Friday, November 17, 2023

 

FEATURE STORY:

On the occasion of commemorating the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the London Missionary Society at Poreporena

By: Ev. RDk Mavara Ao Sere, November, 2023

Edited by: Lahui Ako, Udu Vai, John S. Goava, Daroa T. Toua, and Arua Taravatu

The London Missionary Society (or LMS, as it is popularly known in PNG) arrived on the shores of the Poreporena village in November 1873, and a year later, established itself atop its Metoreia hill forever.  A little less than a hundred years later, it would evolved into the United Church of Papua New Guinea.

But who were these brave men and women who endured the harsh weather, the hostile inhabitants of New Guinea, and the savagery of the journey from the Southseas, to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to what would become Papua a decade later?  Further, who were the local people who embraced and welcomed them to enable them to commence their ministry, and thereby, lay the foundation of Christianity in Poreporena and along the length and breath of the Papuan coastal line?  Most significant of all, who or what was the LMS, that made these men forgo their comfort zone and move into the unknown to spread the Word of God through its auspices?

The names of Ruatoka Koro, together with his missionary brethrens in Rau, Anderea, Heneri, Adamu, and Piri, and their wives, are all revered and remembered in Poreporena today.  Many songs have been made in their memory expounding their strength, resilience and endurance, in what was a land deemed forsaken by God until their arrival on its shores.  Then you have the names of the revered Motuans of old, who embraced them wholeheartedly and became their protectors.  Names such as Lakani Toi, who shield them from the warlike attitude of a Motuan tribe viewing them as intruders, and Raga Tola, who in accepting them, also sheltered them forever; and their first Motuan convert, Arua Daera, who would spread the Word of God along the west of the Papuan coastline to the Gulf.

Ruatoka and his brother missionaries were trained by the LMS in Rarotonga, in the Cook islands, as teachers, before crossing the vast Pacific Ocean on the Loelia from the main mission encampment at Cape York, Australia, under the leadership of Rev. Archibald Wright Murray.  The original party of 6, with their wives landed at Manumanu sometimes in November, 1872[1].  There, they would all survive until their fateful encounter with Lakani Toi a year later.

Historically, the LMS developed out of the Congregationalism movements of the late 16th and 17th century England which emphasized the right and duty of its congregations of people, to make their own decision on their affairs, independent of any human authority. Congregationalism therefore, developed as one wing of the broader puritan movement in Western Christianity whose general goal was to carry on and complete the work of the Protestant Reformation in England.[2]

Although they were active before the English civil wars, Congregationalists (or Independents, as they were more commonly known then) gained prestige when Oliver Cromwell aligned himself with their cause.  Their political influence peaked in the 1650s and declined precipitously after Cromwell’s death in 1658 and finally abolished altogether with the restoration of the crown in 1660.  But the accession of William and Mary in 1689 signalled a change of mood, and the Toleration Act, which was passed in the same year, marked the beginning of a process that would finally grant full religious toleration to the Congregationalists along with all the other religious dissenters. Through their association with the Evangelical Revival (1750-1815) their work continued to progress until the formation in 1983 of the Congregational Union of England and Wales.

It was from these movements that the LMS was founded in 1795 as a non-denominational organization, dedicated to spreading the Christian faith in the non-European world.  Its primary support was always from the Congregationalists.  The LMS sent out missionaries to the South Pacific Islands, to Africa, China, India, and Southeast Asia. It was its famous explorer/missionary, Dr David Livingston who proved to the world that Central Africa was accessible and who would exposed the slave trade.  In 1873, the LMS arrived on the shores of Poreporena, and in 1874, it established its first mission station under the watchful eyes if Dr William Lawes.

Poreporena oral history, handed down by word of mouth and retold through the generations tells of a visit by a group of Hanuabada traders to the Motuan village of Manumanu, about 30 miles west of Hanuabada.  It further tells of this particular group’s encounter with this strange people, the unlikely bond that was created, and their invitation and eventual arrival on the shores of Poreporena on 26 November, 1873.

During that period, the village of Manumanu was known to be the source of strong housing materials which the Hanuabadans required to build their houses with.  As such, men from Poreporena would frequent this village mostly by small lagatois, or puapua, and sought permission from its elders to source wood for their posts, and biri (from the pandanus family), which was dried and woven together to be used as walls or roofing for the houses then.  The men from Poreporena brought with them some of the sago and foodstuff from the Hiri trade, to exchange with the Manumanu people for this important materials.

One such trading expedition was led by a venerable man from Poreporena by the name of Lakani Toi.  Lakani, was an elder and renown warrior of the Tubumaga clan of Hanuabada.  That day, as his puapua neared the village of Manumanu, he noticed a schooner moored in the small inlet leading to the village.  The puapua cautiously passed the schooner and made its way ashore.  After alighting on firm ground, Lakani and his people were met by his trading partner and people from the village.  When he enquired as to the strange lagatoi out in the harbour, he was told that “these are strange men who came from the land of the gods.  They have been calling to us to go to them but we are scared.  Even when they come down to the shores to explore, we keep away from them.  We think they are gods who have come down from the spirit world of Tauru to visit us.”

