Black Cat trek recalls epic battles

By Kerri-Ann O'Sullivan

Special journey: Blaxland MP Jason Clare at the Australian War Museum for the launch of the 2013 Mateship Trek.

BLAXLAND MP Jason Clare will host the Mateship Trek in Papua New Guinea this Anzac Day.
Mr Clare is walking the Black Cat Track from Wau to Salamaua in Papua New Guinea with a group of Australians to commemorate the 70th anniversary of World War II campaigns in the area.
The Mateship Trek is a bipartisan program established four years ago to bring together young Australians from different backgrounds to learn about each other, their potential and Australian military history.
The trek will conclude with a dawn service at the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Lae, where about 2800 men and women have been laid to rest. Almost 700 were killed in action on or around the Black Cat Track.
In January 1943, Australian forces defended the Wau airstrip against the Japanese.
On Anzac Day the order was given to surge towards Salamaua across what became known as the bloody ranges of northern New Guinea. Salamaua was taken by the Allies on September 11, 1943.
"The story of Kokoda is well known. Unfortunately, the heroic efforts of the Australian soldiers on the Black Cat Track a few months later have been largely forgotten," Mr Clare said.
"We need to fix this.
"That's what this trek is about. Walking in the footsteps of Australian soldiers, honouring them, learning their stories and making a commitment to live a life worthy of the sacrifices they made for us."
The Mateship Treks are held every two years.
The first, in 2009, was along the Kokoda Track. In 2011 the group retraced the path of the World War II prisoners of war in Borneo during the Sandakan Death March.

How a Tobruk Rat turned Pacific hero

AAP

NEIL Russell is turning 96 next month and he needs a walking stick to get around, but this extraordinary digger was on the winning side in two of the toughest WWII campaigns in the Middle East and the Pacific.

Captain Russell is one of a handful of surviving Rats of Tobruk, who successfully defended the crucial Libyan port and gave the German forces their first major setback of the war in 1941.
With little time to enjoy the victory, however, he was shipped off to Papua New Guinea, where he played his part in delivering the first blow to the advancing Japanese forces.
As a 25-year-old first lieutenant, he helped stop the Japanese from taking Port Moresby in the 1942 Battle of Milne Bay.
He was made a captain and after the war awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal - the second highest medal for valour behind the Victoria Cross.
The Brisbane resident, who turns 96 on May 18, says when the order came to fix bayonets and charge, his company "stormed the enemy stronghold".

"And the Japs shot off like a Bondi tram," he said.
His son Doug says his father's dry Aussie humour helped him deal with stressful, life-threatening moments.
"During the heat of battle, someone said to him, 'What's the time?'" he said.
"He said, 'Time for a Capstan' (a brand of popular cigarettes at the time)."
Capt Russell will take part in the Anzac Day march through Brisbane today from 10am (AEST).
The march will start at the corner of George and Elizabeth Streets.

Hidden Valley a problem child — Newcrest CEO

by Allan Seccombe, 24 April 2013, 10:29

THE Hidden Valley mine in Papua New Guinea was a "problem child" and three key areas had come under focus to bring costs down, Greg Robinson, CEO of Australia's Newcrest Mining, which shares the project with Harmony Gold, said yon Tuesday."Hidden Valley is our problem child on a negative cash flow basis to us and we continue to see poor results," Mr Robinson said during a presentation on Newcrest's March-quarter results. Newcrest is Australia's largest gold miner and has guided the market to expect output of 2-million ounces to 2.15-million ounces of gold for this financial year.
Like its peers in South Africa, Newcrest is struggling with the fall in the gold price, strong Australian and Papua New Guinea currencies and rising costs. It has already cut 150 jobs.
Newcrest shares Hidden Valley with Harmony as well as the Wafi-Golpu exploration project that promises to be a large copper and gold mine.
Hidden Valley produced 18,988oz of gold for Newcrest, and Harmony will report similar results when it releases its third-quarter results on May 3. Hidden Valley produced 20,649oz for Newcrest in the December quarter. Harmony declined to comment on Mr Robinson's view, citing a closed period ahead of releasing its own results.
Hidden Valley's cash cost in the March quarter, which included production of 205,651oz of silver, was A$1,790/oz, up from A$1,584 in the previous quarter.
Mr Robinson said the partners were addressing the continuing problems at Hidden Valley, with them taking delivery of a primary crusher in May instead of this month, as had been expected. This would allow the mine to ramp up production from a high-grade part of the mine using conveyor belts to move the ore to the processing plant instead of relying on an expensive trucking option.
"It's a big priority," Mr Robinson said. Mine management was looking at ways to improve metal recoveries at the plant and it had brought in an independent operational review team to reduce costs by between 20% and 30% in the "very short term".
"We will continue to review the viability of this operation in particular after the primary crusher is in place and that we've taken the appropriate steps. We hope once we've done those, we'll have this thing back in a reasonable return profile ."
With Newcrest becoming "stingy" with its capital, analysts quizzed Mr Robinson about Wafi-Golpu, a $4.9bn project that has attracted criticism for Harmony from some analysts who argue it should focus on returning capital to shareholders rather than spend billions of rand on this project.

