Stanley Gene - Stanley Gene's Age

Stanley Gene's Age

Stanley Gene's age has always been a mystery. According to villagers he was born during a full moon several months after a successful kau kau (sweet potato) crop harvest in Goroka, but just before a plague of taro beetle decimated almost all of the region's taro crop. However, what this equates to in the Gregorian calendar has always been debated among scientists and tribal elders. Scientists from PNG’s National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) have attempted to trace back the various taro beetle plagues that have hit the Goroka region over the past sixty years to more accurately calculate Gene's age, but the results to date have proven inconclusive or possibly even contradictory to initial village reports . Although no record of taro beetle destruction could be found before 1984, scientists and researchers were able to conclude that taro leaf blight caused by Phytophthora colocasiae struck regions near Goroka in 1958, 1962 and 1970 . With this, it is possible that the taro crop decimation stated by villagers was actually caused by this disease and not the taro beetle as originally believed. If this is true then it is highly probable that Gene was born in either 1962 or 1970, making him either 46 or 38 years old as at 2008. Following the 2008 Rugby League World Cup the PNG National Parliament instructed the National Agricultural Research Institute and the Department of Family and Church Affairs to continue research into Gene's age as a matter of national importance.

Outside of this officially sanctioned government research, it is generally accepted that Gene was born after the end of World War II, with most estimations stating he is between 32 and 58 years old . Gene himself states that he is 34 but has been unable to provide a birth certificate or any other proof of his date of birth. The latest says rumour from Brian Loughnore that Gene is actually 42 .