Lakani, being the warrior he was, was intrigued.  “But if they come from Tauru, why haven’t they come to attack you, eh?  It would seem to me that they are scared of us here.  I think we should go closer and investigate.” Lakani’s trading party included his brothers and their wives, and a few other warriors, including the capitain of his puapua, by the name of Vagi Tau.  They all nodded confidently, agreeing with Lakani’s summation of the situation.

However, in respecting the Motuan traditional etiquette, and to avoid making the men of Manumanu lose face, he awaited for them to give him their assurance that it was okay for him and his party to investigate further.

“Lets investigate together.”  He invited them back, assurance given.

Taking the queue from the Manumanu men, Lakatani nodded to his brothers, beckoning them towards the puapua.  For safety purposes, he left his womenfolk on the beach.  They paddled towards the schooner.

The men on the schooner had noticed the arrival of a new trading canoe from the east and were intrigued by it.  They noted that the new arrivals were not from Manumanu.  As such, it peaked their interest to see these men paddling towards them.  They seemed different from the Manumanu men. However, seeing this opportunity to meet the inhabitants of this land again, they prepared to welcome them. 

A few metres from the schooner, Lakani stopped his puapua. Looking up to the men that now lined the sides of the schooner, he held up his hand, as if in greeting, but also to ward off the evil spirits that were purportedly on this boat, as per advise from the Manumanu men.  A medium-built man, who had trimmed his beard into a goatie, waved back.

“He seems to be the leader,” Lakani said loudly to himself, for the benefit of his brothers, and also to reassure himself.  The man waved back at him and beckoned him aboard, holding both his hands as if in welcome, and supplication.  “Now these are not evil spirits if their body positions are held in supplication,” Lakani thought to himself as he heaved himself aboard this strange looking boat.  The others followed closely behind him, eyes alert to treachery.

Looking around him quickly, he noticed that there were a mixture of people on board.  Some looked like him, while others had white skin.  Among the ones who looked like him, the person, who had invited and welcomed him aboard spoke something in his tongue which Lakani and his people couldn’t understand.  In front of him, his womenfolk started laying out things, which looked like gifts, he thought to himself.  There were pieces of cloth, axe heads, knives, beads, and other trade goods which the missionaries had brought with them on this trip.

While they viewed these strange things with suspicion, one of the women from the boat  started walking towards them with a tray full of red looking thing.  She started offering the tray to them with a smile; her men also beckoned to Lakani and his men, inviting them to take it, and eat it.  One of Lakani’s brothers whispered from behind him, “Don’t take it. It looks poisonous and looks like blood oozing from it.”  As they looked on, the crew and the others took the stuff and started eating it with delight and much gusto.  “Water Melon,” the crew mimed to him. “Water melon.” But to no avail.  Lakani and his men wouldn’t budge.  After observing that nothing had happened to those who had eaten the red stuff, Lakani beckoned to his brothers, and took one on offer.  “Mereni?” He asked the crew.  They all nodded happily.

So, was established an unlikely friendship, forged in a truly unlikely way and place.  Ordained by God almighty, the friendship between Ruatoka Koro and Lakani Toi would take another turn for the better as the two groups of men started the process of getting to know each other over the next few days.

In sign language, Ruatoka asked Lakani where he was from.  Lakani, again in sign language, responded as best as he could.  He would later invite Ruatoka ashore and sketch out an actual map for him to use to get to Hanuabada which laid to the east of Manumanu.[3]  Some of the landmarks Lakani described to Ruatoka included the Lagava (Redscar Point), a small uninhabited off-shore island called Varivara, and a rocky landmark called Iduata at Boera village.  An island off the sandy shores of Porebada village, called Haidana, he was to bypass on his eastward journey before passing a beautiful lagoon called Roku. Lakani advised Ruatoka that once he passed this lagoon, he would sight two small islands straight ahead.  “You will see the smaller of the two.  That is the Gemo, he signed to him.  “From afar you may be fooled to think that Gemo is joined to the mainland.  No.  Once you near it you will realise that it is an island not more that some distance from the mainland.  The larger of these two islands is called the Lolorua.  Once you arrive at Gemo, you will see a small passage. Turn left and follow it.  You will enter a huge bay, right ahead will be Poreporena”.

So, Lakani and his trading party return home after a truly successful and enriching mission.  Upon arriving, he gathered all the members of his Tubumaga and the neighbouring Kwaradubuna clan members, to brief them on the trading expedition and its success.  He also told them of the new friends he had made, especially the friendship he had established with a man of God, by the name of Ruatoka Koro, who had come to their land from far across the sea.  He informed them that he had invited this man and his fellow missionaries to Hanuabada, and that, they were all to expect his arrival soon.  Owing to the politics of the day, he instructed, in a more sombre manner, that he was to be told immediately once Ruatoka and his party were sighted.  “They will be coming by sea”, he added.  The clan settled down to await the arrival of their guests.

The people of Manumanu were not new to the crew and people on the schooner.  A year earlier, the teachers, their wives and families had arrived in the vicinity of this village on the Loelia.  The six teachers, Piri, Rau, Anederea, Ruatoka and Adamu, and their wives, had gone ashore with Mr Murray at their head, in search of the village of which they had heard.  They arrived into the village, with the banana plantations on its outskirts, and the 94 houses ranged in two rows, the broad street between, and the river bank, to which they had come, at the end of the street.[4]

The teachers had arrived with the intention of dropping themselves off at separate and different locations.  However, it was later considered wiser to remain together and occupy Manumanu as a base, from which they could spread out when the opportunity arose.  In doing so, their most difficult task, on this malarial coast, was selecting healthy sites, and Manumanu greatly disappointed them.  So, they settled in Manumanu.  The Loelia had returned back to Cape York.  The fact that the mission had no vessel of its own made it impossible to visit the teachers regularly, and new government regulations in respect to the licensing of shelling boats for the Straits made it more difficult to secure the aid of trading schooners.

