![\"Adrian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4ab4a6c753559951c26e831e823d71d29090f818.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
March 29, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n
Save<\/p>\n
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n
Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n In explaining why she has taken on the greatest challenge of her career at an age when her contemporaries are using their golden years to kick back, Catherine Harris points to the Kokoda Trail during World War II.<\/p>\n Harris, the eponymous founder of grocery chain Harris Farm Markets, was recently appointed chair of the Papua New Guinea Chiefs, ahead of their entry to the NRL in 2028. It\u2019s a bold venture full of logistical and political potholes, even for one of Australia\u2019s most accomplished businesswomen.<\/p>\n So why take on the gig? What is there left to prove for a trailblazer whose achievements include her booming family business, becoming the first woman to graduate from UNSW with a bachelor of commerce in marketing in 1971, a plethora of board roles and considerable rugby league service already as an inaugural Australian Rugby League Commissioner? What is the appeal of PNG?<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up as a post-war baby and our parents never talked very much about the war,\u201d Harris explains.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the one thing Dad used to talk about was when he was in New Guinea. He used to always talk about the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels [Papuans who served in WWII]. [How] they were fabulous and, \u2018They saved my life.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cSo we always had this sort of knowledge about New Guinea, because we used to talk about it a lot, with great affection \u2026 Apparently he was on the Kokoda Track and something happened.<\/p>\n \u201cHe never really went into any great detail, but he always just used to say, \u2018Those Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, they saved me.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI think they sort of gathered him up and looked after him and took him back to the troops or whatever, I\u2019m not sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Harris isn\u2019t the only successful businesswoman behind the fledgling franchise. Lorna McPherson has left her own mark while living and working in PNG over the past 16 years; as a senior executive at mobile phone company Digicel, as a director of the PNGRFL and a key player in the development of men\u2019s and women\u2019s rugby league pathways in the Pacific nation.<\/p>\n She has fallen in love with the country and considers it home, but knew little about it before she made the move.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really funny when I got the interview for the [Digicel] job, and they said to me, \u2018You\u2019re going to New Guinea\u2019. I was like, \u2018Oh?\u2019 and I thought it was in Africa!\u201d McPherson says.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t realise it was Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific \u2026 But it\u2019s been the most fantastic experience. Rugby league has become part of my life every weekend for the last 16 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Other key Chiefs positions have recently been filled. Respected former Herald journalist Michael Chammas is the general manager of football<\/a>, while Willie Peters has just been announced as the coach<\/a>.<\/p>\n But it is Harris and McPherson who will set the strategic direction for a project that aims to unite a country whose 1000 cultural tribes and 840 distinct languages are brought together by their love of rugby league.<\/p>\n \u201cI was actually having a discussion with Michael Chammas about this,\u201d Harris says. \u201cHe came up to our house when he got the job. He said, \u2018This is something with real purpose \u2026 this is helping a nation\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a pretty big thing to get an opportunity at the end of your career to do. So I hope I can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n It hasn\u2019t stopped the naysayers. While forging ties with our nearest neighbours was a motivation for the Australian government to outlay $600 million towards the venture, so too was thwarting China\u2019s ambitions in the Pacific. Then there is the perception of PNG capital Port Moresby as one of the most dangerous cities in the world, outside of active war zones.<\/p>\n And from a football perspective, there is scepticism about whether the offer of tax-free salaries<\/a> will be enough to convince the game\u2019s best players to join the Chiefs.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it will be a terrific opportunity \u2026 something that will be life changing for a lot of people and for their families.\u201d<\/p>\n PNG Chief chair Catherine Harris<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be sceptics whatever happens,\u201d Harris says. \u201cPart of it\u2019s driven by politics, part of it\u2019s driven [because they are] probably rugby union fans and think [funding] should be going to rugby union. I\u2019m not too worried about them.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it will be a terrific opportunity, an exciting opportunity and something that will be life changing for a lot of people and for their families.\u201d<\/p>\n McPherson is uniquely qualified to provide a perspective on life in PNG. She splits her time between the capital and her house in a remote village a five-hour drive away, which is home to her partner\u2019s family.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve lived in Papua New Guinea for 16 years. I drive my car by myself,\u201d McPherson says. \u201cI\u2019m comfortable, I don\u2019t feel uncomfortable in the country in any way, shape or form. I\u2019m a female who drives around by myself quite happily.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of challenges, a lot of opportunities, but there\u2019s a lot of misconceptions out there about what Papua New Guinea is actually really like.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s hit the nail on the head \u2013 security has always been raised as being an issue. My kids went to school in Papua New Guinea. It\u2019s something that I think has been really blown out of proportion. I\u2019ve never felt uncomfortable there, but I do see the fact that there are issues there.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we tried to do with that is we\u2019ve said, \u2018Look, we will make sure that you\u2019re in a secure environment\u2019, but not in a secure environment in the way that people are going to come and hurt you.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s more about the fact that everybody\u2019s going to love you because of the passion of the fans \u2026 We\u2019ll make sure that everybody is taken care of and make sure they\u2019ve got a fantastic environment to live in, which we have with the Airways Village.\u201d<\/p>\n NRL entry is still almost two years away, but already Harris and McPherson are witnessing the benefits of NRL inclusion. The latter points to the increased attendance rates at school, a prerequisite for students wanting to play league in local competitions.<\/p>\n The pair believe NRL stars have now been given a unique platform to leave their legacy.<\/p>\n \u201cCome for the opportunity, stay for the purpose,\u201d McPherson says. \u201cThat\u2019s what I believe is there for everybody.<\/p>\n![\"Catherine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/298ae44701d6767af066c4c1b46bf934f67cf349.jpeg\")
Catherine Harris is the inaugural chair of the NRL\u2019s new Papua New Guinea franchise, the Chiefs.Wolter Peeters<\/p>\n![\"Papuan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1ce95106e5328740fa45c15dab3b7b4784269807.jpeg\")
Papuan bearers (nicknamed the fuzzy-wuzzy angels) carry an Australian casualty through thick jungle at Eora Creek, 1942.Australian War Memorial<\/p>\n![\"PNG](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/38673cbda16d732ee6d3bc1a06810085673c0271.jpeg\")
PNG Chiefs general manager Michael Chammas in Port Moresby.David Townsend<\/p>\n![\"Catherine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/d5f4d67dde10a47582135b975b987fb8b68aed38.jpeg\")
Catherine Harris at her home in Newport.Wolter Peeters<\/p>\n![\"PNG](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/efc9694e42ab44db552d27c0c266e41ecc015888.jpeg\")
PNG Chiefs chief executive Lorna McPherson.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774724776_823_e80cf8aeb65415102d1cc8a8b7a702106f8cb2fd.jpeg\")
The Airways residences at Port Moresby, where the Chiefs players will be based.<\/p>\n
![\"Willie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774638736_17_b1a60b471cfa33b13b61fc1d7671611ed3dcb3aa8527f126d4d713c9479c7558.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n