Portrait of a Chimbu woman with a baby (Papua New Guinea) The Chimbu tribes are located in the Chimbu (or Simbu) Province in the central Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The term “Chimbu” was given to the people by the first Australian explorers in 1934, who heard the word “simbu” (which is an expression of a pleasant surprise in the local language) exclaimed by the locals when they first met.