Holy
Trinity College
Mt Hagen
Western Highlands
Province
Papua New Guinea
1990 - 1994
Mt Hagen is the third largest town in
Papua New Guinea
and the provincial capital of the Western Highlands Province. This
province
has a population of around 450,000, nearly one-tenth of the total
population
of the country. While its people settled in the area over 60,000 years
ago, Europeans were able to film their first meeting with them.
Being in the highlands but in the
topics it usually
has warm days but very cool evenings.
The town shares its name with one
of the highest
mountain in PNG which rises to 4026 metres.
No real industries to speak of,
except for tourism
and coffee growing, the people are mainly subsistent farmers.
In 1947 there were just about five
hundred Catholics
in the area due to the work of SVD congregation. In 1982 there were
95,000
Hagen Catholics.
Holy Trinity College for Primary
School Teachers
had it beginnings as Fatima College in nearby Banz in 1957. In
1963,
after a short stay in the Madang province, it was moved to Mt Hagen.
The
De La Salle Brothers and Mercy Sisters played a large part in its
establishment
and growth. In 2004 over three hundred students are at the college.
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One of the stands Michael
designed and built with
old working wantok Raphael.
(Taken 2004)
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Once Michael (left) made up
his mind
that was it. This was certainly an
advantage to him on
the playing field.
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A corner of the Holy Trinity campus in 2004
Mercy Sisters' convent far right - girls'
dormitories
centre-right - new media room centre-left
In December of 1989 novice Paul Kamib became the first
Papua New Guinean
to become a Patrician Brother with several other young men in formation
close on his heels. So the search was on for a suitable college for
Paul
to complete his teacher training in. Holy Trinity College, Mt Hagen was
chosen. On this matter Michael Luff, who spent over three years at the
college himself, says: "It seemed that Holy Trinity College provided a
good environment for a young religious in the formative years due to
its
close association with Catholic education and contact with the Mt Hagen
Diocese."
So for most of 1990 Paul was the sole Patrician in the
highlands, living
with the college students, until Michael Luff joined him in September
of
that year at the request of the college which desired a greater
presence
of the Brothers there. Michael worked as the campus manager which
followed
on well from the work he had just left in Aitape as the mission
workshop
manager.
1991 brought about significant and welcomed developments
with five Brothers
making up the Mt Hagen community: Paul and Michael continuing with
their
work from 1990, Brother Stephen Muttathil to work as a lecturer at the
college, and newly professed Brothers Gary Ambai and Norbert Yeku who
were
to take up distance education programmes to upgrade their academic
levels.
With such a presence at the college they were given their own college
house.
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The house the Brothers lived
in from 1991 to 1993.
It overlooked the college hall and most of the college (Taken 2004)
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The
1991 community minus Michael
behind the camera and including visitors Tom Rice and Philip Mulhall
(whiteskins) |
There were four Brothers in the community in 1992. Paul
decided to leave
the Brothers but continued his studies at Holy Trinity until
graduation;
Norbert successfully completed his CODE studies and moved to Aitape to
begin his Community Health Worker studies at Raihu Hospital; and new to
the community was Brother Primus Eris who was to join Gary Ambai - also
successful in his CODE studies - to undertake studies at Holy Trinity
as
primary school teachers.
At the end of 1992 Stephen left Holy Trinity leaving
Michael, Primus,
and Gary at Holy Trinity in 1993. While it is presumed that Gary and
Primus
must have been too busy with their studies for anything else to occupy
their time, Michael was able to indulge in one of his other pleasures
and
skills: sport. Apart from renovating dormitories, ensuring the students
had food, and designing and building rubbish bin stands, Michael also
offered
his services as a rugbly league referee. So well did he do at this that
he even got to referee an international match or two.
1994 saw only Gary and Primus at Holy Trinity finishing
their three-year
diploma course in primary school teaching. Michael had decided to leave
the Brothers.
With only the two of them they moved to a smaller house
with the De
La Salle Brothers as immediate neighbours. As in 1990 with Paul Kamib,
the De La Salle Brothers were a great support to these two young
Patricians
separated by a great distance of rivers, mountains, valleys, and swamps
from their fellow Patricians in the West Sepik Province.
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1990s photo of Holy Trinity
showing where the Brothers
lived:
1. 1991-93 2. 1994
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Some
of the graduating class
of 1994.
Primus Eris at back right. |
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