Port Moresby

• 1. Introduction

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  Port Moresby sits on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the south-western coast of the Papuan Peninsula, and by any measure it is one of the most consequential cities in the southwestern Pacific. In February 1873, the crew of HMS Basilisk arrived to survey the southern shore of New Guinea. Their captain, John Moresby, looked out at a natural harbour framed by hills and named it after his father. That naming was a British habit: charting the unknown by leaving family behind in the place names. But the place itself was not unknown. The Motu and Koita peoples had lived there for centuries, organised into units called iduhu, clans bound by blood and custom. The story of Port Moresby is the story of what happens when those two worlds collide: the world of European ambition and the world of a people already at home.

  Who were the original inhabitants, and what did the arrival of outsiders set in motion? How did a small anchorage off Paga Hill become the capital of a modern nation state? And what does Port Moresby look like today, caught between rapid growth and a reputation for violent crime that unsettles even the world leaders who have visited for summits?

• 2. Motu, Koita, and First Contact

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  Hanuabada was the largest settlement when Europeans arrived, comprising five villages populated by Motu and Koita people. The Motu were coastal dwellers by tradition; the Koita came from the hills inland. Over generations, significant intermarriage had taken place between these two groups. The iduhu, their clan-like social units, structured everything from land rights to community obligation.

  Europeans who surveyed the area in 1873 estimated the local population at around two thousand people. Within months of Captain Moresby's arrival and naming of the harbour, the London Missionary Society moved in. In November 1873, four Polynesian teachers were sent to Port Moresby by the Society's representatives. They were joined in November 1874 by the Reverend William George Lawes, who built a mission house at Metoreia, opposite Elevala Island. The missionaries saw Port Moresby's status as a trading centre visited by distant tribes as an opportunity to extend their reach deeper into New Guinea.

  Then, in September 1877, a Pacific Islander working for the naturalist Andrew Goldie found signs of gold at the junction of the Laloki and Goldie Rivers, within walking distance of town. Entrepreneur William Bairstow Ingham set off from Cooktown in January 1878 to establish a store. Around a hundred miners arrived from April onward. Most had left by the end of the year, defeated by disease and the absence of significant gold. The gold rush that never happened was Port Moresby's first brush with outside speculation, and it would not be the last.

• 3. Flags and Proclamations

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  In March 1883, Queensland Premier Sir Thomas McIlwraith heard a rumour that the German ship SMS Carola was heading for the South Seas with intent to annex territory. He acted without waiting for confirmation. On the 20th of March, he ordered Henry Chester, the police magistrate at Thursday Island, to sail for New Guinea and claim it in the Queen's name, excepting only Dutch-held portions. On the 4th of April, the Union Jack was raised at Port Moresby. Chester read his proclamation in front of thirteen Europeans and about two hundred Papuans.

  London rejected the annexation. The imperial authorities expected the Australian colonies to share the costs jointly. In May 1884, the Earl of Derby asked the colonies to contribute fifteen thousand pounds annually for New Guinea's administration, which they agreed to do. Later that year, the protectorate was proclaimed twice: Deputy Commissioner Hugh Romilly made a short statement at Port Moresby on the 23rd of October, unaware that Commodore James Erskine was already on his way. Erskine held his own grand ceremony on the 6th of November and left Romilly in charge.

  Special Commissioner Peter Scratchley arrived in August 1885 and chose Port Moresby as the colonial capital. In September, a plot of land south of Hanuabada was purchased for the government bungalow. Twenty-eight local people were each paid a tomahawk, a handkerchief and half a pound of tobacco. Surveyor Walter Cuthbertson laid out a gridiron plan in 1886 for two new townships, Granville West and Granville East. Despite those official names, locals went on calling everything Port Moresby. Special Commissioner John Douglas observed in 1887 that Granville West had taken on the appearance of a small township, with a completed store belonging to a Mr. Goldie alongside government buildings including a customs house and post office.

• 4. A City Under Fire

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  During World War II, Port Moresby became a prize that Japan's Imperial forces pursued with urgency. In 1942-43, the city was a prime objective for conquest: capturing it would give Japan a staging point and air base to sever Australia's connections to Southeast Asia and the Americas. Many Papuan residents left the city entirely when invasion seemed imminent, returning to family villages or moving to evacuation camps.

  Some Papuan men made a different choice. They enlisted in the Papua Infantry Battalion. Others served as carriers on trails and rough terrain, supplying both Allied and Japanese armies during long jungle marches. Historian William Manchester, in his biography of General Douglas MacArthur titled American Caesar, wrote that acting as porters ranked well down the list of activities the local men were eager to volunteer for, and that they required significant inducements.

