It is difficult to separate Sir Peter Barter from tourism, PNG Politics, and Madang, amongst many other things. As tributes flooded social media after Papua New Guinean’s learned of his passing, many referred to Late Sir Peter Barter as the ‘Lighthouse’.
Many wrote about the nature of his character – a humble giant of a man whose contributions to Papua New Guinea stretched beyond the confines of the province he made home.
A young Peter Leslie Charles Barter came to Papua New Guinea in the late 1950’s as a volunteer pilot with the Franciscan Mission in Aitape. This was his first job after completing his pilot training at the Newington College from 1952 to 1955.
He moved on to becoming a commercial pilot with Territory Airlines, which later became TALAIR. While working with the airline, he established Talco – the company’s tourist division.
His passion for PNG tourism even before independence was evident. Sir Peter made a mark by attracting major international tour operators, who brought their clients to Papua New Guinea. This was the birth of PNG’s tourism industry.
Just after independence started the Melanesian Tourist Services PTY LTD by purchasing Talco’s assets and later on acquired the old Hotel Madang which developed over 40 years – now known as the Madang Resort.
His contributions to the tourism industry, through the MTS were immense. Over the years, countless number of tourists visited the country to experience PNG aboard the Melanesian Discover and the Kalibobo Express.
In the 1980’s he established the Melanesian foundation, which created an avenue for passengers to donate funds to various projects in the rural villages they visited. These funds were used to build rural clinics, school desks, and the maintenance of Catholic and Lutheran church run health centers.
His support for the industry extended to the Divine Word University, where he contributed towards the development of the Tourism program. Many of the students gained practical experience through Sir Peter’s assistance.
Sir Peter Barter seated next to Dame Carol Kidu in Parliament House
Sir Peter moved into the political limelight in 1992 when he was elected as the regional member for Madang. He started off in the opposition and was later appointed Health Minister.
After the reform in 1995, he took up the Madang Governor’s post and was later asked by then Prime Minister Julius Chan, to take up the Provincial Affairs and Local Level Ministry.
He returned to doing business in 1997, and was re-elected into parliament in 2002 as the Madang Governor. Sir Peter, who by now had been knighted, was appointed Minister for Health and Bougainville Affairs.
As the Bougainville Affairs Minister, he was faced with the mammoth task of building trust and relationships between the government, as well as the ex-combatants who were in different factions of the civil war, and overall to bring peace and secure resources to provide essential services to the island.
In a condolence message given by the Autonomous Region of Bougainville’s President Ishmael Toroama, he described Sir Peter as a peacemaker who helped secure peace on the island during the most riotous years in the 1990’s.
“He contributed tirelessly to the peace process and played a leading role in laying the very first foundations of the Autonomous Bougainville Government. Prior to the formation of the ABG on June 15, 2005 he was in Bougainville to assist with the elections and to ensure there was a smooth transition to autonomy.”
Even after retiring from politics, Sir Peter kept a close watch on Bougainville’s progress and maintained relations with the former President Dr John Momis and Bougainville leaders.
In 2002, while ushering peace on Bougainville, problems were brewing in the Southern Highlands. As the Inter-government Relations Minister, Sir Peter had to deal failed elections in the province.
There was an inflation of electoral rolls, controlled voting, and counting of votes by force or threat was seen in much of the province during the general election. As a result, no provincial governor was elected and Sir Peter was given overall authority of the Southern Highlands Province.
His task was to coordinate with the Electoral Commission, the provincial administration, and the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) to prepare and run supplementary elections.
With an interim administration, Sir Peter rallied support from key community groups which led to the successful disarmament process in the province.
In a piece published by the Masalai Blog in 2014, Sir Peter Barter reflected on these events saying, his responsibilities involved rebuilding trust, which is basic to peace, democracy, and good governance.
In his term in parliament, he also Acted as the Minister for Finance, as well as the Acting Governor General at one point.
Sir Peter was a close acquaintance of the Late Grand Chief, Sir Michael Somare – a friendship forged over 50 years long before Sir Peter entered politics.
According to Andrew, he had developed a rare terminal heart condition that could not be treated.
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