Kainantu is a town in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. It had some historical significance as an airstrip town during WWII. It functions primarily as a market town for local produce growers and cash croppers. It is located on the "Highlands Highway" approximately by road west of Lae and by road east of Goroka. It is approx from a nearby missionary station Ukarumpa and is nearby the Aiyura valley. Kainantu has basic facilities such as a school, hospital, police station, district court, and service stations.
History
Early history
The area was explored in the 1929 by the two Lutheran missionaries, Pilhofer and Bergmann. and again in 1930 by two Australian explorers Mick Leahy and Mick Dwyer.
These early contacts with the Gadsup were gradually developed in the early 1920s and evangelist out-stations were successively
founded by the Lutherans at Binumarien and Wampur. Lutheran missionaries, Pilhofer and Bergmann explored this area
This was an experimental house build by an architect Rex Addison working out of Lae technical college about 1960-1970.
1960s
Mr. Graham Pople was a former kiap (patrol officer) and Member of the first Papua and New Guinea House of Assembly in 1964 and in 2010 authored The Popleography, an unpublished manuscript. When describing Kainantu in the 1960s he writes:
Geography
Geology
Probable Palaeozoic metamorphic rocks, the Bena Bena Formation, intruded by Upper Triassic Bismarck Granodiorite and Mount Victor Granodiorite, constitute the basement on which lower Miocene Nasananka Conglomerate and Omaura Greywacke were laid down. The andesitic Aifunka Volcanics of probable Pliocene age, Pleistocene lake sediments, and Recent alluvial deposits complete the stratigraphical record of the area.
Topography
A narrow south-east-trending dissected plateau dominates area to the south; it forms the watershed between rivers draining north to the Markham-Ramu Graben, and those draining south to the Papuan coast. The plateau ranges in elevation between and above sea level, and is about above the surrounding country. It is wide at its north-western end, but narrows to about to the south-east, where Nompia Creek cuts across it in a deep gorge . East of Nompia Creek, it is about wide, and the Lamari River flows across it in another deep gorge. The streams draining the plateau are mature over most of their courses, but near its edge they are deeply incised and flow along youthful valleys.
Governance
Law and Order
In 1965 it was reported that;
<br />
:Up to 30 Papuans were reported under protection at Kainantu as they feared payback from New Guineans.
In 1973 it was reported that;
:Police arrested 23 men in Kainantu as a result of a woman being pinched on the bottom resulting in a wild brawl.
Before independence, the role of the Kiap was both judge and jury. In the highlands this role continued while the Constitutional Planning Committee, wanted the State to reform the courts, to reform the laws and to reshape the judiciary.
A major defect of the court system was the absence of local tribunals and elements within the Constitutional Planning Committee wanted to include these while many elements opposed.
First National Election
In 1964 the first election of a national House of Assembly, by universal adult suffrage on a common roll, took place in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea.
In Kainantu, the only European candidate, (Holowei) was Barry Holloway
Colbran Coffee Lands
Colbran Coffee lands is a large coffee plantation run on the Kainantu highlands run by the Colbran Family since 1962. They are one of the largest plantations and coffee processing factories in PNG. They buy local parchment coffee from locals during harvest season and process is for domestic and international use. This provides work for the nearby locals. In 2009, the Colbran Family started a primary school that educates children from around 12 neighbouring villages.
Kainantu Gold Mine
Alluvial gold was discovered near Kainantu about 1930, by E. Ubank and N. Rowlands, who were the first Europeans in the area. Compared with the Wau-Bulolo Goldfields, where gold had just been discovered in the rich Edie Creek, the Kainantu Goldfields were neither very rich nor very extensive, and so never attracted large numbers of prospectors. By World War II the best patches of alluvial gold had been worked out, and the few lodes found had not proved economic. After the war the field provided a good living from both alluvial and lode mining for a small number of Europeans.
Kainantu Gold Mine is an underground mine and the concentrate is trucked to Lae and shipped to Japan for processing. In January 2009 production was halted. The mine has been designed to produce in excess of 100,000 ounces of gold per year. In 2007 a decision was made by Highlands Pacific Ltd. to sell Kainantu Gold mine and licences to Placer Dome Oceania, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation for a cash price of USD141.5 million. The mine was then sold to K92 Mining, a Canadian company, that has restarted the mine and is expanding the known resource (now about 4 million ounces) and yearly output (about 130,000 ounces). Both numbers are expected to be increased in the future. It is expected that by the end of 2022 mine production will be above 300,000 ounces per year.
thumb|Eastern Highlands Cultural Centre and Museum
Eastern Highlands Cultural Centre and Museum
The focus of the cultural centre is the pottery and it is for this that the centre has become best known. The clay for the pots is all acquired locally from different areas and until recently preparing the clay for use was a time-consuming process, using only simple plaster beds. In 1994 the centre invested in a variety of new equipment such as a mixer, filter press and pug mill which has reduced the preparation time from weeks to days.
Kainantu Golf Club
History
The Kainantu Golf Club was established in 1958 largely through the efforts of Neville (Robbie) Robinson, an employee of the Department of Lands, Survey and Mines and Native Mining Officer. Historically the Kainantu golf course is one of the two oldest golf courses in the country (after the Bulolo golf course).
Description
The Kainantu course is/was a nine-hole course with two sets of tees to make for 18-hole game. The course was constructed along a number of ridge crests and so over the years the course has been a challenge to play. Narrow fairways, sloping roughs, small greens and nearby roads and gardens have made low course scoring rare.
Re-invigoration of Golf Club
thumb|200px|Kainantu Lodge / hotel. Christmas trees planted by [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth]]
In the early 1990s, a small group of expatriates from nearby business began to make improvements to the club including planting new trees and building a new clubhouse. The new trees did not last long and were uprooted by “rascals”and over the years existing trees were “ringed” and then cut down at night for firewood. According to staff at the hotel, Sir Barry Holloway established the hotel and after his death, handed the business to the Komuniti Kaunsil Bisnis to operate and distribute profits from the hotel's operation.
Ukarumpa
Ukarumpa missionary station houses the Summer Institute of Linguistics, which aims to translate the Bible into all of Papua New Guinea's numerous languages. The base was established in the mid-1950s by Wycliffe Bible Translators. The current population is approximately 500.
Gallery of Kainantu Lodge/Hotel
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|<!--col1--> <small>View of BBQ area</small>
|<!--col2--> <small>Restaurant</small>
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|<!--col3--> <small>View of hotel from BBQ area</small>
|<!--col4--> <small>Public bar area</small>
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|<!--col5--> <small>Ladies lounge</small>
|<!--col6--> <small>Swimming Pool</small>
|<!--col7--> <small>Units. "Komuniti Kaunsil Bisnis" to left</small>
|<!--col8--> <small>Photos in conference room. from left Patrol Officers, Queen Elizabeth as a child, visiting Elephant</small>
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Further reading
- Ahrens, Theodor. Randbemerkungen zur Frühgeschichte lutherischer Mission im östlichen Hochland von Papua-Neuguinea. Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft und Religionswissenschaft. 1989; 73: 284–302. Note: [mission from archives: Kainantu area, Melpa].
- Aitchison, T. G.
- Papua New Guinea Government Gazette, no.2 1 July 1971 "General review of Kainantu sub-District" 29 July 1969
Notes
References
External links
- Kainantu Lodge Information