Tribe acknowledges WWII trap-setter

A HUGE gathering ended a month-long celebrations over the weekend to recognise Kupo Willie as a dynamic leader from Kamaneku tribe, Simbu province, and a trap-setter in the height of World War Two.
The party was held  Kupau,Mr Willie’s village, in Kundiawa-Gembogl district in Simbu, with the slaughtering of 72 pigs and two cows, and making available more than 200 cartons of beer and a presentation of K20,000 in cash contributions.
Kamaneku tribesmen performed colourful traditional singsings to add flavour to the event last Friday.
The celebrations concluded last Sunday with sharing of pork and beef. 
One of Mr Willie’s three sons, Willie, who is the external affairs manager with Oil Search (PNG) Limited, headed the celebrations.
Mr Willie is believed to be in his late 80s. During his peak age, he served in the last platoon of the Australian defence force during World War Two, setting traps at night and dismantling them in the morning.
He set the traps at the entrance of an underground tunnel in Bena, Eastern Highlands province, where
Australian soldiers used to hide from the Japanese.
Mr Willie then served in various capacities with different organisations, and is currently a member of the coffee rehabilitation programme in Simbu under the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC), and chairman of Law Reform Committee for his Kamaneku tribe.
The occasion had attracted contributions and overwhelming support from many around the country including Kundiawa-Gembogl MP Joe Mek Teine, former MP Wagi Merimba; PNG Law Society president Kerenga Kua, Kundiawa town Mayor Teine Sogan and managing director of Mt Wilhelm Hotel, Herman Tambagle.