G-G attends Anzac dawn service in PNG

AAP

GOVERNOR-GENERAL Quentin Bryce has paid her respects to current and former Australian soldiers at an Anzac Day service at Papua New Guinea's Bomana war cemetery.

At today'smorning's ceremony, Ms Bryce was joined by PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and Australian High Commissioner to PNG Deborah Stokes, as well as her PNG counterpart Sir Michael Ogio.
More than 2, 000 people armed with glow sticks crowded into Bomana, located about 19km outside of Port Moresby.
"Wherever we come from and wherever we go, this is a day that gives pause and silence to our journey," Ms Bryce said in a short speech.
"A moment to remember the Australian soldiers, merchant navy men and airmen - and members of the Papua New Guinea local forces - who died defending this territory and ours.
"The tranquility of this clearing belies the desperate, bloody confrontations of the Kokoda campaign that took place beyond."
Bomana is final testing place to more than 3,000 soldiers killed serving in Papua New Guniea.
Australia and PNG formed close ties during World War II, with Australian soldiers being aided by locals known as Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels.
Ms Bryce will later fly to Isurava and Kokoda to pay her respects at memorials in both locations.
Anzac Day will mark the fourth day of Ms Bryce's five-day state visit to PNG.

Through a veteran's eyes

By Gaye Pattison and Allison Jess (ABC Local)

 

Bob Iskov has an important role. The 92-year-old was a member of the 2nd/14th Battalion who fought along the Kokoda Track during World War II. While many members of his former battalion have passed away or do not want to talk about their war experiences, Bob is one of the one's who "needs" to do it. 

Word War II veteran and retired Lieutenant Bob Iskov (Gaye Pattison - ABC Local)

"I think there is a message to pass on particularly to the younger generation.

"I like to think that the kids in some of the schools are taking a great interest in the War and what led up to it and I hope that makes sure it doesn't happen again, that is my biggest concern."
Iskov and his battalion arrived on the frontline of the Kokoda Track in 1942. The Kokoda Track campaign was a significant battle in World War II between the Japanese and the Allied forces - who were mostly Australian.
He says Anzac Day should always be remembered for the sacrifices and the mateships made in combat. During the Kokoda battle he says the role of the local Papua New Guinean villagers, fondly known as the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angles, should always be remembered.
"The usual jollity and fun and games ceased as we realised we were going into a serious situation, people kept their thoughts to themselves.
"You couldn't afford to be scared; you couldn't afford to show it 'cos you didn't want to let your mates down.
"One of the greatest fears we had was not being killed but being wounded and left behind. Perhaps to be slaughtered by the Japanese or left in the jungle to die."
The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels saved many soldiers lives.
"(During a battle) One of my boys Bruce Cooper, he was a tough Kalgoorlie miner, he got a bit of shrapnel in his backside, we put him on a stretcher with another few who had been wounded... A group of Fuzzy Wuzzy's were brought in and took the stretchers away from us. They went way into the bush and the wounded spent the next 29 days in the hands of the Fuzzy Wuzzy's who kept them supplied with food but they would have had no medical supplied... Bruce Copper survived, the story is the maggots got into his backside and kept the wound clean otherwise he probably would have got gangrene and not survived.
"We could not have fought without them because they carried our rations, our stores, our ammunition and they had to carry enough food to feed themselves... They did it with a smile on their face.
"When I was in New Guinea just recently people came up to me in the street the woman doing the bedroom in the hotel I was staying at came up and said 'I want to thank you for saving our country'. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and put her arms around me and she was genuine.
"There is still a huge bond between Australian and the Funny Wuzzy's and that will never die."
Bob Iskov lives in Wangaratta in north east Victoria.

