Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia. Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country, with an area of 462,840 km2 (178,700 sq mi).
The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Papua New Guinea. It originated from the Australian Army land forces of the territory of Papua New Guinea before independence, coming into being in January 1973 and having its antecedents in the Pacific Islands Regiment. The PNGDF is a small force, numbering around 2,500 personnel, and consists of a Land Element, an Air Element and a Maritime Element. It is a joint force tasked with defending Papua New Guinea and its territories against external attack, as well as having secondary functions including national-building and internal security tasks.
Lae is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highlands Region 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.
Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region is also called West Papua. Lying to the west of Papua New Guinea and considered a part of the Australian continent, the territory is almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere and includes the Schouten and Raja Ampat archipelagoes. The region is predominantly covered with ancient rainforest where numerous traditional tribes live such as the Dani of the Baliem Valley although a large proportion of the population live in or near coastal areas with the largest city being Jayapura.
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.
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, and since the division of Southern Highlands Province in May 2012 it is the most populous province. It includes the Huon Peninsula, the Markham River, and delta, and coastal territories along the Huon Gulf. The province has nine administrative districts. At least 101 languages are spoken, including Kâte and Yabem language. English and Tok Pisin are common languages in the urban areas, and in some areas pidgin forms of German are mixed with the native language.
Sir Silas Atopare was a Papua New Guinean politician who served as the seventh governor-general of Papua New Guinea from November 1997 until November 2003.
The Markham Valley is a geographical area in Papua New Guinea. The name "Markham" commemorates Sir Clements Markham, Secretary of the British Royal Geographical Society - Captain John Moresby of the Royal Navy named the Markham River after Sir Clements in the course of his voyage of exploration in HMS Basilisk in 1873. The valley contains two districts of Morobe Province: Huon Gulf district on the east and Markham district on the west. The inhabitants of the valley are of Oceanic (Austronesian) descent and live in large villages under a chieftain political system.
Wabag is the capital of Enga Province, Papua New Guinea. It is the least populous provincial capital in the country. It is on the Lai River; the Highlands Highway passes through the town, between Mount Hagen and Porgera. Europeans first visited the site in 1938-39 A radio camp and airstrip were established in 1938-39 but restrictions on transportation and the surrounding land's infertility long inhibited Wabag's development.
Lae Nadzab Airport is a regional airport located at Nadzab 42 kilometres (26 mi) outside Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea along the Highlands Highway. It is served by both private and regional aircraft with domestic flights. The airport replaced the Lae Airfield in 1977.
Nadzab Village is in the Markham Valley, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea on the Highlands Highway. Administratively, it is located in Gabsongkeg ward of Wampar Rural LLG. The Nadzab Airport is located East of Nadzab Village and was the site of the only Allied paratrooper assault in New Guinea on 5 September 1943.
Taraka is a suburb of Lae in the Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. The main campus for the Papua New Guinea University of Technology is located in Taraka.
Bugandi is a suburb of Lae in the Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.
3 Mile is a suburb of Lae in the Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.
6 Mile is a suburb of Lae in the Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.
9 Mile is a large village in the Markham Valley of Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It lies along the Highlands Highway 9 miles (14 km) from the center of Lae between the foothills of the Atzera Range and the Markham River. The Atzera Range starts at Bugandi and runs adjacent to the Markham River has an elevation of 280 meters above sea level. northwest of Lae, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) southeast of Nadzab. The landscape is typically lowland rainforest.
Paul Isikiel is a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a People's National Congress member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2012 to 2017, representing the electorate of Markham Open. He was Minister for Housing and Urban Development in the government of Peter O'Neill from 2012 to 2017.
The karuka is a species of tree in the family Pandanaceae and an important regional food crop in New Guinea. The nuts are more nutritious than coconuts, and are so popular that villagers in the highlands will move their entire households closer to trees for the harvest season.
The 1993 Finisterre Range earthquakes began on October 13 with a Mw 6.9 mainshock, followed by Mw 6.5 and 6.7 earthquakes. These earthquakes struck beneath the Finisterre Range, north of Markham Valley in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. The complex earthquake sequence seriously damaged many villages in the rural Eastern Papua New Guinea region, generating landslides and killing at least 60 people.
On 11 September 2022, an earthquake of moment magnitude 7.6 or 7.7 struck Papua New Guinea, in the northern part of Morobe Province. The normal faulting earthquake occurred with a hypocenter depth of 116.0 km (72.1 mi) beneath the Finisterre Range. A maximum perceived Modified Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) was estimated. Shaking was widely felt across the country and even in neighbouring Indonesia. At least 21 people died and 42 were injured, mostly due to landslides.
