BY TREVOR FREESTONE

 
ANYONE WHO SPENT TIME working in PNG had incredible experiences and retains wonderful memories. So much so that no matter where in the world these people now live, PNG is always a special place.

All countries have their problems, and PNG is no exception. But, in spite of the bad news, one can always find something special about this wonderful country.

In 1966-67 I was posted to Pagei Primary School, at a border station established to watch for Indonesian infiltration and refugees.  Pagei was classified as secret because the Australian government did not want Indonesia to know what facilities were there – accommodation, water and food supplies - that might have been invaluable to an invading army.

The only access to Pagei was by plane - it was a fifteen minute flight from Vanimo - and during the wet season there was often no access as the airstrip would be closed for days at a time.

After consulting with the parents, I decided to take the children on an excursion to Vanimo so they could see the ocean and other wonderful things. We had to prepare everything thoroughly. We were to follow a bush track that the villagers used to gain access to their sago palms and, once we left the government, station we would be on our own.

The day arrived and we left Pagei early in the morning. Six men had volunteered to be carriers and they bore our rice, tinned meat, cooking pots and a comprehensive first aid kit. The children had a change of clothes and an empty string bag which held food they collected along the way. It was going to be a difficult two day walk.

The start was easy as Roger the Kiap was building a track he hoped would one day reach the isolated villages scattered throughout the forest. After two or three kilometres the track became narrow and almost invisible. But these children were amazing - they knew exactly where to go.

We walked for about four hours following the trail until we came to the first village, Ilup. The children came to a sudden halt and I could see three men blocking the path. I took my houseboy, who could speak the dialect, and we went to talk to them.

One of them turned was the local witchdoctor, who informed my houseboy that, because the children were from his enemies’ villages, he would not allow us to walk through the village. Instead we would need to take a detour which would add another two hours to our journey.

My houseboy had seen some magic tricks I used as an aid to my teaching and he told the men I was a very powerful white witchdoctor and it would be unwise to upset me. The three men immediately shook my hand and guided us into their village where we had a cool drink from some coconuts that were given us.

We continued onto Issi village where we stayed the night.  We cooked our dinner and, as the children had collected much food on the way, we were able to share it with the villagers. Then we treated any scratches that might turn septic and I showed the villagers some magic tricks before we collapsed into a deep sleep in the Haus Kiap.

The next morning we were up early for we had a difficult walk through the swamps and over the 3,000 foot Oenake Mountain Range. We left our remaining food in the village for our return trip, not wanting to carry it over the mountain.

Our first challenge was getting through the swamps, and it was hard work. The villagers had assured us there were no crocodiles but we used a lot of salt removing the giant leeches. Eventually we came to the Oenake range that rose before us like an impenetrable barrier.

We climbed the slippery sides and, as we neared the top, realised it was only the first of three such peaks we had to climb. Eventually we had reached the top of the last mountain and in the distance could see the sea.

We finally arrived in Vanimo and, after changing into school uniforms, proudly marched through the town, where we received a huge welcome.

We stayed at Vanimo school for three days and saw many wonderful things. The children could not believe the sights - the ocean, cars, a ship. They enjoyed meals of fresh fish. We played sport with the Vanimo kids but got beaten at everything as our students were no match for the healthy coastal kids.

After three fabulous days we retraced our tracks. Back in Pagei, the children had many stories to tell their parents. They learnt so much but they taught me even more about survival in the rainforest of PNG.

Photos: Top - Trevor Freestone and Pagei villagers.  2 - Leaving Pagei for the coast.   3 - Ilup Village.  4 - Oenake Waterfall.  Bottom - Standard 4, Pagei Primary School