Man killed aunt over accusations she was a witch in Papua New Guinea

AFP

A PAPUA New Guinean who accused his aunt of sorcery and killed her with an axe has been jailed for 30 years.

Saku Uki Aiya, 21, was found guilty of the "senseless, barbaric and brutal" killing after a two-day trial in Enga province in the impoverished Pacific nation's northern highlands.
The ruling comes days after the United Nations urged a tougher stance on such murders.
The National newspaper cited local police commander Sergeant Simon Mek as saying it was the first sorcery-related killing in the area to reach a national court.
"So many such cases are reported but rarely go through to the high court as relatives accept their own customary ways of settlement in the village courts," Mek said.
There is a widespread belief in sorcery in PNG, where many people do not accept natural causes as an explanation for misfortune and death, and there have been a spate of recent high-profile cases.

A PNG woman was set alight in Mount Hagen in Papua New Guinea in February after being accused of sorcery. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

The beheading of an elderly woman accused of witchcraft earlier this month prompted the UN to demand the government in Port Moresby tackle the scourge.
The UN urged an end to extra-judicial killings linked to accusations of sorcery and renewed calls for the government to repeal the Sorcery Act 1971, introduced to aid the passage of witchcraft cases through the courts.
While the act criminalised the practice of sorcery, critics say that granting the phenomenon legal recognition has led to an increase in false accusations.
"The UN is deeply disturbed with the increasing reports of violence, torture and murder of persons accused of practising sorcery around the country," the UN said.
"These vigilante killings constitute murder and must not be treated with impunity."
In Aiya's case, the court heard he blamed his aunt for the death of his brother and with two accomplices, who remain at large, went to her home in 2010 and bludgeoned her on the neck and head with axes and knives.
In jailing him, Justice Mekeo Gauli said accusations of sorcery were becoming more frequent, the newspaper reported.
"In my view some are using sorcery as an excuse to terminate someone's life though the suspect may not be a sorcerer," the judge said, urging people to use the courts to settle disputes and not take the law into their own hands.

Australian Governor-General pays tribute to diggers in PNG

ByEoin Blackwell, 

AAP Papua New Guinea Correspondent

GOVERNOR-GENERAL Quentin Bryce has laid a flower at the grave of the first Australian fighter killed in World War I during her state visit to Papua New Guinea.

Ms Bryce paused at the grave of W.G.V. Williams at Bita Paka war cemetery in Rabaul on Tuesday, the second day of her visit.
Seaman Williams died on September 11, 1914, following a skirmish with the Germans on the site where the cemetery is now located.
Bita Paka is the final resting place of more than 400 Australians killed in two world wars.
Ms Bryce also laid a wreath at a memorial to members of Lark force who died in East New Britain and on the Montevideo Maru.
The sinking of the Japanese transport ship almost 71 years ago carrying prisoners of war and civilians from Rabaul is considered Australia's worst wartime maritime disaster.
After arriving in New Britain aboard a Royal Australian Airforce C130 Hercules, Ms Bryce travelled to a health clinic to deliver medicine and medical supplies.

She visited Kokopo primary school, where Ausaid has built two schoolrooms, to meet students and plant a tree.
At a lunch in her honour at the Kokopo beach bungalow, former PNG governor-general Sir Paulias Matane told Ms Bryce she and Prime Minister Julia Gillard were an inspiration to women in PNG.
Ms Bryce said the treatment of women was a grave problem in the Pacific island nation.
"It's the most important human rights issue in the world and it's a very grave issue in this country," Ms Bryce said.
"The world must take action in every country.
"It's time we heard more men speaking out."
Sir Paulias said PNG must face up to its treatment of women and confront the violence in society.
"We are going to do our best to change the thinking of these people," he said.
Violence against women is an endemic problem in PNG and has been brought to international attention following the burning murder in February of 20-year-old Kepari Leniata, accused of witchcraft.
More recently, a US academic was pack-raped near Madang on the nation's east coast.
Ms Bryce also visited the Family and Sexual Violence Unit at Kokopo police station for a private conversation with survivors of domestic violence.
On Wednesday Ms Bryce will meet with women's groups at PNG's Parliament House in Port Moresby.
On Thursday she will attend a dawn service at Port Moresby's Bomana war cemetery, before flying to Isurava and Kokoda to lay wreaths at memorials there.
She will return to Australia on Friday.

