Garaina station to be revived after decades of neglect

After a vibrant 50th Independence Day celebration in Wau town, the Wau Waria MP, Marsh Narewec and his District Administrator, John Orebut visited Garaina Station next day, September 17th, with the promise of fulfilling development.

Garaina is a historic colonial station that's been left unattended to, since Papua New Guinea’s Independence in 1975, and has remained inaccessible by road until now. Under the leadership of the new district’s first MP with his District Administrator in the engine room, the Morobe-Northern Highway pilot track officially reached Garaina on September 14th, two days before Independence Day on the 16th, breaking what seems like a 50 year isolation.

The two were warmly welcomed by the people of Garaina, and were also met with a parade led by members of the PNG Defence Force, who had driven along the newly cleared road all the way from Igam Barracks in Lae to be part of this historic moment.

Before addressing the people, the District Administrator, John Orebut informed the community of the recent passing of the late Morobe Governor, Luther Akisawa Wenge, and had the PNG flag lowered half-mast in his honor.

Orebut, who had once served as a kiap for almost a decade at the Garaina station, emotionally spoke about how returning as the new district’s administrator is a personal milestone for him.

“I served for almost 10 years here, and your dream as well as mine was to have road access connecting Garaina with the rest of the province. Playing my part and seeing that dream come true, I can now resign and take my leave knowing the future of Garaina is in the good MP's hands,” Orebut said.

Speaking to the people, the local MP, Marsh Narewec announced more exciting plans, one of which is to relocate the district office from Wau town to Garaina station. He also revealed, that the district intends to rehabilitate the historic tea plantation, to boost its economy and revive the essential services that have fallen over the years.

“This road opens new doors. Moving the district headquarters here will bring the government closer to you, and we will also proceed to rehabilitate this histotic tea plantation that the Queen of England once tasted,” Narewec said.

When the Morobe-Northern Highway pilot track runs through the Asama and eventually to the Kira village areas, it will then cross over into Oro Province, opening part of this new chapter of connectivity for what will be the Northern Economic Corridor.