Schwimmer Field, Port Moresby

I've just received this message from one Bruce Buchan regarding the WW11 14-Mile Drome, Schwimmer Field, and am posting the pictures that he send. Above is an article I write regarding Port Moresby's fascinating WW11 history, including Schwimmer Field.

"Dear Sir,I am interested in locating the 13th Bomb Squadron USAAF Honour Roll at 14 mile drome, Schwimmer Field, that was erected by the unit in honour to the airmen that were killed in the war.

" I have attached photos of it and the of the airstripo as it was and is today.

"Have you ever located this memorial.

"Probably made of concrete with a flag pole in the middle?

"I believe that a Mr Henry Mayer may have also searched this air field however I am unable to locate his direct email address.

"Any information would assist."

Ian Downs

Many of those legendary Australian kiaps (patrol officers) who helped develop Papua New Guinea into what it is today are sadly not be around today.

Such a man was Ian Downs, who died on Tuesday August 24, 2004, in the Gold Coast, aged 89, one of the greatest and most legendary men who walked this country.

Downs is remembered as the principal facilitator of the contruction of the Highlands Highway – linking the Highlands, Lae and Madang - as well as being a powerful influence in the founding of PNG’s great coffee industry.

He was also a member of the first House of Assembly in 1964, when he collected a record majority of over 100,000 votes – which goes to show the respect he commanded – to win the Seat of the New Guinea Highlands, a constituency in the Central Highlands region with a population of over half a million people.

In the face of an increasingly nationalist style of politics he decided not to stand for re-election in 1968, and retired from parliament to take up private interests.

“He’s the one who got the road (Highlands Highway) through,” pioneer Highlands explorer Mick Leahy once said of Downs.

“He’s a man and a half this Downs.

“A few more like him and New Guinea would really get somewhere.”

A man of intellect and a great strength of character, Downs was also a writer of note.

A former patrol officer who rose to the position of Deputy Administrator in the mid-1950s, Downs was a prominent figure in PNG in the last years of the Australian trusteeship, and possibly the only person who combined the roles of administrator, politician, planter and historian.

Ian Fairley Graham Downs was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1915 and was educated at Brighton and Geelong Grammar Schools between 1926 and 1928.

He entered the Royal Australian Naval College as a midshipman in 1929, and in 1935, joined the New Guinea administration as a cadet patrol officer.

Downs took up his appointment to New Guinea in 1936 and was one of the first patrol officers assigned to the Western Highlands.

He accompanied John Black and Jim Taylor on part of their famous Hagen-Sepik patrol in 1938-39.

From 1942 to 1945, Downs was a Coastwatcher with the Royal Australian Navy in New Guinea waters.

Downs returned to New Guinea after World War II and by 1951 was the youngest District Commissioner in the administration, based in Madang.

Between 1952-56 he held the position of District Commissioner in Goroka, before resigning to take up coffee farming and to enter politics.

Succeeding the late George Greathead as District Commissioner to the then Central Highlands, a huge “middle kingdom” of more than a million people stretching from Kassam in the East to the then Dutch New Guinea border in the West.

Disillusioned with official policy, Downs resigned from his post as District Commissioner in 1956 and in the following year gained election as Member for the New Guinea Mainland in the Legislative Council.

As a parliamentarian he was further elected in 1961 to the Administrator's Advisory Council (later known as the Administrator's Executive Council), a board set up to advise the Administrator on policy issues.

Downs resigned from the Government, where he had long been a member of the Legislative Council, to contest this country’s first national elections.

Downs was elected to the first House of Assembly in 1964 with a record majority of over 100, 000 votes.

For the next four years he held the Seat of the New Guinea Highlands, a constituency in the Central Highlands region with a population of over half a million people.

In the face of an increasingly nationalist style of politics he decided not to stand for re-election in 1968, and retired from parliament to take up private interests.

He involved himself deeply in the infant coffee industry, being instrumental in the creating of the original Coffee Marketing Board in 1964, of the coffee exporting company Coffee International Ltd, of the Highlands Farmers & Settlers Association and its trading arm Farmset Ltd, and was active in many areas of PNG’s early political and social development.

It was during these years that Downs pioneered what became known as Korfena Plantations, a group of coffee plantations centred in the Upper Asaro Valley, as well as one of the first village-based coffee marketing groups known as Upper Asaro Coffee Community Ltd.

His novel The Stolen Land was published in 1970, and he returned to Australian in 1970 after 35 years in the country.

His widely respected publication The Australian Trusteeship: Papua NewGuinea, 1945-75 was published in 1980, followed by his autobiography The Last Mountain in 1986.

Ian Downs’ contribution to the founding of modern-day Papua New Guinea was immense, and thousands who knew him well have mourned his passing.

The Bully Beef Club

Caption: Pangu Pati members outside the House of Assembly after its formation in June 1967 :Left-right are Albert Maori Kiki, Tony Voutas, Pita Lus, Barry Holloway, Paul Lapun, Cecil Abel, Michael Somare and Oala-Oala Rarua

Angeline from the University of PNG wrote in asking for more information about the famous Bully Beef Club of the pre-independence era: "I'm Angeline emailing from UPNG and just read your file on the Bully Beef Club members.I was hoping you could help my team on one of our Independence programmes.One of our Independence programmes is to have all (if possible)the PapuaNew Guineans that were heavily involved in the fight for ourIndependence come and talk to us students. We realised that we are a fortunate generation in which we can still see and hear some ofthe 'pillars ' of our nation. It will be history in the making in which these 'pillars' or 'patriots' talk to us, this young generation, the period leading up to Idependence and the Independence Day itself. It will be interesting for all of us to know the passionthat drove them to fight for our Independence and for them, these patriots, to tell us what thay want us to achieve in order for ouryoung country to prosper.I figured you would have some knowledge about ourcountries 'patriots' and where some of them might be now.We really need your help in finding out who they were and where theyare now."

Below is a re-run of the Bully Beef Club story:

The late Cecil Abel (later to become Sir) was one of the many unsung heroes of the infamous Bully Beef Club, Pangu Pati and Independence in 1975.
Sir Cecil (KBE, OBE, DipAnth), who died on June 26, 1994, aged 91, was a son of the famous pioneering London Missionary Society (LMS) missionary Charles Abel of Kwato Island, Milne Bay Province, and was one of those who “stimulated” the minds of members of the Bully Beef Club and Pangu Pati – paving the way for Independence.
He was born on February 1, 1903, on Kwato Island.
Cecil Abel did his primary schooling on Kwato; high school at North Shore Grammar School in Sydney, Australia; and university at Cambridge in England.
He returned to Kwato and was asked by Administrator Sir Hubert Murray to teach political science at the Administrative College in Port Moresby.
Little did Sir Hubert know that the idea of home rule – independence – would be contemplated right under his nose by Cecil Abel and the Bully Beef Club.
He was a member of the second House of Assembly from 1968 to 1972.
In November 1968, Cecil Abel outlined Pangu’s economic policy: “The Pangu Pati believes that we must find the true economic basis for a multiracial society. We must aim for a reasonable equality of wealth between black and white, or rather, between haves and have nots. We are concerned at doubling the national income and we are equally concerned that all groups share in this growth.”
He went on to state that a viable economy depended on five points:
Increasing overseas capital investment;
Raising exports in both primary and secondary sector;
Reducing imports and encouraging import replacement;
Greatly increased secondary industry; and
Movement to subsistence to cash economy.
In 1966, a young man named Michael Somare came to the Administrative College in Port Moresby for studies, met many like-minded men and together they began to plan the future of the country.
Albert Maori Kiki was in his second year at the college, while Joseph Nombri, Sinaka Goava, Gavera Rea, Jack Karakuru, Cromwell Burau, Bill Warren and Lukas Waka were among the students.
Ebia Olewale was president of the Students’ Representative Council at Port Moresby Teachers’ College.
“We talked politics all the time,” recalled Somare (now Sir Michael) in his autobiography Sana.
“Our teachers encouraged us to take a lively interest in current affairs and to freely discuss the political and economic future of our country.
“We had some outstanding teachers to whom all of us owe a great deal.
“David Chenoweth was the principal.
“Tos Barnett, who is now my chief legal advisor in the office of chief minister, Cecil Abel and Ted Wolfers were among those who stimulated our minds.
“I was delighted when Albert Maori Kiki was elected president of the Students’ Representative Council.
“He provided the strong leadership that was needed.”
At night, the group would meet at Kiki’s house in Hohola, and thus was formed the Bully Beef Club.
On June 13, 1967, the Pangu Pati was founded with the support of nine members of the House of Assembly: Paul Lapun, Pita Lus, Nicholas Brokham, Wegra Kenu, Paliau Moloat, Barry Holloway, Tony Voutas, Siwi Kurondo and James Meangarum.
The founding members, in addition to the nine members of the House of Assembly, were: Cecil Abel, Albert Maori Kiki, Joseph Karl Nombri, Elliot Elijah, Sinaka Goava, Ilimo Batton, Reuben Taureka, Kamona Walo, Cromwell Burau, Oala Oala-Rarua, Gerai Asiba, Ebia Olewale, Pen Anakapu, Epel Tito, Basil Koe, Gavera Rea, Vin Tobaining, Thomas Tobunbun and Michael Somare.
A little later two more members of the House of Assembly – John Guise and Edric Eupu – joined the parliamentary wing of Pangu.
“The moment the party was formed,” reflected Somare, “I knew that I would have to give up my career as a civil servant.
“The next years of my life, for better of worse, would be devoted to politics and the struggle for independence.”
Cecil Abel was one of those who laid the groundwork for the Bully Beef Club, the Pangu Pati, and lived to see Papua New Guinea gain independence from Australia on September 16, 1975.
He was awarded an OBE for services to politics and Papua New Guinea at the age of 72 and at aged 79 was awarded his Knighthood.