Four arrested over PNG gang rape

AFP

PORT MORESBY: Police in Papua New Guinea have detained four men over the gang-rape of a US academic after a massive manhunt, with officials urging locals to help find five suspects still on the run.
The American woman said she was was stripped naked, had her hands bound and was raped by the armed mob last week after they tied up her husband and a guide on a jungle trail on Karkar Island in Madang province.

Spoke out to raise awareness: the US academic. Photo: AFP

She spoke about her ordeal before returning to the United States to raise awareness about rampant violence against women in PNG.
"I hope my story can make a change," she said.
Madang provincial police commander Chief Superintendent Sylvester Kalaut on Tuesday told the National Broadcasting Corporation of PNG that seven of the men allegedly sexually assaulted the woman while two others kept watch.
"I'm appealing to the law-abiding citizens on Karkar to help police with information so we can have all of the suspects rounded up," he said. "Obviously it's best for our country.
"Our people are abusing expatriates who are here in the province or the country who are here to provide services to our people."
The academic's case came barely a week after an Australian was killed and his friend sexually assaulted by a group of men in the Western Highlands. Prime Minister Peter O'Neill condemned the attack as the "cowardly act of animals".
The National newspaper on Tuesday reported that two men were being questioned over that incident, but up to eight remained at large.
As well as the attacks on foreigners, PNG's reputation has been blighted recently by a savage spate of "sorcery"-related crimes, including murders and beheadings, prompting condemnation from the United Nations.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/four-arrested-over-png-gang-rape-20130423-2ic3w.html#ixzz2RHUnDy1p

PNG needs some of our Anzac spirit

By Tim Costello

As we approach Anzac Day, Australians are prompted to reflect on our national character. Drawing on events far from our shores close to a century ago, we lay claim to a particular combination of traits: mateship, pulling together, and brave sacrifice.
Anzac Day should also prompt us to look at those actions closer to home that help define us as good mates, ready to pull together for a common cause. I'm talking about the importance of our relationship with Papua New Guinea – Australia's closest neighbour.
Our countries have enduring ties due to proximity, people, and history – and that includes shared experiences in theatres of war, like Kokoda.
The genuine warmth of the relationship is evidenced by the assistance our diggers received from ordinary Papua New Guineans during World War II (some of whom we continue to dub 'angels'), and our enduring gratitude for that.
So it is a natural expression of Australia's deep-rooted cultural values to continue to engage closely with PNG, and to assist our friends to meet the complex challenges they face. Together we can build bridges – sometimes life-giving ones.
Australia's Governor-General Quentin Bryce is currently in PNG, and I visited Port Moresby earlier this month. During that trip I was able to deepen my personal engagement with the people of PNG, as well as with some of the many Australians who live and work there.
Importantly, I was also able to witness how partnerships between the Australian and PNG governments, non-government organisations and local communities are improving the lives of Papua New Guineans.
One of the most pressing challenges facing Papua New Guinea and other countries in our immediate region is the prevalence of tuberculosis. TB is a major problem around the world, yet doesn't seem to claim as many headlines as malaria or HIV. According to World Health Organisation 2011 data, global TB hotspots include many countries in Africa (from Sierra Leone to South Africa), as well as Bangladesh, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
In the Asia Pacific region, TB is a bigger killer than malaria, killing more than 200,000 people in the region in 2011.
In PNG, reducing the spread of TB is a difficult challenge – the remoteness of some villages and lack of advanced health infrastructure in these areas, coupled with the difficulty of patients sticking to a six-month course of medication, has seen drug-resistant strains of the disease gain a foothold.
The TB challenge in our immediate region is an urgent one, but the situation is improving. PNG is making encouraging headway on the issue. The Government of PNG (through the National Department of Health) has increased efforts, in cooperation with organisations including the Global Fund, World Health Organisation, AusAID and international NGOs like World Vision. Australia's aid program is a key part of this effort.
In the last few years, Papua New Guinea's National TB Program has seen the STOP TB Strategy rolled out in every province and tens of thousands of people have been enrolled and successfully treated for TB.
On the ground in TB-affected communities, World Vision's approach, as a partner in this program, involves helping to build and strengthen local systems to improve health and wellbeing – this is a good example of assistance delivering sustainable improvements.
TB detection rates are up, allowing more and more people to receive free treatment. Things are improving, but a long-term commitment is needed. Improved health facilities, better community-based monitoring of treatment regimes, and more research into cost-effective diagnostic technology are all needed.
My hope is that World Vision – together with the PNG and Australian governments, private and corporate partners and other agencies – can overcome the challenges and profoundly impact the lives of people in need in PNG for the better.
Essentially, it's the right thing to do – working together with our closest neighbour for a better future. It is our responsibility and it is in our interest. Just as the diggers were helped by Papua New Guineans wanting to do the right thing, Australia needs to keep on doing the right thing by them.


