September 2011

Darwin has just endured its coldest June since 1949 and, with 18 consecutive nights touching 13°C, it appears that all PNG people are keeping themselves well under the doona. An exception is Clive Hyde who escaped to Moresby for a week's warmth and a visit to his old haunts in Lawes Road. He had arrived there in 1968 as a 20-year-old photographer for the South Pacific Post. A year later it had been reborn as the PNG Post-Courier and he continued memorable work there before being hauled back to Melbourne. Posted to the tropics once again in 1981 to work at Darwin's NT News, he has been here ever since and in retirement operates a boutique photographic firm. Clive was able to give some tips to the current PNG cameramen and assist the PNG Government with advice on photo-friendly lighting in its Press rooms—very important for Ministerial statements—and may well be invited back to POM.

It has emerged that in 2009 some PNG athletes brought to Darwin for the biennial Arafura Games were deposited in a low cost motel with no money and only bread and bully beef whilst their managers/coaches disappeared for two days. This I found deplorable for, when managing the Moresby athletics team flown to Rabaul for the Territory Championships, I recall not getting a feed until 11 pm at night being too busy making sure the troops were snug in their billets. Happily there was no such neglect for this year's teams: there were in fact four, three provincial from Central, Morobe and Southern Highlands, and one national which in total collected 53 medals, 17 of which were gold.

One of the golden awards was won by PNG's 20/20 cricket team many of whom hail from Hanuabada. That village has reason to be proud of its representatives' success in world competition for during January in the 50-overs version of the game the Crocs bowled out the USA's finest for 44 in 21 overs. And the world record score in any international One Day contest still stands as PNG's 7/527 against New Caledonia.

Some may have wondered about the provenance of Australia's brilliant rugby halfback, Will Genia. His father was the Member for Abau and his mother was a Milne Bay girl. He was born and raised in Moresby with his two brothers but when their father died unexpectedly his uncle took over the parliamentary seat in a by-election and, in accordance with custom, responsibility for the boys. All were sent to Brisbane Boys' College and subsequently the eldest, Frank, represented PNG at fly-half while the youngest, Nigel, played for Queensland Schoolboys XV at halfback. Why Frank qualifies for PNG and Will for Australia is one of those sporting curiosities but supporters undoubtedly want to see Will in a Wallaby jumper competing for the World Cup this September.

The name of Prof. Ross Garnaut, whose first acquaintance with PNG was as an ANU undergraduate on summer vacation in 1966 and sleeping in Hohola, is now known Australia-wide. Our Government's climate change finances adviser has maintained knowledge of ongoing PNG affairs through his chairmanship since 1995 of the Lihir gold mining company. With regard to current administrative shortcomings and the lack of a broad base of University educated persons to manage improvements he commented during June that "it will take another 20 to 30 years to fix its problems". Oh dear.

Japanese visitors of any description were thin on the ground in PNG during the '60s and '70s so some Chimbu wantoks would remember a petite Japanese anthropologist. Dr Sachiko Hatanaka who arrived to research with only a piddling grant from her university and lived, as they say, on the smell of an oily rag plus trade store tinned fish. Impressed by her dedication the ANU offered her a fellowship in the New Guinea Research Unit. Delighted, she took off immediately for somewhere in the Star Mountains. Alas, nobody had fully explained or she had not understood that she was required to work within the Unit's overall scheme which did not include anywhere west of Mt Hagen.

Here was a cultural problem. For someone to go to the foot of a mountain and cry "Come down, you silly girl" would entail huge Loss of Face. Fortunately on hand was the occupant of the Chair of Anthropology at Oxford ,with his PhD from Cambridge and DSC from the Royal Navy. The distinguished gentleman as a fraternal gesture located Dr Hatanaka and probably told her that he would be deeply grateful if she could carry out some important work in Chimbu without delay. So with much smiling and bowing she agreed.

Those wantoks who knew her in her Highlands village or visiting Kundiawa may be interested in information recently learned. She subsequently married the brother of the last Emperor of China with whom she presumably dines more sumptuously than she ever did in the Sina Sina.