Lae may be the birthplace of human settlement in Papua New Guinea. Axe heads found at Bobongora have been dated at 40,000 years, and it is believed early coastal settlements were flooded by rising sea levels after the last Ice Age, destroying most of Papua New Guinea’s prehistoric artifacts.

When German colonists first arrived in the 1880’s, many parts of Morobe were curiously uninhabited, including the fertile Wau and Bulolo valleys. The two dominant groups of people were the Leiwomba who occupied the Lae area, and the ferocious Anga warriors (once known as the Kukukuku people) of the central mountains. Morobe Province offers a wide variety of interests for visitors.