Goroka

Goroka
Goroka
	Goroka from Mount Sitani (Mt. Kiss)
	Goroka Location within Papua New Guinea
	Coordinates: 6°05′S 145°23′E / 6.083°S 145.383°E
Country	Papua New Guinea
Province	Eastern Highlands
District	Goroka District
LLG	Goroka Urban LLG
Elevation	1,546 m (5,072 ft)
Population
• Total	19,523
• Rank	7th
Time zone	UTC+10 (AEST)
Postcode	441
Location	423 km (263 mi) from Port Moresby
Climate	Am/Cfb

Goroka is the capital of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. It is a town of approximately 19,000 people (2000), 1,600 meters (5,200 feet) above sea level. It has an airport (in the centre of town) and is on the "Highlands Highway", about 285 km (177 mi) from Lae in Morobe province and 90 km (56 mi) from the nearby town of Kainantu also in the Eastern Highlands. Other nearby towns include Kundiawa in Simbu Province and Mount Hagen in Western Highlands Province. It has a mild climate, known as a "perpetual Spring".

It is the home of several national institutions: CRMF Christian Radio Missionary Fellowship, the PNG Institute of Medical Research, the National Film Institute, the Liturgical Catechetical Institute, the Melanesian Institute, the Raun Raun Theatre Company and the University of Goroka. Several NGOs also have presences there, including Oxfam and Save the Children. The town's single largest hotel is the Bird of Paradise, owned by the Coral Seas Hotels chain.

Coffee is a common cash crop in the area; smaller industries include trout farms, pigs, bee keeping and food gardens (broccoli, kau kau or sweet potato, carrots, ginger and peanuts are examples of produce that grow well here; nearby Bena Bena is known for its pineapples).

Events

In May, Goroka hosts the PNG Coffee Festival.

The Goroka Show event takes place annually around the time of the country's Independence Day (September 16). It continues for two or three days. The Goroka Show is the oldest show in Papua New Guinea, over 50 years of "keeping the spirit alive".

Climate

Goroka has a subtropical highland climate (Cfb). Due to altitude Goroka features warm to very warm afternoons and cool to mild mornings year-round, with heavy rainfall most of the year and low rainfall from June to September.

Climate data for Goroka (1999–2007)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	26.7 (80.1)	26.5 (79.7)	26.5 (79.7)	26.9 (80.4)	26.3 (79.3)	26.1 (79.0)	25.6 (78.1)	26.0 (78.8)	26.2 (79.2)	27.0 (80.6)	27.0 (80.6)	27.5 (81.5)	26.5 (79.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	15.5 (59.9)	16.2 (61.2)	16.2 (61.2)	15.7 (60.3)	15.4 (59.7)	15.1 (59.2)	14.9 (58.8)	14.9 (58.8)	15.6 (60.1)	15.4 (59.7)	15.7 (60.3)	16.1 (61.0)	15.6 (60.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	153.4 (6.04)	214.5 (8.44)	272.2 (10.72)	175.7 (6.92)	151.9 (5.98)	43.8 (1.72)	70.4 (2.77)	49.2 (1.94)	150.1 (5.91)	132.1 (5.20)	145.4 (5.72)	163.8 (6.45)	1,722.5 (67.81)
Average rainy days	21	21	24	17	16	10	13	12	17	17	18	17	203
Source: World Meteorological Organization^[1]