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Papua New Guinea (PNG) is located on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and is 160 kilometres north of Australia. PNG comprises both the mainland and some 600 offshore islands. It has a total land area of 470,000 square kilometres. PNG has a moderate tropical climate with high levels of seasonal rainfall. In the highlands, temperatures can range from a low of four degrees Celsius to a high of 32 degrees Celsius. The lowland, coastal and island areas have an average daily temperature of 27 degrees Celsius. PNG's population is about four million people. Around 15 percent of the population live in the ten major urban areas. The major city and capital of the country is Port Moresby with a population of just over 220,000. Other important towns and cities include Lae, (population around 90,000), Madang (30,000), Mt Hagen (45,000), Wewak (23,000) and Goroka (25,000)

Government. In 1972 Sir Michael Somare became the Chief Minister of a democratically elected government and led the nation to self-government on 1 October 1973. Papua New Guinea became an independent nation on 16 September 1975 with Michael Somare being the nation's first Prime Minister.

Economy and Growth. PNG has been described as "a mountain of gold floating on a sea of oil". While this may be somewhat overstating the situation, it reflects the importance that PNG's extensive natural resources play in the country's development. It is also appropriate, from the agricultural point of view, to describe PNG as a Garden of Eden. Fertile soils and a conducive climate allow most agricultural produce to be harvested.

Resources. PNG is rich in natural resources. There are extensive reserves of natural gas and oil. The first oil production began at the Kutubu field in mid-1992. Estimates of recoverable reserves have been put at around 270 million barrels. Other known fields are yet to be developed. The main mineral deposits are copper and gold but there are also recoverable deposits of other minerals. The Ok Tedi mine is now producing more copper than that produced by the huge Bougainville mine before its closure in the late 80s. The Porgera gold mine is one of the largest in the world and is expected to produce 11.3 million ounces of gold over its 20-year life. The Lihir project is estimated to have 13 million ounces of gold which will be mined over a 30-year period.

MADANG

Madang Province is located on the northern part of mainland Papua New Guinea. With its offshore islands of Manam, Karkar. Long and Bagabag, it has earned its reputation as one of the most beautiful provinces of the country. The Province is divided into six districts, namely Rai Coast, Madang, Sumkar, Bogia, Usino Bundi and Middle Ramu. The total area of the province is 94,000 square kilometres and out of that the land mass is approximately 30,000 square kilometres. The current population of Madang is a little over 300,000. There is a small expatriate community numbering up to 3,000 living in Madang. Madang Province has a typical hot and wet climate of the tropics but has cooler temperatures in its central and coastal mountain systems. Madang has relatively low humidity in the afternoons and benefits from light sea breezes. Temperatures ranges between 25 and 30 degrees centigrade.

GOROKA - EASTERN HIGHLANDS

The Eastern Highlands Province is one hour flight north from Port Moresby, Goroka established in 1939 and during the war the Eastern Highlands were used as a rest centre and vegetable producer for the troops. Located at the beginning of the Highlands valleys at an average height of 1600m (approx. 5,100 feet), the Eastern Highlands occupies the valleys of Lamari, Asaro, Wahgi, Tua, Dunatina and Ramu rivers. The common feature of this province are the steep rugged mountains covered in dense rain forest graduating to subalpine vegetation. The valleys are covered in grass and offer a breathtaking panorama of every shade of green imaginable. The population of the Eastern Highlands is 376,000 people, speaking twenty six (26) district languages. It has evolved to become one of the most geographically and linguistically diverse parts of the country. The climate in the Eastern Highlands has often been referred to as "land of eternal springtime", there are cool nights and warm days, monthly rainfall and a constant temperature high of 26 degree celsius throughout the day and lows falling between 12-15 degrees celsius at night. The highlands truly have a wonderful temperate climate

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LAE - MOROBE PROVINCE

The Morobe Province curves its way around the tropical blue waters of the Huon Gulf taking in the mountainous Huon Peninsula and the superb Markham Valley,with its tropical birdlife, butterflies, orchids The Morobe Province is truly a beautiful part of the country with breathtaking scenery. The Province may well be the birth place of the first human settlement in Papua New Guinea. Axe heads found at Bobongora have been dated back some 40,000 years.
It was the discovery of gold at Wau in 1926 which sparked off the growth of Lae, establishing itself as the headquarters for aviation companies which carried supplies to the miners in the search for gold. Lae's importance as a deep water port attracted the Japanese in securing Lae as a strategic base in World War II.

Today, Lae has grown to become Papua New Guinea's second largest city and is both the administrative and business capital of the Morobe Province. It is the nation's major manufacturing and shipping centre. The Province has nineteen wharves and a healthy coastal shipping industry. The Morobe Provincial government is very much aware of the vital role this province plays in trade and industry within Papua New Guinea. Consequently, it has encouraged investment in both the commerce and industry sectors. Many companies operate their head offices in Lae and it has recently acquired a fish canning factory, believed to be one of the largest in the Pacific.

RABAUL - EAST NEW BRITAIN

As the commercial centre of the New Guinea Islands Rabaul certainly could be described as having a colourful history. With the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific Region. The Japanese forces chose to invade Rabaul with the view of making the town its headquarters for its South Pacific Operations. The remnants of the Japanese occupation are still visible today throughout the region. Battered ship wrecks litter the coral reefs, proving a fascinating experience for today's adventure divers. Hillsides around Rabaul are literally honeycombed with tunnels built by the Japanese. Almost 600kms of these tunnels and caverns exist throughout the Gazelle Peninsula. One such tunnel still houses original barges which were used during the war to land supplies.

To many Rabaul awakens memorable images of a picturesque town surrounded by volcanoes which are a feature of the East New Britain area. On Monday 19 September 1994, Tavuvur Volcano erupted, billowing millions of tons of ash up into the atmosphere, falling as a grey mist on Rabaul town; later the same day on the opposite side of the Simpson Harbour another Volcano, Vulcan vented itself upon the town and surrounding villages. What ensued was practically the total devastation of Rabaul town, in particular the southern region including many neighbouring villages.The fall was so dense many areas were lost forever buried under up to eight metres of volcanic ash. 30,000 people evacuated the town itself, with another 50,000 from the surrounding villages needing to escape from the falling ash.

Click on East New Britain Provincial Government for more information on
East New Britain.

MOUNT HAGEN - WESTERN HIGHLANDS

The Highlands of Papua New Guinea are the most densely populated areas of the country, divided into five separate provinces - Eastern Highlands, Simbu, Western Highlands, Enga Province and the Southern Highlands. This extensive mountainous area provides the watershed for some of the world's largest river systems the Sepik ,Strickland and fly all originate from this area. Europeans did not discover the highlands until 1930's when the push for new Gold began. Until then it was felt the inhospitable terrain held no human habitation.
Located in the wide Wahgi Valley Mt Hagen is the Administration headquarters of the Western Highlands Province and has evolved to become the principle commercial centre for its adjacent neighbouring Provinces. The town is connected via the Highlands Highway to the towns of Kundiawa and Goroka, from here the road winds down to Lae in the Morobe Province, PNG's second largest city and further to the North the picturesque town of Madang. Mt Hagen was named after a German administrator Kurt Von Hagen back in the 1890's; it is now evolved into a vibrant bustling town with an estimated population of around 40,000.

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