Port Moresby
The Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery Welcome to the depth and diversity of Papua New Guinea in the National Museum and Art Gallery.
The Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery is the “spiritual house” for the rich natural, cultural and contemporary heritage of this country.
The museum is owned by the people of Papua New Guinea and to date has well over 30,000 anthropological collections, more than 25,000 archeological collections, more than 18,000 natural science collections, more than 20,000 war relics and more than 7000 contemporary art collections.
It consists of three premises which are the main museum located at Waigani in Port Moresby, the Mordern History (sometimes known as War Museum) at Gordons in Port Moresby, and the J.K. McCarthy Museum at Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province.
The main museum at Waigani consists of five display galleries which are the Masterpiece Gallery, the Independence Gallery, the Sir Allan Mann Gallery (for temporary exhibits), Life and Land (natural history and prehistory) Gallery and the Sir Michael Somare (new acquisitions) Gallery.
In addition, there is a central court yard with live animals and birds, a theatrette, amphitheatre, amenities area, souvenir shop, four large storage rooms, conservation laboratory, photographic laboratory, carpentry workshop, graphic rooms and editing equipment rooms.
It is one of the “must visit” icons of Port Moresby like the neighbouring National Parliament and the National Capital District Botanical Gardens at Waigani.
It is open to the general public from Monday to Friday (8.30am to 3.30pm) and Sunday (1pm to 3pm). Admission is by donation.
It is closed to the public on Saturdays except for organised visits.
The Modern History premises at Ahuia Street, Gordons, consist of office space, two storage rooms, display room and a library.
The collection includes aircraft, vehicles and war artifacts from pre-independence and post-independence.
Some of the unique objects in the national collection include a P-38F Lockheed Lightning aircraft, the oldest P-38 in a museum in the world. It also included a Ford Trimotor Aircraft recovered from Lake Myola by Major Charlie Lynn and a RAAF Chinook Aircrew in 1979.
The J.K. McCarthy Museum in Goroka consists of six display galleries which are the Niugini Room, Giddings Gallery, Leahy Wing, Soso Subi Gallery and the Archeological Room.
It also has offices for scientific and administrative staff, a storage room and a gift shop.
Its main collections are artifacts and specimens from the Highlands region.
Artifacts include wooden dishes, stone mortars, stone blades, magic stones, and sandstones for making stone blades.
Independence Gallery
This gallery features a stunning Kula canoe from the Trobriand Islands of the Milne Bay Province.
The upper section of the exhibit contains a fine collection of traditional fishing equipment, bilums (string bags), pottery, traditional ceremonial and casual dress and cooking utensils.
Traditional musical instruments and a variety of PNG’s renowned kundu and garamut drums are also on display.
Masterpiece Gallery
This gallery brings to you a unique selection of the museum’s most-important cultural objects in terms of religious significance and aesthetic excellence.
In this collection are tall posts from the Sepik which are used to decorate haus tambarans (spirit houses), ancestral boards from the Sepik and intricately-carved Malangan masks from New Ireland.
Papua New Guinea’s astonishing diversity and depth of spiritual expression is demonstrated here.
Michael Somare Gallery
This gallery is named in honour of Papua New Guinea’s first Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and displays temporary exhibits.
It was opened in 1986 with an exhibition of Independence and State gifts Sir Michael received over the years.
Life and Land Gallery
This exhibition records the lives of the early inhabitants of New Guinea who arrived up to 50,000 years ago.
Archeological excavations have revealed the early Highlanders were among the world’s first farmers.
Within this gallery is a colourful collection of preserved bird specimens including a variety of birds of paradise, while seashore to mountain diorama shows the variety of PNG vegetation and wildlife from the swampy mangroves to the cool of the Highlands.
Sir Allan Mann Gallery
This gallery is named in honour of the Museum’s first Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
The gallery makes the display of traveling and temporary exhibitions possible.
This gallery has displayed a variety of important exhibitions over many years.
Other Features
Right in the heart of the museum is an enclosure of live birds and animals including hornbills, parrots and ducks.
The museum bookshop is located at the front of the entrance.
The bookshop sells a variety of carvings, bilums and cards as well as books on Papua New Guinea, which are excellent gift ideas.
A pleasant shady courtyard/reception area is also available for hire at a reasonable rate.
Within the museum is a small multi-screen lecture room, normally used for educational activities and a theatre that can hold up to 250 people.
Science and Research Division
The Science and Research Division consists of Mordern History, J.K. McCarthy Museum, Anthropology, Prehistory, Natural History, Conservation and Contemporary Arts.
These are specialised scientific and research areas that carry out the main functions of the museum’s heritage and cultural collections.
Export Permits
Please be aware that an export permit is needed to take artifacts out of the country. The permit, as gazetted under the provision of the National Cultural Property (Preservation) Act, is issued at the National Museum. To obtain a permit, consult the museum and provide either the artifacts or a photograph for inspection. If the items are permitted exports, an export permit will be issued.
Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery
P.O. Box 5660
BOROKO
National Capital District, Papua New Guinea
Telephone: (675) 3252522
Facsimile: (675) - 3251779
Email: pngmuseum@datec.net.pg
NATIONAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE (Phone: +675 327 7400)
Built in the style of a Maprik Haus Tambaran (house of spirits), this impressive building was opened in 1984. It’s an interesting place whether Parliament is sitting or not. A small shop has books and displays of Papua New Guinea’s fantastic butterflies. Open 9am to noon and 1pm to 3pm.
NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDENS (Phone: +675 326 0229)
The National Botanic Gardens are situated within the vast campus of the University of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby.
André Millar established the gardens in 1971 on some 25 hectares of land and some of her ground breaking work is still evident, most prominently the large area of rainforest, a most unusual sight for normally dry and dusty Port Moresby. The gardens were initially established as a teaching garden for the UPNG Biology Department and also as a nursery to supply plants for the University grounds.
After Mrs. Millar's departure in the late 1970's the gardens experienced problems with management and funding and eventually declined from a beautiful garden to a desolate piece of bushland.
In 1993 the National Capital District Commission took over the assets of the gardens and established a major redevelopment program.
The National Capital Botanical Gardens has a huge collection of plants from all over Papua New Guinea as well as many plants from other parts of the world. These include many palm species, bamboos, heliconias, cordyline, pandanus, native trees and shrubs. Well known for its extensive collection of Papua New Guinea orchid species housed in large greenhouses the gardens have large orchid houses for orchid hybrids producing cut flowers for the own flower shop.
There are a number of animals on display, like tree climbing kangaroos, gouria pigeons (click thumbnail to see image of the chick born 14.07.2003), birds of paradise, cockatoos, lorikeets, parrots and many other birds. The gardens, in a world-class exhibit, are home to one of the largest snakes in captivity anywhere in the world, a 19 ft reticulated python from Malaysia.
Some years ago an orchid research centre was established. This includes a small herbarium and a fully equipped orchid tissue culture laboratory where annually thousands of orchid plants are produced form seed and tissue culture.
Near the main entrance to the gardens are the administration office, a small herbarium, a library and a tissue culture laboratory where species and hybrids are being propagated. There is also a flower shop and a tropical landscape nursery.
The garden collection of flora and fauna is the only place in the city that offers educational attractions and more in depth view and appreciation of PNG flora and fauna. It is a valuable resource in scientific and environmental education for school children. The gardens offer proper educational tour to school children and cover a variety of subjects that is relevant to the garden settings.
The general guided walk begin with the snake house, the palm collection, birds and animal collection, the mini rainforest, the timber tree collection, the vanilla collection, the orchid nursery and its collection and finally to the insect collection. The guided tour may takes up to two hour depending on the theme of visit. Each collection is interpreted and explained to the school children according to their understanding and their theme of the days visit.
The gardens educational visits helps develop in school children a responsible attitude towards the environment and help them learn and appreciate the remarkable beauty of PNG natural heritage as seen at the National Capital Botanical Garden collections. The National Capital Botanical Gardens is open to the public daily from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm.
Entry fee is K8.00 for adults and K2.00 for children.
Bomana War Cemetery, Port Moresby (Phone: +675 320 0211)
The Bomana War Cemetery, Port Moresby is one of the frequently visited tourist attractions in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. Established in the year 1942, the Bomana War Cemetery, Port Moresby is situated about 19 kilometers north of Port Moresby on the way to Nine Mile.
Soldiers who lost their lives fighting in Papua and Bougainville are buried in The Bomana War Cemetery, Port Moresby. They were initially buried in the burial grounds in the surrounding areas where the fight took place. The 438 anonymous soldiers of the United Kingdom forces were held in captivity by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore. These soldiers belonged to the Royal Artillery. After their death, they were buried on the Bailale Island in the Solomons. They were later re-buried temporarily in the war cemetery at Torokina on Bougainville Island. Finally, their graves were brought to their permanent resting place at the Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea by the Australian Army Graves Service.
The Bomana War Cemetery, Port Moresby is home to 3,819 Commonwealth burials of soldiers who fought in the Second World War. Among these, 702 are unidentified. Located behind the Bomana War Cemetery is the Port Moresby Memorial. This memorial commemorates soldiers who met with death in the operations in Papua. None of these soldiers have a known grave. This includes graves of about 750 soldiers of the Australian Army, the Australian Merchant Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. Soldiers who belonged to the Australian Army included local forces from Papua and New Guinea.
The graves at the Bomana War Cemetery are marked by white marble headstones. Further away from the graves there is a mound, from which rises the Cross of Sacrifice. The wrought iron gates of the Bomana War Cemetery, Port Moresby open on to a grass courtyard. This forecourt is surrounded by vibrant tropical shrubs and trees. Walking up a few steps from the courtyard you can reach the Stone of Remembrance. This richly grained pink freestone is a major attraction of the cemetery. The gates of the Bomana War Cemetery, Port Moresby close at 4 pm.
