The 1960s and 1970s are remembered as a creative epoch in Papua New Guinea
history when some of the country’s best-ever poetry, prose, performances and
publications were produced.
These memories were rekindled at the Book2Buk2 conference at the University of PNG
this week by the great Peter Trist, a household name in PNG literature and
radio production at that time, as he took a spellbound audience at UPNG’s main
lecture theatre on a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Trist, now 74 but still looking fit as a fiddle,
specifically discussed the influence of the inimitable Ulli Beier and his
equally-unflappable wife Georgina on the
development of PNG literature and also found time to talk to The National about his own experiences
in radio production.
Beier, still alive but not strong enough to travel at age
88, asked his good friend Trist to travel to PNG from Australia and make the presentation
on their behalf.
Trist hopes that the memories of those glory days of PNG
arts and literature will be a rallying call to the present generation of
creative Papua New Guineans.
“It could show them that was achieved once, can be done
again!” he extols.
“I know that would be my wish, and also Ulli’s
“The past, for all of us, is just another country – but is
also very useful.
“It contains our history and experiences that can be
inspirational, and of great value to the present time.”
An emotional Trist broke down while speaking about memories
of another day of the UPNG campus which he first entered 44 years ago.
“Along an often-muddy track leading from Boroko to the
‘swamp lands’ (as Waigani was known), this university grew rapidly as the first
centre of higher education in the country,” he recalled.
“Under the determined leadership of Dr John Gunther, the
first vice-chancellor, I was fortunate to be part of the inaugural staff from
1966.
“Some outstanding academics were soon assembled by Dr
Gunther.
“These included Charles Rowley, Ken Inglis, Anthony
Clunies-Ross, Gerry Ward, Frank Johnston, Ruth Latikefu, Ralph Bulmer and Ulli
Beier
Decolonising The Mind by the great Ulli Beier
“In Decolonising the
Mind, his vivid memoir covering those early years (1967-74), Beier recalls
the sense of excitement and promise felt among students (only 300 or so) and
staff at this university.
“This was understandable, as independence was approaching.”
Beier, as the inaugural senior lecturer in literature, had a
problem: where were the books relevant and accessible for his students?
Existing publications on PNG in those days were hard to
find, with propaganda pamphlets from the Australia department of territories
– insisting on the enlightenment of Australian colonial rule – not appealing.
Early novels were often racist and unrealistic, by writers
such as Beatrice Grimshaw, while adventure yarns by Errol Flynn (who wisely
gave up writing, for a career as a Hollywood
star), were inappropriate.
Equally unappealing were missionary tracts, World War 11
narratives from American and Australian perspectives rather than Melanesian,
and of course anthropological tomes by Margaret Mead, Malinowski and others.
None of these publications offered Beier any promising
material for young and enthusiastic PNG students.
In the university preliminary year in 1967, students were
taught sufficient English skills to follow a university course, with those who
opted to study literature armed with a tape recorder to record and translate
oral literature from their village.
Some of these translations were later collected and
published as parts of the Papua Pocket
Series, which are now being republished by the UPNG Bookshop.
Aia, Mekeo songs by the great Papuan ‘poet laureate’
Allan Natachee, first published in 1968, and reprinted by UPNG Bookshop in 2006
Beier produced 25 volumes of poetry, and the series was
continued (after his return to Nigeria)
by Prithvindra Chakravarthi, with a further 11 volumes, making 36 in all, and
have become collectors’ items worthy of republication.
In 1967, Vincent Eri, then a student, brought Beier a story
about Moveave in the Papua Gulf, and was encouraged to expand the story into a
novel.
Thus Vincent Eri became the author of the first Papua novel The Crocodile.
Another literary achievement during those crucial years was
the autobiography Kiki: Ten Thousand
Years in a Lifetime by Albert Maori Kiki.
The first PNG literary magazine was launched in this period.
Elegantly produced and designed by Georgina Beier, Kovave was published 1969-1971.
On the Beier’s return in 1974, a new journal was established
called Gigibori (1974-1978) with an
emphasis on PNG culture.
“During this time,” Trist remembers, “Ulli had become
director of the Institute
of PNG Studies.
“Here, his drive to produce relevant PNG material increased.
“The institute published 72 general publications on
folklore, architecture, art, religion and music; 36 discussion papers on
topical cultural, social and political issues; Wanpis, a novel by Russel Soaba; many works by John Kolia and the
journal Gigibori.
“The areas of theatre, radio production and performance
promotion was where I had the closest association and support from Ulli Beier.
“Here at the university, in 1967, I founded the Drama and
Arts Society.