During the early months of 1873, the teachers were faced with serious difficulties, chiefly among these were their worrying health conditions.  Adamu had met with an accident and had passed on; so too did one of the teacher’s wives.  The health of the whole party was a cause to worry.[5]  Fortunately, HMS Basilisk, under Captain Moresby, who had called in at Cape York on her way to the New Guinea coast, had enabled Mr Murray to secure the sympathetic interest of her commander.  The ship had called in at Manumanu and aided the teachers.  In fact, two of the badly ill teachers were taken on board and brough to Cape York for medical treatment. 

A few months later, the Loelia, which had been purchased by a Mr Orkney of St Kilda, Melbourne, and turned into a private yacht, was cruising along the Papuan coast and had heard of the sick teachers.  He had called into Manumanu.  Satisfied that they were all ill and needed treatment, he had brought them all to Cape York.  (Mr Orkney continued to support the later to be New Guinea Mission, and also became a close friend of Mr and Mrs Lawes).

While these events were happening with the teachers in Manumanu, good progress was also being made in England in developing plans for future extension.  Mr Samuel Macfarlane was not only enlisting the sympathy of the churches, but was also briefing the LMS Board of Directors on the importance of spreading the mission to New Guinea.  On 23 December, 1972, a special conference of the LMS Board was held, and it was agreed for, among other resolutions, that Cape York be made the headquarters of the New Guinea mission, and that support for the mission at Manumanu be intensified, including the purchase of the Ellangowan.[6]  Also present at this Board meeting was the Reverend W.G Lawes.

Official historical records mention that the commodious Moresby and Fairfax harbours, named so by Captain John Moresby after his father, the Admiral Fairfax Moresby, and the land immediately surrounding it, had been investigated by the Roal Navy and found to be a potentially good spot to relocate the mission.  This being so, Motuan oral history also tells of the extending of an invitation by the venerable Lakani Toi to Ruatoka Koro and the teachers to relocate to Hanuabada.  Both records are aligned by the grace of our God almighty.  Because it was through His divine intervention, that these events came to pass.  Today, the United Church of PNG, stands as evidence of this divine intervention.

On 18 November, 1873, Reverend Murray left Cape York on the Retrieve with Ruatoka, Rau, Anedera, and Eneri, who, now refreshed, were eager to get back into action.  The Retrieve called into Manumanu only to find that their houses had been destroyed by an inland raiding party, while the men of Manumanu were away on the hiri.  But their main intention to calling into Manumanu was not only to check up on their houses. No.  It was also to commence plotting the chart to Hanuabada, based on the 14 knots on the rope tied for him by his friend Lakani Toi.

On the afternoon of 23 November, 1873, with the last knot untied, the Retrieve, complemented by its additional navigational guide, anchored in the Moresby harbour, with the Poreporena villages of Hanuabada and Elevala lying yonder.  Built on stilts over the shallow waters, the village looked like a cluster of spiders, waiting to pounce on any intruder that invaded its space.  They awaited the right moment to make their way into Hanuabada to honour the invitation extended to them by Lakani Toi.  They appointed the morning of Wednesday, 26 November, 1873 as the day to make their way into Hanuabada.  Ruatoka believed that his good friend Lakani Toi awaited him.  Unbeknown to him, Lakani had left for his gardens that very day.  His gardens lay not more than an hour’s walk inland on the foothills.

After loading their cargo into the Retrieve’s long boat, the teachers and their wives, were rowed towards the village by the two naval sailors.  Ruatoka looked on with anticipation written all over his face.  As he looked on, he saw two canoes, filled with warriors, racing up to meet them.  The long boat had been sighted! Being aware of the arrival of Lakani’s guests, the village sentry, had been on the lookout ever since the Retrieve had anchored off shore, for any movement from the ship that would signal the arrival of Lakani’s friend.  On seeing the departure of the long boat from the ship, he had sounded the conch shell.  As was pre-planned, the Tubumaga warriors had piled into two of their war canoes, the Rikugai and the Manugai, and had sped forth to meet the approaching long boat purposely to escort it safely into the Tubumaga clan before the other clans became aware of the “intruders”. 

The two parties greeted each other out in the harbour, and Ruatoka’s enquiries of “Lakani?” “Lakani?” were met with a nod by the warrior Tau Vagi.  Lakani had entrusted Tau Vagi with the responsibility of making sure of Ruatoka’s safety in the event he was away when his friend arrived.  Tau was honouring this duty.  The long boat was then escorted into the Tubumaga clan mooring station.  Oral history tells that the Rikugai and Manugai were accosted in the harbour, on their way in, by the war canoes of the other clans, wanting to know who these people were and why they were being brought into the village by them.  Tau Vagi and his warriors, ignoring them, continued relentlessly on their course, to bring the guests safely into their clan, while he strained his neck, searching out Lakani from among the crowd now building up on the shore.

