The Menya people, and many if not all of the people groups in the Angan family, consider Menyamya to be their original home. Their first contact with the Australian administration was in April of 1933, when J.K. McCarthy led a patrol into the area to provide protection for people from Bulolo who came to look for gold. Menyamya was a natural sight for an airstrip, and by September of that year, the first airplane had landed there. However, the site was abandoned shortly after, and there was no further contact until November, 1950 when the Menyamya site was reestablished by A.L. Hurrell.
Before 1950, most Menya families (parents, children and perhaps an older relative) lived in small, individual hamlets instead of in larger group villages. These hamlets were spread along ridges nearer to the edge of the forest, rather than down in the valleys. As the government began to take control and provide services, the people moved lower down and closer together, but each small family group continued to be separated by trees and gardens. The Australian Lutheran Mission moved to Menyamya in 1951 to begin serving the people, and other denominations followed within a few years. Church gatherings gradually became the main context for working together. House-building and gardening, including small coffee gardens, continue to be the work of each individual family.
