less a forgotten ghost town.
In 2002, Kokoda celebrated its 60th anniversary with commemorative ceremonies in both PNG and Australia, which rekindled interest in its history.
What many do not know is that the Japanese launched their attack on Port Moresby over the Kokoda Trail from Salamaua, and when the attack failed, turned the port into a major supply base.
It was eventually attacked by Australian troops flown into Wau.
Japanese reinforcements failed to arrive and the town was taken in September 1943 in what has become known as the Battle of Salamaua.
Salamaua – the “town of gold”- has never regained its shine.
The Australians recaptured Salamaua in September 1943 but by then, it was too late, as places like Lae and Port Moresby had taken its glory.
Veterans in both Australia and PNG have called for similar recognition to be accorded the battlefield of Salamaua as it marked the 60th anniversary of its recapture in September 2003.
It was the main port and airstrip for the goldfields of Wau and Bulolo during the gold rush days of the 1920s and 1930s.
It was headquarters for the all-powerful New Guinea Goldfields Ltd, had its own shops liked the famed Burns Philp, New South Wales and Commonwealth banks, named streets, hospital, bakery, theatre, bars where characters like the legendary Errol Flynn once strutted his stuff before becoming a Hollywood legend, and was a famed port of call for swashbuckling gold miners from all over the world.
It was here that expeditions into the undiscovered hinterland – including the famous exploration into the Highlands of New Guinea by the Leahy brothers and Jim Taylor – were launched.
Rivalry between Salamaua and Lae for the capital of New Guinea following the demise of Rabaul in the 1937 volcanic eruption was legendary.
But for all that Salamaua has contributed to the development of PNG and the world – through the millions in gold that was taken out - it is one of the greatest ironies that it is now a forgotten backwater, left to the mercy of the vast Huon Gulf which threatens to swamp its narrow isthmus any moment, despite repeated calls for a seawall to be built.
Development is limited despite efforts by the Morobe Provincial Government, there is little economic activity, and the price of outboard motor zoom has skyrocketed recently contributing to massive inflation.
The people, to this day, are resentful at the mining companies that made millions from their land and left them with nothing, and at both being made victims of a war that was not their doing.
Never mind that these days its beautiful bathing beach and coral reefs are havens for people from Lae – mainly the expatriate community - who have built weekend houses on the peninsula to get away from the traffic, phones, and bustle of the city.
The discovery of gold at Edie Creek above Wau in 1926 sparked off a gold rush of massive proportions, which led to the development of Salamaua as capital of the Morobe District.
The rigorous walk between Salamaua and Wau took up to a week, the flamboyant Errol Flynn writing of how the gold fields had to be approached from Salamaua by 10 days’ march through leech-infested jungle, in constant fear of ambush, and at night wondering “whether that crawly sound you heard a few feet away might be a snake, a cassowary or maybe only a wild board razorback…I have seen Central Africa, but it was never anything like the jungle of New Guinea”.
Lae was but a “company” town and was very much a satellite of Salamaua.
Salamaua sprang up before Lae and because it was the administrative and commercial centre of the District and also the port for the goldfields, it continued to dominate its sister across the Huon Gulf right up till WW11.
Shipping interests refused Lae as a port, probably because they had already established themselves at Salamaua before Lae developed.
The powerful New Guinea Goldfields Ltd – following a dispute with Guinea Airways – purchased its own plane and established its own aerodrome on Salamaua in 1929.
The government also resisted pressure to have Lae built up as the chief town of Morobe District, and at times, even affirmed its preference for Salamaua by stubbornly refusing to use either the aviation or shopping facilities at Lae.
Following the disastrous volcanic eruption in Rabaul in May 1937, a protracted and bitter debate over the merits of Salamaua and Lae ensued, when Australian minister for territories W.M. Hughes – who in his days as prime minister had been responsible for New Guinea coming under Australia’s mandate - chose Salamaua as both port and capital.
Hughes was accused of being bribed by Burns Philp and New Guinea Goldfields, the Australian government was accused of apathy and irresponsibility in its attitude towards New Guinea affairs, and the Pacific Islands Monthly and Rabaul Times led the anti-Hughes and anti-government debate.
It became a matter of great controversy that that Canberra press corps, which had been faithfully reporting new developments for six months, in December 1938 produced a satirical newspaper Hangover containing a parody of the controversy under the title “Lae off Salamaua: Capital crisis causes crater cabinet confusion”.