*Tim Costello is chief executive of World Vision Australia

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/png-needs-some-of-our-anzac-spirit-20130422-2iaw5.html#ixzz2RElbtOTc

Clough Curtain JV wins PNG LNG contract

Engineering and project services company Clough Limited (ASX:CLO) yesterday announced that the Clough Curtain Joint Venture (CCJV) has received work orders worth approximately A$76 million associated with the PNG LNG Project's upstream contract.
The PNG LNG Project is an integrated development that includes natural gas production and processing facilities, onshore and offshore pipelines and liquefaction facilities.
The PNG LNG Project is operated by Esso Highlands Limited, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation, in co-venture with Oil Search Limited, National Petroleum Company PNG Limited, Santos Limited, JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration Corporation, Mineral Resources Development Company Limited and Petromin PNG Holdings Limited, and their affiliates.

Australian Governor-General arrives in PNG on 5-day visit

ABC

Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce arrived in Papua New Guinea today on a five-day visit.
She flew into Port Moresby and was welcomed by the unique sounds of a bamboo band from Bougainville island.
Ms Bryce is scheduled to meet her PNG counterpart, Sir Michael Ogio, and prime minister Peter O'Neill.
During the visit Ms Bryce will travel to Rabaul on New Britain Island and to Alotau on Papua New Guinea's eastern tip.
On Thursday, weather permitting, Ms Bryce will take part in Anzac Day commemorations at the village of Kokoda.
She will also visit numerous local initiatives that focus on education, health and violence against women.

American recounts horrific gang rape at the hands of 9 armed men in rural Papua New Guinea

The woman, her husband and a guide were ambushed and left alone on Karkar Island, hours away from the nearest village.

By Sasha Goldstein / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The victim of the brutal attack, who was researching birds and climate change, wants her story to empower the women of Papua New Guinea to stand up against violence.

-Ness Kerton/AFP

A brutal gang rape at the hands of nine armed men in Papua New Guinea has the American victim speaking out about violence against women in the Pacific country.
It's the latest in a string of horrific violent crimes this year in the country, most of them targeting women accused of "sorcery" and burned alive for their "crimes."
On Friday, the 32-year-old victim was researching birds in a remote forest on Karkar Island when she, her husband and a guide were ambushed by nine men wielding rifles and knives. They tied up the two men and stripped them naked, then bound the woman's hands and gang-raped her for 20 minutes. The men completed the atrocity by hacking off her blond hair with a knife, leaving the group tied up alone hours away from the nearest village.
"This story should not come out because I am white," the woman, who was on her fifth visit to Papua New Guinea, told The Telegraph, noting that it is rare for white women to be targeted. "It should come out in hopes that it empowers Papua New Guinean women to stand up and say no more violence against women in this country. I hope my story can make a change."

The group eventually freed itself and found the way to the nearest village. Husband and wife returned Saturday to Port Moresby, the nation's capital, where they filed a report with police and the American embassy. On Sunday, the brave victim spoke publicly about the incident with reporters.
The crime drew a sharp rebuke from Peter O'Neill, the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, who called it the "cowardly act of animals."
"This kind of behavior totally undermines our efforts to make our country a safe destination for investment and tourists," he said. "We cannot allow the entire nation to suffer because of the behavior of one or two sick people."
The heinous crime is similar to an incident from just a week ago, when an Australian was fatally shot at his Mount Hagen home. The 10 armed men then gang-raped his girlfriend.
The country does have a high crime rate, according to a State Department advisory on the nation, though tourists are less frequently attacked.
Native women have also been targeted in "sorcery" incidents. The Telegraph reports a heavy belief of sorcery in the nation, with many of its 7 million people doubting death by natural causes. Near Mount Hagen, a young woman in February was stripped, tied up and burned to death after a mob accused her of sorcery in the death of a 6-year-old boy.
So common are such attacks that the nation has a controversial Sorcery Act on the books to protect those who claim their crimes were done to stop sorcery.
Six women were tortured during an Easter sacrifice ceremony, and earlier this month two women accused of sorcery were publicly beheaded.
"I understand that there are limitations with resources, but it's not an adequate excuse for government to say that they can't protect someone's life," said Kate Schuetze, an official from the human rights organization Amnesty International.