My Dad’s memories of Michael Somare

Caption: Mathias Nalu (second from right, standing), with fellow trainee teachers at Sogeri Education Centre in 1956 including Michael Somare, (third from left, sitting), Paulias Matane (sitting far right) and Alkan Tololo (standing far right).

My father, the late Mathias Nalu, until the day he died in 1993, remained committed to the ideals of his former school mate and Pangu Pati founder Michael Somare.
Dad went to school with Somare, first at Dregerhaffen in Finschhafen, and then at Sogeri outside Port Moresby.
But unlike his mates like Somare, Paulias Matane and Alkan Tololo who would one day figure in the formation of this country, Dad remained a simple school teacher, and later a primary school inspector, until the day he died so prematurely of a stroke after 35 years of distinguished service to his country.
We, his children, were born and grew up all over the country in the pre-independence days as Dad excelled as a member of the highly-disciplined and efficient ‘shorts and socks brigade’ public service under the colonial administration.
We grew up listening in fascination as Dad told us one story after another of his mates like Somare, Matane and Tololo.
Many years later, after Dad died and I was working as a journalist, I often bumped into Somare, Matane and Tololo and they always extolled the virtues of my ‘Old Man’, which left me with a great deal of pride.
One thing that is forever etched in my memory was of growing up on Sohano, a small island off Buka, in the halcyonic days of the early 1970’s, when I would have been about five or six years of age.
Papua New Guinea’s Chief Minister visited Sohano, and while reminiscing with Dad about their old days, a Bouganville Copper employee named Bill, who lived next door to us, said something that offended Somare.
Somare ordered him out of the country immediately!
I can remember as Bill, with tears, handed all his worldly possessions to Mum and Dad and left.
Independence came and I remember Dad, as we listened to the radio at 12am on September 16, 1975, celebrating as his former school mate became the first Prime Minister of the newly-independent State of Papua New Guinea.
Later, in 1976, when my youngest sister Anna was born, the Papua New Guinea Prime Minister personally visited our house while in Goroka, gave Mum K100, and said that Anna’s second name was ‘Moaso’ after his mother.
As Somare celebrates 40 years in politics, I know that somewhere over the rainbow way up high, Dad will also celebrating.

Use 100% Papua New Guinea companies for walking the Kokoda Trail

Trekkers, particularly Australians wanting to walk the Kokoda Trail, are advised to use 100% nationally-owned companies.
It is common knowledge that many Australian companies use Papua New Guineans as mere fronts, with most of the money heading back to Australia.
If you want to really support Papua New Guinea, use a 100%nationally-owned company.
Robin Yates, 57, a successful import/export businessman in Queensland who recently walked the Kokoda Trail, cast his vote-of-confidence in Fuzzy Wuzzy Expeditions, especially at a time when it is common knowledge that many Australian companies use Papua New Guineans as mere fronts, with most of the money heading back south.
“We want the money to come to New Guinea, not Australia,” Mr Yates explains.
“We want the money to come to New Guinea, that’s why we used a local company.
“And I’m very pleased that we did because we did a great trek and enjoyed all the people from Fuzzy Wuzzy.
“I’m sure that many more people will want to come and do the same.”
Fuzzy Wuzzy Expeditions is the new kid on the block that’s taking the Kokoda Trail by storm through the Internet.
It’s a far cry from early 2004 when I first met an enterprising young man named Defol Jabbar.
He had just set up his new trekking company and the next three years would be a steep learning curve.
Mr Jabbar has slowly, but steadily, been building up his client base since 2004, albeit, without a professionally-designed website.
His website http://www.fuzzywuzzy.com.pg/ was properly designed and uploaded last November and the sky is now the limit.
Mr Jabbar, as far as I know, is the first Papua New Guinean owner of a trekking company to have a proper website.
Many overseas trekkers and tourists prefer to use 100% locally-owned companies; however, the catch is that few of these companies are Internet-savvy.
The lucrative Kokoda Trail market is dominated by foreign-owned companies, many of whom use Papua New Guineans as fronts, and Fuzzy Wuzzy Expeditions is indeed a breath of fresh air.
Mr Jabbar has been able to pull in an extra buck or two into the country, provide employment, as well as promote tourism in this beautiful country of ours.
Mr Jabbar can be contacted on email defol@fuzzywuzzy.com.pg or info@fuzzywuzzy.com.pg and mobile (675) 6883231.

2000 hits and growing

The number of hits on this Blog has surpassed the 2000 mark since I installed a counter two weeks ago on Monday, July 14th, 2008.

This, to me, is a great achievement and shows the interest in Papua New Guinea from all corners of the world, as can be verified by the country of visitors, and the emails I've been receiving.

This Blog is my little contribution to my beloved country, Papua New Guinea, a developing third-world country which is beset by problems of good governance.

I will continue to post positive articles and photographs on this Blog to promote Papua New Guinea.

I am looking at improving this Blog and provide even better things for you, my faithful readers.

Thank you and God Bless You All Real Good!

Malum

Want your own Blog or website

I have been inundated with querries from all over the country from people wanting to build their own Blog or website.

If you need any assistance in this regards, email me on malumnalu@gmail.com or phone (675) 3446734 or mobile (675) 6849763.

Malum

Coffee in Papua New Guinea

Contrary to what is often assumed, Papua New Guinea's coffee industry is not based upon large, corporately-owned plantations, but on tens of thousands of small, village coffee gardens.
Typically, they range in size from 20 trees to 500 or 600.