The article reads: “A new crisis has arisen overshadowing the budget, the coal strike, and Hitler. Alarming tensions were created when the Prime Minister received the following urgent message from Mr Hairbrain, M.H.R: ‘Lae off Salamaua, Joe! Natives hostile!’Mr Hairbrain’s message has created the profoundest sensations in Federal political circles. It is feared that the natives may try to make capital out of it. The situation is fraught with grave possibilities and impossibilities. Mr Lyons summoned cabinet immediately. ‘Wow!’ said the Prime Minister as he staggered from the cabinet room after the tenth day with the problem apparently nearer no solution. ‘That’s it!’ yelled a chorus of weary ministers. ‘Why the hell didn’t we think of Wau before?’ Mr Hughes collapsed. The crisis had passed.”
Rabaul, however, continued to remain as capital of New Guinea until 1941 when renewed volcanic forced the transfer to Lae in October 1941 right up to the Japanese invasion in January 1942.
War, however, had begun in the Pacific with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941.
Rabaul was bombed on January 4, 1942 followed by Lae, Salamaua, and Bulolo on January 21.
This was the beginning of the end of Salamaua’s ephemeral reign as the “town of gold”.
To go into detail about the long and bitter fighting that took place between Salamaua and Wau in 1942 and 1943 would fill pages.
Many hundreds of Japanese, Australians, as well as Papua New Guineans were killed in the two years of fighting.
To this day battlefields like Salamaua Point itself, Mubo along the famed Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau, The Pimple, Green Hill, Observation Hill, Bobdubi Ridge, Komiatum Ridge, Nassau Bay, Tambu, Mount Tambu, Ambush Knoll, Orodubi, Salus Lake, Lababia, Davidson Ridge, and Roosevelt’s Ridge bear the scars of those bloody battles.
Briefly, the Japanese landed at Lae and Salamaua on March 8, 1942.
The New Guinea Volunteer Rifles and survivors of the 2/22nd Battalion from Rabaul destroyed all military supplies and withdraw into the hinterland where they observed the Japanese build-up.
In May, Kanga Force, which included the 2/5th Independent Company, was airlifted into Wau to operate as a guerrilla force against the Japanese in the Markham Valley.
On June 29, Kanga Force raided Salamaua inflicting heavy casualties and capturing the first Japanese equipment and documents taken by the Australian Army.
On August 31, a strong Japanese group arrived at Mubo but with the Japanese on the offensive along the Kokoda Trail and at Milne Bay, reinforcements were not available for Kanga Force until October when 2/7th Independent Company joined.
The 3rd Australian Division slowly fought its way towards Salamaua in a series of exacting and grim battles from April to August 1943 in a campaign largely overshadowed by the Papuan campaign the preceded it and by the capture of Lae that followed.
The Salamaua campaign was designed to screen the preparations for the Lae offensive and to act as a magnet to draw reinforcements from Lae to Salamaua.
The capture of Lae, the centre of the Japanese defensive line in New Guinea, was the allied target after the defeat of the Japanese in Papua.
General Sir Thomas Blamey, the Australian Commander-in-Chief, directed that Salamaua be starved out after Lae was captured.
On August 26, 1943, Major General Savige and his 3rd Division headquarters were relieved by General Milford and his 5th Division headquarters.
The 5th Division conducted the final operations around Salamaua, which was occupied by the 42nd Battalion on September 11, a week after the Lae offensive opened and five days before the 7th and 9th Australian Divisions entered Lae.
The legendary Australian cinematographer, Damien Parer, captured some of these dramatic moments for posterity in his famous works “Assault On Salamaua” and “Frontline At Salamaua”. Following Kokoda’s 60th anniversary, many Australian veterans of Salamaua also want their battlefield to be accorded the same recognition, as it too had its 60th anniversary in September 2003.
The same call has been echoed by old men in the Salamaua villagers – many of whom have died without being justly compensated – who served as carriers for both Australians and Japanese during WW11.
Maybe then, at least for a day, Salamaua will rise again.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Port Moresby's building boom
Captions: 1. Rimbunan Hijau's Vision City Waigani. 2. NASFUND's Harbour City. 3. Nambawan Super's commercial property in Downtown Port Moresby. 4. Steamships Trading Company's commercial property in Downtown Port Moresby. Pictures by AURI EVA.
Buildings are springing up everywhere in Port Moresby – and other cities in Papua New Guinea such as Lae - as demands for high quality accommodation, in anticipation of the country’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, soar.
Many recently-completed high rise buildings have given the capital a new look, as if reaching out for the skies.
There is an ever-increasing need for accommodation and business space stimulated by a steady economic growth in the last four years.
The forecast boom is anticipated to involve major commercial and residential construction and is expected to continue for a number of years.
Building projects will comprise upmarket apartments and residential complexes, office and embassy refurbishments, as well as new schools and hotel renovations.
High security fence systems are also in big demand in Papua New Guinea.
In recognition of the growing building sector, The National newspaper will run a Building and Construction Supplement on Thursday, April 23, 2009, to showcase building, construction and hardware products from participating companies to key industry decision makers.
Don’t miss Thursday’s paper.
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