US academic gang-raped on Karkar Island, Madang

AFP

A US academic has been gang-raped by an armed mob in Papua New Guinea, barely a week after an Australian was killed and his friend sexually assaulted by a group of men.The incidents come after a brutal spate of sorcery-related crimes that have sparked condemnation from the United Nations and undermined the poor Pacific country's standing as a destination for tourism and investment.
In the latest case, the white academic told AFP that she was attacked on Friday while conducting research on birds and the impact of climate change in a remote forest on Karkar Island in Madang province.
Police in the capital Port Moresby on Sunday confirmed the attack.
"We have taken statements but no arrests have been made yet," a spokesman told AFP. "This is a very serious incident."
The 32-year-old was walking along a bush track with her husband and a guide when nine men armed with rifles and knives ambushed them, stripping the husband and guide naked and tying them up, she said.
They then stripped her, bound her hands, cut off her blonde hair to the scalp and gang-raped her for about 20 minutes before something in the forest startled them and they ran away.
The guide managed to break free and the three of them fled naked back to the nearest village, several hours away, she said.
The husband and wife returned to Port Moresby on Saturday, where they were met by a photographer working for AFP who helped them file police reports and organise a flight out of the country.
The case was also reported to the US embassy. A duty officer told AFP Sunday that the embassy had no comment to offer.
Violence against women is endemic in Papua New Guinea, but it is rare for a white woman to be targeted, and the academic said she wanted to tell her story to shine a light on the issue.
"This story should not come out because I am white," said the woman, who was on her fifth visit to the country since 2010, often staying for up to four months to conduct research.
"It should come out in hopes that it empowers Papua New Guinean women to stand up and say no more violence against women in this country.
"I hope my story can make a change."
The American's ordeal comes barely a week after Australian Robert Purdy, 62, was shot dead at Mount Hagen, in PNG's Western Highlands, and a woman he was with, reportedly from the Philippines, was gang-raped by 10 armed men.
PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill condemned that attack as the "cowardly act of animals".
"This kind of behaviour totally undermines our efforts to make our country a safe destination for investment and tourists," he said.
"We cannot allow the entire nation to suffer because of the behaviour of one or two sick people."
The incidents follow a series of gruesome murders, including a 20-year-old mother who was accused of witchcraft, stripped and burned alive in front of a crowd at a market near Mount Hagen in February.
Earlier this month, an elderly woman was beheaded after being accused of sorcery.

Beautiful Milne Bay gears up for tourists

Source: The National, Wednesday, April 17,  2013 

 By MALUM NALU

CULTURALLY-rich Trobriand Islands, also known as the Islands of Love, along the northern straits of Milne Bay, is gearing up for its biggest ever invasion of tourists.
Milne Bay will be inundated with hundreds of tourists later this year, the biggest number ever, as P&O Cruises launches the first dedicated Papua New Guinea cruises.
In a first for P&O Cruises, PNG will feature in two dedicated itineraries, with Pacific Dawn sailing from Brisbane to the turquoise waters of Milne Bay, where it will visit provincial capital Alotau as well as the beautiful white sand beaches of Doini Island and the Trobriand Islands.

View of Milne Bay from Alotau International Hotel.-Pictures by MALUM NALU

The first cruise from Oct 31 to Nov 9, takes in Alotau, Kiriwina Island, Kawanasausau, and Doini Island.
The second cruise from Nov 16-Nov 26, takes in Kitava, Kiriwina Island, Alotau, Kawanasausau, and Doini Island.

Beautiful sun, surf and sand along the road from East Cape to Alotau.