Meanwhile, Lakani’s sister, Kori Toi, having by now, being alerted to the arrival of his brother’s guests, and knowing that he had gone to tend his garden, quickly ran in search of him.  Upon nearing the garden, she started yelling, “Lakaaaaani!” “Lakaaaaani!”  “Lakaaaaani!” Lakani, hearing the distress in his sister’s voice, quickly ran out of the garden in search of her.  The people you have invited to the clan have arrived.  You must come quickly to receive them”.  The excited Kori told him.  After delivering the message, she turned and started running back to the village.  Lakani followed closely behind.

By then, Tau Vagi and his warriors had escorted the visitors into the Tubumaga clan square and stood protectively over them, awaiting the arrival of Lakani, while the crowd, mostly warriors from the other clans of the village, all shouting at the top of their voices, for the immediate release of the intruders so that they could be killed, continued to build up.  Kori and her sister in-law, Lakani’s wife, Geua Gurita, in anticipating this demand, quickly ran in front of the menacing warriors, shouting and, holding up their skirts to scare them away, and most of all, to buy time, while Lakani made his way to the village centre.  In the Motuan traditional culture, it is considered taboo for women to “throw their scent” in the direction of any warrior or men in general who are in very close proximity to them.  It is believed that it will render these warriors - who have purified themselves by staying away from their wives for weeks in preparation for an official clan engagement, such as going on a raiding party to an enemy village, or on a fishing or hunting expedition – weak and useless.  Lakani’s wife and Kori were doing this on purpose, to protect their guests from these blood thirsty warriors.

“Asio aladia!”  “Asio Aladia!” (Don’t kill them!) (Don’t kill them!).  Lakani shouted into the crowd, at the top of his voice, as he finally arrived on the scene.  Quickly rushing up to where his guests were sitting in a huddle, he stood protectively over them, brandishing his spear menacingly at the crowd.  The Tubumaga warriors, taking this as their cue, also formed up immediately behind him in support.  Still they were outnumbered, as the other clans, from Elevala started arriving to “drive off these intruders”.  The threat, not only to the lives of his guests, but to them as well, mounted.

Lakani shouted into the crowd again, repeating himself.  The crowd refused to relent.  Then he did the unthinkable.  “Lau bavalagu guna, gabe amo, idia bavala dia!”  (“You will need to kill me first, before you can kill them!”), he shouted at the top of his voice.  This immediately caught the attention of the crowd of warriors and they all quietened down. Some continued to glare at him, waiting for him to say something that would ignite the spark again, so that they could use the excuse of the situation to settle some old family feuds against the Tubumaga clan.  Others waited for Lakani to explain why he was willing to put his life down for these strangers, whom they purported, he didn’t know.

While everyone stood contemplating the situation, which was now very tense, the sudden arrival of a group of warriors from Elevala threatened to escalate and worsen the already edgy situation.  This new group was led a warrior chief called Igo Erue.  Igo, nicknamed Boroma (wild boar) because of his blood lust, quickly showed up in front of Lakani, and in a threatening manner, demanded the release of the intruders to him for slaughter.  His warriors stood close by his side, aggressive and intimidating, daring Lakani to go up against their chief.  Lakani’s Tubumaga warriors, now joined by warriors from the neighboring Kwaradubuna clan, closed up behind Lakani. 

Lakani, very much aware of the very dangerous situation he and his clan were now in, and after weighing out the pros and cons of a confrontation with the boroma, opted against this decision.  Very slowly and carefully, but deliberately, he moved up to the boroma.  Facing him, without so much as flinching and batting an eyelid, he told him to his face, “These are my guests.  I invited them to come and stay with me and my clan here at Tubumaga because of the conditions in Manumanu.  They are not your problem. Back-off and leave my clan with your warriors now.”

There was now an impasse.  While the boroma demanded blood, he also knew deep down, that if he struck Lakani, all hell would break loose, as old family feuds between the clans would be revisited and their would be chaos and mayhem in the villages.  What Lakani was offering him was a way out without the both of them losing face in front of the village.  So, sizing up the offered opportunity and then taking it, he backed off.

Following this, the Tubumaga village square was quickly converted from a would-be battlefield into a feast, as the clan prepared to formally welcome their guests.  Guards were posted all around the clan to discourage any repeat of hostility by the Elevala warrior.  Being also a truly benevolent man, Lakani also invited the other Hanuabada clan leaders to join him and his clan in welcoming their guests.  This included men from the predominantly Koitabu clan of Hohodae, and the Motuan clans of Mavara Kahanamona, the Gunina clan, and the Apau, Vahoi and Botai clans.  The same invitation was also extended to the Elevala clans.  The clan’s security system was maintained for the next couple of days until temporary billeting was organized for the guests in the gabi ruma offered by the clans.

Lakani then approached Dagu Lohia of the Vahoi clan to ask for, and request his endorsement for a piece of land he owned in the Taora area of the village.  When asked why, he told Dagu that this would be for Ruatoka and the other teachers to use as garden plots to support their sustenance.  After bartering for a short while, Dagu agreed to release his land to the teachers for the price of a couple of axe heads, a piece of red calico cloth, and some handkerchiefs.  When Dr W.A Murray arrived a few weeks later, he allocated Anaderea and Rau to minister to the people at Hanuabada, and Ruatoka and Heneri were to minister to the people of Elevala. 

