Links with History
With Input from PP John Mackey
Several recent incidents have drawn the attention of our Club to Papua New Guinea. This in turn has prompted reflection on some past links with interesting results. Let me explain.
A few weeks ago our planned Speaker was unable to come and President John asked me to do an impromtu talk on a recent visit to PNG. A part of that was about a new village clinic being built in Simbimali, a village three to four hours drive from Mt Hagen.
Following this talk, PP Tony Bramley made a comment to me about a Club project to build a road in PNG around 1970. We agreed that it would be good to check the old records.
The next link in the chain came during the District Govenor's visit to our Club. DG David Anderson told us, among other things, about the "Partner" project for this year which relates to the Goroka Hospital and focuses on Child and Maternal Health.
From the District Website "Opened in 1969, the Goroka General Hospital originally served a population of the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea of perhaps 50,000. Goroka, built around an airstrip, was just a country town. Now the hospital is expected to serve a provincial population of 450,000 and the town population has grown accordingly."
The reference to the new hospital in 1969 reminded me, and I commented, of the fact that Betty and I have a son, Kerry, who was born in the old Goroka hospital in 1967!
With all of this seeming to link together, PP John Mackey went digging in the history box and came up with a copy of the Weekly Bulletin for the Rotary Club of Greensborough dated 1st October 1969. The Bulletin included this article:
I have gone for a few pics that relate to parts of the 1969 report.
Labour force 1967 Road Bridge circa 1968
Ling Family leave for Australia Dec 1969 Mount Hagen 2006