“Our aim was to involve the university with the wider
community and provide entertainment.
“This endeavour co-incided with Ulli’s arrival on campus, so
he was asked to join the society.
“Students involved included Leo Hannett, Meg Taylor, Kathy
Abel, Ekeroma Age, Leontine Ovia, Jerry Tamate, Rabbie Namaliu, Kumulau Tawali,
Kakah Kais, Pia Leitao, Russell Soaba, John Waiko, Tony Siaguru, John Saunana,
Peter Malala, John Kadiba, Elijah Titus, Janet Regione, Apisai Enos and Arthur
Jawodimbari.
“Many of these people were writers, whose plays were
produced, and others excellent actors.
“Most went on to outstanding careers after university.”
One memorable production was of Leo Hannett’s political
parable, The Ungrateful Daughter, in
which Hannett played an important role.
Students from Beier’s writing classes were motivated to use
drama to express their concerns, and to reach an audience through productions
by the Drama and Arts Society.
“Soon after came student’s own plays such as John Waiko’s The Unexpected Hawk; Rabbie Namaliu’s
comedies The Good Woman of Konedobu
and Kannibal Tours; Kumulau Tawali’s Manki Masta; Russel Soaba’s Scattered by the Wind; and Arthur
Jawodimbari’s The Sun.
“Most of these plays were performed in the forum area near
the library, where the concrete steps formed a sort of amphitheatre.
“Later, a performing space known as the Outdoor Theatre was
formed on the campus grounds, and was used for plays, dancing and festivals.
“With the formation of the Creative Arts Centre close to the
university (again an initiative of Georgina
and Ulli Beier’s) with its National Theatre Company led by Arthur Jawodimbari,
the drama role of the university was transferred.
“I was appointed as part of the arts centre board with Arthur,
Nora Vagi Brash, Jonbili Tokome, Rose Kekedo and William Takaku.”
Plays like MyBrother,
My Enemy by John Kasaipwalova (a satirical look at the conflict on PNG’s
border with what was then Irian Jaya), Peter Kama Kerpi’s Voices from the Ridge, comedies from Nora Vagi Brash such as Which Way, Big Man? were successfully
presented by the company and its paid troupe of actors/dancers.
“Ulli gave that great PNG actor/writer William Takaku his
Nigerian comedy The Fall (very
loosely based on Genesis),” Trist adds.
“Takaku translated the dialogue into Pidgin and the play’s
settings and characters into PNG references.
“The Fall’s
forbidden fruit, which in the Nigerian version was the fruit of the palmwine,
became PNG’s betelnut,
“Pekato Bilong Man,
as Takaku called his adaptation, was a great success and the play was included
in a country-wide tour.
“Unfortunately, many of the scripts for these plays were not
printed, and are now only memories.
“These ‘lost treasures’ include another William Takaku
adaptation.
“This was the classic Greek drama Medea, with dialogue changed to Pidgin and the Greek setting
transposed to the PNG Highlands.
“The play’s ‘outsider’, Medea, was played by the Australian
actress Helen Jones, whom William had met while both were students at NIDA in Sydney.
“Helen bravely performed in Pidgin and traveled with the
company on tour with this play.
“Sadly, this script was not preserved or printed.
“Examples like these show the need to have a printed record
of drama scripts, for future performers.”
THE 2010
budget would have a surplus of K533.3 million, 2.1% of the gross domestic
product (GDP), according to current estimates released by Secretary for Finance
and Treasurer Simon Tosali, The National reports.
Tosali said
the estimated surplus was due to the strengthening of global economic recovery
and strong domestic economic growth.
“The
additional revenue of K533.3 available would be spent through a supplementary
budget as government continues to have competing expenditure pressures such as
the LNG commitments and legal obligations,” Tosali told participants at the
three-day national development forum in Port Moresby organised by Consultative
Implementation Monitoring Council (CIMC).
He said
total expenditure was expected to be K7.6 billion this year, with K4.2 billion
in recurrent budget and just over K2 billion
for the development budget.
He
explained the higher recurrent budget in 2010 reflected the expected overspends
in personal emoluments, by national departments and provincial governments.
“The
Department of Treasury has taken action by establishing a payroll project team
to investigate the causes of these overruns … it has also written to the heads
of those agencies seeking their explanations of their overruns,” Tosali said.
On the
development budget, he said the increased development component is for the
payment of remaining business development grants related to the PNG LNG project
while grants and ITC had also increased this year.
Tosali said
total government revenue and grants of K1.8 billion was a lot higher than the
outcome last year and this due largely to the higher receipts from the mining
and petroleum tax (MPT) collected in the first of the year.
