POM Suburb Names – What do they mean?

PORT MORESBY – Unlike the street in Port Moresby’s central business district, named after many prominent people of the colonial era, the suburbs have more local and traditional names.

The Koitabuans along with Motuans are the traditional landowners of Port Moresby, the Koitabuans hunters while the Motuans were more associated with the sea.

This is why a vast area of inland Port Moresby suburbs are Koitabuan names.

As luck would have it, we’ve found an interesting piece by Gobi Don Gureki, a Koitabuan, explaining the meaning of each name.

Koki was originally known by the Koitabuans as Koge sounded as’Koxe’ which is one of the clans of Kirakira village, a Koitabuan community.

Badili is also a clan name, originally ‘Badiri Vamaga’, also a Kirakira clan.

Korobosea village was a Koitabuan community with people mostly migrating from the Koiari tribes of Ogoni Gubini, Gorogaha, Iabagaha and Iarogaha.

‘Koro’ in Koitabu means wild fowl and ‘bosea’ is a basket.

The name Korobosea is said to have been coined when the chief of the village gave a basket full of wild fowl eggs as a gift to the United Church bishop in exchange for its first pastor.

This was after most of the ministers had declined to be posted to this village due to the widespread practice of sorcery.

Tokarara comes from ‘to Garara’ which means dog fight.

Gerehu is ‘kerehu’ – a place of war or warzone.

Boroko is the name of a tree in Koitabu.

Waigani is ‘vaiga’, a spear or weapon.

Hohola is ‘hohoa’ which means to swallow.