  By September 1942, Port Moresby had become a major Allied base complex, with thousands of troops stationed in the area or moving through it. It was the last Allied foothold on the island. General MacArthur located his headquarters in Port Moresby from November 1942 through October 1944, directing the campaign that gradually reversed Japanese advances. When the war ended, the Territory of Papua and New Guinea was formed in 1945, merging Papua with former German New Guinea, which Australia had administered since 1918. Port Moresby became the capital of the new combined territory and a focal point for the expansion of public services.

• 5. From Colony to Capital

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  Papua New Guinea became an independent country in September 1975, with Port Moresby as its capital. Prince Charles, representing the Queen of Papua New Guinea, attended the independence celebrations. New government, cultural, and intellectual buildings rose in the suburb of Waigani to supplement those of the older downtown area. Among them was a National Parliament Building, opened in 1984 by Prince Charles, designed to blend traditional design with modern building technology.

  The country's first prime minister declared the mansion originally built for the head of government not grand enough for his needs. It became the residence of Australian high commissioners instead, and a more suitable mansion was built in Waigani to meet his demands. The Papua New Guinea National Museum and the National Library both ended up in Waigani as well.

  Population growth after independence was swift. A census in 1980 counted 120,000 people in the Port Moresby area. By 1990, that figure had reached 195,000. The 2024 census recorded 756,754 inhabitants. The Motu Koita Assembly, established by an act of parliament, represents the traditional landowners across ten recognised villages. Its chair also holds the position of Deputy Governor of the National Capital District, a structural acknowledgment that Port Moresby was built on ground that belonged to others long before the Union Jack was raised.

• 6. Crime, Climate, and Daily Life

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  Al Jazeera has described Port Moresby as one of the most dangerous cities in the world. ABC Australia has noted that many homes have large fences covered in metal sheeting, locked gates and internal steel security doors. Travel on foot in and around the city and its suburbs is not recommended because of a continuing breakdown in law and order. The UN Global Compact Cities Programme assessed the urban security of Port Moresby as critical.

  Security concerns shaped Port Moresby's moment on the world stage when it hosted the APEC summit in November 2018. World leaders arrived in a city that had spent years preparing for the event and years struggling with street crime simultaneously.

  In terms of climate, Port Moresby is the driest place in New Guinea, with an average yearly rainfall of 898.8 mm. The city has a tropical savanna climate, with temperatures remaining relatively constant and average highs ranging from 28 to 32 degrees Celsius across the year. The wet season runs from December through May; the dry season covers the other six months. The south-easterly trade winds run parallel to the coast, and the surrounding high mountains block rainfall that would otherwise reach the city.

  The suburb of Boroko was once the commercial heart of Port Moresby and is now described as idle, with many former shopping buildings sitting empty. The village of Hanuabada has been recognised as a safe haven for LGBT people in Papua New Guinea, an unusual distinction in a country where attitudes toward sexual minorities are often hostile. The suburb of Koki is known for its popular fresh produce market, and Waigani holds the country's parliament, museum, and library.

• 7. Sport and the Pacific Stage

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  Port Moresby hosted the third South Pacific Games in August 1969, attracting 1,150 athletes over ten days. The venue built for that event, Hubert Murray Stadium, was developed on reclaimed land at Konedobu that had previously been shoreline mangroves. It was named after Sir Hubert Murray, a former lieutenant governor of the territory.

  The 1991 South Pacific Games, held from the 7th to the 21st of September, broke new ground by splitting events between Port Moresby and Lae, marking the first time a single Pacific Games had been hosted across two cities. The arrangement was intended to allow both locations to benefit from new facilities.

  The 2015 Pacific Games represented the largest investment in sports infrastructure Port Moresby had seen. Port Moresby was elected as host at a Pacific Games Council meeting in September 2009, winning the final vote 25-22 over Tonga. The games ran from the 4th to the 18th of July 2015 and involved 24 countries competing in 28 sports. Papua New Guinea ranked first in total medals, ahead of New Caledonia and Tahiti. Sir John Guise Stadium, the premier sports venue with a capacity of 15,000, was completely rebuilt that year. Lloyd Robson Oval, renamed the National Football Stadium, was also fully redeveloped in 2015 and has been home to the Papua New Guinea national rugby league team since 1975. Cricket PNG, whose headquarters are in Port Moresby, has been a member of the International Cricket Council since 1973.