Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. The western half of the island is a province of Indonesia.
There are 3 main cities; Port Moresby (the capital), Lae and Mount Hagen. None of these cities are connected by roads. Air travel is the most popular mode of transportation. There are 2 International Airports but there are over 500 airstrips, most of which are unpaved. This is one of the reasons the cost of living is so high here, everything has to be flown in.
English is the language of the government and one of the official languages, but there are over 800 languages. Most of those languages are limited to the village it originated from. The most popular language is Tok Pisin which is a version of Pidgin English. It is a common language used between families and villages who speak different languages.
At the height of imperialism in the 19th Century, the island was colonized by the United Kingdom under the name British New Guinea. Control was handed over to Australia in 1905 and was governed by Australia until 1975 when Papua New Guinea gained its independence. Like Canada, it remains a commonwealth country under a Parliamentary Government with a Prime Minister, Governor General and whose head of state is Queen Elizabeth.
The population of Papua New Guinea just over 7 million with about 370,000 in Port Moresby. The currency is the Kina and the conversion to Canadian Dollars is about 2 to 1. The island is rich in natural resources. Mining, forestry and fishing are major industries and the petroleum industry is growing (which is why Lori and I are here). Rugby is by far the most popular sport. The National Flag depicts the Southern Cross constellation and the Bird of Paradise, which is the national bird of Papua New Guinea.
We still have a lot to learn and discover.
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