Tourism Promotion Authority kickstarts tourism on Siassi

Tourism Promotion Authority chairman Kennedy Wenge says the TPA is committed to develop tourism in the remote Siassi islands of Morobe.

Tourism Promotion Authority Chairman Kennedy Wenge presents the K10,000 to Siassi LLG representative Willa Omole.

He made the committment on Friday during a short visit to Siassi Lutheran High School where he presented K10,000 for development of tourism, arts and culture education at the school.

Siassi dancers welcome Tourism Promotion Authority Board chairman Kennedy Wenge to Siassi High School on Friday.

Wenge made the presentation of behalf of Tourism Arts and Culture Minister Emil Tammur and TPA chief executive officer Jerry Agus to Siassi LLG representative Willa Omole.

School Chairman John Gerson assured Wenge the money would be put to good use.

The Siassi islands, because of their remoteness, have an intact traditional culture and untapped tourism potential.

Wenge said this potential must be tapped into to bring about development on the island.

He said TPA's committment to develop tourism on Siassi had seen him travel the long distance across the Vitiaz Strait.

"The rich culture of the Siassi islands must not be lost," Wenge said.

"My presence on the island today shows our commitment to develop tourism here.

"People from all over the world must travel here to see the rich arts and culture of the island.

"What TPA can do is market the Siassi islands as a tourism destination in Morobe."

Wenge said the Government was keen to develop tourism throughout Papua New Guinea.

"Siassi is one of the best places to develop tourism," he said.

"Tourism is an industry that puts money directly into everyone's pockets."

Wenge said last October, he attended the Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG's national women's conference at which he had made a commitment to return.

He lived up to his words on Friday.

"We want ships and planes to come to Siassi," he said.

"We wants wharves and airstrips.

"When these are in place, visitors will come.

"Siassi is the first place I have visited as it has so much potential for tourism."

Siassi tourism promoter Clyde Aigilo welcomed the TPA support.

2018 Morobe Show a success

By SAMPSON BONAI

THOUSANDS of showgoers braved light drizzle to push through the gates to witness the Morobe Show on Oct 27 and 28.

Showgoers on Sunday.~Sampson Bonai

Parts of Markham Road from the roundabout to the Golf Club closed off to all traffic and allowed the people to walk around freely.

Police units were on patrol both inside and outside the showground to control the movement of the people and the flow of traffic.

The light morning drizzle did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd, both young and old, who braved the showers to stand in long queues to gain entry into the showground.

Truckloads of people from Nawaeb,Markham and Bulolo and Menyamya converged on the showground.

 Coastal people from Huon Gulf, Finschhafen and Tewai/Siassi travelled into Lae by boat for the show

Those who couldn't make it into the showground spent time mingling outside watching boat rides at the Raun Wara lake and having their faces painted.

The stalls spread along Markham Road from Bugandi Secondary School all the way along Jawani Street and Church Street.

Vendors sold food and drinks to  feed showgoers and those mingling outside the gates.

Many people,  especially women and children, seized the opportunity to buy show bags with promotional items from  companies to take back home to their families.

Show bags went like hot cakes.~Sampson Bonai

The highlights of the show included  motorcycle riders, traditional singsings,  marched and the guard-of-honour by soldiers from Igam Barracks in Lae.

Major companies, Government agencies and non-government organisations had stalls.

Tourism Promotion Authority stall.~TPA

The people loved the show and said it was the best two days of fun-filled activities.

Fireworks light up the skies to closed the show late on Sunday.

Governor: Morobe is No.1 in PNG

By SAMPSON BONAI

MOROBE is a unique province with a rich cultural heritage and is leading in agriculture production, says Governor Ginson Saonu.

Kabwum dancers at the show yesterday.~SAMPSON BONAI

This makes it the "No. 1 province in the.country", he said when opening 2018 Morobe Show yesterday

 Saonu told thousands of show goers and visitors and tourists that Morobe "is a very unique province combining the islands, coastal and the hinterlands people who have different cultures and traditions".

"Our cultures and traditions,  with various traditional agriculture methods,  make us very unique and the No.1 province in  this country," he said.

"I'm really impressed with the cultural performance by the people and preserving our rich culture and traditions.

"The various agricultural stalls also signifies the importance of food security.

Cocoa beans harvested from hybrid trees on display at Morobe Show yesterday.~SAMPSON BONAI

"I also thank all the major companies such as Coca-Cola,Trukai,Ramu,Harmony and the minor sponsors and all other stake holders who have contributed one way or the other towards making this show a  most successful one."

Saonu commended the show society committee headed by veteran president Mike Quinn for working very hard to host a very successful 57th annual show.

Quinn also commend all the sponsors and the various companies and statutory bodies for contributing towards the show this year

"Your contributions have made this show a most successful one and we have set another bench mark as the leading show society in the country," he said.

Thousands of people from all over the country passed through the gates during the past two days to witnessed various show activities and stalls.

Tourists also flock to the show to capture the colours of various traditional dance groups in the main arena.

Wau celebrates Global Handwashing Day

By SAMPSON BONAI

STUDENTS of Wau Primary School in Bulolo, Morobe, have been urged to look after their health by washing their hands  after playing or visiting the toilet to stop the spread of germs.

Coordinator of Global Handwashing Day programme Elizabeth Geparo visited Colgate Palmolive and brought a carton of Protex bathing soap.

She demonstrated the steps of washing hands to students.

The 1308 students from grades three to grade eight later took turns in washing their hands using the soap bar as demonstrated by Geparo.

