Port Moresby

Lore & Background

The place where Port Moresby was founded has been inhabited by the Motu-Koitabu people for centuries. The first Briton to see it was Royal Navy Captain John Moresby in 1873, who named the harbour in honour of his father, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Fairfax Moresby. Europeans estimated the local population at around 2000, with the largest settlement being Hanuabada, consisting of five villages populated by Motu and Koita people. In November 1873, four Polynesian teachers were sent by the London Missionary Society, joined in 1874 by Reverend William George Lawes, who built a mission house. The area became an important centre of trade, visited by distant tribes.

In 1883, Henry Chester raised the Union Jack at Port Moresby, proclaiming annexation, though this was rejected by imperial authorities. A protectorate was proclaimed in October 1884, and Special Commissioner Peter Scratchley chose the site as the colonial capital in 1885. The administration purchased land south of Hanuabada, paying locals a tomahawk, a handkerchief, and half a pound of tobacco each. The settlement grew slowly under Australian rule after the Papua Act of 1906, with electricity introduced in 1925 and piped water in 1941.

During World War II, Port Moresby became an important Allied complex of bases, with General Douglas MacArthur locating his headquarters there from November 1942 to October 1944. After the war, the Territory of Papua and New Guinea was formed, with Port Moresby as its capital. The city was granted city status in 1972, and in September 1975, Papua New Guinea became independent with Port Moresby as its capital. New government buildings, including the National Parliament Building opened in 1984, were constructed in the suburb of Waigani.

Reader's Guide

Port Moresby's significance lies in its role as the capital and primate city of Papua New Guinea, dominating the country's political, economic, and cultural life. Its strategic location on the Coral Sea made it a key objective during World War II, as Imperial Japanese forces sought to use it as a staging point to cut off Australia from Southeast Asia and the Americas. The city's defence and subsequent use as a base for Allied offensives marked a turning point in the Pacific campaign. As the seat of government, Port Moresby hosted the APEC summit in November 2018, though security concerns were noted due to its reputation for violent crime. The city's growth from a small trade centre in the 19th century to a modern capital reflects the broader history of colonialism, war, and independence in Papua New Guinea. The traditional landowners, the Motu and Koitabu people, are represented by the Motu Koita Assembly, and the city's urban development has been shaped by policies of segregation that lasted until the early 1960s. Port Moresby remains a focal point for national identity and international engagement, despite challenges related to infrastructure and safety.

Did You Know?

• Port Moresby was named after Admiral of the Fleet Sir Fairfax Moresby by his son, Captain John Moresby, who first saw the harbour in 1873.
• The city's population grew from 364,145 in the 2011 census to 756,754 in the 2024 census.
• During World War II, General Douglas MacArthur located his headquarters in Port Moresby from November 1942 to October 1944.

Indigenous Roots & European Discovery

Port Moresby's story begins long before any European set foot on its shores. The Motu-Koitabu people had inhabited the area for centuries, with the Motu as coastal dwellers and the Koita arriving from the inland hills. The two groups intermarried and organized themselves into units called iduhu, loosely resembling clans. The largest settlement at the time of first European contact was Hanuabada, comprising five villages with an estimated population of around two thousand. In February 1873, the crew of HMS Basilisk surveyed the southern shore of New Guinea, and Captain John Moresby charted the anchorage off Paga Hill, naming it in honour of his father, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Fairfax Moresby. By November of that same year, four Polynesian teachers arrived under the London Missionary Society, followed by Reverend William George Lawes in 1874, who built a mission house at Metoreia. The settlement's role as a trade hub, visited by distant tribes from across New Guinea, made it attractive to missionaries hoping to reach wider populations.

Colonial Ambitions & the Birth of a Capital

The path to formal colonial rule was anything but smooth. In March 1883, Queensland Premier Thomas McIlwraith, hearing that a German vessel might annex the territory, dispatched police magistrate Henry Chester to raise the Union Jack. On 4 April 1884, Chester read his proclamation before thirteen Europeans and roughly two hundred Papuans. Imperial authorities initially rejected the move, expecting the Australian colonies to share administrative costs, but by October 1884 the British government agreed to a protectorate. Two officials—Deputy Commissioner Hugh Romilly and Commodore James Erskine—both proclaimed the protectorate at Port Moresby within weeks of each other, a diplomatic embarrassment. Special Commissioner Peter Scratchley arrived in August 1885 and selected the site as the colonial capital. Twenty-eight locals were compensated with a tomahawk, a handkerchief, and half a pound of tobacco for the government bungalow land. Surveyor Walter Cuthbertson then laid out a gridiron plan for Granville West and Granville East, though the settlement retained the name Port Moresby. A two-mile fence segregated government land from indigenous areas, a policy that persisted into the early 1960s.

A Harbour at the Centre of War

During the Second World War, Port Moresby became a prime objective for Imperial Japanese forces between 1942 and 1943. The city was targeted as a staging point and air base whose capture would allow Japan to cut off Australia from Southeast Asia and the Americas. The strategic logic was straightforward: controlling this harbour on the Coral Sea, on the south-western coast of the Papuan Peninsula, would give Japan a forward base to sever Australia's connections to its allies. The harbour, first charted by Captain John Moresby in 1873, provided the anchorage that made the location valuable to naval and air operations. The threat to Port Moresby underscored how a settlement that had only about twenty residential buildings as late as 1897 had, by the 1940s, grown into a strategically vital node in the broader Pacific theatre. The city's role in that conflict cemented its place in the collective memory of the region's wartime history, reminding us how closely the fate of an entire continent hung on a single Pacific harbour.

Primate City & the Weight of Modernity

Port Moresby functions as what geographers call a primate city—its population and influence dwarf those of any other settlement in Papua New Guinea. The 2011 census recorded 364,145 residents, a figure that more than doubled to 756,754 by the 2024 census, reflecting rapid urbanization. Despite being surrounded by Central Province, the city is not part of it; instead, it constitutes the National Capital District, a separate administrative entity. The traditional landowners, the Motu and Koitabu people, maintain a voice through the Motu Koita Assembly. The city's international profile was elevated in November 2018 when it hosted the APEC summit, drawing world leaders to its shores. Yet that same event highlighted a persistent tension: the capital's reputation for violent crime raised significant security concerns among delegates. As one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific outside Australia and New Zealand—sharing that distinction with Jayapura—Port Moresby carries outsized expectations for a city still grappling with the legacies of colonial planning and rapid demographic change.

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