Other Memories of Papua New Guinea

Welcome to another rambling effort to convey memories of PNG, some of which don’t specifically relate to flying around the country.  As with my previous efforts, most of the photos herein originate in the years “BC” (Before Cyberspace) so were captured using real film (either in the traditional glossy print or slide format) in real cameras.  In those days, one had to await the processing to find out whether the results were good, bad or anywhere in between.

Of course, to suit these more modern times of electronic format, they all had to be scanned into digital form and, as that happened some years after the recorded events, photo quality suffered a bit and some images may not be especially sharp.

Below is a photo of me, on the first day of being issued with the official uniform of the Civil Aviation Authority of PNG.  Within a year, it was already out of date because the organisation had changed its name to Civil Aviation Safety Authority of PNG.

Memories Around Port Moresby

The first car I had in PNG was this Mazda 323.  It was a company car that was allocated to me due to my status as the Chief Flying Instructor.  It was a good, reliable car, which was all it needed to be.

Early in 1984, I took an uninvited, personally guided tour of the Haus Tambaran – the National Parliament building of PNG, in Waigani.

Back in 1984, the Sea Park was still in operation at Ela Beach and the show was about as good as anywhere else in the world.  It didn’t have the space to accommodate the larger creatures, such as Killer Whales, but they did very well with what they had.  It’s a shame that it no longer exists.

Koki Village, Koki Market and a small part of Badili, around 2 kilometres from downtown Port Moresby.  The Sir Hubert Murray Highway has, in more recent times, been extensively re-arranged here and, for once, the change was actually an improvement to handle increased traffic flow.  Back in 1984 though, there wasn’t anything like the amount of traffic on the roads – though one still had to be watchful of the unpredictable movements of the many PMVs (small buses), so at least that aspect hasn’t changed.

This is Porebada village, along the coast to the northwest of Port Moresby.

This is how the downtown area of Port Moresby looked in 1984, before the re-arrangement of the wharves and the relocation of the Royal Papua Yacht Club.  I liked the old “yachtie” very much and was a member for all my early years in the country.  Club membership was just another perk of the job, which made it even nicer.

Periodically, the DC-3 at Air Niugini Haus had to “land” to be cleaned and repainted.

This was the scene at Jacksons Airport on the occasion of the funeral for prominent politician, Sir Iambakey Okuk.  It had been feared that, on this day when his body was to be transported back to Kundiawa, there might be rioting so Police and Defence Force personnel were everywhere and many people were given the day off work.  In the event, however, it was quiet and orderly.  In this photo, taken from the old Control Tower, the Dash-7 that carried his body is taxying out and people are beginning to disperse.

This is a scene from the first (and, so far, only) Pans Ops Instrument Procedure Design course to be run in PNG.  It was held at the University of PNG and run by procedure design staff from AirServices Australia, in 2002.

Working out radar vectors in the old “Radar Shack”, using the point-and-click technique.

This is an Air Niugini publicity photo that appeared on postcards.  It depicts the old “paddle steamer”, aka Dash-7.

This is yet another Air Niugini publicity photo that appeared on postcards for a while.  Yes, back in 1984, the airline operated 2 B-707 aircraft and had services to Honolulu, among other places.

Memories Around the Country

In the village at Woitape in the Goilala District of Central Province.

The Children’s Ward of the hospital at Fane Catholic Mission, Goilala District, Central Province.

Setting up the DGPS in advance of a flight check at Kerema – well, I did say this blog wasn’t specifically about flying, didn’t I?

A street scene in downtown Goroka – the home for major Third-Level airline, Talair.

At the Flight Deck Bar of the Bird of Paradise Hotel, Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province.

On a beach near Guasopa Village on Woodlark Island, Milne Bay Province.  The white sandy beach and turquiose water seemed to go on forever.

Memories of World War 2 in Paradise

Wreckage of Japanese aircraft adjacent to the airstrip at Gasmata, West New Britain Province.

The remains of a B-24 at the former US Army airfield at Dobuduru, near Popondetta, Oro Province.

The remains of a B-25 at Girua Airport, Popondetta, Oro Province, forms the backdrop to 3 people who were there on a completely different mission.  Obrad Puskarica of Airways New Zealand, John Regan and yours truly of CAA PNG.

 At the Coastwatchers Reserve, Rabaul, East New Britain Province, some years prior to the dual volcanic eruptions.

Another reminder of the war fought in Paradise is this Japanese anti-aircraft gun, which is preserved at Coastwatchers Reserve.  At one time, there was even a Japanese Zero here but it has long since disappeared, unfortunately.

The remains of a Japanese “Betty” bomber near the old Rabaul aerodrome.

 The remains of a Japanese Zero, or similar, at the small war museum at Kokopo, around the other side of the bay from Rabaul.

 My brother, Alan, inspects this example of a Japanese tank at the war museum at Kokopo.  He remarked that he’d had trouble fitting inside, let alone with 2 other crew members!

Other Distinct Memories

This is the ferry wharf for Arovo Island Resort.  It is the only connection with the outside world, with ferry trips running to and from Kieta on Bougainville Island.  The events of 1989, which shattered the economy of Bougainville by closing the Bougainville Copper Mine, also marked the end of this once truly fabulous resort.

During the ferry trip back from Arovo Island to Kieta, after a great overnight stop, I spotted the rusting remains of a Taiwanese fishing boat, hard aground on the sparkling white sand beach that surrounded the island.

Norm Sellen was a VIP passenger on P2-DCA (Beech C-90) for the flight from Misima to Port Moresby in June, 2001.  He had been found near Tagula, Sudest Island, Milne Bay Province by the PNGDF, the day after he was forced to ditch his Twin Commanche in very bad weather.  The PNGDF Arava had to refuel at Misima so he was transferred to my aircraft for a jubilant return to Port Moresby – and not a few drinks thereafter!

On 8 April, 1988, I commissioned the newly-installed AT-VASIS at each end of the runway at Vanimo.  The job was finished bare minutes before the inaugural Air Niugini F-28 service arrived.  I think the Captain might’ve been Grainger Narara but, in any event, in seeking his views on the upgrading of the aerodrome, I phrased the question rather poorly.  “How did you find the strip, Captain?”  He replied “I simply taken off from RWY 28 at Wewak and kept going… it was easy”.  Yeah mate, thanks for that…

This is the PNG border checkpoint at Wutung, on the road from Vanimo, to Jayapura.  On this particular day, the checkpoint was open so it was possible to get a stamp in the passport.

After negotiating a “no man’s land” from the PNG border checkpoint, one arrives at the Indonesian border.  The checkpoint is the building in the background and there is always someone on duty to check that you have a departure stamp from PNG in your passport.  If you don’t have that stamp, they’ll either send you back to get it, or charge a “fee” for the trespass.

24 October, 2002, was the date of Air Niugini’s inaugural Dash-8 service to Talasea, West New Britain Province.  It was a big affair and everyone was there to witness it.

Representatives of the Provincial Government were among the official welcoming group, as were children who presented welcoming gifts to the arriving passengers.

The event also brought out some Huli dancers for a sing-sing to mark the occasion.  I thought that was a tad strange because the Huli people come from the Southern Highlands Province of mainland PNG.  Perhaps there were no local dancers available?

I wish that there could’ve been more memories to share but the sad fact is that many of the photos I took, using real film either turned out poorly or have faded too much over time to be of any value in reproducing.  The advent of digital cameras has killed off an entire industry that was involved in the processing of film, slides and movies but at least you know right away whether or not the photo is any good.