Benabena is a stretch of valley that extends to the east of

Goroka Goroka is the capital of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. It is a town of approximately 19,000 people (2000), above sea level. It has an airport (in the centre of town) and is on the " Highlands Highway", about 285 km from ...

town in the west and borders with the Upper Ramu area of the

Madang Province Madang is a province of Papua New Guinea. The province is on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea and has many of the country's highest peaks, active volcanoes and its biggest mix of languages. The capital is the town of Madang. D ...

to the north, the Ungaii District to its south and the

Henganofi District Henganofi District is a district of the Eastern Highlands (Papua New Guinea), Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea. It has four local levels of government(LLGs) headed by a president who is normally elected by the LLG's wards or villages ...

to its east. The name "Bena Bena' derived from a small hamlet or village just a few kilometres away from the once small rural station of Sigerehi in the Upper Bena area in the

Eastern Highlands :''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.'' The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The Bena Bena Valley had once known for a centre for weaving. The town was known also as Bena Bena.

History

An airfield was constructed near the village by

Dan Leahy Michael James Leahy MBE (26 February 1901 – 7 March 1979) was an Australian explorer and gold prospector, famed for his exploration of the Highlands area of Papua New Guinea. He photographed, filmed and published many of his explorations wide ...

and Jim Taylor in December 1932. A

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

mission station A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...

commenced operations at the village in 1934.

References

Benabena information
Populated places in Eastern Highlands Province {{EasternHighlandsProvince-geo-stub