The higher
MPT estimate is due to an upward revision to commodity price assumptions.
“PNG’s
economy is expected to strengthen this year with the commencement of PNG LNG
gas project and other mining-related projects as well as a rebound in a number
o sectors following softer conditions last year.
“In
addition, growth is also expected to be supported by the improvement in global
trade as commodity prices of PNG’s major exports strengthens on the back of
growing confidence in the global economic recovery.”
These Papua New Guinean children are special; either
their parents are dead or have deserted them, The National
reports.
But, a loving couple, Marai and Hane Lagaru, and the PNG
Children Foundation have taken all 21 under their wing and care for them 24/7.
On Tuesday, they all gathered around a huge cake and blew
out the four candles, marking the foundation’s four years (Aug 17) in existence,
which would not have been possible without charitable hearts like founding
president Yiannis Nicolaou (of the Lamana fame) and long-time donor Sanjay Shah.
The Lagarus are supported by four housemaids, an
education supervisor and a driver, all operating out of their Boroko location.
They were joined at the celebrations on Tuesday by two
entrants of the 2010 Little Miss Princess fundraising quest and foundation
adviser Nene Sta Cruz, digging into the pizzas and cakes and an assorted supply
of fruit drinks, courtesy of Taurama Super Value Shop
(SVS).
A STUDENT,
who pleaded guilty to taking part in the bashing to death of a fellow student
two years ago, told the court yesterday he thought he was initiating the
deceased into his “cult group” and did not mean to kill him, The National reports.
The student
asked Deputy Chief Justice Gibbs Salika for mercy, saying he wanted to continue
his schooling.
Salika
slammed authorities for allowing such practices to prevail.
He
described the practice of “generation system” as one of the many cases of the
government’s school system “falling apart” and “going back to the dark ages”.
“There is a
need for a big overhaul in our education system,” Salika told a packed Waigani
courtroom yesterday morning.
He said an
overhaul was needed to ensure discipline and order within schools.
“The
(education) system is falling apart; schools’ boards of governors do not seem
to care whether their schools have strict rules and guidelines for students to
follow.”
Salika
said: “There is no parental guidance of students; no parental discipline of
their children in homes. The system, everything has gone (backwards) to the
dark ages.”
Many
students from selected schools in the NCD were brought into court to see and
hear for themselves the consequences of being part of the “generation system”
or the cult of paitim bros, what could go wrong and the punishment that awaits.
The judge
was hearing the final submissions on sentence for a Grade 11 student in an NCD
school who had, two years ago, allegedly killed a Grade 6 student, aged about
12 or 13, while trying to initiate him into the “skelim bros” cult group.
The accused
student is a son of a policeman.
When asked
what he wished to say, the student pleaded “guilty” to the charge of one count
of manslaughter under section 302 of the Criminal Code Act.
The offence
was committed on Friday, April 27, 2007, between 10am and noon at Rainbow near
Gerehu.
Court
documents indicated that the accused was in the company of two others when the
killing occurred.
On that
day, the students had all skipped classes and were drinking homebrew. Afterwards,
they held the victim’s hands behind his back and took turns punching him on his
chest. The victim was knocked unconscious and, later, pronounced dead at the Port Moresby GeneralHospital.
Prosecution
lawyer Miglshi Giruakonda said cult practices were prevalent in high schools
and senior high schools throughout the country.
“These
psychological, demonic and satanic practices have compromised the future of our
elites.
“It is time
for all stakeholders to join forces and fight this evil that has taken over our
schools.”
Dick Korowa
Kipoi, counsel for the accused, asked for a wholly suspended sentence because
the accused was sorry for his actions.
YOUNG
mothers in East New Britain are selling
new-born babies cheaply at the Kokopo market for money to sustain their daily
needs, The National reports.
Kokopo town
mayor Albert Buanga revealed this yesterday after receiving two cases in which
two young women, aged in their early to mid-20s, sold their infants to a local
family.
Buanga said
the young mothers were single and had wanted to discard their unwanted babies
by selling them cheaply for cash.
This, he
said, was illegal and against Christian teachings and principles.
According
to the mayor, the transaction of cash sale for the babies had been between K100
and K150 which, he added, was a cheap and fast way of getting rid of the
infants.
Buanga
condemned this type of business which he described as immoral and portrayed
total disrespect for the souls of the newborns.
A senior
welfare officer interviewed regarding the issue also condemned the act by the
young women.
“Lives
cannot be sold as a commodity; biblically it is wrong.
“It is bad
for society and labels the society as corrupt,” he said.
Babies, he
said, should not be victimised in such a way.
