Residents give 100 cheers to Rabaul

RABAUL town came alive over the weekend when it celebrated its 100th birthday.
In 1910, the town became the capital of German New Guinea and, 100 years on, the Rabaul Historical Society invited business houses and residents in Rabaul to celebrate this occasion with a centennial weekend of events.
Early on Saturday, a special traditional Tolai Kinavai, which was a performance by tumbuans, started at Matupit Island and on to the Rabaul town foreshore.
This was then followed by a centennial float parade of more than 50 floats along the Malaguna Road that saw the participation of most business houses in East New Britain with sporting events taking place at Maltech High School.
In the evening, a history presentation of Rabaul was given at the Rabaul hotel.
On Sunday, a canoe race around the “Two stone-Beehives” at the Simpson Harbour attracted many to take part.
The winner took home K1,000, K500 for runner-up and the second runner-up took home K300.
On Sunday, residents observed the twin volcanic eruptions 16 years ago.
Rabaul MP Dr Allan Marat said since Sept 19, 1994, the national government had injected a lot of money into the rehabilitation of the town and province.
However, three reports on the restoration of Rabaul, done by foreign donors, showed that very little rehabilitative work was done to Rabaul because relief funds were diverted for projects in other districts.
Marat said this was due to belief being that given the uncertain nature of volcanic eruptions, there was no point in spending money on restoring the town that might be destroyed again by another eruption.
He said newer issues had risen stemming from the twin volcanic disaster such as space in the resettlement areas and the provincial and district administrations were capably handling these issues.
“At the moment, the national government still has to release an outstanding amount of K5.2 million and with some maturity and civility in the national leadership, this outstanding amount should be released for further development of Rabaul district which is a special case.”
Marat urged the people of Rabaul not to rely too much on the national government but to dig deeper into their individual pockets and exploit them for the betterment of their families.