By JOHN FRED
BEFORE Papua New Guinea gained Independence in 1975, a nationwide competition was held to select the design of the National Flag.
A selection committee was established to choose the best design. Before this competition, the Australian administrator proposed a vertical tricolor flag with blue, yellow, and green bands, featuring the bird of paradise and the Southern Cross.
However, the selection committee decided to explore other designs. Among the nationwide participants was 15-year-old Susan Hareho Karike from the Gulf Province, a student at Yule Island Catholic Mission School. Susan felt that the proposed colors of blue, yellow, and green were not traditionally significant enough, and she disliked the vertical stripes.
She instead used a diagonal line with the colors red, black, and yellow, incorporating the motifs of the Southern Cross and the bird of paradise. Susan sketched the design on a page torn from her exercise book, and it was presented to the committee on March 11, 1971.
Her design was formally adopted as the National Flag of Papua New Guinea on March 4, 1971.
Despite creating one of the country’s most iconic symbols, Susan Karike’s achievement went largely unrecognized during her lifetime. She received no pension and lived a life of poverty. When she fell ill and needed special medical treatment, the government at the time did not take any initiative to send her overseas for specific treatments.
Instead, she remained an ordinary patient at Port Moresby General Hospital, where she passed away on April 11, 2017.
It is heartbreaking that such a remarkable woman who designed our national pride—a flag that will endure for eternity — was ignored and unappreciated for her outstanding work.
On September 16th, Independence Day, Susan Hareho Karike’s flag will be raised with pride and passion by millions across the country and by thousands of Papua New Guineans living abroad.
The design by a 15-year-old village girl from Mei’i in the Gulf Province is raised on special occasions and events, from the Pacific Games to the Commonwealth and Olympic Games, and at the Rugby League World Cup and other international sporting events.
Athletes proudly raise the National Flag, designed by a woman who lived in poverty and passed away without due recognition.
From regional meetings to global gatherings, her flag flies high among other national flags—a testament to a woman who spent her final days at Port Moresby General Hospital instead of receiving specialized treatment abroad.
Thank you, Susan Hareho Karike, for designing our National Flag, our national pride, and our national colors. You are gone but never forgotten.
