The Bully Beef Club was never a formal organisation. Its “membership” was fluid, bound by friendship, conversation, and a shared vision of equality. Yet from this group of students and their mentors came many of Papua New Guinea’s most influential leaders. These profiles show their backgrounds, their contributions to the Club, and their legacies for the nation.
Michael Somare (1936–2021)
Michael Somare, later celebrated as the “Father of the Nation,” was born in Rabaul and grew up in East Sepik. He trained as a teacher, worked as a broadcaster, and later entered the Administrative College. It was here that he joined the circle of students who formed the Bully Beef Club.
Somare always credited those days as the beginning of his political journey. Nights of discussion in the dormitories and at Kiki’s Hohola house convinced him that colonial inequalities were political problems that demanded political solutions.
Pull Quote: “We develop into a small club … we talked politics and how countries would be governed. And that made me take interest in politics.” — Michael Somare
In 1967 he became a founding member of the Pangu Pati, which won power in 1972. Somare led PNG to independence in 1975 and served as its first Prime Minister. Across four separate terms, he guided the young nation through turbulent decades.
Somare always insisted that his political career began with student debates over tins of bully beef — a reminder that nationhood was born from conversation, solidarity, and courage.
[IMAGE HERE: Somare as young broadcaster/student]
Albert Maori Kiki (1931–1993)
Born in Gulf Province, Albert Maori Kiki trained as a medical assistant before entering politics. He was also a writer: his autobiography Ten Thousand Years in a Lifetime gave voice to the contradictions of colonial life and inspired young Papua New Guineans.
Kiki’s Hohola home was central to the Bully Beef Club. Students gathered there nightly, fed by his wife Elizabeth, to debate colonial policies, independence, and the responsibilities of leadership.
Pull Quote: “Internal self-government must come now, rather than having a target date of independence.” — Albert Maori Kiki
A co-founder of Pangu Pati, Kiki went on to serve as Minister for Lands and Environment, where he championed customary land rights. He also worked on issues of resource development, warning against dispossession.
Though his political career was relatively short, Kiki embodied the fusion of tradition, radicalism, and international thought that defined the Bully Beef generation.
[IMAGE HERE: Kiki with Elizabeth, early 1960s]
John Kaputin (b. 1939)
From East New Britain, John Kaputin first made his mark as an athlete, representing PNG in rugby league at the 1962 Commonwealth Games. He later entered the Administrative College, where he became active in the Bully Beef circle.
Kaputin’s interracial marriage to lecturer Christine Lake was bold in a colonial context that discouraged such unions. It symbolised a generational willingness to cross racial boundaries and imagine a new society.
In debates, Kaputin was sharp and pragmatic. He helped the Club shift from informal discussions to structured action, eventually joining the founding of the Pangu Pati.
He later served as Minister for Finance and Foreign Affairs and became Secretary-General of the ACP Group in Brussels, representing developing countries internationally.
Kaputin’s career illustrated the international vision of the Bully Beef generation — rooted in PNG, but globally engaged.
[IMAGE HERE: Kaputin playing rugby / in student cohort]
Joseph Nombri (1941–2008)
From Chimbu, Joseph Nombri was one of the most outspoken of the student leaders. As president of the Tertiary Students Federation (TSF), he pressed for equal pay and fair treatment for Papua New Guineans in the public service.
In a 1969 ABC interview, he spoke with raw honesty about the frustration caused by racial pay scales:
Pull Quote: “The difference in the salary … killed all the initiative in me … the person who’s doing the same work as I do gets more than three times as much.” — Joseph Nombri
His words captured the anger of a generation. Nombri’s activism helped inspire the move from student grievances to national political organisation.
After independence, he became PNG’s first ambassador to China and later served as High Commissioner to Australia. His career showed that outspoken student leaders could also become skilled diplomats.
[IMAGE HERE: Nombri in 1960s student protest]
Ebia Olewale (1940–2009)
From Western Province, Ebia Olewale studied at the Teachers’ College and quickly became a prominent leader. As president of the TSF in 1964, he coordinated students across the Territory, turning local grievances into national politics.