The maiden cruise to Milne Bay in October is timed to coincide with Alotau’s Canoe and Kundu Festival, where local communities compete in canoe races, costume display and other cultural performances.

Milne Bay baskets at the arts and crafts shop in Alotau. So many more will be needed for the tourist 'invasion'.

Kiriwina-Goodenough district administrator, Nou Labui Bua, is now working against time to get things ready, including setting up new jetties on Kitava and Kaibola.
“We’re expecting cultural groups from the Trobriand Islands to perform in all those venues that we will put up,” he told The National in Alotau.

One of the many forest streams along the road from East Cape to Alotau.

“In the meantime, the preparation work is that we will have to put up jetties.
“Jetties will cost K1 million at Kaibola and K600,000 at Kitava.
“Kiriwina-Goodenough MP Douglas Tomuriesa is getting the money out of his district services improvement programme (DSIP) funds to have these jetties put up.

Milne Bay magic along the road from East Cape to Alotau.

“There is enough time.
“PNG Ports, with the assistance of cruise operator P&O, is getting the plans for the jetties prepared.
“We expect the entire Kiriwina community plus the smaller islands around there to converge on Kaibola on the day to perform.
“They have been told to get their baskets, whatever they can put up, to make a bit of money on the day.”

PNG and Fiji seal Vodafone deal

By Eoin Blackwell, AAP Port Moresby Correspondent

Vodafone Fiji will take over management of PNG mobile phone carrier bemobile, as the nations' leaders announced closer economic ties.
PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and Fiji's interim prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, signed off on the Vodafone Fiji venture in Port Moresby on Tuesday.

PAA © Vodafone Fiji will take over management of PNG mobile phone carrier bemobile.

The plan will see the Vodafone brand brought to PNG and the Solomon Islands.
"We have more mobiles than people," Mr Bainimarama said.
"The term historic is often over-used, but not in this instance. The two leading island nations, Fiji and PNG, have joined hands in a joint commercial venture that promises to revolutionise the lives of all our people for the better."
About 35 per cent of PNG's roughly seven million people currently have access to a mobile phone, compared with 110 per cent coverage in the smaller Fiji islands.
Fiji's National Provident Fund will take a 40 per cent share of bemobile, while the PNG government's commercial arm, the Independent Public Business Corporation (IPBC), will take 51 per cent.
The remaining nine per cent of shares will be spread between the PNG Sustainable Development Program and superannuation providers Nambawan Super, Nasfund and GEMS (PNG).
"This is an exciting venture and an important milestone in the new relationship Fiji is building with Papua New Guinea," Mr Bainimarama said.
"We are pursuing closer economic ties with the view of eventually creating a single market for the countries of the Melanesian Spearhead group."
The Vodafone deal is part of a broader package of economic ties.
PNG and Fiji will engage in annual trade talks and relax visa requirements for travel between the two nations, while PNG will hire Fijian public servants to bolster its ailing public service.
"We will be sending a team to go to Fiji within this year to start recruiting Fijians to come and work here to take up positions where we have a huge chronic shortage in our public service structure," Mr O'Neill said.
He also announced PNG will grant 50 million kina ($A22.2 million) in two tranches to Fiji to help it prepare for elections in March 2014.
The pair did not take questions from the press.
Mr Bainimarama arrived in PNG on Monday for a four-day state visit.

Prime Minister condemns killing of Australian in Mt Hagen

 Prime Minister Peter O'Neill was today angered at reports of the murder of an Australian tourist in Mt Hagen on Monday morning.

Media reports said the Australian, who was identified, was shot dead at a friend’s home while his girl friend was pack raped.

“I condemn the killing of this tourist and the attack on his girlfriend. It is a cowardly act of animals. This kind of behaviour totally undermines our efforts to make our country a safe destination for investment and tourists,” the Prime Minister said.

He demanded Police Commissioner Tom Kulunga to do all that is necessary to bring those responsible to justice.

“Our community cannot be safe until we bring perpetrators of such heinous crimes to face the full force of the law.

“We cannot allow the entire nation to suffer because of the behaviour of one or two sick people,” Mr O’Neill said.

