TLA MEDIA (PNG)

  The following speech was delivered by Sue Hurrell-Spargo at the launch of Ricky Mitio's autobiography Ovu ga'hoe! at the Lamana Hotel, Thursday 8 May 2025 It is an honour to represent my late parents, Lloyd and Margaret Hurrell, at the launch of Ricky Mitio’s book. Thank you, Ricky, for inviting me to your book launch. My father worked closely with Ricky during his time as Chairman of the Coffee Marketing Board and held Ricky in the highest regard. He would have been deeply proud to witness this moment. Before I begin, I would like to thank Malum Nalu for his recent interview with Ricky, as well as the late James Sinclair for his information in his book The Money Tree . Malum's interview and James’s book provide valuable insights. My name is Sue Spargo. I am Lloyd and Margaret Hurrell’s youngest daughter. I was born in Wau and grew up on our farm, Kosali, in Wau. I have always had a strong connection to my birth country, returning after I completed my schooling and...

CHM has become an exclusive mainstream retail distributor of Ricky Mitio’s new autobiography  Ovu Ga’hoe!  CHM Directors, Mr & Mrs Chin, and author Ricky Mitio recently announced the partnership at CHM’s head office in Port Moresby. The deal will see CHM distribute Ricky’s book for sale throughout Papua New Guinea. The book comes with a complimentary gift bag. The retail price of the book in Papua New Guinea has been set at PGK160. Retail outlets will include the popular CHM duty-free shop  A Little Something From PNG   at Jackson’s International Airport, giving Ricky’s book initial access to an international audience. Through CHM, Ricky Mitio will participate in book signing events, giving followers a chance to meet the author, purchase the book and have it signed by the man himself. The first of the book signing events will be announced soon. Ricky’s autobiography is also available to the rural sector in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands throug...

BSP’s controversial new logo may well be an indication that the bank, which has outgrown Papua New Guinea, has plans to spread its wings further throughout the Pacific. Bank South Pacific currently operates in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu, alongside its historical home base in Papua New Guinea. But is an entry into New Zealand now on the cards? The new BSP logo bears some resemblance to that of New Zealand’s national airline. It’s as if the brief was, “We want something similar to that of Air New Zealand.” In November 2023, the Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, made a bold suggestion that BSP should consider opening branches in Australia and New Zealand to 'service the Pacific diaspora', teasing the prospect of future expansion of the bank. See:  https://www.samoaobserver.ws/category/samoa/106571 So, the shift in BSP’s corporate identity may well be a hint at an entry into the New Zealand banking sector and a furt...

  The following is the back cover text of Ricky Mitio's autobiography. “Ovu ga'hoe!” (I will not go!) These words of defiance were spoken by Ricky Mitio's mother, Mangkeo, as the dawn of a new age of Christianity swept through the New Guinea highlands, delivering its people from a long history of tribal warfare. It was this defiance that kept Mama Mangkeo and her family connected to their land, willing to accept the Light but not willing to go beyond it. It is of this Light, land and resilience that Ricky Mitio was born. In a fascinating story, Ricky Mitio was the first of his generation to gain an education and then lead a national organisation as the head of the lucrative coffee industry in Papua New Guinea. The son of one of the first native Lutheran evangelists in the Eastern Highlands Province, Ricky emulated his father's Christian pioneering spirit, only to find himself Papua New Guinea's most hired and fired state CEO, as his fledgling nation became a paradis...

Ricky Mitio made a decision to create a book worthy of his life story and of launch in Papua New Guinea's 50th anniversary of independence. It was quite a task, but with direction from his editor and publisher, Ricky paid attention to every detail of his book, making it a statement in itself. One important feature of the book is the cover. The illustration above shows the elements of the dust jacket (or dust cover) of Ricky's book.  Front cover The front cover is designed to be eye-catching and features the author's name, the book title, and the name of the editor. Spine The spine features the author's name and book title. It's what you will see on a bookshelf, so it needs to be bold. Most spines of books are oriented top to bottom, so you tilt your head to the right to read it.  To make the cover even more striking, we used spot U/V (a gloss coating) on the matte surface of the front cover and spine of the dust cover. Back cover The back cover is a synopsis of the ...

In this year of Papua New Guinea's 50th anniversary of Independence, there is no person more qualified to reflect on the highs and lows than Ricky Mitio. I hope you enjoy reading this autobiography of a man who is the son of a tribal warrior born in the Stone Age who later became a pioneer evangelist of the Lutheran Church despite being completely illiterate. Ricky Mitio was among the first people in the country to be educated, learn a foreign language, work for this new means of exchange called money, travel to all districts of the country, and explore five continents of the world.  Ricky Mitio’s name is synonymous with the coffee industry in PNG. When he claims in this book that he is the Papa bilong PNG kopi, he is right. No one can dispute this or take it away from him. It will be his legacy until the end of the world. (From Ovu ga'hoe! Foreword by Tiri Kuimbakul) Ricky's book is due for release in March 2025.   More...