So arrived the first LMS missionaries into Poreporena.  The next step now was to establish a permanent mission station for them to operate their ministry from.

The following year, on 21 November, 1874, Dr W.G Lawes, in adhering to the resolutions of the LMS Board meeting in London, the previous year, arrived to take charge of all LMS operations in Central Papua.  That same day, Dr Lawes, accompanied by Captains Turpie and Thurstons of the John William and the Ellangowan (both ships had made the expedition to Poreporena from Cape York) and Reverend Murray went ashore to meet with the village chiefs purposely to arrange for a site for the proposed mission station.  They had their minds fixed on a beautiful spot which laid between the villages of Hanuabada and Elevala.  It was near the sea, on a ridge of land which rose to an elevation of 110 to 130 feet.  At each end of this spot, there were hills, and behind it and all around, there were hills and valleys of various shapes and sizes, and away in the distance stood the dark shapes of mountains.[7]

This assessment being so, Ruatoka had earlier on, discussed this site with Lakani.  Lakani had then made discreet enquiries and discovered that this particular piece of land was owned by the elder, Raga Tola Rahobada and his family.  Lakani had also previously taken the initiative to meet with Raga to inform him of the interest of the teachers on his land.  He had informed him that there would be taubadas arriving shortly to formally negotiate with him for this land.  Raga Tola and his family were therefore prepared when Lakani and Ruatoka again approached them to organize this historically significant meeting.  It was historical in the sense that the establishment of the LMS on these shores hinged very much on its outcome.

So, the meeting took place that day between Dr Lawes and his party, and Raga Tola and his family of the Botai-Laurina clan of Elevala village.  This also included the six elders who had a stake on this land.  By the end of that fateful meeting, Raga Tola and the six elders had gifted their land to the missionaries to commence God’s work in Poreporena.  (Since that momentous day, word has been passed down through the generations that “No one, (meaning within the family) has any right to repossess this land (Metoreia Hill) back from the missionaries; that this land was given freely so that God’s work can be carried out from there; and that it would remain so, forever).[8]  So, land was given to the LMS to set up their mission station forever in what would later become Papua New Guinea.  Its significance today is portrayed in the United Church of Papua New Guinea.

Later that same day, Mr Lawes set up his tent close to the nominated site.  The following day, 24 November, 1874, work commenced to build the mission station.  Parts of the crews of the Ellengowan, and the John William were in the building party, and they went about their work with much vigour and heart.  The mission house was a long weatherboard building of one story and a wide veranda, the principle proportion of which faced the harbour, with the eastern end towards the hill and the palm trees.  When the mission house was completed, other smaller buildings were put up to complete the Metoreia mission station[9].  All the missionaries and teachers in Hanuabada and Elevala left their billets and moved onto Metoreia Hill. 

Ten years later, on 6 November, 1884, British Commodore Erskine would stand and proclaim the establishment of the British Protectorate of Papua.  In doing so, it would commence the mammoth political process, which, after two world wars, would culminate 91 years later, on 16 September, 1975, with the proclamation of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.

So, it came to pass.  The first house, of foreign design was built by foreign sailors atop Metoreia Hill and would become the mission headquarters for the region for the next century.  Built in the midst of a heathen community, it was the home of the first Christian teacher and translator, and the first-ever Englishman’s home which was soon to come under British rule[10].

Without realising its significance then, Poreporena had suddenly become the centre of light in this dark land.  It would be from here that Lawes, and later Chalmers, and the Southseas teachers, led by Ruatoka would make their forages into the interior and up and down the coast.  They would be assisted by the venerable Arua Daera, Poreporena’s first official Papuan Christian.  He was baptised on 15 January, 1881 and would became an evangelist.  He took advantage of the hiri expeditions to the gulf of Papua and spent most of his ministry life in the Vailala area of the Gulf.

It would not be until 21 November, 1962, 90 years after the LMS arrival into Papua that a truly Papuan Church, called the Papua Ekalesia would be formed; and then on Sunday, 19 January, 1968, the LMS (New Guinea mission), and the Methodist Mission would finally join together  through a handshake, and gifts of tabu and pig tusks to form the United Church in PNG and the Solomon Islands.  Motuan Reverend Reatau Mea, representing the Papua Ekalesia, and Reverend Saimon Gaius, representing the Methodist Church officiated in this ceremony through the signing of the Deed of Union.  In November, 1996, the Church in PNG and Solomon Islands separated, and the United Church of Papua New Guinea came into its own.[11]

Today, on the eve of commemorating the arrival of the Southseas missionaries on their land 150 years ago, the Poreporena Circuit, a cornerstone of the Urban Region of the United Church of Papua New Guinea, now consists of the Laurabada congregation (which includes Lakani Toi’s Tubumaga clan, Kahanamona, Mavara and Hohodae clans), and the Lahara congregation (which consists of the Gunina, Apau-Vahoi, and Botai clans).  The Elevala congregation, has remained an integral member of the West Port Moresby Circuit, of the United Church Urban region.