Australian man shot dead in PNG

By Eoin Blackwell of AAP

AAP

An Australian man has been killed and a woman gang raped by a mob in Papua New Guinea's Western Highlands.
Robert "Bob" Purdy, 62, from Melbourne, died instantly after being shot at point blank range on Monday morning when a group of up to 10 men confronted him at a house on the outskirts of Mt Hagen.
The men then raped a female guest at the house.
The woman, understood to be from the Philippines, was taken to Mt Hagen hospital for treatment.
"The motive of the killing of this innocent Australian is not known at this moment as well as the identity of the killers," Highlands Divisional commander Teddy Tei told the Post Courier newspaper.
Mr Tei said no valuables had been taken from the scene and police could not rule out the possibility that the owner of the house, who is away in Sydney, was the target.
"I condemn the actions of these animals," Mr Tei said.
"This is inhumane.
"We are investigating this very serious incident which is likely to have severe ramifications on the country's image."
Mr Purdy operated a towing business, Cobra Towing, on the Gold Coast for more than 20 years and is understood to have been working in construction while in PNG.
In February, Mt Hagen was the site of the brutal murder of Kepari Leniata, a 20-year-old mother who was stripped naked and set on fire in front of a crowd after she was accused of using sorcery to kill a child.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said consular officials in Canberra were providing assistance to the man's family in Australia.

Australian businessman killed in Mt Hagen

By Robyn Wuth of Gold Coast News

COLOURFUL Gold Coast businessman Bob Purdy -- a towie known as "Cobra Bob" -- was shot dead in Papua New Guinea at the weekend.
The former Ashmore businessman, who famously repossessed everything from cruise ships to skyscrapers, was shot in what was believed to be a botched robbery in the dangerous Mt Hagen area.

'Cobra Bob' Purdy in a file photo from 1991

It is understood Mr Purdy died instantly.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed the death of a 62-year-old man in Papua New Guinea.
Friends yesterday confirmed Mr Purdy's death but declined to comment.
Mr Purdy was well known on the Gold Coast and operated a towing business, Cobra Towing, for more than 20 years.
His other enterprises included an "equipment" import-export business which targeted small countries with troubled economies, car yards, a repossession business and experimentation with the manufacturing of table tops from broken glass.
Mr Purdy had been working in construction in the Mt Hagen area.
Numerous travel warnings have been issued for the area due to the high level of serious crime.
Local authorities warned of a "heightened risk" of armed robbery and attack.
Mr Purdy's body is expected to be returned to the Gold Coast for the funeral which has not yet been arranged.

Coffee pioneers of Milne Bay

Source: The National, Monday, April 15, 2013 

 

By MALUM NALU

 

 BEATRICE and David Alwyn may be rightfully called the ‘first couple’ of coffee in Milne Bay province.
The couple, from remote Daga, north of Alotau, were among 55 coffee growers from remote areas of the province who completed a week-long course in basic husbandry practices, agronomy, harvesting, and processing techniques at Bubuletta outside Alotau last Friday.
Beatrice and another young woman, Lina Tutuna, were the only ones among males.

CIC provincial farmer and training coordinator Dickson Kenas with Beatrice Alwayn and Lina Tutuna.-Nationalpics by MALUM NALU

Beatrice and David,  aged 27, with two young children,  started growing coffee two years ago, now have 5,000 trees on two hectares of land, and expect their first harvest later this year.
While many other young people in Milne Bay and Papua New Guinea are turning to alcohol and drugs, not so the Alwyns.

The ‘first couple’ of coffee in Milne Bay…Beatrice and David Alwyn.-

“I’m very privileged to have attended this training,” Beatrice told The National.
“Through this training, I have learned so much about maintaining my coffee trees.
“Through this help, I’ll go back to my own land and tend my coffee trees.
“Over the last three years, I have struggled so much with coffee problems, and what I have learned from the Coffee Industry Corporation and the division of agriculture and livestock, I will apply to my coffee block.”
David says since he was taught about coffee growing by provincial agriculture adviser, James Duks, he has never looked back,
“We started growing coffee about two years ago,” he said.
“In the middle of this year, it should start to bear fruit.
“I think around September or October this year we should have our first harvest.”
David completed Grade 10 at Holy Name High School in Dogura, while Beatrice did her education at Rabaraba Vocational Centre.”
He is encouraging young people to turn to the land and grow coffee, rather than wasting away their lives on alcohol and drugs.
“My advice to my other young friends is that drinking is not a god thing,” David says.
“We take drugs, we do bad things.
“I’ve been telling them to grow coffee.”