Papua New Guinea – Port Moresby, the Trobriand Islands & Beyond
By Thomas Booth
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Papua New Guinea – Port Moresby, the Trobriand Islands & Beyond - Thomas Booth
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – PORT MORESBY, THE TROBRIAND ISLANDS & BEYOND
Thomas H. Booth
© Hunter Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publisher.
For all inquiries, contact Michael Hunter at michael@hunterpublishing.com.
INTRODUCTION
Papua New Guinea, the eastern half of the second largest island in the world, includes a cluster of islands off its northeast coast – New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, Manus, the Trobriands, and scores of smaller islands.
The other half of the island, the western part – Indonesian Irian Jaya – is another story and, other than brief remarks about it, this chapter is confined to Papua New Guinea. However, when you put both halves of the island together, notice how in profile it resembles a huge bird taking off. The head of the bird, a place the Dutch called Vogelskopf (bird's head) is on the Indonesian side. The other end, given no anatomical name by the Australians, is in newly independent Papua New Guinea.
The Dutch left their half of the island after World War II, and things have changed. Vogelskopf is called Manokwari and the town Pacific veterans knew as Hollandia is called Jayapura.
In 1944 when I first saw Hollandia it was suffering from the excesses of war. Seen recently, the same town still suffers, but now it's from Indonesian neglect and a curious military problem on its border.
The eastern half has changed too and as of 1975 Papua New Guinea, calling itself Niugini and its airline Air Niugini, became independent. Fortunately the Australian presence lingers and in a generous way controls the purse-strings. Without Australia Papua New Guinea would probably fall apart. And you're sure to hear commentary on all of this moments after stepping off the plane in Port Moresby, the usual port of entry – particularly if, with an icy South Pacific lager in mind, you go directly across the street and enter the public room of the Gateway Hotel.
There, standing at the bar, you'll almost certainly find a clutch of Aussies, many of them smartly turned out in Aussie gear-shorts, white shirt, and knee-length white stockings. They're sociable people, particularly when they're drinking, and being a newly arrived Yank is apt to get you a slap on the back, a Good on ya mate,
and another beer.
Then, attended by appropriate ribaldry without which Aussie drinking cannot be sustained, you'll hear a mixed bag of remarks. You may hear that, while matters aren't going flat out for the new government, there's hope, even progress. Perhaps too, you'll hear the other point of view – the Aussie who'll say what bloody cheek the United Nations had to suggest independence for this lot, some of whom a generation ago were stealing each others' pigs and wives and blipping each other on the head.
For a newly arrived American this is a time for listening.
Our point of view is neither required nor recommended. In time someone will sum up all points of view by offering, But don't get us wrong, mate, this is a good country, and we wish them the very best of luck.
We once fell in with such a group, and in time they asked why we were in Papua New Guinea. I explained that World War II nostalgia drew at me a little, but mostly we wanted to see the Sepik River, the Trobriands, the Highlands, maybe the Kokoda Trail. They approved with noisy enthusiasm, but one of them added, You're just scratching the surface of this country, mate. There are other rivers to be seen, trails to be walked, mountains climbed, some snow-clad, and with valleys so remote that Stone-Age people live in them. There are jungles with birds of paradise in them, cassowaries, wallabies, little pigmy blokes too. And don't forget the hundreds of islands in the Bismarck Sea off the North Coast that are like little jewels. Remember too that over 700 linguistic groups and cultures share this country.
Someone else broke in, If it's the Kokoda Trail you're interested in, you'd better come home with us. We're doing a mixed grill, we've got plenty of grog, and Bert here has done the Trail.
We went. It was a fine happy evening, and we awoke the next morning feeling delicate, but enthused about what we'd heard. And our Aussies were right. Two subsequent trips convinced us that New Guinea has everything an adventurer or escapist frozen the usual could want. But, on balance, Papua New Gumea has far better amenities and transportation facilities than Irian Jaya, the western half. The World Status Map and theIr Official Advisories for International Travelers do advise that Papua New Guinea has continuing crime problems in both urban and rural areas.
See below for details. They recommend travel with in-country tours instead of independent moving about. This we admIt is cause for concern, but it has never stopped us from traveling independently. We've done