Taraka | |
|---|---|
Suburb | |
 Rigel Road, West Taraka. Police post in center of photo | |
  Taraka Location in Lae | |
| Coordinates: 6°39′40″S146°57′11″E / 6.66111°S 146.95306°E | |
| Country |  Papua New Guinea |
| Province | Morobe Province |
| District | Lae District |
| Time zone | UTC+10 (AEST) |
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.
Both East Taraka and West Taraka are located 7 km from Lae on Rigel Road. A tributary for the Bumbu River meanders through Taraka. East Taraka is predominately commercial and industrial while West Taraka is mostly residential.
In 1963 it was estimated that 10% of Lae's population lived in "Shanty-town settlements which describe both Omili and Taraka and there is evidence that these settlements have grown well above the average rate of Lae. [1]
In May 1992, another study examined migrant settlement in and around Lae examining Tent Siti and West Taraka. [2]
The study found that almost half of the informants (48.5%) came to Lae in the 1980s. The figure is much higher in Mouth Markham (66.7%). East Sepik Province (30.3%) and the provinces in the Highlands (30.3%) stand out as places where the informants lived before they came to Lae. This tendency corresponds to the fact that most respondents were born in the Sepik and Highlands areas and less than half of them have had former migration experiences. [2]
The people from East Sepik tend to live in Mouth Markham, and those from the Highlands tend to concentrate in the West Taraka and Boundary Road settlements respectively. 57.6 percent of respondents came to Lae for employment. However, it is also true that their relatives (60.6%), were staying in Lae before the respondents moved to Lae. [2]
In May 1993, a study focused on the West Taraka Housing scheme and found that tenants were significantly dissatisfied with their houses. Aspects of dissatisfaction referred to the size of houses, number of rooms and living/dining areas, lack of storage space, and poorly laid out and badly designed kitchen, toilet, and bathroom facilities. [3]
In 2011 another study on housing was conducted drawing on the 1973 - 1974 urban household survey which revealed that less than 40% of the urban households had built and owned the houses they lived in. Five years after the establishment of the National Housing Corporation (NHC), another urban household survey revealed that only 10% of all houses in Lae were either rented or leased directly and the corresponding figure for Port Moresby was 23%. [3]
Another study by the Bank of Papua New Guinea examined the demand for urban housing finance which found that two factors discouraged individual investment in urban home-ownership in Papua New Guinea. Firstly the rental housing market in Papua New Guinea was, and still is, heavily subsidised by the government and associated with paying rates, taxes and other regular repair and maintenance costs. Secondly most Papua New Guineans held strong ties with their rural areas and many people were unprepared to sever these ties for several reasons, for instance, fear of being accused by wantoks (relatives and friends) of running away from rural obligations. [3]
Public housing in Papua New Guinea is not only unavailable, but also unattainable for a large proportion (60.0%) of the urban population. It is evident that even the 1981 housing policy that encouraged national home-ownership schemes has not significantly increased home-ownership. [3]
In 2013 tenants in East Taraka were given notices for outstanding arrears as per their requirement to pay the National Housing Corporation. [4]
In 2009 the Digicel foundation donated a Community Learning Centre for the West Taraka Dunda elementary school. One year earlier the school, which was built by the community, was destroyed by fire. There are over 200 children at the school which was established by the Dunda family in 1999. [5]
In 2013 the Rotary Club of Lae Huon Gulf deliver much needed school desks and chairs to Gantom School at East Taraka. The school has 1,020 pupils and included was 100 school desks, 250 chairs, 2 teacher's desks, many library books and a generous quantity of sporting equipment. [6]
East Taraka is home to many large and medium businesses. [7] Between 1950-1960 peanut production was at an all-time high for the Markham Valley with K600,000 worth of exports to Australia. In response, Sanitarium established a peanut butter factory in Taraka. By 1974 there were zero exports. [8]
On 3 February 2003, ethnic riots broke out at west Taraka between Western Highlander and Memyamya tribes. As a result, police from West Taraka were attacked trying to quell the violence.
In response, the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary closed the police station for ten years until November 2013;
Lae (German: Preußen-Reede, later Lehe) 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.
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.
Papua New Guinea is divided into four regions, which are its broadest administrative divisions of Papua New Guinea. While the 22 provincial-level divisions are the primary administrative divisions of PNG, the regions are quite significant in daily life, as they are often the basis for organisation of government services, corporate operations, sporting competitions, and even the machinations of politics.
Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. The peninsula is dominated by the steep Saruwaged and Finisterre and Cromwell Mountains. The nearest large town is the Morobe provincial capital Lae to the south, while settlements on the north coast include the former German town of Finschhafen, the district capital of Wasu, Malalamai and Saidor with its World War II era Saidor Airport.
Momase Region is one of four regions of Papua New Guinea. Its largest city is Lae, the second city of the nation. The name Momase is a portmanteau of the constituent provinces, Morobe, Madang and Sepik. Momase is by far the most linguistically diverse region of Papua New Guinea.
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.
Omili is a suburb of Lae in the Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.
Tent City (Tent siti) 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 1 kilometre to the South of Tent City.
Bumayong is an outer suburb of Lae in the Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.
Situm is a government ex-servicemen block outside of Lae in Labuta Rural LLG, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.
Dowsett is a suburb of Lae in the Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.
Bugandi is a suburb of Lae in the Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.
Yalu is a large village in Wampar Rural LLG, located in the Markham Valley of Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It lies along the Highlands Highway 21.5 kilometres (13.4 mi) north-west of Lae, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) southeast of Nadzab. The landscape is typically lowland rainforest.
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.
As the township of Lae, in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea is a relatively new entity, the history of the Lae environs is much older.
The following lists events that happened in 2014 in Papua New Guinea.
On September 9, 2002, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Wewak, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. The shallow reverse earthquake triggered a local tsunami measuring 5 meters high. The disaster resulted in at least 6 deaths, 70 injuries and building damage.
