Enga Province - History

History

Although little archaeological excavation has been done in Enga, it is clear that the area has been settled for over 12,000 years. Europeans—typically Australian gold prospectors—originally entered what is now Enga province from the east in the late 1920s, although the best-known exploration of Enga took place during the early 1930s when Mick Leahy and a party of men travelled from what later became Mount Hagen to the site of the future Wabag and then south through the Ambum Valley to what later became East Sepik.

By World War II Enga had been very roughly mapped by the government; Lutheran and Roman Catholic missionaries were permitted to establish stations beginning in 1949 but a permanent government presence was not established in most of the district until the late 1950s.

Enga was part of Western Highlands District until just before Papua New Guinea independence in 1975, when most of the Enga-speaking part of the District (with the notable exclusion of the Baiyer River region which is inaccessible by road other than from Mount Hagen) was separated into a discrete District. Eminent international poet and writer E. A. Markham worked and lived in Wabag as a VSO volunteer in 1983-84.

The provincial government has a history of corruption and lack of capacity, and is unique in Papua New Guinea for having had its power suspended three times by the national government due to concerns over its accountability.

Nationally eminent Engans have included Sir Tei Abal, Sam Abal, Don Polye, Sir Pato Kakaraya and many others.