These family-owned coffee gardens produce over 70% of the countries' annual exportable crop; a crop which has averaged one million bags, or 60,000 tonnes per year in recent times.
The balance of the crop is grown on commercial plantations which range from 20 to 100 hectares and more in size.
Again, of a total of 461 plantations registered with the Coffee Industry Corporation, all but half a dozen of the largest are owned by local, village-based business groups or individuals.
It is estimated that nearly 3,000,000 people, or almost half of the nation's population, derive a benefit from the coffee industry.
Certainly, in the highlands provinces, commerce and development would never have reached today's levels without the annual flow of income from this crop, a flow which begins in April, peaks in July/August and then tapers off quickly, so that the highland towns are comparatively quiet again in the final months of the year.
The coffee crop is 'green gold' which enriches the country annually to the extent of three to four hundred million kina in overseas earnings.
It is PNG's most valuable agricultural export.
And it is an eternally renewable resource.
Back in the early 1950s an active policy of encouraging the establishment of village coffee gardens was initiated, particularly in the highlands where the environment is ideal for the growing of Arabica coffee.
Arabica has a finer flavour and commands a higher price than Robusta, grown in coastal regions, but lacks Robusta's tolerance of the many fungus diseases which prevail in the steamy climate of the coast.
Although small areas of coffee had been established in certain coastal areas before the Second World War, no-one was prepared for the enthusiasm with which the highlands population adopted this new and initially strange crop.
At first it was hard to explain the use to which the ripe, red coffee berries or 'cherries' as they are called, would be put, and many older people, conservative and suspicious of the new plant with its shiny, dark-green leaves, predicted that coffee would bring bad luck and even cause the death of their much-prized pigs!
But very soon large numbers of highlanders were enthusiastically involved in setting up coffee nurseries with seed supplied by government agricultural extension workers.
Everywhere, families and clan groups were clearing land for coffee.
From small beginnings in the early 1950s, by 1960 more than 4000 hectares of Arabica coffee has been established by villagers, mainly in the highlands near Kainantu, Goroka, Mount Hagen and in the Wahgi Valley, but also at Wau, and in the Huon Peninsula in the mountains behind Lae and Finschhafen.
By the early 1970s, the area planted by villagers had increased to an estimated 23,000 hectares producing some 25,000 tonnes of green bean (raw bean) for export each year.
During the 1960s the infrastructural base of today's industry was laid.
Early on, all the coffee produced in the highlands was flown to Madang for overseas shipment. Initially, two coffee mills in which the dried coffee was husked, graded and bagged, were established, one in Goroka and one in Mount Hagen.
First one, and then a second export company was established, both with the participation of the then largely expatriate-owned plantations and mills.
The Coffee Marketing Board (recently re-constituted as the Coffee Industry Corporation) was set up to legislate and develop policy and to administer the industry.
The number of mills set up to buy and process the fast-growing volume of coffee produced by the smallholders soon grew to 10.
By 1964, the Highlands Highway was sufficiently well-developed to make trucking a payable proposition and the use of the aeroplane as the principal means of transporting heavy freight in and out of the highlands was phased out.
At the same time the development of a spreading network of minor roads in the coffee-growing areas allowing easier access to the towns encouraged the industry to grow.
Many coffee growers used their new-found wealth to buy small trucks and began to engage in buying coffee from other farmers, selling it at a profit to the mills.
Later in the 1970s, soon after PNG. became an independent, self-governing nation, the disastrous frost in Brazil put large sections of that country's coffee industry out of business for several seasons.
Papua New Guinea's coffee growers experienced boom conditions for more than three years.
In the highlands many new ventures based on coffee or the income from coffee were funded by a suddenly-adventurous banking industry.
Almost to a man the 100 or so expatriate planters who had arrived in the 1950s, and who with the village growers had pioneered the industry in the highlands, sold out, accepting what were in most cases generous offers made by locally-formed companies and business groups.
At the same time a government-sponsored scheme for the establishment of scores of small 20 hectare coffee plantations, owned corporately by groups of village landowners, came into being.
In the 1980s almost all the middlemen involved in the coffee trade, the buyers who trade either from trucks or roadside depots, were local businessmen.
Expatriates still provided management for the export companies and some of the larger mills, but ownership now rested almost entirely in the hands of citizens or citizen corporations.
During the 1980s the world price of coffee fluctuated violently, going from the highs of the late 1970s to new lows, then to a high again in 1986, followed by a steep fall. The plantations, with their heavy burden of debt and high operating costs were in deep trouble.
The smallholders, however, the backbone of the industry, were able to survive because of their independence and in-built resilience.
The typical village-based grower in PNG uses no artificial fertiliser, no chemical sprays, and owns his farm lock, stock and barrel.
His input consists mainly of his own and his family's labour, plus a few simple tools.
Pest and disease control to the grower in the valleys of PNG's highlands means daily watchfulness and the use of fingers and a sharp pair of secateurs, rather than the massive overkill of a chemical regime.
Prunings from his coffee and leaf-fall from the trees which shade it, together with the skin and pulp of his freshly-processed crop provide a natural, nutrient-rich mulch. The PNG small grower is very much his own man, very independent in an increasingly complex world.
Aware that nothing sells like quality, in 1994 PNG's Coffee Industry Corporation introduced a compulsory minimum standard for unprocessed coffee into the marketplace. This is in addition to the existing standard for export green bean.
Since 1995, it has been an offence under the provisions of the Coffee Industry Corporation Act for a farmer to offer for sale parchment coffee of the 'Reject' or Class 4 standard.
In 2002, the minimum standard for trade in smallholder parchment coffee was revised from Class 3 to Class 2.
As a result of improved quality control, the discount against the prevailing New York price for 'Other Milds' applying to PNG's 'Y-grade' has been reduced.
The balance of consumption against production in world terms is an up-and-down equation, but at present the near-term outlook for the PNG grower is good.
In particular, the increasing demand for organically-grown coffee presents opportunities for PNG.
With his ability to supply a naturally-grown, naturally-processed product the village-based coffee grower in PNG faces a reasonably assured future.
PNG's Arabica coffee is intrinsically a very good one, known for its good body and acidity, and will always be looked for in the market whilst it enjoys a reputation for reliable quality. PNG's coffee industry is here for the long haul.
This 'green gold' will continue to provide income and stability for generations of small growers in PNG's coffee producing provinces.

Old pictures of Lae

Use 100% Papua New Guinea companies for walking the Kokoda Trail

Trekkers, particularly Australians wanting to walk the Kokoda Trail, are advised to use 100% nationally-owned companies.
It is common knowledge that many Australian companies use Papua New Guineans as mere fronts, with most of the money heading back to Australia.
If you want to really support Papua New Guinea, use a 100%nationally-owned company.
Robin Yates, 57, a successful import/export businessman in Queensland who recently walked the Kokoda Trail, cast his vote-of-confidence in Fuzzy Wuzzy Expeditions, especially at a time when it is common knowledge that many Australian companies use Papua New Guineans as mere fronts, with most of the money heading back south.
“We want the money to come to New Guinea, not Australia,” Mr Yates explains.
“We want the money to come to New Guinea, that’s why we used a local company.
“And I’m very pleased that we did because we did a great trek and enjoyed all the people from Fuzzy Wuzzy.
“I’m sure that many more people will want to come and do the same.”
Fuzzy Wuzzy Expeditions is the new kid on the block that’s taking the Kokoda Trail by storm through the Internet.
It’s a far cry from early 2004 when I first met an enterprising young man named Defol Jabbar.
He had just set up his new trekking company and the next three years would be a steep learning curve.
Mr Jabbar has slowly, but steadily, been building up his client base since 2004, albeit, without a professionally-designed website.
His website http://www.fuzzywuzzy.com.pg/ was properly designed and uploaded last November and the sky is now the limit.
Mr Jabbar, as far as I know, is the first Papua New Guinean owner of a trekking company to have a proper website.
Many overseas trekkers and tourists prefer to use 100% locally-owned companies; however, the catch is that few of these companies are Internet-savvy.
The lucrative Kokoda Trail market is dominated by foreign-owned companies, many of whom use Papua New Guineans as fronts, and Fuzzy Wuzzy Expeditions is indeed a breath of fresh air.
Mr Jabbar has been able to pull in an extra buck or two into the country, provide employment, as well as promote tourism in this beautiful country of ours.
Mr Jabbar can be contacted on email defol@fuzzywuzzy.com.pg or info@fuzzywuzzy.com.pg and mobile (675) 6883231.

