Lae () is the capital of
Morobe Province
Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands P ...
and is the second-largest city in
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 ...
. It is located near the delta of the
Markham River and at the start of the
Highlands Highway
The Highlands Highway, sometimes known as the Okuk Highway, is the main land highway in Papua New Guinea. It connects several major cities and is vital for the movement of people and goods between the populous Highlands region and the coast.
F ...
, which is the main land transport corridor between the
Highlands Region
Highlands Region is one of four regions of Papua New Guinea.
Subdivision
The Region is administratively divided into seven provinces:
* Chimbu (Simbu)
*Eastern Highlands
* Enga
*Hela
* Jiwaka
* Southern Highlands
* Western Highlands
See also
* ...
and the coast. Lae is the largest cargo port of the country and is the industrial hub of Papua New Guinea. The city is known as the ''Garden City'' and home of the
University of Technology.
History
Lucas (1972) describes the history of Lae into four periods; the mission phase (1886–1920), the gold phase (1926 until World War II), the timber and agricultural phase (until 1965) and the industrial boom (from 1965) with the opening of the Highlands Highway.
Between 1884 and 1918 the
German New Guinea Company
The German New Guinea Company (german: Deutsche Neuguinea-Kompagnie) was a German Chartered Company which exploited insular territory in and near present Papua New Guinea.
History
In the 1870s and 1880s German commercial firms began to site tr ...
established trading posts in
Kaiser Wilhelmsland,
German New Guinea and on 12 July 1886, a German missionary,
Johann Flierl, a pioneer missionary for the Southern Australian Lutheran Synod and the
Neuendettelsau Mission Society
Neuendettelsau is a local authority in Middle Franconia, Germany. Neuendettelsau is situated 20 miles southwest of Nuremberg and 12 miles east of Ansbach. Since 1947 it has a Lutheran seminary ( ''Augustana Hochschule'').
Diakonie Neuendettelsau
...
, sailed to Simbang in
Finschhafen,
Kaiser-Wilhelmsland and arrived at Lae shortly after. The mission society provided clergy and religious education for Lutheran settlements in Missouri, Iowa and Ohio, Australia, and anywhere else "free thinking" Lutherans had settled.
After World War I, Eastern New Guinea came under British control (Australia) and many of the Germanic names were replaced by English or indigenous ones. ''Adolf Haven'' was then referred to as Morobe Harbour. Australian officials or
kiap
Kiaps, known formally as district officers and patrol officers, were travelling representatives of the British and Australian governments with wide-ranging authority, in pre-independence Papua New Guinea.
Etymology
'Kiap' is a Papua New Guinean c ...
s were stationed at various locations within the area and in 1921 the military administration transitioned to a civilian administration, a gold prospector named Cecil John Levien was appointed District Officer (Kiap) of Morobe.
![RSLmonument](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/RSLmonument.jpg)
On 1 January 1923 Levien acquired a mining right for the area and shortly after formed a syndicate called ''Guinea Gold (No Liability)''. The Guinea Gold syndicate formed Guinea Airways Limited in November 1927. In 1927 Levien arranged for the construction of the airstrip at Lae to assist the gold mine productions around
Wau.
Lae was declared a town under the ''New Guinea Boundaries Ordinance'' on 31 March 1931 at the height of the gold rush era and Lae became the prototype for New Guinean towns built up around
airstrips
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...
.
[ The Europeans lived to the East of Lae Airfield while the New Guineans lived to the West.][ Cargo arrived in Lae and then was transported by air to the goldfields in Wau.
In July 1937, Lae made world news when American aviator ]Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...
was last seen flying out of the airport on her way back to the United States. She was never seen again.
When the volcanic eruptions occurred in Rabaul
Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...
in 1937, a decision was made to transfer the capital of the Territory of New Guinea to Lae. World War II impeded the transfer and the town was occupied
' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
by the Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...
on 8 March 1942. Lae, Rabaul and Salamaua became the major Japanese bases in New Guinea.
