Simbu, also known as
Chimbu, is a
Highlands Region-Subdivision:The Region is administratively divided into five provinces:* Southern Highlands* Enga Province* Western Highlands* Simbu* Eastern Highlands-See also:* Provinces of Papua New Guinea...
province in
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. The province has an area of 6,100 km² and a population of 259,703 (2000 census). The capital of the province is
KundiawaKundiawa is the capital of Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea, with a population of 8,147 . It lies along the Highlands Highway approximately halfway between Goroka and Mount Hagen, respectively the capitals of the Eastern Highlands and Western Highlands provinces.It is a relatively small town,...
.
Mount WilhelmMount Wilhelm is the highest mountain in Papua New Guinea at . It is part of the Bismarck Range and the peak is the point where three provinces intersect, Simbu, Western Highlands and Madang...
, the tallest mountain in Papua New Guinea, is on the border of Simbu.
Geography
Simbu in the local dialect really means
Sipuuuu, which means "thank you". Simbu is located in the central highlands
cordilleraA cordillera is an extensive chain of mountains or mountain ranges, that runs along a coastline . It comes from the Spanish word cordilla, which is a diminutive of cuerda, or "cord"...
of Papua New Guinea. It shares geographic and political boundaries with five provinces:
Western HighlandsWestern Highlands is a province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Mount Hagen. The province covers an area of 8,500 km², and there are 440,025 inhabitants , making the Western Highlands one of the most densely populated provinces. Tea and coffee are grown in the Western Highlands...
, Eastern Highlands,
Southern HighlandsSouthern Highlands is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its provincial capital is the town of Mendi. According to Papua New Guinea's national 2000 census, the total population of Southern Highlands is 546,265 spread across , which makes it the most highly populated province in the country.-Split to...
,
GulfGulf Province is a province of Papua New Guinea located on the southern coast. The provincial capital is Kerema. The 34,500 km² province is dominated by mountains, lowland river deltas, and grassland flood plains, the Kikori, Turama, Purari and Vailala rivers all meet the sea known as the...
and
MadangMadang is a province on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea. The province has many of the country's highest peaks, active volcanoes and its biggest mix of languages...
. It is a significant source of organically produced
coffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
.
Simbu is a province with limited natural resources and very rugged mountainous terrain. The economic progress of the province has been slower than some other highlands provinces.
Education
Simbu, although lacking natural resources, is able to contribute more in human resources and can now boast to have some of the country's top brains. Simbus are working in world renowned institutions world wide, from the United States to the United Kingdom. There are three secondary schools in the province: Kondiu Rosary Secondary School, Yauwe Moses Secondary School and Kerowagi Secondary School.
Districts and LLGs
There are six
districts||This page is a list of districts and Local-Level Government areas of Papua New Guinea.On the highest level, Papua New Guinea is divided into four Regions. Below, Papua New Guinea has 20 province-level divisions: 18 integrated provinces, the autonomous province of North Solomons and the National...
in the province. Each district has one or more Local Level Government (LLG) areas. For
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
purposes, the LLG areas are subdivided into wards and those into census units.
| District |
District Capital |
LLG Name |
| Chuave District Chuave District is a district of the Simbu Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Chuave. The population was 35,065 at the 2000 census....
|
Chuave |
Chuave Rural |
| Elimbari Rural |
| Siane Rural |
| Gumine District Gumine District is a district of the Simbu Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Gumine. The population was 35,957 at the 2000 census....
|
Gumine |
Bomai-Kumai Rural |
| Gumine Rural |
| Mount Digine Rural |
| Karimui-Nomane District Karimui-Nomane District is a district of the Simbu Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Karimui. The population was 35,874 at the 2000 census....
|
Karimui |
Karimui Rural |
| Nomane Rural |
| Salt Rural |
| Kerowagi District Kerowagi District is one of six districts of the Simbu Province in Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Kerowagi and the district has three Local Level Government areas: Gena-Waugla Rural, Kerowagi Rural, and Kup Rural....
|
Kerowagi |
Gena-Waugla Rural |
| Kerowagi Rural |
| Kup Rural |
| Kundiawa-Gembogl District Kundiawa-Gembogl District is a district of the Simbu Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Kundiawa. The population was 58,339 at the 2000 census....
|
Kundiawa Kundiawa is the capital of Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea, with a population of 8,147 . It lies along the Highlands Highway approximately halfway between Goroka and Mount Hagen, respectively the capitals of the Eastern Highlands and Western Highlands provinces.It is a relatively small town,...
|
Kundiawa Urban |
| Mount Wilhelm Rural |
| Niglkande Rural |
| Waiye Rural |
| Sina Sina-Yonggomugl District Sina Sina-Yonggomugl District is a district of the Simbu Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Yonggomugl. The population was 37,676 at the 2000 census....