Making ICT more relevant and practical for SMEs in rural areas

Many development practitioners and researchers – including Papua New Guinea - have traditionally regarded the area of communication either as a technical field, or as a means of "delivering messages" and not so much as a tool for enterprise development.
Yet, these assumptions are increasingly questioned, as media and communication tools become more accessible to marginalised people, particularly those in micro and small enterprises in rural areas.
Rural areas such as Memyamya in Morobe province, Marawaka in Eastern Highlands province, Oksapmin in Sandaun province, Karimui in Chimbu province, Kaintiba in Gulf province, and the list goes on and on.
We have to find ways of making Information and Communications Technology (ICT) more relevant and practical for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas. Information and Communications Technology can also be used as a powerful weapon in the battle against the scourge of HIV/AIDS that is sweeping the world, including Papua New Guinea, where it now threatens the very livelihood of our people.
Examples can be found in uses of participatory video, community radio, print media such as newspapers and magazines, theatre-for-development, music, Internet, community television, and mobile phones and many other various forms of media.
These are used all over Papua New Guinea but have not been harnessed as much as a tool for enterprise development.
The technology is already there to take Internet to the rural areas of our country, such as Very Short Aperture Terminal (VSATs), but for reasons known to themselves; those in authority seem to be working at a snail’s pace to let our rural areas see the light of ICT. We have to make ICT affordable and accessible for our people or they will continue to remain in the dark.
All over this increasingly-globalised world, a massive Information Revolution is taking place as economies use ICT as a passport to what economists call the “New Economy”.
Papua New Guinea will continue to remain light years behind the rest of the world if we do not jump on the ICT bandwagon in this globalised world.
Success in this globalised world is predicated on ICT knowledge and successful knowledge-based economies will be based on the efficient and widespread use of ICT by all sectors within any given country.
On the other hand, an increasing number of development projects on promoting mass media for development, such as the International Labour Organisation’s Business Development Services (BDS) Zambia project, are beginning to demonstrate creative and innovative ways of unleashing the power of mass media for accelerating market information services and creating relevant and accessible social dialogue platforms for lobbying for enabling small business environments. Leap-frogging technologies such as mobile Short Messaging Services (SMS) are enabling Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in rural areas to access market information and opportunities in real time.
We only need to look within our own country to see the massive improvements in accessing market information and opportunities in real time since the introduction of mobile phone competition through Digicel.
There are real life stories of farmers, fishermen, artisans, PMV owners, trade store operators and many more seeing marked improvements in developing markets through their mobile phones.
The days of yodelling over the mountaintops to broker barter of goods is long over and our rural areas must also reap the benefits of the massive Information Revolution that is sweeping the globe.
Journalists also have a very important role in disseminating information to the bulk of our people in the rural areas rather than the bread-and-butter “shock and horror” stories. The BDS Zambia project has been facilitating the capacity building of mass media and target MSEs in a few ways:
* Building the capacity of media to deliver market information services that are relevant and practical to MSMEs in rural and urban communities;
* Training and sensitising journalists on role of media in promoting access to service and commodity markets, creating a business enabling environment and promoting an entrepreneurial culture;
* Promoting a community journalism culture among farming communities to talk back to the media and make their views on access to services, information, markets known. And in turn, promote sustainable social enterprises whose business models thrive on harnessing a market of satisfied audiences;
* Enhance their participation in social dialogue processes and bottom-up communication on issues that concern micro-enterprise and community development, particularly at local government level by empowering Micro Small Medium Enterprise (MSME) rural and urban business communities to support and work with media that addresses their specific needs;
* Helping people in small businesses on how to cope with AIDS through relevant and practical information materials such as the HIV and AIDS Handbook for Entrepreneurs in Zambia. The project has produced short videos highlighting the lessons and experiences of the ILO Business Development Services project in Zambia, working with media to facilitate information services for micro and small enterprises in rural markets.
Perhaps Papua New Guinea can take a leaf out of Zambia’s book as we ponder the future of ICT in our beloved country.

Welcome to Papua New Guinea

Lying just south of the equator, 160km north of Australia, Papua New Guinea is part of a great arc of mountains stretching from Asia, through Indonesia and into the South Pacific.
Papua New Guinea has a total land area of 463, 920 square kilometers and total sea area of 3.1 million square kilometers.
It has a moderate tropical climate with high levels of seasonal rainfall.
In the Highlands, temperatures can range from a low of 4 degrees Celsius to a high of 32 degrees Celsius.
The average daily temperature is 27 degrees Celsius.
Papua New Guinea’s population is about 6 million people.
This fascinating land boasts more than 600 offshore islands and more than 800 indigenous languages (tok ples), and is home to the largest area of intact rainforest outside of the Amazon.
Papua New Guinea consists of four regions made up of 19 provinces and the National Capital District, each with its own special character and cultures.
Visitors will discover a wealth of tropical scenery, from the jungle-clad mountains of the Highlands to the sandy white beaches and atolls of the coastal and island provinces.

People, Language and Religion

Papua New Guineans, most of whom are Melanesians, vary widely in their physical characteristics, ethnic backgrounds and cultural types.
It is the most-heterogeneous country in the world because of the isolation of most communities.
In the past, more than 800 languages have evolved – many of which are still spoken – representing approximately one-third of the languages known in the world.
Due to the cultural diversity of the country, English is the language of Government, commerce and law.
English is a compulsory subject in school through Papua New Guinea and apart from isolated communities, is widely understood.
About 96 per cent of the population is Christian with the Catholic and Lutheran churches being the largest denominations.

Government

In 1973 Michael Somare became the Chief Minister of a democratically-elected government and led the national to self-government on 1st October 1973.
Papua New Guinea became an independent nation on 16th September 1975 with Michael Somare being the nation’s first Prime Minister.
The National Government consists of three independent branches: the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary.
The National Parliament consists of 109 members, including the current Prime Minister and his cabinet of 27 ministers.
There are 19 provinces in Papua New Guinea as well as a National Capital District, each of which are given grants by the National Government to operate such functions as capital works and maintenance, health, education, agriculture, town planning, forestry and business development in their respective provinces.
However, national laws do take precedence over provincial laws if there is conflict.
Papua New Guinea is an active member of the British Commonwealth and Queen Elizabeth 11 is the Head of the State, represented by her appointed Governor-General.

Economy and growth

Papua New Guinea is now on a sound financial path.
Economic growth looks to be around 6 to 7 per cent, following several years during which the economy contracted.
Employment and incomes are picking up.
Inflation has fallen from over 20 per cent to around 1 per cent.
The Treasury Bill rate is now under 5 per cent compared with rates as high as 20 per cent around the middle of 2003.
The Kina has been stable.
There is increased optimism about projects for investment in Papua New Guinea, which has been reflected in developments such as the billion Kina Luquid Natural Gas (LNG) projects.
International reserves are at near record levels.
The deficit has fallen and Papua New Guinea has reapid most of its debts.
Papua New Guinea has been described as a “mountain of gold floating on a sea of oil”.
While this may be somewhat overstating the situation, it reflects the importance that Papua New Guinea’s extensive natural resources play in the country’s development.
It is also appropriate, from the agricultural point of view, to describe Papua New Guinea as a “Garden of Eden”.
Fertile soils and a conducive climate allow most agricultural produce to be harvested.
At present there are two distinct economies existing side by side in Papua New Guinea: the traditional economy and the cash economy.
The traditional sector – mainly subsistence farming – supports about 85 per cent of the population.
Most villages are self-sufficient and only small surpluses of produce are available for trading.
The growth of towns has, however, encouraged small-scale cash cropping in nearby villages and these crops are sold by village people in the town market.
The cash economy in Papua New Guinea is very much an open economy geared for international trade.
Exports are mainly minerals, petroleum, gas and agricultural commodities.
The country imports most of the finished goods it requires.
The National Government actively encourages more production onshore for the needs of the population and for export.
The economy is dominated by mineral, petroleum and gas projects.
However, the agriculture, forestry, fishing and manufacturing sectors combined account for a significant proportion of the nation’s gross domestic product.
Total exports from Papua New Guinea are valued at more than US $2 billion.

Geography

Vast tracts of the country are wild and undeveloped.
The towering Owen Stanley Range, a massive central spine, divides the mainland with peaks towering over 4000 metres.
Great rivers begin their journey to the sea from these mountains, among them the mighty Sepik River and Fly River waterways.
Beneath the mountain chain, fertile coastal plains, flooded delta regions and mangrove swamps exist alongside broad sandy beaches, colourful sheltered bays and dense rainforest.
The rugged mountain terrain and deep cave systems offer wonderful adventure opportunities for walkers, cavers and climbers, and there is canoeing, kayaking and fishing on the river and delta system.
Papua New Guinea also enjoys some of the world’s best diving around its warm coastal waters, with rich coral reefs around the inland coast and the islands of the Bismarck Sea and the Milne Bay area.
Undiscovered marine life forms are continually being found on the reefs, and visitors can discover some of the world’s rarest shells.

National Capital District

Port Moresby is the capital of Papua New Guinea and this area is sometimes referred to as the National Capital District.
Located on the southern coast of the mainland, it has a total population of 254, 158 made up from all regions of the country and including a large foreign population.
The striking Parliament House building reflects the harmony of modern architecture and traditional design, while the National Museum and Art Gallery exhibits cultural features of the country’s complex tribal lifestyles.
There is a range of international hotels, as well as shops, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and other amenities.

Main Regions and Provinces

Papua New Guinea is divided into four main regions known as Highlands, Momase, New Guinea Islands and Southern.
The Highlands region is made up of the provinces of Eastern Highlands, Simbu, Western Highlands, Southern Highlands and Enga.
The Momase region consists of Morobe, Madang, East Sepik and West Sepik.
Southern consists of Central, National Capital District, Gulf, Western, Milne Bay and Oro.
The New Guinea Islands region comprises of East New Britain, West New Britain, Bouganville, New Ireland and Manus.