Olewale recalled the thrill of hearing students debate nationalism for the first time:
Pull Quote: “It was the first time Territory students debated ‘nationalism’ openly.” — Ebia Olewale
After helping to found Pangu Pati, Olewale was elected to parliament in 1968. He later became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, representing PNG at the United Nations and in regional diplomacy.
His career symbolised the student generation’s transformation from activists to statesmen.
[IMAGE HERE: Olewale as student speaker / later Foreign Minister]
Gavera Rea (1939–2009)
From Milne Bay, Gavera Rea was one of the most brilliant students of the first Administrative College cohorts. In 1964 he won the Neil Thompson Memorial Prize for general proficiency.
Rea was part of the Committee of Thirteen, the group of “Angry Young Men” who pushed constitutional proposals in the late 1960s. He later became a key figure in the Pangu Pati and served as Minister for Works, overseeing vital infrastructure projects.
Rea also represented PNG abroad as High Commissioner to Malaysia, extending the global reach of the Bully Beef generation. His career demonstrated how the intellectual energy of student politics could translate into governance.
[IMAGE HERE: Rea in Administrative College cohort photo]
Oala Oala-Rarua (1934–2011)
From Papuan coastal communities, Oala Oala-Rarua was already an established teacher and public servant when he became a mentor to younger Bully Beef members. His reflections emphasised responsibility:
Pull Quote: “Independence will mean … a great responsibility being passed from Australian hands into the Papua New Guineans.” — Oala Oala-Rarua
Oala entered politics in the 1960s, later serving as Mayor of Port Moresby, High Commissioner to the UK, and PNG’s first Ambassador to the UN. His blend of caution and commitment grounded the more radical voices of the student generation.
[IMAGE HERE: Oala in UN chambers / student days]
Nanong Ahe (b. 1930s)
From Madang, Nanong Ahe was part of the circle of students who met in Hohola and at the Colleges. He later recalled the importance of the unity forged in those years:
Pull Quote: “Young Papua New Guineans from diverse regions came together … to foster unity and advocate for independence.” — Nanong Ahe
Though less well known nationally than Somare or Kiki, Ahe’s role reminds us that the Bully Beef Club was a collective. His reflections in later interviews, including the Digital Pasifik reunion, emphasised the solidarity and sense of shared destiny that the Club created.
[IMAGE HERE: Ahe in reunion interviews]
Cecil Abel (1903–1994)
A missionary’s son and lecturer at the Administrative College, Cecil Abel was a key mentor to the Bully Beef generation. He introduced students to Christian moral arguments for justice and equality, often linking spiritual responsibility to political change.
Abel encouraged students to see self-government not just as a political necessity but as a moral imperative. His influence reached beyond the classroom, shaping debates that continued late into the night.
Though not a student himself, Abel was part of the intellectual DNA of the Club. He showed that sympathetic expatriates could play constructive roles in preparing Papua New Guineans for independence.
[IMAGE HERE: Abel teaching, 1960s]
Tos Barnett
An Australian lecturer at the Administrative College, Tos Barnett described the institution as a “fermenting pot of liberal, independent thinking.” He encouraged debate on topics that many colonial officials preferred to avoid: equal pay, nationalism, and constitutional reform.
In later interviews, Barnett admitted that he and colleagues like Abel and Wolfers understood that they were educating politicians, not just administrators. His teaching style — conversational, open-ended, probing — directly influenced the political confidence of the students.
[IMAGE HERE: Barnett classroom photo]
Hilan Pora Schmidt
Schmidt, from Gulf Province, was part of the wider circle of Bully Beef members. Less prominent in national politics than figures like Somare or Kaputin, his involvement shows that the Club was broader than its most famous names. Students like Schmidt contributed to debates, shared in the oath of secrecy, and carried lessons back into the public service.
His presence reminds us that the Bully Beef Club was not a single elite, but a network of young men testing ideas and forging solidarity.
[IMAGE HERE: Schmidt, Administrative College records]
Others in the Circle
The Bully Beef Club’s edges were porous. Students such as Lucas Waka, Bill Warren, and Jacob Lemeki participated at different times. Some became teachers, public servants, or local leaders rather than national politicians. Their names may be less remembered today, but they were vital to the discussions, petitions, and delegations that gave the Club its energy.
Their stories show that independence was not achieved only by the most famous leaders, but by a generation that dared to argue, demand, and organise.