(Sinasina-Yonggomugl District) |
Yonggomugl |
Sinasina Rural |
| Suwai Rural |
| Yonggomugl Rural |
Politics
The current governor, John Garia, was elected in the
2007 national electionGeneral elections were held in Papua New Guinea from 30 June 2007 to 14 July 2007.For the first time, the election did not use first past the post , but rather Limited Preferential Voting, in which voters number...
under the new Limited Preferential Voting (LPV) system. The Governor is the head of the provincial government. The provincial bureaucracy is headed by the provincial administrator. The current acting administrator is Joseph Kunda Naur, a former educationist. He is from the Endugla/Naur tribe.
The provincial headquarters is Kundiawa, which is also the location of the province's main airport.
Air NiuginiAir Niugini Limited is the national airline of Papua New Guinea, based in Air Niugini House on the property of Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby. It operates a domestic network from Port Moresby and Lae, as well as international services in Asia, Oceania, and Australia. Its main base is...
makes three flights to Kundiawa each week. There are many guest houses within the proximity of Kundiawa town.
Members of the National Parliament
The province and each district is represented by a Member of the
National ParliamentThe National Parliament of Papua New Guinea is the unicameral national legislature in Papua New Guinea. It was first created in 1964 as the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea, but gained its current name with the granting of independence in 1975....
. There is one provincial
electorateAn electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...
and each district is a local ("Open") electorate. The following table lists Members before and after the
2007 general electionCounting of the official results of the Papua New Guinean general election to elect members of the 2007–2012 National Parliament, held from 30 June 2007 to 14 July 2007, was largely completed by 6 August, the deadline for the return of writs. Counting in two seats was delayed for a further few days...
.
| Electorate |
Previous member (party) |
2007 winner (party) |
| Simbu Provincial |
Peter Launa (URP The United Resources Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. The party won 5 out of 109 seats in the 2007 General Elections...
) |
John Garia (PNGP) |
| Chuave Open |
Jim Nomane (PCP The PNG Country Party is the result of earlier political developments prior to the Independence of Papua New Guinea. There were attempts in 1964 to 1968 in formation of political parties...
) |
Jim Nomane (PCP The PNG Country Party is the result of earlier political developments prior to the Independence of Papua New Guinea. There were attempts in 1964 to 1968 in formation of political parties...
) |
| Gumine Open |
Nick Kuman (PNC The People's National Congress Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. Its former leader Bill Skate served as prime minister from 1997 to 1999 and as speaker of Parliament from 2002 to 2004. Skate died in 2006 and the party is now led by Peter O’Neill....
) |
Lucas Dekena (NA The National Alliance Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 1995 by Bernard Narokobi, Moi Avei, Bart Philemon and Masket Iangalio, who invited Sir Michael Somare to lead them to the 1997 elections after he had been sacked as leader of the Pangu Party.National Alliance...
) |
| Karimui-Nomane Open |
Posi Menai (PAP The People's Action Party is a right-of-centre political party in Papua New Guinea.At the legislative elections in June 2002, the party won 5 out of 109 seats in total . At the last legislative elections, in June and July 2007, the party won 6 seats. It supports the government of Prime Minister...
) |
Posi Menai (PAP The People's Action Party is a right-of-centre political party in Papua New Guinea.At the legislative elections in June 2002, the party won 5 out of 109 seats in total . At the last legislative elections, in June and July 2007, the party won 6 seats. It supports the government of Prime Minister...
) |
| Kerowagi Open |
Alphonse Willie (NA The National Alliance Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 1995 by Bernard Narokobi, Moi Avei, Bart Philemon and Masket Iangalio, who invited Sir Michael Somare to lead them to the 1997 elections after he had been sacked as leader of the Pangu Party.National Alliance...
) |
Guma Wau (URP The United Resources Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. The party won 5 out of 109 seats in the 2007 General Elections...
) |
| Kundiawa Open |
Mathew Siune (PNGP) |
Joe Mek Teine (PNGNP) |
| Sinasina-Yonggamugl Open |
Jeffrey Nape Jeffrey Nape, CMG is the Speaker of the National Parliament and twice acting Governor-General of Papua New Guinea. He was elected speaker by the members of the parliament on May 28, 2004, and then immediately became acting governor-general because that office was substantively vacant...
(NAThe National Alliance Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 1995 by Bernard Narokobi, Moi Avei, Bart Philemon and Masket Iangalio, who invited Sir Michael Somare to lead them to the 1997 elections after he had been sacked as leader of the Pangu Party.National Alliance...
) |
Jeffrey Nape Jeffrey Nape, CMG is the Speaker of the National Parliament and twice acting Governor-General of Papua New Guinea. He was elected speaker by the members of the parliament on May 28, 2004, and then immediately became acting governor-general because that office was substantively vacant...
(NAThe National Alliance Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 1995 by Bernard Narokobi, Moi Avei, Bart Philemon and Masket Iangalio, who invited Sir Michael Somare to lead them to the 1997 elections after he had been sacked as leader of the Pangu Party.National Alliance...
) |