The late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare and I went to school together at Dregerhafen, Finschhafen.
From Dreger, Somare and some of his peers went to Sogeri to train as teachers while some of us continued.
Later we met up again in 1965 at the administrative college at the then Six-Mile Annex, which is now called Waigani.
When we were talking about getting independence, Somare and I based the discussion on an incident that happened to us when I was a patrol officer at Yangoru, East Sepik.
There was no road at that time at Yangoru. So when I heard that a new road was constructed, I excitedly travelled on a motorbike all the way to Passam and on to Wewak.
Somare invited me to his home at “Mangoro Compound” and we were drinking a few beers there when police officers opened the gate and entered. They asked us if we had any torch.
I thought they were Somare’s friends whilst he thought they were mine.
We both looked at each other while the officer got a torch from us and went looking around the house.
When he returned, Somare asked him: “Who are you?” To which the individual identified himself as a police officer.
“Get out!” Somare said. “This is 1964 Papua New Guinea, i no blo opim ol banis nabaut. Go!”
He said: “Mi kisim oda.” (I was given orders.) To which the late grand chief said: “Kisim oda blo yu na go.” (Take your orders and go.)
In a few moments, a Papua New Guinean sergeant in a sulu came, asking who had chased his officers.
We told him, we didn’t. But we told them and now we are telling you that this is not 1954 when our fathers and yours used to live.
He repeated that they were acting on orders. We told him: “Kisim oda blo yu na go bek.” (Take your orders and go back.)
Not long, an Australian man on a motorbike arrived. We were sitting with one of our brothers who was with public works, so we told him to go and hide.
Somare and I were sitting when he approached and asked Somare, where do you work?
Somare responding by saying: “I work at Radio Wewat!” He intentionally mispronounced Wewak. I told him: “Somare, isi liklik ya.”
When he asked me, I told him that I was a kiap from Yangoru.
They then reported to the district office that an officer from Yangoru was misbehaving at Wewak.
Waitman? Ol tok nogat, blekman. Husat, Jerry Nalau? Ok we’ll call him up and find out how he got there.
The next morning, I ended up at the district commission office and they asked me how I came.
I told them some officers told me it was possible to travel on a motorbike to Wewak and back. That was why I came all the way here and bumped into my brother Somare.
They told me to tell Somare that we will go to the police station to solve the issue but Somare said I’m busy, I’ll talk to you on the telephone. They said no, you come over.
Somare bikhet nau, ol trensferim em go lo Mosbi. Na mi bikhet, ol salim mi kam daun lo Angoram, lo hap blo Somare.
At the Administrative College, whilst doing a post-mortem of Australia’s treatment towards us, we retold the story of Mangoro Compound. We said through independence, they will recognise us and stop treating us as if we’re still in the 1950s.
So when Somare was elected to the House of Assembly, he pushed for independence while we backed him.
- Sir Jerry Nalau, Former Morobe Premier