Back Roads on ABC TV – Guest presenter and Papua New Guinea national, Tania Bale, takes us on the first Back Roads to leave Australian shores.
Just a three-hour flight from Cairns, Rabaul was once the capital of the Australian Territory of New Guinea. It was known as the ‘Pearl of the Pacific’ for its spectacular deep-water harbour and natural beauty.
Incredibly, this community has survived not only a hostile invasion and daily bombings but also being buried by volcanic eruptions…twice.
Tania explores why some locals or ‘leftovers’ as they call themselves, keep returning and rebuilding despite everything that’s been thrown at them.
She’s welcomed by the quintessential ‘sound of PNG’ – performed by world renowned singer-songwriter, Sir George Mamua Telek, and his Moab Stringband. ‘Telek’ is a Tolai, one of two groups, indigenous to Rabaul. Later, Tania enjoys a mouthwatering feast of Aigir, a traditional Tolai method of cooking using hot stones wrapped up in the food itself.
In the nearby mountains, Tania has an unforgettable encounter with Rabaul’s other original inhabitants, the Baining, celebrated for their breathtaking fire dances.
While Back Roads was filming in Rabaul in April this year, an 81-year-old World War Two mystery made international news, with the discovery of the Montevideo Maru in the South China Sea. The ship was torpedoed and sunk by an American submarine in June 1942.
This made for an incredibly moving ANZAC Day service in Rabaul as many locals had personal connections with those lost at sea. The sinking of the Montevideo Maru is still regarded as the worst maritime disaster in Australia’s history.
Production credit: Story Producer: Gerri Williams.
Back Roads – Monday 21 August, 2023 at 8.00pm on ABC and ABC iview (episode 16) (Season Final)
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