He said
children’s lives should be protected and not commercialised.
The officer
urged the division of community development in the province to seriously look
into the matter and address it promptly.
He said
awareness on unwanted pregnancies should be conducted immediately.
“In this
way, young mothers and women will know that there are procedures involved if
they are unable to care for their children,” he said.
The police
sexual offences squad in Kokopo also confirmed the reports, saying that the
first case was reported earlier this year.
The case
involved a young mother who sold her newborn baby for K500 to a family from
Bitavavar village in the Kokopo-Vunamami urban LLG.
Police
intervened and told the family to return the baby or make legal arrangements
through the civil court for adoption.
Several
mothers The National spoke to at the new Kokopo market confirmed that they had
seen two young women with the infants at the market just before midday
yesterday.
They had
informed other women that they were selling the infants for prices ranging
between K100 and K150.
The
community development office in Kokopo could not comment on the matter as
officers were awaiting direction from the office of the director of child
welfare and protection services in Port
Moresby.
Meanwhile,
Buanga had appealed to the public to report any persons selling babies to the
urban town authority or the welfare section of the community development
office.
A MERGER of
two airlines is not such a bad thing and no one should fear it, Transport and
Works Minister Don Polye said yesterday, The National reports.
Polye told
The National the proposal for Airlines PNG and Air Niugini to merge was his,
and he was floating the idea among fellow ministers and industry stakeholders.
He said the
government’s “open sky” policy would attract more competitors to the country as
PNG becomes an attractive destination for commerce, trade and holiday.
“Our skies
will get busier as we have seen with the entry of Qantaslink and Virgin Blue.
“The merger
proposal might be the best option for both airlines (APNG and Air Niugini),” he
said.
“Air
Niugini may not like this, but it must remember the playing field has never
been even. Air Niugini has survived over the years, and re-fleeted through
massive capital injection from the government.
“APNG may
not be government-owned and funded, but it is about 30% PNG-owned. It has
served the country well, flying to some very rural and tough areas and is
helping to deliver our development programmes.
“It might
have debt, or suffered losses, but that will be taken into account when
determining equity in the merger.”
He said his
advice was that a merger would save both airlines K150 million, give the merged
entity a better capital base to work from and remove the need for capital
injection by the government.
“I believe
this strategy is best for both airlines going forward.
“I have
discussed this with the prime minister and he is supportive.”
Polye said
the merger proposal would be thoroughly discussed.
THE Civil
Aviation Safety Authority investigators (CASA) have finally made a breakthrough
into the crash that killed pilot Christopher Kaines in the mountains of Myola,
along the Kokoda Trail, on Aug 7, 2008.
Captain Christopher Kaines...his plane crash is shrouded in mystery
CASA has
discovered that the Cessna 206 flown by Kaines – a very experienced pilot – was
unregistered and had no certificate of airworthiness.
As well, it
has been found that operator Joe Maule Rice, was conducting illegal charters
without an air operator’s certificate.
Charges are
expected to be laid soon against Rice in relation to the crash that killed
Kaines, as well as several others including running an illegal flight training
school at Six-Mile in Port Moresby, fraud and assault.
Rice, when
contacted yesterday and asked to comment on the allegations, denied any
knowledge of them, swore at and threatened this reporter and hung up.
There were
several unanswered questions as to the flight plan –if any was given to CASA,
the air worthiness of the Cessna, and why the operator disappeared since the
death of Kaines.
Reporters
probing the crash have since 2008 been hitting a brick wall at CASA when trying
to get information on the crash.
A
well-placed aviation source, however, has broken the silence in an exclusive
interview with The National.
The source
said Rice purchased the aeroplane from TropicAir on as-is-where-is condition.
At the time, it was unregistered and had no certificate of airworthiness.
“It’s known
that he was conducting illegal charters without an air operator’s certificate,”
the source said.
Rice kept a
low profile after the crash but then emerged from obscurity by setting up a
flight school charging huge amounts of money for fees, when he was not known to
be a pilot.
“Now, the
bloke (Rice) is actually known to be conducting an illegal flight school
without the appropriate licences or qualifications and is known to be charging
large sums of money from young, aspiring pilots,” the source added.
Kaines,
from Gassam village on SiassiIsland, Morobe, is
survived by four young children.
Widow Betty Kuyei surrounded by children Chris Kaines Jr, Emerald, Story and answer admire a newspaper picture of their father
They are
son Chris Kaines Jr from first wife Betty Komes and daughters Emerald, Answer
and Story from second wife Betty Kuyei.
They have,
since the tragedy, been making emotional pleas to CASA to release details of
the plane crash which killed their father.
