Port Moresby - City of Papua New Guinea

Port Moresby, or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. The city is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea.

The area on which the city was founded has been inhabited by the Motu-Koitabu people for centuries. It was first sighted by a European in 1873 by Captain John Moresby. It was named in honour of his father Admiral Sir Fairfax Moresby.

According to a survey of world cities by the Intelligence Unit of The Economist, Port Moresby is the world's least livable city.

The Motuan people of the area now known as Port Moresby traded their pots for sago, other food and canoe logs, sailing from Hanuabada and other villages built on stilts above the waters of the bay. They also intermarried with the Gulf people and created strong family and trade links.

The area was already an important trade centre by the time Captain John Moresby of HMS Basilisk first identified the area of the site later to become known as Port Moresby. The Englishman had just ventured through the Coral Sea at the eastern end of New Guinea and upon encountering three previously unknown islands landed there. At 10 o’clock in the morning of 20 February, 1873, he claimed the land for Britain and named it after his father, Admiral Sir Fairfax Moresby. He called the inner reach "Fairfax Harbour" and the other Port Moresby.

The city is often covered by a smoke haze that is created by the numerous small fires lit beside the road or in the bush by its inhabitants. These are left to burn out without intervention by the local fire department.

In 2004, Port Moresby was ranked the worst capital city in the world to live in the Economist Intelligence Unit's ranking of 130 of the world's capital cities . High levels of rape, robbery and murder and large areas of the city controlled by gangs of thugs, known locally as "rascals", were cited.According to a 2004 article in the Guardian newspaper, unemployment rates are estimated to be between 60 and 90% and murder rates three times that of Moscow and 23 times the rate in London.

Port Moresby refers to both the urbanised area of the National Capital District and more specifically to the main business area, known locally as "Town". Other neighbourhoods of Port Moresby include: Koki, with its popular fresh produce market, Newtown, Konedobu, Kaevaga, Badili, Gabutu, Kila, Matirogo, Three Mile, Kaugere, Sabama, Korobosea, Four Mile, Hohola, Hohola North, Boroko, a major shopping area, Gordon, Gordon North, Erima, Saraga, Waigani, Morata and Gerehu. There are also villages like Hanuabada, the biggest village in Papua New Guinea.