Papua New Guinea – the land of the unexpected. A land alive in diversity; defined by magnificent culture, exploding in richness; and consumed by an environment that is wild and unpredictable, yet full of breathtaking beauty. Its beauty and awe remain a mystery; many of its stories remain untold; and its’ fruits are only tasted by the few who embark on the journey to visit there. Papua New Guinea is one of the few places in the world that remains untouched. A simple visit to one of their secluded villages creates a feeling in you that time has stopped; or perhaps never existed in the first place. The lifestyles of the people are fascinating and one need only travel a short distance to experience an entirely new culture, with its very own language and traditions. Papua New Guinea is a land full of undiscovered wonder – and it is definitely worth embarking on the journey to discover a few of the secrets it has to offer.
Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the tropical island of New Guinea, as well as the vast number of smaller islands and atolls in the Pacific surrounding it. The Indonesian territory of Irian Jaya occupies the western half. Its land mass occupies an area of 452,860 sq km and it has a coastline 5,152 km long. The central area of the island is dominated by high mountain ranges and dense tropical rainforests. The land here is so sinister and unwelcoming that the country’s inhabitants were kept isolated for thousands of years. The topographical character and climate of the country forced its people to take refuge and establish their home and society where it was more evolutionary appropriate. This seclusion is still evident today and there are tens of thousands of square kilometers on the island, which have still had no contact with the civilisations of the 20th Century. The island’s coral reefs and atolls are so brilliant that PNG is internationally renowned for its diving opportunities. PNG’s highest landmark is Mount Wilhelm, which measures 4,509 metres high. PNG’s major natural resources are gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil and fisheries. PNG’s climate is tropical and the official wet season is from December to March. However, rain will sometimes fall all year-round. Coastal town temperatures are relatively hot, however as one moves up into the highlands, there is a significant drop in temperature.
Today, Papua New Guinea has a population of approximately 5.3 million. Due to the isolation of the people during the country’s development, there are a huge variety of differing cultures and languages. The diversity is astounding! Little is recorded of the history of Papua New Guinea. It is assumed that Melanesian people began arriving in Papua New Guinea approximately 20,000 years ago, and immigration continued over the next 15,000 years.
The first European sighting of Papua New Guinea occurred in 1512 when 2 Portuguese explorers, including Jorge de Meneses, sailed by, sighting and naming the country, “Ilhas dos Papuas” – Land of the Fuzzy Hairs. Following this, European explorers were prevented from landing on the island, due to the ‘inhospitable country and savage warriors’ guarding the land. In 1660, the Dutch decided to claim the territory, however it wasn’t until the mid 19th Century that European missionaries and traders began to settle on Papua New Guinea.
By the end of this Century, Papua New Guinea had been divided into 3 zones, claimed by the Dutch, the Germans and the British. In 1906, British New Guinea became known as Papua and administration was taken over by Australia. Following World War 1, in 1920, the League of Nations handed control over to Australia as the Territory of Papua New Guinea. During the 1960’s, an independence movement had begun and escalated within the country. In 1973, internal self-government came into effect and on September 16, 1975, Papua New Guinea declared its full independence.
The people of Papua New Guinea can be divided into 4 different ethnic groups – New Guineans (from the North of the main island), Papuans (from the South), Highlanders (Melanesians) and Islanders (Micronesians/Polynesians). However, there is huge cultural variation within each of these cultural groups. English (language taught in schools and used in government), Tok Pisin (Pidgin) and Motu are the official languages, however there are over 700 distinct languages spoken throughout the country.
Some Papua New Guineans have been influenced and changed by Western Civilisation (especially those in Port Moresby and other coastal towns) however many people still live in small villages and follow traditional tribal customs. The inland Highland area wasn’t even explored until the 1930’s, and when Europeans explorers, searching for gold, decided to embark upon the region, they amazingly discovered over one million people living in remote villages.
37% of Papua New Guinea’s population is below the poverty line. When looking at statistics for PNG’s unemployment rate, the words ‘Not Applicable’ almost always appear. There is no welfare system operating in PNG and its’ economy has continued to decline over the years. Although Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, exploitation is difficult and often impossible because of its rugged terrain, inaccessibility and the high cost of developing infrastructure. On top of this PNG has to deal with high population growth, weak governance capacity and a disturbing increase in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS.
Australia’s estimated aid budget for Papua New Guinea for the years 2003-2004 is $333.6 million. Since Independence in 1975, there have been significant improvements in social indicators in PNG, for example life expectancy has risen, infant mortality has decreased and the number of children attending school has doubled in the past 10 years. However, PNG still performs poorly compared to Asian and Pacific neighbours in many of these social indicators.
The Kokoda Track Foundation aims to extend Australia’s support to the people living along the infamous Kokoda Track – one of Australia’s most significant wartime regions. It aims to provide support to the villages in the areas of health, education and sporting. It also aims to work with the people and various authorities to develop a self-sustaining eco-adventure trekking industry for the Kioari and Orokaivean people who live along the Kokoda Track.