The main attraction

Spent the afternoon over at the large village on the "mainland". The boat-ride over was a bit challenging, getting out through the breakers on the reef. We handed out the last four pairs of shoes to great excitement. As we later approached the football pitch and school, Clem said we'd be the main attraction for the day. A few hundred pairs of eyes fixed on me as I attempted to stroll nonchalantly by. The local MP, just called "member" by everyone, joined us.

We saw one goal scored in two games, then the third game (involving Tunung) ended after two minutes when the ball exploded. It had taken 15 minutes to procure the ball from the reluctant owner from the previous game: his worst fears realised.

I spoke to John Martin, the headmaster of the adjoining school. The school's satellite dish and TV were solar-powered but the solar panels were stolen by local crooks. Everyone knows where they are but can't get the panels back. Martin said the only way was to make everyone feel involved and to make the school and its equipment part of the community. They're now using it to show NRL games for a fee for each viewer: this pays for fuel to run generator for TV classes.

I asked him about logging and he didn't sound at all enthusiastic. Tourism? Yes, and it shouldn't hurt the environment. It's in its infancy. Clem seems to believe the tourism cargo-cult idea but has sensible and reasonable expectations. Michael Moran (author of Beyond the Coral Sea) wrote about this on New Ireland: "soon tourists will come in droves and give us everything we want/need". I don't think that's what anyone thinks here: there's no fever just yet. I guess anything like that falls in a heap if the government doesn't provide any rudimentary infrastructure.

If someone decided to donate some footballs and some school supplies, they could have a huge impact here.

Martin talked about putting up a security fence around the school for K65,000. It seems ridiculous but how else would they stop the thieves. It would ruin the place.

There are no police in this part of the world at all. There's also not much in the way of government. There's a clinic on the Catholic island next to Tunung (Kung). Clem is Seventh-Day Adventist, but was previously Catholic. The Adventists don't drink, smoke or chew betel nut - this is what appealed to him. He was thrown out of school in Moresby and here too when he returned. He had told me his parents couldn't afford to support his schooling any further! Sophie gave me the other story!

Dinner last night was kasava and fish (tuna), cooked mumu-style.

Rontu

Clem's family dog is called Rontu and is quite a local personality. I walked around the island with Robin (Clem and Sophie's first son) and Bryan (their second son/third child) and friend David. Donna is their daughter. Rontu came with us but ended up being chased home by no fewer than five other dogs.

Lachlan and Kirsty had given me an old suitcase full of shoes to bring to New Hanover, because they weren't able to make it themselves. They've pretty much all gone now - there are just a handful of small ones left.

It rained very, very heavily last night and is completely overcast today.

Apparently there's a stone ark on a mountain-top on New Hanover: no wonder they've made Christianity their own. Some people here say that Jesus came from New Hanover.