LIVING THE HULI DREAM part 1

 

A young Larry Andagali (standing, middle) in Tari High School, barechested except for a bilum strung over his shoulder, belt and loin stringed cloth.
Picture by former teacher Sr Lorraine Beis, who now lives in retirement in Indiana, USA.

THE HUMBLE RISE OF LARRY ANDAGALI

 

By BIG PAT

THE Huli are famous the world over. Their colorful hairdo makes them stand out.

Their bold bright facial paint enhances their traditional decor. The traditional dancing entwines their kundu beats to their ‘tumbuna’ legends and their way of life since time immemorial.

A son of Hela, James Marape leads Papua New Guinea as Prime Minister. Another son Larry Andagali has become one of Papua New Guinea’s famous sons as a humble and progressive businessman.

Now 56 years old, Larry Andagali grew up in the hamlet of Karai, not far from what is now the Nogoli gas project.

His life revolved around the Huli way from the beginning. But with the arrival of the Catholic Church, everything suddenly changed.

He was thrust into a new world he hardly understood. But to become a man outside of the Huli’s long and legendary culture, Larry knew he had to adapt to the new ways of the ‘white man’.

He begins: “As I grew up as a young man, I stayed in the ‘haus man’ (men's long house) with my father. I think when I was at the age of 3 or 4 years, I slept in the haus man along with my father. 

“My mother used to bring kaukau, I had to understand that way of life, my life was to be a Huli man.

Larry Andagali (kneeling front row, third from right), Picture by Sr Lorraine Beis.

“I started learning to look after myself, groom myself, comb my hair, make my 'bilum' (string bag very popular in PNG), everything about dressing. In Huli culture, grooming is very important, that is what I was doing.”

But at the young age of six, his parents embraced Christianity, which sparked the turning point for Larry.

“My parents were very strong to embrace Western culture and Christianity, when the Catholic Church came to Huli, they started participating in church activities, they said education is very important, so all of us were given opportunity to go to school.

“Am the third born. I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters. One of my brother and sister passed away, four of us still surviving.

“We were given opportunity to go to school. My 2 brothers, they did not like the idea, they dropped out. 

“I was the third born, really struggled, it is almost about 2 hours walk, Karai is on the road. I used to live in the hamlet way back in the bush. Walk to Karai took an hour and then another hour to the school.”

Larry remembers his first ever teacher. His name was Etape Balawa. He is still around. “Every time I go to Tari, I see him, I give him some pocket coins, he taught me my very first words of English.” 

Larry was a typical Huli bushman. He went to school in his traditional clothes. But something caught the eye of the St Francis nuns at Tari high school.

They kept a close interest on the bare-chested Karai boy with traditional stringed loin cloth. His English was good and he had a certain awareness that held him in good stead in the classroom.

“I remember going to Tari High School. And I had no clothes. I wore my traditional clothes to school,” Larry recalls. “There were other students like me with traditional gear.”

“Some of my relatives went to North Solomons to work in the coconut plantations, they brought back some clothes, those clothes were oversized. 

“I took those clothes with me. Sometimes I wear them. Sometimes I wear traditional. All these American nuns, the brothers and sisters, they were all expatriates, they would normally take my photos, and put them in our school newsletters.”

Some of the nuns who had an impact on young Larry were Sr Lorraine, who now lives in retirement in Oldenburg, USA, and the late Sr Mel, who was headmistress of Tari high school.

Recently, Sr Lorraine wrote: “Word from PNG is always welcome to me. It was like home, since I was there 1961-2001.

“As soon as I saw Larry's name I could picture him, and I am sorry that I don't have a picture of him in his full Huli attire. The one photo shows just a bit, but that was taken at our St Joseph's High School, and not at a sing-sing.

“The other photos just show him with classmates. He graduated in 1981, then came back as a teacher in 1986, and I believe he was an agriculture teacher .... a good student and a good teacher.

“I’m pleased to hear that he has a good business. Please greet Larry for me, and sorry I don't have a perfect picture. If his story is to be in the Post-Courier, I would be pleased if I could see a copy.”

Larry and Mark Sakai touring the Pentagon Freight Services company offices in United Kingdom after sighting a joint venture company.

Larry completed year 10 and went to Popondetta Agriculture College, graduating in 1983.

Then he returned to work for Aruru Matiabe, his cousin, who was to later become an MP and minister. Larry says Aruru told him to look after the people at Koroba. 

“I was buying cabbages and sending them to Ok Tedi copper mine, I became a store keeper, Aruru bought Pasuwe Store in Tari, first I started as a cabbage buyer, store keeper, agent for Post Office and Talair.

Then Larry did an entry test with PNGBC (now BSP) bank in Mendi. Around June 1984, PNGBC came knocking on his door. The only obstacle was cousin Aruru.

“I told my cousin Aruru, you know cousin, I want to stay and work with you but the bank offer me a good opportunity so I should go.

“Aruru was flabbergasted. Please you doing a good job here, don't go, don't run away.” Larry recalled. "Anyway, we agreed and so I left and went to Mendi.”

Writer Big Pat (left) with Larry Andagali in Port Moresby.

After six months, Larry was offered a diploma in teaching at Goroka teachers’ college.

“So I did my diploma in teaching and my first offer was to teach in Manus, actually I went to Buin high school for my practical, and I said to myself, okay am gonna go and see all these different places, so for my first choices I put down Manus and Cameron high schools.

“I came back to the village, and Sr Mel, my former principal from Tari high school, came and grab me, she said you not going anywhere. You will be teaching in your old school, Tari. I taught there, 1986 was my first year of teaching.

“And I worked really hard. The school recognised my contribution. I was tasked with writing the syllabus for agriculture because Agriculture was the new subject.

“Some of my Agriculture experience, I put it into syllabus, what I was going to teach, I wrote it. I typed it up, and then the national syllabus advisory committee for Agriculture, they recognised my work and they recommended me to be one of the committee members.

Larry (seated, right), signing the Joint Venture agreement with Pentagon Freight Services.

“I joined them and that was a big thing for me. I was really, really excited to be part of the team. And then I also got an accelerated promotion. I jumped from level 1 to level 3.

“In 1986, I was registered as a teacher and 88 I was acting level 3, 1989 appointed as deputy principal at Magarima high school and 1990 I went to Nipa high school.

“There I met Mark Sakai, a young man from Kutubu doing grade 10.”

Mark Sakai, another big name in PNG business, is now the chairman of Trans Wonderland Ltd, the business that grew out of the dreams of Larry Andagali, Mark Sakai and other likeminded Hulis.

Early this month Larry and Mark returned from London where they signed a joint venture partnership called Pan Trans with Pentagon Freight Services in logistics, cargo handling and movement.

But that is another story for another time.

Larry Andagali - from a humble Huli boy to a world leader in business.
Picture by Steven Umaru of the PNG Post-Courier.