Flora and fauna

The country’s pristine rainforest is home to some 700 species of birds, including parrots, pigeons, hornbills (kokomos) and cassowaries (Papua New Guinea’s largest bird), but best know is the brilliantly coloured bird of paradise.
Thirty-eight of the 43 known bird of paradise species are found here, including the rare Blue and the Raggiana varieties, enticing birdwatchers from around the world.
The world’s largest butterfly – the Queen Alexandra Birdwing – is also native to Oro Province, with a wingspan that reaches up to 30 centimetres.
Native mammals include bats and marsupials such as tree kangaroos, forest wallabies and echidnas (spiny anteaters).
Papua New Guinea is also especially famous for its stunning orchids.
Over two-thirds of the world’s known species are found here, and new varieties are still being discovered.

National Parks and Reserves

Papua New Guinea has more than 1000 hectares of land dedicated to national parks.
Varirata National Park (1063ha), just 42km from Port Moresby, is a haven for native flora and fauna, and birdwatchers.
The park protects the Western end of the Sogeri Plateau, across to the Astrolabe Mountains.
McAdam National Park (2076 ha) stretches between Wau and Bulolo, protecting wildlife such as echidnas, cuscuses (a large marsupial), cassowaries and birds of paradise.
The Baiyer River Sanctuary, north of Mount Hagen in the Western Highlands, contains the world’s largest collection of birds of paradise, and some shorter bushwalks.
Pokili wildlife area in West New Britain in unique for its hot springs, geysers and boiling mud pools, while Lake Kutubu in the Southern Highlands provides a refuge for birdlife, reptiles and turtles.

Dr Greg Murphy honoured for his services to PNG arts and education

The award of Officer of the Order of Logohu was presented to Raun Raun Theatre founder Dr Greg Murphy by Governor-General Sir Paulias Matane on Thursday on March 1, 2007.
Dr Murphy, a naturalised citizen who first came to Papua New Guinea in 1968, is known to many people – particularly those of Goroka – as being the founder of the famous Raun Raun Theatre and his role in the construction of the landmark Raun Raun Theatre building.
His is also known for his production of many plays, including the internationally-acclaimed Sail The Midnight Sun trilogy, which was written by famous PNG writer and poet John Kasaipwalova.
He is now employed by the University of Papua New Guinea as the Director of the Madang Open Campus.
“I would rate my biggest achievements in Papua New Guinea as the direction of the Sail the Midnight Sun Trilogy with the Raun Raun Theatre actors and dancers and the poet, John Kasaipwalova, and my role in the construction of the wonderful Raun Raun Theatre building in Goroka,” Dr Murphy says.
“But it also gave me great pleasure to witness the first group of graduates from the Madang Open Campus in April 2006.
“It was a small group of seven people who graduated with a Bachelor of Management.
“I was very proud of them.”
He stood proud at Government House to receive his award.
“I was very proud to receive this award along with many other people who have contributed in their own ways to our country of Papua New Guinea.
“To be honoured in this way by my country - I became a citizen of Papua New Guinea in 1985 - means a great deal to me.”
Dr Murphy was educated at Melbourne and Monash Universities and then sent to Papua New Guinea as an Australian conscript in the Pacific Islands Regiment.
“Instead of being sent to Vietnam,” he recalls, “I was sent to Papua New Guinea to teach at the Military Cadet School in Lae.
“After that, I spent 10 years with Raun Raun Theatre and 25 years teaching and managing in tertiary educational institutions in Papua New Guinea.
“I have a formally adopted family of two children and now two grandchildren as well.
“In many ways, I regard my family as my major achievement.
“It has been a lifelong commitment.”
Dr Murphy’s contribution to the arts and culture in Papua New Guinea really began when he arrived in 1968.
“I was teaching English to officer cadets at Igam Barracks.
“During that time, we did a lot of creative writing, made a film based on Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart and produced a play called Everyman (the African version).
“I then returned to Australia and came back to live permanently in Papua New Guinea in 1973.
“For two years, I was a lecturer in Expressive Arts at Goroka Teachers College.
“Two collections of student poetry, Hey Now and O Mama, were published and 14 stage productions were mounted during that time.
“One of these productions was a folk opera called Betlail based on a story from Siassi and another was called Poket Buruk, a village play about alcoholism.
“These two productions formed a model for Raun Raun Theatre which I started in 1975 under the National Cultural Council.
“I directed and developed this theatre company for 10 years until 1984.”
The following are the productions completed at that time:
Village plays: 1975 Poket Buruk [TP: Broke!]a play about alcoholism; 1975 TupelaTingting [TP: Double Bind] a play about gambling; 1976 O Mama na Papa
a play about urban youth; 1977 Kago [TP: Cargo]a play about cargoism; 1978 Ol Kain Sik Nogut [TP: Health Problems]a play about malnutrition, diarrhoea, sexually transmitted disease; 1979 Taim Bilong Kopi [TP: The Coffee Season]a play about coffee growing; 1980 Femili Plenin [TP: Family Planning]; 1981 Wara Suplai [TP: Water Supply]; 1982 Politiks [TP: Politics].
Folk operas: 1975 Betlail [The Twins]an origin story from the Siassi Islands; 1975 Ai Bilong Bilak Bokis [TP: The Eye of the Flying Fox]an origin story from the Finschhafen area; 1976 Tewel Bilong Kokatu [TP: The Cockatoo Spirit]an origin story from the Finschhafen area; 1977 Diwaz [The Trickster]an origin story from the Kiwai area of the Gulf; 1978 The Legend of Jari an origin story from the East Sepik; 1980 Sail the Midnight Sun based on poetry by John Kasaipwalova; 1982 My Tide Let Me Ride
based on poetry by John Kasaipwalova; 1984 The Dance of the Snail
based on stories told by John Kasaipwalova.
These three performances by John Kasaipwalova formed the Sail the Midnight Sun trilogy.
Over the 10 years, the Company performed in many of the villages in the five Highlands provinces, throughout all of the 19 provinces of Papua New Guinea and featured at several international arts festivals.
It was a remarkable experience and demonstrated the potential in Papua New Guinea for institutions of excellence.
Two of the highlights of this performance history were the premiere of Sail the Midnight Sun at the South Pacific Arts Festival in Port Moresby in 1980 and the performances of the first two parts of the trilogy at the Adelaide Festival in 1984.
“I served as a member of the National Cultural Council of Papua New Guinea from 1978 to 1984,” Dr Murphy says.
“In 1986, I began my current job at the University of Papua New Guinea as the Director of the Madang Open Campus, previously called the Madang University Centre.
“This involves mostly administering and teaching at a distance education facility but, during this period of more than 20 years, I have also conducted theatre workshops, organised creative writing workshops, published four issues of the journal Mazoz: New Writing and Arts from Papua New Guinea and written teachers resource books for Expressive Arts.
“I have also been involved in extensive research projects which led to the writing of my PhD thesis: Raun Raun Theatre and its role in the construction of a national culture in Papua New Guinea.
“I completed this PhD through our own university, the University of Papua New Guinea, which was always my aim.
“In fact, my work in education and culture in Papua New Guinea was not really in two separate fields because they are in many ways the same thing.
“The 10-year experience at Raun Raun Theatre was a real education for the actors and dancers, and myself.
“Even though they generally had very little formal education, I regard them now as highly-educated people, educated through travel and experience.
“Similarly, to work in the area of education in Papua New Guinea requires a sensitivity to culture and language and a commitment to them.
“Distance Education is an exciting area to work in because students need to become more independent and self-reliant and more readily take ownership of their own studies and their own learning.
“Learning at a distance has in fact become the most popular way globally to study and to acquire knowledge.
“My current interest is in literacy, in other words, the business of reading and writing, at all levels, in tok ples, tok pisin and tok inglis.
“In fact we are now working on the establishment of a Provincial Language and Literacy Resource Centre in Madang.”
Dr Murphy feels strongly about the arts and crafts in Papua New Guinea.
“I think the arts and crafts in Papua New Guinea need support in the form of national and provincial institutions where artists can work and exchange ideas.
“This is in fact the only way arts and crafts can grow and develop into a strong and vibrant contemporary culture.
“In other words, I think the former National Arts School or Creative Arts Centre needs re-establishing and devolving into provincial and regional areas.
“Cultures and the arts need to change and adapt.
“If they don’t, they will not survive.
“Preservation is not the right way, except of course in museums which are very valuable institutions in themselves, because you can only preserve something which is already dead.
“What we need is transformation, to use an expression of John Kasaipwalova’s.
“We need cultures and arts and education which are alive and exuberant and vibrant.”

