egy. During this period Port Moresby, especially its "villages", fell into disrepair as the Fifth Air Force under General George Kenney "pushed his bomber line forward 1800 miles" rapidly establishing no less than five air bases around the sparsely populated town, and troops from a variety of nations under MacArthurs' direction transited through the vicinity; which became a major allied staging base feeding men and material forward from Brisbane, Australia which lies 1,800 miles across the Coral Sea and about six hours away by B-17 bomber or C-47 transport. By the mid-September MacArthur established a Forward Head Quarters in Port Moresby, and by its end his staff was setting a lunch table in both Headquarters, so often was he splitting his time between locales. With such an influx of non-natives and after the war the whole town had to be rebuilt.
In 1945, the Territory of Papua and New Guinea was formed when Papua and the former German New Guinea, which had been administered by Australia since 1918, were amalgamated under a single Australian administration. Port Moresby became the capital of the new combined territory and a focal point for the expansion of public services.
Capital city of an independent Papua New Guinea
In September 1975, Papua New Guinea became an independent country with Port Moresby as its capital city. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, represented the Queen of Papua New Guinea at the celebrations. New government buildings were constructed at Waigani to house government departments, including a National Parliament Building, which was opened in 1984 by Prince Charles and blends traditional design with modern building technology. The PNG National Museum and National Library are also located at Waigani.
Several of these government buildings have now been abandoned due to long-term neglect. Chief amongst these are Marea Haus (known to most locals as the "Pineapple Building") and the Central Government Offices
