Oil Search Pacific Games Relay in Lae City, Morobe Province

The Oil Search Pacific Games Relay spent the day running and walking, in the pouring rain, as the relay went around Lae City.
Starting at Igam Barracks with a platoon of soldiers marching the Baton in formation down Taraka Road to the entrance of UniTech where eight students represented the campus on its 40th anniversary.

Next stop was an exciting one with the Relay being given access to Buimo Correctional Facility where the wardens and inmates ran the Baton together through the facility, under a very watchful eye.

Banners made by the inmates thanking the Relay for giving them a second chance and wished “Team PNG good luck from us in prison”.

The Relay then visited the Snax Tiger at the Lae Biscuit Factory before travelling around a number of schools including Lae Secondary, TISOL, Salvation Army School and Coronation Primary.

The school children had to brave the rain thundering down to have a touch of the Baton.

Team Papua New Guinea athletes Wally Kauke, Kupun Wisil, Joe Matmat, Eunice Stephens, Cairo Peruka and Debona Paraka then ran the Relay past business houses, the botanical gardens, the war cemetery and the people of Lae, in the midst of the Relay’s standard traffic chaos.

A highlight was the street kids, looked after by St Mary’s Church, had the opportunity to run the Baton, carrying provincial flags from across the country.

The Lae City Relay was completed at the Sir Ignatius Kilage stadium with the Baton being taken on a final lap of honour by the city’s rugby league team, the Snax Tigers, athletes before being handed back to Oil Search ambassador Bart Philemon, who accepted the Baton and departed by chopper.

The Oil Search Pacific Games relay will visit Markham Bridge on its way out of Morobe tomorrow before heading to Milne Bay Province.

Photo credit: madNess Photography