Seeto Kui

In James Seeto’s Lae office is a larged framed photograph of his father Seeto Kui, his mother, as well as places precious to him such as Salamaua, Wau and Lae.
Theirs is a story of Salamaua, Wau, Lae, the horrors of war, and starting a company with only 100 Australia Pounds in war-devastated Lae into what is now a thriving business.
Seeto Kui was the founder of the current Seeto Kui Organisation, now a substantial multi-million Kina business with nearly 1000 employees, distributing throughout Papua New Guinea in the grocery, variety, supermarket, plumbing supplies, hardware, construction, and stationery and office supplies market.
He traveled from Canton, China, by ship and arrived in Rabaul, East New Britain, in 1914, at the tender age of 13 years to work as a tailor.
Some years later, he was sent to the then-thriving Salamaua, Morobe, to work as a trade store manager, where he earned himself sufficient money to go back to China in the early 1930s, where he married and returned to continue work and traveling back and forth to China.
James Seeto, Seeto Kui’s first son, first arrived at Salamaua with his mother and sister, Joyce, in 1938, to be with their father.
Unfortunately, his mother died some time after and was buried in the local cemetery.
“My memories of Salamaua are very limited,” Mr Seeto tells me.
“I went there when I was two or three years old.
“I went there about a year ago and the people made me feel very welcome.”
The family then moved to the gold rush town of Wau from Salamaua, where Seeto Kui opened his own trade store.
“Wau has always had a very cool climate,” Mr Seeto remembers.
“I would run around, playing.
“I remember one day, when I went over a cliff and got hurt.”
In early 1942, World War 11 came to Wau with Japanese aircraft bombing the area.
“All I can remember about Wau is the bombing.
“We were glad to evacuate.”
Men women and children were to be evacuated by two aircraft but unfortunately, one of the aircraft was damaged when a vehicle accidentally struck its landing wheels, disabling it and leaving only one aircraft to take the women and children.
The men, including Seeto Kui, were forced to escape the invading Japanese by trekking the whole way from Wau to Port Moresby over the infamous Bulldog Trail.
The family was reunited in Port Moresby and then evacuated by the famous ship “Macdhui” MV to Sydney, Australia, where they stayed in a refugee camp until the war ended.
During April of 1948, the family returned to Lae by Qantas DC3 aircraft, which then took two days to arrive, with an overnight stop at the Queens Hotel, Townsville, Australia.
Seeto Kui arrived in Lae with only 100 Australian Pounds in his pocket from war compensation, and with this, he built his own trade store in the Lae Chinatown area.
He was assisted in building the store by fellow Chinese residents, displaying the community spirit that was possible in those days.
Young James Seeto commenced boarding school in Sydney during early 1950 but was recalled back to Lae in 1952 due to his father’s illness and to take over the running of the family trade store.
He has been involved in the running of the business ever since.
Seeto Kui passed away on March 18, 1972, and was buried in Lae.
James Seeto has been active in the Lae community over the years including participation in fundraising committees, social clubs and organisations, local government councils and government statutory institutions.
He has held the following positions in the past, by election, appointment, or voluntarily:
Lae Chinese Club – Foundation Member, President for many years;
Morobe Chinese Association – Foundation member, President for many years;
Lae Rotary Club – member, all directorships, President;
Lae Golf Club – member, Vice President, Life Member;
Bank of Papua New Guinea Board – board member by appointment;
Lae Harbour Board – board member by appointment;
Town Advisory Council – board member by appointment;
Lae City Council – Elected, as board member of 14 years, the various positions held from times as Executive Finance Chairman, Building Board Chairman, and Vice President.
Mr Seeto has also been a member of committees in various organisations including:
Salvation Army;
Red Cross Appeal;
Heart Foundation Appeal;
University of Technology Appeal;
Lae Chamber of Commerce;
Disaster appeals created as required from time to time and supported by the Seeto Kui Group of Companies.
His efforts and contribution to the community have been officially recognised with the award of an MBE in 1980, and more recently, a CSM and the PNG Anniversary Medal during 2006.
The Seeto Kui business was further developed extensively with the assistance of James’ brothers, Robert, Ronald and Danny, and included the establishment of further wholesale and distribution outlets in Lae, dealing in trade store goods, general merchandise and supermarket lines.
Additional branches were subsequently established in Port Moresby, Mount Hagen and Goroka.
The Mt Hagen and Goroka outlets have since been sold, but the business with the Highlands has in fact grown since then through trading with clients based in those areas, serviced by traveling representatives, who also travel extensively throughout the country to service customers.
James Seeto and the Seeto Kui Organisation has been involved in Mainland Plumbing Supplies (N.G.) Limited, based in Lae, since its incorporation in 1972, in both a managerial and minor equity capacity.
The majority shares in the company were purchased by the Seeto Kui organisation during 1989 and a branch has since been opened in Port Moresby.
Ardrossan Investments Pty Ltd, trading under the name of Bowmans – Lae, was purchased in 1991 and this hardware and construction business has further grown with diversification and the development of the stationery and office supplies division.
The business that was started by Seeto Kui with 100 Pounds nearly 70 years ago is now a substantial multi-million Kina business with nearly 1000 employees, distributing throughout Papua New Guinea in the grocery, variety, supermarket, plumbing supplies, hardware, construction, and stationery and office supplies market.
The Seeto Kui Organisation holds an enviable portfolio of local and overseas agencies including many internationally-recognised brands and the component of this business continues to grow.
The development of training facilities within the organisation has been highly successful with a large number of in-house training programmes on offer.
This is considered an important investment in, not only the development of the workforce, but also in the long-term success of the business.
The Seeto family has traditionally preferred to reinvest in growing the business and creating employment within Papua New Guinea, rather than transfer profits offshore.
The establishment of the Food Mart supermarket in Lae is a recent example of this policy and represented a huge investment in the local community.
The Seeto Kui Group of Companies underwent a company amalgamation during early 2005 and the organisation now trades as Seeto Kui (Holdings) Limited.
James Seeto and his family have lived and worked in Papua New Guinea for four generations and their shared vision is to continue to invest and assist in the development of Papua New Guinea for now and the future.
“Seeto Kui, from day one up until now, has never looked back,” Mr Seeto says.
“We always try to look forward.
“We keep adding.
“We keep going into trade that is compatible with our business.
“I think our company is now in a much better situation.”
Now aged 73, Mr Seeto has not retired, and remains active in running the company.
He also has a lot of time for wife Anna, children Belinda, Anthony, and Raymond, as well as his six grandchildren.
“I’m in the process of activating the next generation to take over,” he says with a smile.
“I know that I will not last forever.
“In my own way, I do my part in looking after my company, my family and our interests in Lae.”
Mr Seeto makes no secret that Papua New Guinea, and particularly Lae, is in his blood, and particularly stresses that Seeto Kui is not a “fly by night company” and is here for the long haul.
He remembers the country’s Independence in 1975 when a lot of paranoid expatriates moved out of the country.
“A lot of people moved out of Lae because they feared Independence would cause chaos and problems,” Mr Seeto says frankly.
“I stayed!
“All I can say is that the company has confidence in Papua New Guinea.
“We’d like to think that we help the country by providing employment.
“Papua New Guinea has been good to us and we hope that we, in turn, can help Papua New Guinea.
“If I wasn’t confident in the country, I would not be here now.
“I’ve been here for too long and I think Papua New Guinea is in my blood.”