The people of Poreporena, and members of the United Church Poreporena Circuit therefore, pay homage to these great men and women of God, who braved sickness, weather, and all forms and sorts of atrocious conditions, if only to bring the Word of God to our land.  We remain, custodians of the faith under God’s everlasting blessings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 

1.       Ako, Lahui (2007), “Upstream, through endless sands of blessings”, CBS Publishing, New Delhi

2.       King, Joseph (1909), “W.G Lawes of Savage island and New Guinea”, London

3.       Eagle Omnibus Number 9, London Edinburgh House Press, 2 Eaton Gate, S.W 1950, “Take my life: Ruatoka of Papua” 1846-1903, by Joyce Reason

4.       Polynesian Missions in Melanesia – From Samoa, Cook Islands, and Tonga to Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia, 1982”, Page 59

5.       A.W Murray, Capek York, 17 December 1873, “Voyage to Redscar Bay and Port Moresby in the Retrieve”, Nov18-Dec8, 1873, Council for World Mission, Papua Journals”

6.       Crocombe, MT (1982), “Ruatoka, a Cook Islander in Papua History, in Polynesian missions in Melanesia, ed. Marjorie Crocombe et al, Suva institute of Pacific Studies

7.       Pacific Island Monthly, Volume 40, No.2 (February, 11969)

8.       Murray, J.H.P (Sir Hubert), 1904 Diary, ML

9.       Oral history from the elders and old persons, some have passed on:

(a)    LDk Sisia Nou (deceased) Rahobada of Tubumaga clan, Poreporena;

(b)    LDk Kora Lohia rahobada (deceased) of Tubumaga clan, Poreporena;

(c)     LDk Rei Vagi Rahobada of Kwaradubuna clan, Poreporena;

(d)    Ek Dika Guba Taumaku Madai Rahobada of Kahanamona clan, Poreporena;

(e)    RDk Edea Sisia Nou of Tubumaga clan, Poreporena;

(f)      Rtd Rev. Morea Pipi Rahobada of Hoboimo clan, Elevala, Poreporena; and,

(g)    RDk Lohia Kohu of Elevala Botai clan, Poreporena.

10.   Tubumaga idibana and laurina Genealogy Books, 1957, copy from Dept of Lands.

 

 

 

 

 



[2] Ako, Lahui (2007), “Upstream, through endless sands of blessings”, CBS Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 81

[3] Oral history says that Lakani tied 14 knots on a span of rope, each knot representing a significant landmarks which he described to Ruatoka during their conversations; and that he was to pass this bays, inlets, hills, for 14 times and he would arrive into Hanuabada and Poreporena.

[4] King, Joseph (1909), “W.G. Lawes, of Savage Island and New Guinea”. London, pp.57

[5] King, (1909), pp.58

[6] King, (1909), pp.60

[7] King (1909), pp.68

[8] The Reverend (retired) Morea Pipi and his brother Raho Pipi, descendants of Raga Tola, clearly remember their uncle telling them this.

[9] King (1909)

[10] King (1909), pp.69

[11] Ako, (2007), pp. 239-240

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

TOWARDS A PNG FOREIGN POLICY WHITE PAPER: A Strategic and Project management approach

 


(Parts of the preface of my book, published in December, 2021)

What’s in a name?

 So, what is a Foreign Policy?  For the laymen, it is a National Government’s combine strategies, or general objectives, to effectively manage its international relations with other countries, either bilaterally, or multilaterally.  It also affects domestic policies due to the intricacies of globalization.  Its main objective is to use diplomacy – talking, meeting, negotiating, and making agreements – to solve international problems, and to keep those problems from developing into conflicts that may require military settlements.  In many countries today, this role is usually the primary responsibility of the President, or the Prime Minister. 

But simply put, I see it as just another glorified name for a “Game Plan”, albeit, with international relations connotations, and flavors.  Indeed, the mere mention of the word “Foreign Policy” makes the unaware tremble, thinking that anything to do with it, remains in the domain of the suave, smartly dressed, internationally-savvy, Foreign Service Officer, and diplomat, or those with the title of Ambassador, and/or High Commissioner, whose prime task on earth is to travel the world for seemingly “unknown high-level” reasons. 

 Rightly so too.  Dihm and Wolfers, in their 1989 publication, correctly stated that “Foreign Policy is a notoriously elusive concept because a number of factors combine, to blur the distinction between foreign, and domestic policies. These include, the domestic requirements and effects of globalization, the growing spread and depth of international cooperation, and the increasing domestic acceptance, and application of international law, which again, affect all areas of public policy and their implementation in PNG”[1]

Other aspects of policy formulation that continuously blur this concept are Papua New Guinea’s engagements as a global citizen (promoting peace and cooperation), the significant elements of defence cooperation it has with its neighbors, and its relationships to international organizations, such as the World Bank, the IMF, ADB, ACP group, the Commonwealth, APEC, and the UN systems, as well as the functional, or commodity defined organizations, through which cocoa, coffee, natural rubber, and tropical timber-producing countries cooperate. 

For a small developing economy such as ours, this has continued to be the downfall of our bureaucracy in effectively coordinating its formulation, and implementation, through a Whole-of-Government-Approach.  There are a lot of variables at play here, chiefly among them, the required capacity to understand and implement these new undertakings, as against the continuous protection of one’s fiefs which leads to working in silos.  Which is the main reason why the Department of PMNEC must take carriage of all such undertakings to ensure compatibility within the whole public service machinery.