The naval Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943 was fought over the Japanese attempt to reinforce Lae with troops sent by sea from Rabaul, an attempt foiled by sustained Allied attack on the Japanese troop transports. In mid-1943, after defeats in the Kokoda Track campaign, the Battle of Buna–Gona
The battle of Buna–Gona was part of the New Guinea campaign in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. It followed the conclusion of the Kokoda Track campaign and lasted from 16 November 1942 until 22 January 1943. The battle was fought by ...
and the Battle of Wau
The Battle of Wau, 29 January – 4 February 1943, was a battle in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Forces of the Empire of Japan sailed from Rabaul and crossed the Solomon Sea and, despite Allied air attacks, successfully reached Lae, w ...
, the Japanese retreated to Lae and Salamaua. However, the Salamaua–Lae campaign involved many weeks of fierce fighting, before the town fell to the Allies on 16 September.
In 1971 the Australian Colonial Administration established the first properly constituted Local Government of Lae town and in 1972 Lae was proclaimed a city. Lae's development after the war is directly linked to the development of the highlands. Coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
and tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
were being grown and a port was needed. Later priority was given on road access, and the Highlands Highway came into existence. The mineral boom occurred in the 1980s and 1990s.
Geology
Lae is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire
The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many Types of volcanic eruptions, volcanic eruptions and ...
and geologic instability has produced numerous faults, resulting in earthquakes.
Lae sits between the larger Indo-Australian Plate
The Indo-Australian Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes the continent of Australia and the surrounding ocean and extends northwest to include the Indian subcontinent and the adjacent waters. It was formed by the fusion of the Indian an ...
and the Pacific Plate
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At , it is the largest tectonic plate.
The plate first came into existence 190 million years ago, at the triple junction between the Farallon, Phoenix, and Iza ...
on the South Bismarck Plate
The South Bismarck Plate is a small tectonic plate located in the southern Bismarck Sea. The eastern part of New Guinea and the island of New Britain are on this plate.
Tectonics
Convergent boundaries line the southern border including the subdu ...
in the Ramu-Markham Fault Zone where the New Guinea Highlands Deforming Zone and South Bismarck tectonic plates
Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large te ...
are converging at up to 50 mm/yr. The city is caught in a giant geological vise and the seismic hazard is significant.
More than 15 years of measurements have been analysed with results indicating how rapidly Lae city and its survey network is deforming.
The Ramu-Markham Fault Zone, which follows the northern edge of the Markham Valley, is the active plate boundary between the South Bismarck Plate and tectonostratigraphic terranes within the New Guinea Highlands Deforming Zone. The Ramu-Markham Fault Zone has generated large thrust earthquakes (e.g. 6 April 1999 MW 6.4, 16 km North of Lae, near Hobu, and 22 November 2007 MW 6.8, 110 km North of Lae). Geological evidence suggests that major earthquakes in pre-historic times have occurred in the Lae area, and that there is the potential for another large earthquake to occur anytime within the next 100 years (in).
The 1998 earthquake occurred near Vanimo resulting in 2200 casualties.
Mount Lunaman
Mount Lunaman is high and has a radio tower at the highest point marked by red fixed obstruction lights to assist navigation. At the base of Mount Lunaman at the southern and south-eastern face are the suburbs of Voco Point and Chinatown. The terraces are located to the West of Mount Lunaman.
Mount Lunaman is known to the locals as ''Lo' Wamung'', which means "first hill", ''Hospital Hill'' and Fortress Hill by the German settlers.
Mount Lunaman and the Lae urban area have been the subject of several tectonic studies relating to plate shift.
Mount Lunaman was an important landmark for both Japanese and the Allies:
:"The men of the South Australian battalion hammered and sawed vigorously at the top of the terrace. They were reconstructing, with captured Japanese tools, the skeleton of the cottage formerly used as the Japanese commander's sanctum. A hole beneath the door led by a tunnel to a labyrinth of passages and apertures which honeycombed Mount Lunaman".
After the war it was believed that Mount Lunaman contained the remains of many Japanese soldiers who defended Lae using tunnels:
:A Japanese tomb believed to contain bodies of hundreds of Lae defenders was bought by two South Australian men for 1 pound. The tomb lies under Mount Lunaman which is said to house a hospital and when the Japanese in tunnels refused to surrender to the Australian 7th Division and 9th Division troops in 1943 all entrances were sealed. In a 1971 NHK interview with the Japanese Army commander of Lae, he stated that the tunnels in the hill were only ever used for storage, and the Army had used the Lutheran Malahang Hospital some 10 km north of the town.
