Dorom village lies on the foothills of the Great Owen Stanley Range, with a population of 2000 people.
It is part of the inland Rigo district of Central province that has no access to electricity or road links into Port Moresby, but its people are proud to have produced the first Papua New Guinea female judge, who turned out to be one of the best.
Chris Magio is a cousin of the late Justice Catherine Anne Davani. He spoke very highly of his sister at her funeral yesterday.
“She was our first university graduate and following her, we produced many elites,” the proud Dorom man said.
“On behalf of the Dorom people, I’d like to convey our thanks to the government and the office of the Attorney General for recognising our sister some years back and appointing her to the bench as a judge of the National and Supreme Court.
“And of course, giving us the Dorom people a moment in history for producing the first Papua New Guinean female judge,” Magio added.
The daughter of a police officer, Justice Davani moved around a lot as a child to where her father was posted.
Born in Wau, Morobe province, on June 3, 1960, to John and Jacinta Kodana, Justice Davani moved to Lae and Rabaul before moving to Port Moresby.
Her sister, Lucia Kodana, said she was special. “We would cheer her on in sports as a child and our parents thought she was special.
“We will miss Cathy. We lost a mother and we still had Cathy. Be at peace CD.
“We have your back, don’t worry about JD and the boys, we know your are with mum and dad,” Lucia said.