Wabag is the capital of
Enga Province,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. It is the least populous provincial capital in the country. It is on the Lai River; the
Highlands Highway passes through the town, between
Mount Hagen
Mount Hagen ( tpi, Maun Hagen) is the third largest city in Papua New Guinea, with a population of 46,250. It is the capital of the Western Highlands Province and is located in the large fertile Wahgi Valley in central mainland Papua New Guinea, ...
and
Porgera. Europeans first visited the site in 1938-39 A radio camp and airstrip were established in 1938-39 but restrictions on transportation and the surrounding land's infertility long inhibited Wabag's development.
It is administered under
Wabag Urban LLG.
History
A regional outpost of the Western Highlands District under the Australian Administration of Papua and New Guinea, shortly before Independence in 1975 much of the Enga-speaking region of the Western Highlands was separated into a discrete District and then, at Independence, Province with Wabag as the Provincial Headquarters.
Wabag today
There is a dense rural population and coffee and pyrethrum are widely grown in food gardens as cash crops though depredations during tribal fights and difficulties in marketing have inhibited the development of a significant commercial agriculture sector and in any case it is Mount Hagen, not Wabag, that is the commercial metropole. Law and order problems, considerable violent crime and chronic house break-ins have continued to compromise the amenity of town life.
[E.A. Markham. ''A Papua New Guinea Sojourn''. Manchester: Carcanet Press Ltd, 1998.] A fine public library established by the Australian administration immediately before Independence in 1975 is long since dispersed, book pages being desirable for rolling cigarettes and reading books not having taken hold. The Enga Provincial Government buildings have been burned to the ground more than once.
The original airstrip is closed but
Air Niugini run regular flights to Port Moresby from
Wapenamanda Airport
Wapenamanda Airport is an airport in Wapenamanda, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen S ...
about 40 minutes away by road.
Climate
Under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
Wabag has a
subtropical highland climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
(''Cfb''). Temperatures are very consistent year round, with warm days and cool nights. Precipitation is very heavy year round in the form of rain, with June and July being the driest months.
See also
*
Wabag Urban LLG
*
Wabag Rural LLG
Further reading
E.A. Markham. ''A Papua New Guinea Sojourn''. Manchester: Carcanet Press Ltd, 1998. E.A. Markham was a media co-ordinator in Wabag in 1983-85 working as a
VSO volunteer.
Notes
{{Use dmy dates, date=February 2019
Populated places in Enga Province
Provincial capitals in Papua New Guinea