Students washing their hands.~Pictures by SAMPSON BONAI

Deputy head teacher Steven Raino thanked Geparo for organising the programme.

Wau Primary School teacher Elizabeth Geparo demonstrating the proper  method of hand washing to students.

He urged the students to adopt the new habit of washing their hands everyday.

"I urge all of you to wash your hands and look after your personal hygiene every day to avoid the spread of germs onto your bodies from dirty hands," Raino said.

Head teachet Mathew Humango thanked  Colgate Palmolive for providing posters and for supplying a carton of Protex soap for use by the students during Global Handwashing Day.

Oldest building in Lae turns 85

St Andrew's Lutheran Church at Ampo in Lae turns 85 this month.

The church in May 2018.~Malum Nalu

The church, built in its present form in 1933 (until renovated in 2005), is the only pre-war building in Lae and the timberwork used to bear many bullet scars (until renovated).

During the war, it served as a Japanese hospital when its custodians from Butibam village fled into the foothills on the far side of the Busu River.

A bush material chapel was built at Ampo in 1912 by pioneer German missionary, Gottfried Schmutterer, and the first baptism took place on October 20, 1912.

Timber from Bukawa was put on the ship Bavaria and brought to Lae on Feb 11, 1933.

They started building the church on March 4, 1933, with dedication being on Oct 8, 1933.

Refurbished National Museum and Art Gallery reopens to all

Australian High Commission


Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Emil Tammur and Australian Foreign Minister Senator Marise Payne reopened the refurbished National Museum and Art Gallery (NMAG) in Port Moresby on Friday.

Dignitaries attending the National Museum and Art Gallery reopening including Museum Director Dr Andrew Moutu, Former Prime Minister Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, Foreign Affairs Minister Rimbink Pato, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Emil Tammur, and National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop

Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Emil Tammur opening the newly refurbished National Museum and Art Gallery

Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Dr Moutu, director of the National Museum and Art Gallery during tour of the museum.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne with Former Prime Minister Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare watching traditional performers from Sepik

Foreign Minister Marise Payne with High Commissioner Bruce Davis during the National Museum and Art Gallery tour

Foreign Minister Marise Payne looking at pieces on display at the National Museum and Art Gallery with Dr Andrew Moutu, director of the National Museum and Gallery.

The project involved the extensive refurbishment of the museum’s gallery spaces and external entrance area.

The upgrade was supported by the Papua New Guinea - Australia partnership in close cooperation with the NMAG Board of Trustees and senior management.


“With limited work done to the museum since it first opened in 1977, we are pleased to see the building brought into the modern era with Australian support,” said Dr Andrew Moutu, director of NMAG.


“The refurbishment will ensure NMAG remains a source of national pride for Papua New Guineans as the country’s leading cultural institution, preserving and protecting our nation’s rich culture and heritage.”


Curators selected 450 items of significance for display from more than 30,000 artworks and artefacts in the museum’s archives.

All 22 provinces across Papua New Guinea are represented, with items chosen from the anthropological, archaeological, natural history, war relics and contemporary art collections.

The five galleries have been renamed to Tumbuna, Susan Karike, Bernard Narokobi, Ian Saem Majnep and Be Jijimo in honour of the original vision for the museum as an authentically indigenous institution.

A large mural artwork on the pavilion entrance of the museum has also been repainted by local artists.

Payne acknowledged the importance of communicating cultural knowledge and educating the public.

“The National Museum and Art.Gallery is a breathtaking monument to Papua New Guinea’s rich cultural heritage, and importantly, it improves considerably the PNG public’s access to this stunning collection of artefacts,” she said.

Disability access was a key part of the upgrade, with ramps and accessible amenities installed inside and outside the building.

Collections are also being made accessible for the first time using new technology. The Voices from the War exhibition was developed in collaboration with NMAG, local universities, and Australia’s Deakin University, and allows visitors to hear Papua New Guinean stories from the Second World War.

Completed ahead of Apec Leaders' Week in November, the refurbished museum will become a must-see attraction for local and international visitors, and a major asset of Papua New Guinea’s growing tourism industry.

The museum opens to the public on Monday Oct 15 2018.

 It will be open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 3.00pm, and on Sundays from 1pm to 3pm.

On weekends, adults will pay a small entry fee.

Morobe Tourism Bureau Update #1

Oct 12 2018
By Defol Jabbar
Executive Officer

We are aware of the immense interest in Morobe as a tourist destination and have put together some exciting tour packages which will be available soon.

Defol Jabbar

Our biggest concern  is that the tourism industry in Morobe is very fragile.

 We have committed a  lot of personal time and resources to revive the industry.

This means when we start releasing such information,  there will be an  influx of visitors flocking into Morobe.

There must be some control mechanisms put in place.

We also want to ensure the establishment of local tour operators in all nine districts and 33 LLGs of  Morobe.

Many foreign-owned tour operators these days become free riders.

We will ensure that this will not happen with tourism in Morobe.

We are identifying and establishing local product and destination owners who will be invited to attend a forum which will be hosted jointly by MTB Inc and Morobe Division of Commerce and Tourism.

This forum will be the first Morobe
Provincial Tourism Forum to coincide with the official launching of MTBInc.

All our local tour operators will be trained, certified and registered under MTBInc as affiliated tour operators, guides and local tourism SMEs.

In so doing we will not allow outsiders who don't own any tourism products and destinations to benefit out of our local people and their tourism resources.

For further information  inbox us on this page or email defoljabbar@gmail.com