Government
The Lae City Council is also known as Lae Urban Local-Level Government. It is an Urban Municipal Authority, responsible for the policy decisions, management and administration of the city, by way of providing the municipal services to the residents of the city.
:''Lae City Aims to become one of the Garden Cities of Asia Pacific Region by 2012, by creating a modern, safe, vibrant City, with a strong economy, whilst enhancing its cultural heritage, and by developing a Healthy, well Educated, Harmonious Community, which will enjoys a good living environment.''
The Lae Urban Local-Level Government is a third-tier government. The political structure consists of the Lord Mayor as the head, who is elected by the people, with five elected, and three nominated Councilors. The six elected Councilors representing the six Wards in the city. The nominated Councilors represented the Chamber of Commerce, the Workers Federation Union, and the Women, Youth and Churches. The Council makes decisions on the policy issues relating to the city, and the Council Management implement the decisions.
Roads
The Lae City has 137 kilometers of roads, which the National Government is responsible for the maintenance of the Independence Drive, the Markham Road, and the Milford Haven Road, while the Lae City Council maintains the rest of the roads in the city. Due to lack of funding, almost all the roads have deteriorated over the years.
Climate
Lae features a tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...
under Köppen's climate classification, more subject to the Intertropical Convergence Zone
The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the thermal e ...
than the trade winds and with no cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...
s so equatorial. The area experiences an extraordinary amount of precipitation, averaging roughly of rainfall annually. In fact in no month does Lae, on average, see less than of precipitation. Temperatures show little variance during a typical year in the city, with January temperatures averaging roughly and July temperatures averaging .
Economy
Industry
Lae is strategically located in that it can supply the Highlands, Islands, Southern and Momase regions. Large businesses include:
* Mainland Holdings Ltd
* DuluxGroup (PNG) Ltd
* Consort Express Lines
* Paradise Foods Limited
* Halla Cement
* HBS PNG Limited
* iPi Group
* Trukai Rice
* SP Brewery
* Bismark Maritime
* South Pacific Steel
* Papindo Group of Companies
* Prima Smallgoods
* Lae Biscuit Factory
* Citylink Motel
* MMK Transport
* Barlow Industries Ltd
* Mapai Transport
* PNG Metal Fabricators Ltd
* Araweld Ltd
* Homestate Co-operation
* NCI Packaging (PNG) Ltd
* Esteens Deering (PNG) Ltd
* Niugini Electrical Ltd
Markets
Lae City boasts of having the best food market in Papua New Guinea. This is due to the fact that the Morobe Province produces the best taros, bananas, sweet potato
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...
es, yams, fruits and vegetables etc., which have been sought after by many Papua New Guineans as well as expatriates. The Lae Main Market also receives and sells foodstuff and vegetables from the Highlands Provinces. Apart from Lae Main Market, wards and mini-markets are also available to cater for the needs of the growing population of the city.
Notable landmarks
University of Technology
The Papua New Guinea University of Technology is based outside Lae and is the second largest university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in PNG after its 'sister' university the University of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
. While University of Papua New Guinea concentrates on the arts, pure sciences, law and medicine, the University of Technology focuses on research in technological or applied sciences. It is the only technological university in the South Pacific, outside Australia and New Zealand.
Lae International Hotel
Lae International Hotel is an important conference centre and has hosted some notable political figures over the years. Lae International Hotel () has 100 rooms, furnished with wooden furnitures and 4 luxury suites. It contains the Vanda Restaurant, Luluai's Italian Restaurant and Kokomo Coffee Shop.
Lae War Cemetery
Lae War Cemetery was established in 1944, and is located adjacent to the Botanical Gardens in the centre of the city. The cemetery holds the remains of over 2,800 soldiers, many of whom died in the Salamaua–Lae campaign, but also those who died in Japanese detention on the Island. It is also the resting place of two Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
recipients.
Lae Botanic Gardens
Lae Botanic gardens are not always open to the public. There is an old Australian Aeroplane in the centre of the gardens.