Papua New Guinea’s medicine woman

If Dr Quinn is television’s “medicine woman”, then Minnie Bate is Papua New Guinea’s answer to her.
This quietly-spoken woman from Wedau village in Rabaraba, Milne Bay Province, has become a national icon since her herbal medicine products started winning wide acclaim.
She shot to prominence at the PNG-Made Trade Fair in Lae in 2003 when she won awards for “Small Business Encouragement” and “Best New Product” and has since never looked back.
The sky is now the limit as she awaits clinical trials and certification of her herbal products by an independent international team of scientific researchers.
“The ball is now in their court,” she tells me.
“Appropriate license will be issued upon show of evidence of clinical trials.
“That’s when the real business begins.”
Mrs Bate currently produces herbal soap, hair and scalp care cream, face and body care cream, multi-purpose herbal cream, and multi-purpose herbal oil under her Gemins brand name.
All these are produced at her humble backyard.
She was enjoying a quite cup of tea on a typically-beautiful Milne Bay afternoon at her home at Goilanai Heights in Alotau when I drove in unexpectedly for a chat.
Her products are selling well all over the country, with Popondetta, Lae, Port Moresby and Madang leading the charge.
“I have reports from people in high places, especially ladies, who have opted to use our products,” Mrs Bate tells me.
“They have found out that our products are better and also cheaper.
“They have done away with imported products and are using our products.
“Our fastest seller is the soap, sales of which are really picking up.
“All are products are made from traditional medicines.”
Mrs Bate’s humble beginnings with herbal medicine go back to 1987 when the qualified medical technologist successfully treated a young student who had a serious wart problem for seven years with herbal medicines.
“We successfully treated it using the traditional medicine we are now using in our products,” she recalls.
“We conducted research into all techniques, products had to be tried out and modified where necessary.
“Over the years, we developed a list of all sorts of problems this product could treat like asthma, arthritis and all forms of skin diseases.
“In year 2003, we participated in the PNG-Made Trade Fair in Lae and we were recognised by being awarded ‘Small Business Encouragement Award’ and ‘Best New Product’.
“That really opened up another chapter where we have to now look seriously at what we can do to get our products recognised by the Health Department.
“We were taken to all kinds of workshops by different organisations, including one on traditional medicine.
“This was more or less the Government recognising what we were doing.
“I think it was also a World Health Organisation direction to look at traditional medicine in the region.”
Mrs Bate was trained as a medical technologist at the then Papuan Medical College in 1972 and 1973, worked for eight years with the Health Department, and then went back to the same school from 1980 to 1983 where she completed her Diploma in Medical Technology.
She then joined the Department of Agriculture and Livestock and taught basic science, nutrition and health to diploma students at the Vudal Agricultural College outside Rabaul from 1986 to 1990.
She then moved over to the Popondetta Agricultural College from 1990 to 1996 “when I stopped because of this thing (herbal medicine)”.
“While I was teaching,” Mrs Bate confesses, “I was also doing my personal research.
“When I finished from the public service, the product was already there and just had to be developed.
“A company was established in 1993 called Pomins Ltd.
“That happened during my long leave.
“While working, I was selling and promoting my products.
“Most of my promotion happened in Oro Province.
“Here I was, trying to create a change of attitude in people from imported medicine to traditional medicine.”
Mrs Bate’s big break came in 1995 when she attended a workshop in Fiji on traditional medicine.
“From that workshop,” she remembers, “one thing that really hit me was the income that could be generated from traditional medicine, so we started producing multi-purpose herbal cream and multi-purpose herbal oil.
“It was quite exciting.”
In 2002, she attended further workshops in Vanuatu and Fiji, where she learned about how seaweed could be blended into her products.
“I successfully produced seaweed-based products blended with herbs, mainly for face and baby care creams, as well as soap, which are now in high demand.
“The soap production thing has now evolved into a community-based project, as people have coconuts as resources we need to produce coconut oil for soap.”
Mrs Bate, despite being pressed, would not reveal the ingredients or recipes for her products – which are a closely guarded trade secret.
Everything is produced in her backyard with the help of a very-supportive husband from Bubuleta village on the East Cape of Milne Bay, as well as her four grown-up sons.
“I depend on my family for support,” Mrs Bate says.
“From the very beginning, they understood that I was trying to develop traditional medicine commercially.
“I have a very understanding family which has stood behind me in very tough times.
“Once I get my license (when the products are certified), I can do business in a big way.
“That’s when employment will come in.”
Mrs Bate can be contacted on telephone/facsimile (675) 6410699.

Missionaries, Headhunters & Colonial Officers

James Chalmers was the so-called “Livingstone of New Guinea”.
He was a star in the London Missionary Society’s firmament.
For 34 years from the 1860s onwards he preached the Gospel in the South Seas.
He also loved whisky, enjoyed exploring the unknown territory and had a genuine rapport with the Papuan people.
But not even this charisma and courage could save him when late in his career he and his party were lured into an ambush on Goaribari Island.
They were beheaded and eaten by the natives.
It is the Goaribari incident that lies at the heart of Peter Maiden’s extraordinary history of what was then British New Guinea.
This is a history that proves that fact is indeed stranger than fiction.
Sorcery, magic, head-hunting and cannibalism were rife.
To possess a skull collection was to enhance one’s standing in the spirit world.
In 1901, on Goaribari Island alone, a missionary, Harry Dauncey, found about 10,000 skulls in the island’s Long Houses.
The second half of Maiden’s history focuses on the career and tragic end of the very first Australian-born governor of British New Guinea, the Brisbane solicitor Christopher Robinson.
He arrived in BNG in May 1903 and soon afterwards witnessed a savage conflict between the native constabulary and Papuan warriors.
In March 1904, Governor Robinson committed a catastrophic error in the Goaribari Affray.
June 9th, 1903, was a proud day for Queenslanders in general, but most particularly for the people of Brisbane, for that day the Australian Prime Minister, Edmund Barton, had appointed a local man, 30-year-old Christopher Robinson, as acting-governor of British New Guinea (BNG).
Robinson spent practically all his life in Brisbane, settling here as a five-year-old boy, after his father became rector of All Saints, Brisbane in 1878.
Christopher was educated in Brisbane, and then articled to T. W. Daly, a Brisbane solicitor.
A clever student, Robinson graduated top of his year and was admitted as a solicitor in 1895.
He practiced law briefly on the Etheridge and Croydon goldfields, before returning to Brisbane where he took up a private practice in 1898.
He was a handsome and highly presentable bachelor and the first Australian born governor of BNG.
However, it was a difficult assignment and despite his legal skills Robinson was quite inexperienced.
For this shortcoming he was to pay a terrible price.
In 1903, Britain was in the process of passing control of BNG to the Australian government and the colony’s administrators, operating on a shoestring budget, faced fearful difficulties.
Sorcery, cannibalism and headhunting were endemic in Papuan society.
Sorcery was a criminal offence but still it flourished.
Its practitioners “spoke” directly to the Spirit World and could simply frighten a Papuan to death.
A sorcerer had only to tap his victim on the shoulder, tell him he would soon die and within a week the unfortunate native would be in his grave.
And these magicians seemed omnipotent.
In 1903, for instance, a disgruntled sorcerer in eastern New Guinea announced that within three days he was turning every man in the village into a woman, and every woman into a man.
The men were panic stricken, New Guinea being such a male dominated society, but, as the investigating white magistrate observed, “the women viewed the threat with supreme complacency”.
Headhunting was another obsession.
To possess a skull collection was to enhance one’s standing in the spirit world.
In 1901, on Goaribari Island in the Gulf of Papua, a missionary, Harry Dauncey, found 10,000 skulls in the island’s Long Houses.
Even as late as 1957, Australian government officials on one occasion confiscated 78 skulls on Papua’s Casuarina Coast.
Fortunately, cannibalism was not quite as widely practiced.
As one writer, Wilfred Beaver, pointed out, “the population would eventually be reduced to small proportions”, if everybody was a cannibal.
The weakest tribes were most vulnerable.
West of Port Moresby the Mohohai tribe, according to Beaver, was regarded as “a kind of larder” for the predatory Ukiaravi warriors.
Elsewhere, the Scottish missionary, James Chalmers, newly arrived at Suau in 1878, was pleased to be invited to his first tribal feast – before learning that a terrified young boy was on the menu.
Chalmers, the so-called “Livingstone of New Guinea” was a star in the London Missionary Society’s firmament.
For 34 years he served in the South Seas islands as a near-perfect example of “muscular Christianity”.
Chalmers was a physically impressive man with a commanding presence and he possessed a cool head in a dangerous situation.
He liked whisky, loved exploring the magnificent countryside and had a genuine, albeit paternal affection for the Papuan people.
But for a white man, life in New Guinea was anything but a sinecure.
‘If a man escaped dying of fever in the first three weeks he was eaten by cannibals within the fourth week’, wrote Wilfred Beaver.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, even the humble toothache could be a major problem.
With dental help thousands of kilometres away, treatment could be crude: “A red-hot wire jammed into the gum, or a crystal of crude carbolic inserted into the raging stump.”
Murder and massacres were commonplace.
In 1900 a single government patrol led by the ex-Queensland policeman, turned magistrate, William Armit, killed at least 54 natives on the Upper Kumusi River.
In 1901 Alexander Elliot’s constables killed 42
On another patrol, magistrate Allan Walsh’s men disposed of 32 more Papuans in 1902, and in 1903, Whitmore ‘Old Shoot and Loot’ Monckton, a highly regarded magistrate, allowed his constables to kill 18 Paiwa natives.
Of course, the Papuan warriors, too, were aggressive.
Numerous lonely miners and missionaries met with a grisly end, most notably in 1901 when the Reverend Chalmers’ party of 12 was lured into an ambush on Goaribari Island.
There they were beheaded and eaten by natives.
This atrocity demanded revenge and more than 20 Goaribaris were killed in a government reprisal raid.
Soon after arriving in BNG, Christopher Robinson joined a government patrol along the Yodda River and saw at first hand the savage conflict between the native constabulary and Papuan warriors.
This patrol appears to have soured Robinson’s attitude towards the Papuans.
Afterwards, Robinson seemed to show little sympathy to the indigenous population.
He once declared that he had “an intense loathing” for these “inhuman creatures”.
He had no friends among the colourful Port Moresby expatriates and he was overwhelmed by a monumental backlog of work.
Robinson was capable and one local identity described him as ‘one of the most promising officers New Guinea ever possessed’.
Others, though, believed he was arrogant, and even frightened by the very people he was supposed to be protecting.
In March 1904 Robinson led a strongly armed commando to Goaribari, intent on arresting those responsible for the Chalmers’ missionary massacre.
Unfortunately his serious mismanagement of a confrontation with the Goaribaris became the subject of a sensational Royal Commission in Sydney in July.
While the native bowmen fired only a handful of arrows in anger, Robinson’s men replied with a murderous fusillade of 250 rounds.
At least eight natives were shot dead and two European witnesses testified that the governor had shot at least three of the Papuans.
Robinson’s career prospects were in tatters.
The lonely young governor, now afflicted with a severe bout of malaria lost heart and fell into a mood of deep depression that worsened as the date of the Royal commission approached.
Finally, on June 20th, 1904, Robinson took his own life under the flagpole at government house, Port Moresby.
This is a history that makes the clash of the proselytising white colonials with the Papuan warriors come vividly alive.
It is a story of dedication and courage, but also a story of tragic failure.
A riveting read.