Since 1975, many professionally qualified, conversant, and academically knowledgeable persons have written extensively on this subject; most have contributed productively to the formulation of our post-independence Foreign Policy of “Friends to all, enemy to none”.  They did so again, from 1979 until 1981, when this inaugural Foreign Policy was reviewed, adjusted, and upgraded to one of “Active and Selective Engagement” to support the advances it had made in the first five years of its nationhood.  It was also converted into a White Paper, which remains to today, as the only White Paper written for this purpose.  This was then followed less than a decade later by the “Look North” Foreign Policy, and quickly thereafter, the “Look North, and Work the Pacific” initiatives.

For the next three decades, respective Foreign Ministers have presented Foreign Policy Statements to Parliament, as their signature intervention, at the expense of another, albeit, formal Foreign Policy White Paper, which to this day (at the time of the writing of this book) is work in progress.  Nearly all these statements, reflecting the personality of the political leaders that defined them, have been mostly ambiguous, and ad hoc, lacking that required bureaucratic support, and capacity, to operationalize them into an actual Foreign Policy White Paper, and their accompanying strategic plans to operationalize and drive them internationally, and domestically.

Despite this prolonged lag in this process, an opportunity came a knocking in 2018 when PNG had the honor and privilege of playing host to the year-long APEC process.  Hosting APEC was Papua New Guinea’s biggest ever foreign policy exercise, and crowning glory, since 1975.  It laid the foundation for the government (including the bureaucracy) upon which a new Foreign Policy White Paper could have been developed and submitted to Parliament for endorsement, in the face of the Asian Century, and the raging US-China trade war.  Still, what emanated out of this, instead, was the PNG Foreign Policy on APEC. 

Because my definition of a “Foreign Policy” is a simple Game plan to advance a country’s international relations engagement in a particular direction, Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Policy on APEC, was formulated in that very manner.  It basically mapped out how PNG would engage in the APEC process by synergizing the outputs and inputs of the MTDPIII, and ensuing MTDPs into the APEC process.  It set its eyes on the targeted goal of the PNGDSP (2010-2030) as its lighthouse.

This was an initiative, initiated by the PNG APEC Secretariat, working on the post-APEC 2018 directives of the NEC, who, in its Decision No: 422/2018 “directed that relevant Sectoral Ministers effectively take note of the various outcomes contained in the Chair’s Era Kone Statement, including the APEC Action Agenda on Digital Economy, as well as the outcomes stemming from the bilateral meetings that the Prime Minister had with various APEC Leaders, and work closely with their Departmental heads, to “devise Work plans” to implement these arrangements, and report back to the NEC, in a timely manner, on progress.”

Following on from this, Prime Minister James Marape, upon consideration of this Submission, with his Cabinet, ,  endorsed the “Roadmap to domesticate the APEC 2018 Chair’s Era Kone Statement”.  In this same Cabinet Decision No. 36/2020, they also approved the Roadmap’s “Selective Engagement” approach, as Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Policy on APEC” . . .

Which brings me to the issue of our core values. 

Papua New Guinea’s core values are enshrined in its Constitution through the Five (5) National Goals and Directive Principles.  These should be the pillars upon which policymakers can map out an appropriate Game Plan in a . . . 

With the New Normal, all “bets are now considered off”.  Meaning, the traditional norms of foreign policy formulation . . .

Mitigating the pandemic

Prime Minister James Marape, in one of his statements, late in 2020, informed PNG that it would now need to adjust to the new normal, and learn to live with the existence of Covid-19.  This meant adjusting to a new way of living and going about our lives, work, and interactions with people . . .  

Hovering above all these opportunities, is the digital factor . . . 

Legislating a Foreign Policy?

The five National Goals and Directive Principles underwrote the modern nation of PNG. (Kari, 2009).  Their respective visions compelled post-independence governments to deliver social, economic, and political development with considerations for equality, national sovereignty, and economic self-reliance, protection of the natural environment, and PNG culture and institution.  Sadly, despite their integration in the National Constitution of PNG, they were either ignored, or given passing acknowledgements by successive governments.  (This is evident in the lack of a Foreign Policy White Paper since the last one was delivered in 1982). 

Using these five National Goals and Directive Principles as a guide, the government must now move to make  . . . 

There is no mention of International Relations, nor Foreign Policy, in the National Constitution, although Section 117 - on Treaties - provides some resemblance of this need.  However, is this sufficient?  . . .

The book has been divided into three parts. 

Part 1 will discuss what we have in our pantry, for want of a better word, to use internationally, to advance our interests.  This includes Papua New Guinea’s recent economic outlook, and the business environment in the face of COVID-19, and why it is now necessary to make that move from the current state, to the future state, using a newly formulated Foreign Policy White Paper, and its accompanying Roadmap.  This future state is now critical due to the megatrends affecting international relations at the moment.

Part 2 will describe the strategic management of Papua New Guinea’s foreign policy undertakings from independence in 1975, up to 2020, and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how PNG has fared, domestically, and internationally, during this period.  It contains the chapters that describe the journey PNG made from independence while navigating the foreign policy sandbox.  Chapter 2 describes how our inaugural Foreign Policy was formulated at Independence.  It discusses how a foreign policy was built upon the premises of building relationships and security alliances, with no real focus on trade.  It also discusses Papua New Guinea’s early interactions with the outside world.