The aircraft is a C47 Dakota, RAAF serial number A65-122. It was purchased from the USAAF for the price of $180,000 and delivered to the RAAF on 4 July 1945. From 1947, the aircraft was allocated to No 86 Wing and flew with No 36 and 38 Squadrons from RAAF Bases Schofields, Richmond and Canberra. During this time, it probably flew some of the Japan Courier flights and flights to PNG.
From Feb 1967 until June 1980, the aircraft served with Transport Support Flight, Butterworth Malaysia, where it flew missions to South Vietnam and other countries in SE Asia.
On 30 June 1980, it departed Butterworth for RAAF East Sale where it was prepared for donation to the PNGDF. On 17 Nov 1980, the aircraft was handed over to the PNGDF at Lae for use as a ground training aid.
On 30th June 1999 the PNGDF decided that the aircraft was no longer required for training purposes and needed considerable maintenance with no funds available, it was donated to the National Botanic Garden Management Committee. Under the direction of the Curator at that time, Mr. Rod Spivey, it was moved to a suitable location at the National Botanical Gardens, and funds and manpower were provided by various private sector organisations, to return the Aircraft to much of its former splendour.
Bumbu river
The Bumbu river starts at the Adzera Mountain range, through Taraka to Kamkumung, Hengali, Butibam
Butibam is a village on the outskirts of Lae, Morobe Province in Papua New Guinea.
Location
Butibam lies to the east of the Bumbu River and north of Busu Road. The Butibam market and primary school lies to the south of Busu Road. The Buku (Sepi ...
, and to the Huon Gulf. Following a flood in 1992, the population was relocated to a temporary settlement called Tent Siti (City).
Angau General Hospital
Angau General Hospital is located in the central Lae area next to the old Lae Airfield. It is a main referral hospital for the general Morobe Province area, as well as the other provinces connected by road link . It contains the only Radiotherapy facility in the country and thus serves as the main referral centre for cancer patients.
Lae (Nadzab) Airport
Nadzab Airport is located outside Lae City, along the Highlands Highway
The Highlands Highway, sometimes known as the Okuk Highway, is the main land highway in Papua New Guinea. It connects several major cities and is vital for the movement of people and goods between the populous Highlands region and the coast.
F ...
, next to the Markham River. Local buses operate to and from the city, in addition escorted secured transfers are available for transport into the city.
From Port Moresby, Lae is accessible only by domestic flights. Air Niugini, Airlines of Papua New Guinea (also known as "Airlines PNG") and Travel Air "Mangi lo Ples" services the Port Moresby-Lae route.
Other significant locations
* Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium
* Lae Golf Course
* National Polytechnic Institute of Papua New Guinea
''Lae City Hotel''
''Hotel Morobe''
* Lae Yacht Club
* Lae Showgrounds
* Papindo Shopping Centre at 7th Street
Healthcare
Visitors must ensure that they have proper health insurance. Lae International Hospital is of good developing world standard. It is a 19-bed facility with 1 emergency bed. It is staffed by 6 doctors, one general practitioner, an anesthesiologist, a surgeon, a radiologist, and two obstetricians. Doctors come from a number of countries, nurses are local nationals. There is also a public hospital called Angau Memorial Hospital located on Markham Road.
Travellers to Lae should seek expert medical advice regarding malaria prophylaxis as well as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis and typhoid vaccinations. There was a significant outbreak of cholera based in the Morobe District in 2009 and consideration of vaccination would be prudent.[Clonal Origins of Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor Strains, Papua New Guinea, 2009–2011]
Twin town
* Cairns, Queensland, Australia, since 1984
* Dili
Dili (Portuguese/Tetum: ''Díli'') is the capital, largest city of East Timor and the second largest city in Timor islands after Kupang (Indonesia). It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in ...
, Timor Leste since 2000
See also
* Invasion of Salamaua–Lae
The invasion of Salamaua–Lae (8–13 March 1942), called ''Operation SR'' by the Japanese, was an operation by Imperial Japanese forces to occupy the Salamaua–Lae area in the Territory of New Guinea during the Pacific campaign of World War I ...
References
External links
:
Bombing of Lae
:
Captured airfields at Lae
:
Raising Australian flag at Lae
{{Authority control
Populated places in Morobe Province
Provincial capitals in Papua New Guinea
Port cities in Oceania