Garrett Roche

Independence Day in Mt Hagen, 1975

Mt Hagen 1975—PNG Independence celebrations: Holy Trinity Teachers College float. (the expatriate on the left is Allan Yarnold)

I remember Independence Day 1975 in Mt Hagen. I had been in the country since 1970, based in the Western Highlands and I had some grasp of the significance of independence. I remember the parade through Hagen town, the various floats and pupils from various schools in uniforms and traditional dress. I remember the float from Holy Trinity Teachers College on which was one of the expatriate lecturers, Mr Allan Yarnold, who if I remember correctly, later became a pilot working with Civil Aviation in Port Moresby.

The transition from the Territory of Papua & New Guinea (TPNG) to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (PNG) in September 1975 was generally peaceful and without any major incidents in the Western Highlands, despite some prophets of doom. I remember one Moresby-based church figure forecasting a ‘night of the long knives’ for Port Moresby when he expected disgruntled people to take vengeance on their former colonial bosses. Some cynics were debating whether the newly independent country could survive until Christmas 1975.

I believe that many Western Highlands people took a pragmatic viewpoint regarding independence. The influential leaders of the large tribal groups, Jika, Mokei, Yamka, etc., had worked well with Australian patrol officers. With the establishment of the coffee industry and the building of roads, in general the 1960s and 1970s had been a time of peace and progress in the Western Highlands. In the years up to independence, local government councils in the Highlands had been working very well. Councillors were respected and influential. There was a sense of pride in the progress being made.

In the Jimi area where I was based for a year, some people said that Thomas Kavali, the Member of Parliament for Jimi, had persuaded Kaibelt Diria, the Member from Minj, to support the move for independence and thus helped to give Michael Somare the numbers he needed in parliament to vote for independence. Thomas Kavali was later made Minister for Lands.

Becoming One Nation

What must not be overlooked is that, especially in the Highland provinces, previously there had been little or no sense of national identity.

Graduation day at Divine Word University, Madang—during Sir Michael Somare’s last term as PNG Prime Minister, c.2011 (L-R) Ross Garnaut, the Hon. Sir Michael Somare, Garrett Roche—then Chair of the Divine Word University Council, Sam Abal and Judge Arnold Amet (Photos courtesy of Fr Garrett Roche, Society of the Divine Word (SVD)

People identified with their tribal groups and the specific geographical areas they came from. In the Hagen area people would traditionally identify themselves as being the ‘root people’ (in Melpa language—mbo wamp). Outsiders were strangers—kewa wamp. Many of the local people did not know much about the rest of the country. In the Highlands, while there had been some trading contact with the outside world followed by increasing human contact since 1933, it was not until after the Second World War that real progress was made in the fields of education and business etc.

There had been efforts at explaining the meaning and consequences of independence to the people. But even so, there were some Highlanders who were not that keen on independence, primarily because they believed that the Highlanders needed another few years to catch up on the coastal people. They did not want to be dominated by coastal people.

The historical distinction between ‘Papua’ and ‘New Guinea’ must also be kept in mind. Before the First World War, the ‘New Guinea’ section had been a German colony and Tok Pisin was spreading. The ‘Papua’ section had been an English/Australian colony where Hiri Motu was the more common language.

However, I do think that over the years since independence, a sense of national identity has developed. I believe that sports, cultural shows, and education were among the factors that helped to develop that sense of identity. Students who had to travel to other provinces for education became more aware of the many different cultures. The presence of teachers, nurses, medical orderlies, etc., from other provinces also helped to promote a sense of national identity.

Diversity in Leadership

Since independence in 1975, there have been nine Prime Ministers and one Acting Prime Minister, Sam Abal. It is worth noting they were elected from several provinces as can be seen from the following:

Michael Somare, East Sepik Province (born in New Britain but family was from the Sepik)
Julius Chan, New Ireland Province
Paias Wingti, Western Highlands Province
Rabbie Namaliu, East New Britain Province
John Giheno, Eastern Highlands Province
Bill Skate, Port Moresby, National Capital District
Mekere Morauta, Gulf Province
Sam Abal, Enga Province, was briefly acting Prime Minister
Peter O’Neill, Southern Highlands Province
James Marape, Hela Province.

This diversity in leadership is, in my opinion, a positive consequence of democracy in action and an achievement to be acknowledged.

What Has Been Achieved Since 1975?

I left PNG in 2017 and am not qualified to comment in depth on the current situation in PNG, but I am aware that some commentators believe there is a real need for a more honest administration. At the same time, I do believe that there is now in PNG a real sense of nationhood. Even if the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, once known as North Solomons Province, succeeds in seceding, the fact is that since 1975 many peoples and tribes who had once not considered themselves as one, do see themselves as being part of the Independent Nation of Papua New Guinea.

It is acknowledged that Papua New Guinea has more than 800 languages – more than any other country. That a strong sense of nationhood has developed in the past 50 years is quite an achievement.

One ongoing challenge may be to see that together with other nations in the Pacific region, there is a real need to work together for the benefit of all.