The District Commissioner
Addendum 11: Parliament House, Independence Hill & Ward Airstrip
Additional information for Chapter 2 New Guinea calls
The photo of Parliament House was sourced from Image via Capture The Moment – PNG www.pagahill.com/2020/07/03/port-moresby-top-5/ and presumably was taken by William Tekwie in 2019.
Located in Waigani, a suburb of Port Moresby, Parliament Haus is one of PNG’s most stunning and culturally significant buildings. First opened in 1984, the building’s exterior reflects a Maprik Haus Tambaran design (the house of spirits from East Sepik Province), but throughout, iconic motifs of different areas of PNG abound. Parliament Haus lies within stunning gardens, is open to the public for tours, and draws on both traditional and modern architecture.
The photo of Parliament Haus also shows the newly-completed Independence Boulevard directly behind and the circular International Convention Centre to the right.
The photo was sourced from www.businessadvantagepng.com/nine-things-you-need-to-know-about-2018-apec-leaders-week-in-papua-new-guinea. Photo credit Aaron Chin.
This photo was sourced from www.flickr.com/photos/josuamm/31345615587.
It shows the six-lane Independence Boulevard funded by the Chinese Government (see the Chinese flags), leading to the PNG National Parliament which is in the centre background.
This photo and the information below about Wards Strip and Waigani was uploaded onto the “IlovePortMoresby” facebook group by Gerard Steven Sorulen on the 20 January, 2014.
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“Wards Strip Demonstration School was built next to what used to be a World War II air strip called Wards Strip or Wards Drome. The airstrip stretched from what is today Nuiford (Site of old Wards Theatre), all the way through to today's Kumul Avenue, past Telikom Rumana, and ended just 200m short of the Kone Tigers oval at Waigani.
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It was built by the Australian administration during the middle of 1942, and was surfaced by US Army engineers. The construction was led by Australian Lt. Col. K. H. Ward, C. O. of the 53rd Battalion (Militia). The airfield was further developed into two parallel runways, with an extensive taxiway and revetment area to the east of the runways, connected to 7 Mile Drome (Jacksons International Airport today).
It was named 'Wards Drome' in honour of Australian Lt. Col. K. H. Ward, who was involved with its construction and who (sadly), was killed on August 27, 1942 during the fighting at Isurava on the Kokoda Trail.
During 1943, Wards was the busiest airfield in the entire Southern Hemisphere. It was mainly used by cargo and larger aircraft.
The photo here is of Ward’s strip was taken around 1953-1954.
It is from the photo album of the parents of Paul Brennan and was uploaded online by Paul Brennan.
A lot of young adults learned to drive on the strip.
Disused since the war, it was developed into the Waigani area of Port Moresby, where many of the government buildings and embassies are located. One can still drive along the main runway.
In the post war years, most of its aircraft revetments were bulldozed flat, and a scrap dealer operated there, melting down aluminum from aircraft remains. Locals would siphon gasoline from the aircraft fuel tanks for their own use well into the 1950's.
Located on a hill behind Wards Drome is a large 5th Air Force insignia and USAAF star drawn into the concrete. Concrete steps, a garden, and path that went up the ridge towards the HQ also present. In the 1980's traces of the paint still remained. Today, both the 5th AF logo and USSAF are partially broken, and the area is overgrown, but it still offers commanding views and an impressive remnant of the American era at Ward's Drome.
This marking is still present to this day, on a small ridge off the main hill and this overlooks the Chinese Embassy. To visit the slab, drive down Sir John Guise Drive, cross the intersection with Independence Way and Godwit Street and keep going in the direction of the golf club. When that road begins to make a left turn, there is a hill on your right.”
The information above about Wards Strip and Waigani was uploaded onto the “IlovePortMoresby” facebook group by Gerard Steven Sorulen on the 20 January, 2014.