Fifty years ago, on the day Papua New Guinea gained independence from Australia, a young law student lowered the Australian flag and raised Papua New Guinea’s for the first time.

The 22-year-old, Arnold Amet, had spent the preceding years active on his university campus, debating the merits of independence, petitioning future leaders to abandon the British monarchy, and imagining what it might mean for his people to finally govern themselves.

Then, on a fine September day in 1975, national sovereignty was no longer just a concept for discussion, it was real. Standing at the centre of Sir Hubert Murray Stadium in the capital of Port Moresby, Amet was overcome by emotion.

“That was an exciting, memorable time,” recalled Amet, who would go on to become the chief justice of Papua New Guin

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