Missionaries, Cannibals and Colonial Officers
British New Guinea and the Goaribari Affair 1860s-1907
Written by Peter Maiden
Central Queensland University Press RRP $25.95

Plans to build five-star hotel in famous Lae Botanical Garden kick up a stink

(Note: If you wish to make a comment on this burning issue, click comments at the bottom of this posting or vote at top right)

Talks going on between the Forest Ministry and a private company to build a hotel in the middle of the famous Lae Botanical Garden have kicked up a stink.
Forestry Minister Belden Namah revealed in Parliament last week that his Ministry was making K7 million available to rehabilitate the Lae BotanicalGarden.
He said the plan to build the hotel was purposely to make the Lae Botanical Garden, which is one of the Papua New Guinea's biggest of its type, to sustain itself because for many years the Government had neglected this most-beautiful botanical gardens in the country.
Mr Namah said his ministry was in the process of signing the agreement between the company, the Morobe Provincial Government and the Forest Ministry for the proposed hotel development.
"The Government will now be making available K7 million to rehabilitate the botanical gardens and on top of that, there is a plan to give more than K100 million towards the proposed hotel project in the middle of the Lae Botanical Garden," he said.
B. Javanese wrote: “The proposal put forward by the PNG Gardener to have a five-star hotel right in the heart of the botanical garden as part of rejuvenating the gardens as a tourist attraction is seen as a blatant blow to the purpose this garden exists for.
“ I am sure if he puts up a hotel, all the grass roots will be stopped outright from going in and out for family reunions, meetings, sightseeing and other picnics and activities.
“I propose the garden be left as it is and just work on putting up facilities and upgrading the beautification of the gardens.
“Income from the hotel will not at all sustain it.
“It is a public facility for the people of PNG and should be maintained at the expense of the taxpayers of this country and not be given to private companies.
“ If that happens the primary reason why the garden exists will be defeated.”
Max Kuduk wrote: “While on the face of it, the idea might be a good one, there seems be something that does not add.
“The Government putting up K7 million for garden re-development and K100 million for hotel development?
“ Does not seem like a kosher deal to me.”
Former PNG Forest Authority staffer Dr Osia Gideon wrote: “This is the most outrageous proposal I have ever seen.
“We never seem to learn!
“ Who will own the hotel when constructed?
“How many government business ventures have been running profitably over the
years?
“Almost none.
“ Like Max I sense a very fishy deal, tailored for someone's benefit.
“Every Papua New Guinea must oppose this proposal.
“The National Botanical Garden belongs to the people of Papua New Guinea, and must remain that way.
“ Too much public land and property has gone to individuals with political connections.
“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!”
Dr Simon Saulei of the University of PNG: “Like Dr Gideon, I am very concern about this outrageous proposal.
“Why not spend that K10 or so millions on upgrading the gradens than building a hotel?
“ I have more to say but let us see this proposal and make our comments on it or better still front up with the Minister and tell him and his Morobe counterpart about the purpose of the garden and what really needs to be done and be sustained over a longer period of time.”
Laden wrote: “There are few facts that minister Nama and his forestry advisors need to know about Botanical Garden.
“Lae National Botanic garden is about 0.00002 % of the PNG’s current forested land area (29473000 ha).
“This is a very tiny piece of forest area by comparison yet it houses an estimated; 5-10% of all the plant species occurring on the island of New Guinea.
“About 2% of these plant are endemic to the island of New Guinea (found nowhere else in the world).
“The garden also holds remnant flora from one of the world’s oldest land mass, namely; Madagascar.
“The garden is very unique in many facets.
“For example, it is the only piece of land in Lae that remains to this day to tell of the kind of native flora of the LAHI tribal land, it is the only botanical garden in the entire PNG that has both the montane and lowland forest species coexisting, it is the only place in PNG that our children and their children can get to see one of the giant tree species Shoraea sp (Dipterocarpaceae), it is the only botanic garden in PNG which our children can see world’s most primitive flora.
“The botanic garden also provides a refuge for a rich resident bird fauna in the middle of all the noisy streets and ugly buildings.
“The Lae Botanical garden is certainly a great natural emporia of the New Guinea flora which primary schools, high schools, secondary high schools, colleges, and universities utilise in their curriculum.
“It is a Natural Heritage and warrants a designation equivalent to all our protected areas.
“Its biological, ecological, and esthetic values are clearly of national and global significance.
“ Lae Botanic garden indeed is perhaps the only significant piece of forest which has the capacity to effectively sequestrate all the toxic fumes generated in Lae city.
“The native plant species in the Botanic garden can be used as wild plant parent genetic material (PGR) that can produce new and improved tree crops that may be more resilient.
“The conversion of botanic garden to hotel will result in loss of the endemic species which would mean not only a loss to PNG, but a loss to the world as well.
“Minister should also know about the rate of deforestation in PNG.
“ PNG’s current rate of deforestation is 0.44 %, according to FAO report of the United Nations (1995-2005).
“ Deforestation rate in Japan, Australia, and USA; is 0.17%, 0.17%, and -0.10% respectively.
“It would seem that in our blindness in rushing to catch-up with their development, such as the crazy proposed hotel in the middle of botanic garden; we have neglected to see the greater care they have put into guarding their natural heritage and resources.”
“A case in point; the Didipa clan of Kau wildlife area in Madang, they did not have the necessary formal education in biodiversity and conservation that ministers advisors have, but what they were able to achieve in conserving and saving their forest is something that would make any conservationist proud.
“They have with limited resources, no formal education and little capital of their own, been able to set aside their small area of forested land all because they had the belief that what they were doing was right.
“Some of the plant species in the Lae Botanical Garden have little scientific data on their biology.
“Hence PNG has a country needs to preserve and conserve these species for future research to fulfill its global responsibility to protect and maintain all species within its borders.
“This knowledge is also critical for the development of effective conservation measures and for the preservation of biodiversity.
“What Lae Botanic Garden needs now to restore its former glory is a stand alone funding and not a squeezed-up funding from PNGFRI as is the case now.
“The Botanic garden has been in the past able to attract hundreds and thousands of tourists in a year without a hotel.
“ Records should show that not a single one of the tourists ask to see a five-star hotel in the botanic garden, so where is this crazy idea coming from?
“Come on! Wake up Minister and Advisors from this callous!”
Thomas Warr wrote: "I would suggest someone or a group in Lae to organise a meeting for us to talk about this.
"In saying that I think we should organise the Lae communities/groups to protest against this proposal."