Understand
Lae is Papua New Guinea's second city, after the capital Port Moresby and its main economic hub as most of the production from the country's Highlands area is exported through the city, transported along the Highlands Highway. With no road connections between Port Moresby and much of the rest of the mainland, Lae's port is also the main way by which food from the Highlands potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbages, etc reaches the capital. Coastal shipping from Lae also offers a cheaper transport option for those who cannot afford to fly to Port Moresby. Known as the "gateway to the Highlands", this does Lae a disservice as it has much to offer in its own right.
In the 1920s, Lae was the busiest airport in the world - it was there that aviators in the gold mining industry first proved that it was commercially feasible to ship cargo and not just people by air. Lae was the last known stop of aviator Amelia Earhart on her attempted around-the-world air journey in 1937. She did not reach Howland Island, her next planned refueling stop.During World War II, Lae was a major base for Japanese troops.