Chapter 3 then talks about the first Foreign Policy review in 1979, and the progress of Papua New Guinea’s forage into international trade and investment undertakings, and the involvement of regional power plays to secure its rich natural resources.  It also mentions the outcome of this review exercise: The formulation of Papua New Guinea’s only Foreign Policy White Paper to date.  Chapter 4 then brings to light the political instability and Papua New Guinea’s first hurdle in shifting its Foreign Policy away from its traditional obligations to its former metropole, and into the greater, and wider wilderness, while Chapter 5 talks about Prime Minister Wingti’s first foreign policy undertaking on an “Independent Commitment to International Cooperation”, and and the factors that led to his now renowned Look North policy.  Prime Minister Wingti was part of that new generation of PNG leaders not part of the pre-independence movement.

Chapter 6 expands further the Look North policy, and looks at Papua New Guinea’s undertakings to connect further in a globalized world.  It introduces the Statement made by Foreign Minister Samuel Abal to Parliament on 18 March, 2009, on Foreign Policy, Development, and Globalization, which in effect, commenced the long road to the ongoing Foreign Policy review.  Chapter 7 then discusses the outcomes of these series of review exercises, culminating with Foreign Minister Pato’s Parliamentary Statement on “PNG Connect”, in 2013. 

Part 3 of this book will continue with Chapter 8 and discuss the advantages of using Project Management tools, processes, and techniques, and the Organizational Project Management (OPM) Framework, in particular, to formulate, and draft, a Foreign Policy White Paper, and its drivers.  This will then be followed by Chapter 9, to discuss future trends in PNG Foreign Policy formulation, and how a Foreign Policy White Paper should be drafted, using the PNG Foreign Policy on APEC, and its driver, the Roadmap, as baselines.  The PNG Foreign Policy on APEC (PNGFPA2030) has also been included here as the Annex.

Finally, the book will urge the immediate drafting of this Foreign Policy White Paper by the responsible departments and agencies, and consequently, its tabling for Parliament’s endorsement by the incoming Government in 2022.  In a nutshell, the book looks at how Strategic Management, and Project Management, can be synchronized, and used concurrently, to drive the government’s national development agendas at all levels.

One will note that half of any country’s foreign relations is basically centered around trade, and investment.  This has been an ongoing dilemma with Papua New Guinea’s foreign policy formulation, due to capacity, and the very ordinary levels of cooperation between government and the private sector.  When it comes to trade and investment, the role of government tends to be limited to negotiating, participating in, and monitoring compliance with international agreements, regulation, and promotion. The substance of trade and investment, in a market economy, like Papua New Guinea’s, are primarily matters for the private sector, whether or not they come under the Department of Foreign Affairs, or another agency (or agencies), as far as government policy is concerned[7].

This book is not written as an essay, to discuss the advantages and or disadvantages of a Foreign Policy White Paper.  Nor is it a dissertation on Foreign Policy formulation, although it can be used as one, by budding international relations students.  As such, the reader will not be directed to a myriad of discourses provided on the subject by learned experts and academics.  The Chapters leading up to the actual model of implementation have been written purposely to provide the reader with the necessary and salient historical benchmarks, to rationalize the critical need for a Foreign Policy White Paper that must now be drafted, and tabled for approval, as soon as the newly elected Parliament reconvenes for the 2022-2027 parliamentary cycle.  Further, it will also justify why the use of project management processes, tools, and techniques, are necessary, in this time, and age, to achieve tangible, and non-tangible outcomes of the initiatives listed down in the prescribed activities, as envisaged strategically, at the highest level.

As such, it is focused directly on how the lack of capacity in the functional organizations that make up the PNG bureaucracy, has continued to require the initiative to grasp the ideal opportunity provided by APEC PNG 2018 to formalize a Foreign Policy White Paper, in the immediate years, after the host year.  It then expounds the urgent need to move quickly into formulating one, using the model provided in the PNG Foreign Policy on APEC, in order to make use of all these opportunities now provided by the onset of the New Normal.

The reader will note that the 1982 Foreign Policy White Paper on “Active and Selective Engagement”, upon its endorsement, made it clear that, far from providing guidelines for immediate implementation, it proposed an evolutionary approach by outlining a basis for ongoing policy-making (it was intended to help generate policy, from time to time, not to provide a detailed blueprint for implementation).  Thus: the objectives were to be kept under continuous review, and adapted as Papua New Guinea’s internal and external circumstances changed; and that such reviews were to be facilitated by the basic approach (Papua New Guinea 1982, 19).

The advent of the pandemic has now changed this dynamic.  A detailed blueprint is now required.  PNG, after lengthy reviews of this Foreign Policy, since 1982, must now take stock of its interests, and move accordingly in the New Normal, as its bilateral, and development partners, the world over, are scrambling to do.  This means coming up with revised and/or new strategies to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.

The PNG Foreign Policy on APEC, and its driver, the “Roadmap to implement the domestication of the APEC 2018 Chair’ Era Kone Statement, endorsed by Cabinet in 2020, through its Decision 36/2020,” moves away from the traditional model of open-ended foreign policy formulation, or waterfall approach.  Instead, it provides a new model proposing the use of Project Management processes, tools, and techniques, for the sole purpose of achieving the nominated targets envisaged at the highest strategic levels.