PNG pins hopes on war relics

ABANDONED relics from the last world war are being turned around by Papua New Guinea this year to lure tourists from Japan, the United states and Australia. Europe is next.

Visitors are expected to flock to PNG from April to commemorate the 50th anniversary of World War Two’s Pacific campaign. The war was fought for three years in parts of PNG, which are converted into special tourist fortress zones.

Kokoda Epic Pty, a company to promote PNG war anniversaries, was launched in February in Sydney. Its founder, former Australian army major Charles Lynn, has mapped out plans to reshape a fresh new appeal for PNG.

During the war, the 100-km Kokoda Trail earned notoriety as the scene of some of the most bitter fighting of 1945.

Stretching north from the capital of Port Moresby to the goldfields of Yodda and Kokoda, and used originally by gold miners during the 1860’s, the trail will be a principal centre for anniversaries. Once referred as the bush highway, the track gives walkers with a chance to retrace the

steps of the war-time armies.

Lynn has four programs in mind for a return to Kokoda: • April 15-25: Kokoda remembrance trek a trek between the village of Kokoda and war cemetery at Bomana to partake in official ANZAC Day activi ties. (Bomana is one of PNG’s four memorial war cemeteries); • November 3-8: Kokoda epic run-an international endurance race across the

tough trail;

• November 8-18: Kokoda military challenge a contest between armed force teams from Japan, United States, Australia and the home side. The test would be who can complete the track in the fastest time; • 1992-95: Kokoda corporate chal lenge to test the fastest corporate teams, invited from Australia, Japan, US and PNG. “The only way we can appreciate what happened on the Kokoda Trail is to get executives to walk on it,” said Lynn.

The world war clashes on Kokoda ended with Australian victory in Novem ber 50 years ago.

The track and the rest of PNG’s war relics are a reminder of the role the

country played in the war, says waj historian McLaren Hiari, of PNG’' defence department. There is a strong feeling among tourist and conservation agencies in PNG and Australia, thai PNG’s world war relics like the Kokod* Trail should be protected and sold in tourist packages.

Prime Minister Rabbie Namaliu waj urged in February to impose stiffen penalties for illegal removal of wrecks?

Hiari claimed foreign souvenir hunter: and smugglers removed nearly SUSI:O6 million worth of relics since 1985.

Some wrecked warplanes —Japanese zero fighters attract SUS 13,800 prices fetch attractive offers at US museums* Hiari said despite a government procla mation in 1986 that all relics were the property of the state, smugglers have been active with the help of locaj villagers.

PNG’s expo commissioner generaj Camillus Narokobi believes the new theme is a fresh initiative which displaces the old perspective of PNG being a lane of traditional outlooks. Narokobi says their expo campaign is not just to seek investors injecting capital to tap naturae resources like oil and minerals, but also enter into tourism deals. Q