Varirata National Park
Phone: +675 325 0195)
Varirata National Park, Port Moresby is the first national park of the country and offers a host of attractions to the tourists. This park stretches about 1000 hectares. The climate in the area is humid with a dry season. The vegetation of the area includes Savannah woodland, Tropical rain forest, Grass land and Gallery forest. You can expect to see plenty of orchids, ferns, bamboos and lawyer canes. There are many exotic birds that you would find in this place. These include: bower birds, white cockatoos, birds of paradise and many more birds. This place is perfect to engage in bird watching with the many birds that stay here. The animals that are found here include spotted cuscus, bandicoots, deer, pythons and wild pigs. Besides these, there are many varieties of insects and butterflies in the park. You can surely expect to have a wonderful time in Varirata National Park, Port Moresby.
This is a mountain region which provides some great views over the city of Port Moresby. The view is awesome in the morning when the mist spreads over the ranges. There are picnic spots all over the park and there are good walking paths as well. The walking trails are clearly marked and it is easy for even an inexperienced person to walk the paths. The park also houses the “tree house” which is a structure preserved by the Koiari people. This was used during tribal warfare. It is a place of culture for the Koiaris
There is a camping site in the Varirata National Park, Port Moresby. You can stay here or in the small lodge in the park. You would also come across some beautiful shelters containing barbecues.
Moitaka Wildlife Sanctuary, Port Moresby
Moitaka Wildlife Sanctuary, Port Moresby is one of the major tourist attractions in Papua New Guinea. It is located in Port Moresby which is the capital city of New Guinea. Port Moresby is a sprawling city in the country and is fast developing into a major tourist spot. The interiors of the place are still unspoilt and are breathtakingly beautiful. You can walk through the rainforests, acquaint yourself with the amazing wildlife and also see many interesting sites in the city. You can expect to have a wonderful time in this city of New Guinea. Moitaka Wildlife Sanctuary, Port Moresby is one tourist spot that you must visit while you are on a tour to this wonderful land.
The city of Port Moresby is situated in the National Capital District. It is located at the southern edge of the country. During the time of the Second World War, this small town was transformed into a major military post. After the war ended, Port Moresby was the only town that was left in the country of New Guinea. It was then chosen to be the seat for governance by the Australian administration. This started the urbanization of the city. Over the years Port Moresby has transformed itself into a cosmopolitan city. The place however still retains its traditional character. This can be found in the villages of Port Moresby. The natives of the city celebrate festivals which showcase the rich culture of the place. Port Moresby is rich in vegetation and this has led to the establishment of many parks in the city.
Moitaka Wildlife Sanctuary, Port Moresby is an important landmark in Papua New Guinea. This park is located on Sir Herbert Murray Highway. It is just a few kilometers out of the main town. Moitaka Wildlife Sanctuary, Port Moresby houses some of the biggest crocodiles and it is a sight surely worth watching. There are a plethora of birds and animals as well in the park. This place also has a small zoo attached to it. There is also a research facility for the research on crocodiles in the Moitaka Wildlife Sanctuary, Port Moresby. The park has an information center. This place also has some recreational facilities. The sanctuary is opened to the public on Friday afternoons from 2-4 pm.
Sogeri Plateau, Port Moresby
The Sogeri Plateau, Port Moresby is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. The capital city of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby is a natural harbor nestled in the southeast part of the country. Home to a number of places of interest, Port Moresby is the main entry and exit point of Papua New Guinea. Situated 46 kilometers northeast of the city is the Sogeri Plateau, Port Moresby.
The well-known Kokoda Trail commences from the Sogeri Plateau, Port Moresby. The Kokoda Trail was the centre where the war between the Japanese and Allied Troops took place. The trail is marked by slippery slopes and jagged mountains surrounded by forests.
The Sogeri Plateau in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea is located near the Varirata National Park. Sprawling over an area of 1,000 hectares, this national park originally belonged to tree-house dwelling landowners. The park was their hunting grounds. If you go on the Kokoda Trail, you will come across a variety of birds, wallabies and deer at certain times of the day. You can enjoy a bird’s eye view of Port Moresby and the coastline at the end of the trail.
The Sogeri Plateau, Port Moresby lies 600 meters inland. In comparison to Moresby, this area is much cooler and more beautiful. A small market becomes operational here every Sunday, where fruit and vegetables are sold.
Reaching the Sogeri Plateau, Port Moresby is free of any hassle. The Sogeri Road separates from the Sir Hubert Murray Highway near the airport. Thereafter, the road follows the Laloki River. It climbs atop the ravine, from where you can enjoy captivating views of the stunning Rouna Falls. Crossing the waterfalls you can reach the Varirata National Park by walking to the right of the road that follows the waterfalls. Turning left from here you will find the towering Kokoda monument. This road, which goes to Owers Corner, marks the beginning of the Kokoda Trail. If you take the next road on your right, you will reach Crystal Rapids and the Sirinumu Dam. Walking straight you can reach the Sogeri Plateau.