| "LIGHTS OF WEWAK" (David Short) |  |
Half-term break had arrived and I was excitedly making my way to Wewak to meet up with the Educational Bookship that was making her first ever visit to the Pacific Island nation of PNG. The year was 1979 and there had been much preparation throughout the nation, especially in the proposed ports of call, Wewak, Port Moresby, Lae, Madang and Rabaul. As I was teaching fulltime, the weekends and holidays were the only times I was able to assist with the arrangements and give support to the husband and wife team that were doing all the advance line-up work for the vessel.
Arriving over the mountain range from Goroka by small aircraft, I went to book in for my connecting flight to Wewak by Fokker but was informed that there had been a strike in the capital and flights were running late. It was not until the early hours of the morning that our aircraft appeared to uplift us several hundred miles up the coast. Once airborne everyone was much happier. The flight was a short one and as soon as the aircraft reached its cruise height, the pilot can see the Wewak lights. As the aircraft was approaching her destination, the captain spoke to us and informed everyone that he was dimming the lights and making a circuit of the town of Wewak - just a small coastal Melanesian town - so that we could enjoy seeing the "lights of Wewak". This seemed to be a generous and friendly gesture to say "thank you" for waiting for us during the delay.
However, when we landed and met up with our hosts, the principal and his wife from the local International School, there were many questions about the pilot's intention in circling the town and waking everyone up, especially the youngsters. Well, I guess you can't please everyone!! It is a fascinating location and an import centre for the extensive hinterland towns and villages of the Sepik Province. It is the home area of the first Prime Minister and statesman of the nation - some say the "father" of the nation, Sir Michael Somare. In the ongoing flow of history, Sir Michael is once again the Prime Minister in 2005.
The visit of the ship was a very interesting one with many intriguing stories. I was able to assist with several of programmes and even have a live-report most evenings on the local news with the NBC reporter in Pidgin English. In 1999, I was able to visit Wewak again to assist with the visit of the successor of the first vessel, some 20 years later!! Crowds came day after day - some 90,000, I believe, to visit the Family Book Fair and participate in conferences etc. The Guest of Honour at the Official Opening was Sir Michael's son who is Governor of the Sepik Province. |