ougainville Copper Project
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Are mirrored in our lives today. |
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Brian Schou send this email:
Well today I thought I would check out the net, as I did about a year ago and was amazed to find your site .
I am pleased to have the chance to email you.
In late 1969, I arrived in Bougainville, after arriving in Port Moresby by DC3. That in itself was an experience
for me but the trip to Panguna was indeed something else. That road , the land slides, the mud, the bulldozers,
the rain, the stuck trucks of Kennelly's waiting for a push it was like a dream I never will forget. I loved the experience.
Of course for a twenty one year old recently qualified Diesel Mechanic from N.Z. who had always wanted to try his hand on big equipment ,
Bougainville really was right up my alley, and I worked at the site for 18 months before deciding it was time open the page of a new
chapter in the great life I have had, in wild places, cosmopolitan places and the good luck I have had with my family.
Do you remember the removal of Mount Tangye (I think) behind the camp? Pioneer Concrete used it for aggregate.
I do have some photos however I do wish I had taken more.
Well,I would like to hear from you too!. |
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Catherine Sherrat emailed from the U.K.:
Hi there, I'm so glad to have found your website...
My name is Catherine Sherratt and was born in Arawa hospital on a
lovely tropical summer morning at the end of 1980. My father Stuart
Sherratt (who may just be remembered as one of the "POMs"! ) worked in
the Electrical division of BCL. My mum, Marie, was the "froggy" woman
who trekked halfway accross the world to marry him..
I am still in contact with some of the families that lived in Panguna
and Arawa (who are now living in Australia) and we have taken to
calling eachother "whenwe's" seeing as we never get a sentence out
that doesnt start with "when we were on Bougainville" !!
finding your website has made me emotional again about the lovely life
I had as a child in Panguna...and I certainly can't escape that fact,
seeing as it says Arawa on my passport, no-one has a clue where it is
! However I can't not tell anyone because when I'm asked where I'm
from, I can't leave out the fact that I was born in paradise... a
paradise that was being destroyed by the mine, and the nationals
wanted the land back. I often think about going back to the island to
meet the people. I saw the "Coconut War" documentary and am facinated
at how people on the island have used technology from the mine with
the knowledge of their ancestors, with incredible results...
Anyway, perhaps there is someone out there on the website that
remembers our family,
Love and Peace, |
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Joe Stevens emailed from Western Australia:
My name is Joe Stevens, I first went to Bougainville in 1969 and remained until Feb 1990
I worked for Pioneer Concrete for two years, then BCL Civil Works, Laurie Mentze, Ross Wilson, Ian Garside and Win Spurr. Running the civil crushers and concrete batch plant.
In the late part of my time on Bougainville I was superintendent of Civil Operations, which included a small crew at Loloho water supply and sewage section.
Many may remember me as part owner of MV Spark and then MV Angler.
On leaving Bougainville, we decided to settle in Perth, but I got itchy feet and headed off to Indonesia, two years in the islands and 12 months in Jakarta.
Then I was onto Burma and Bangkok for short stints.
Maureen and I had three children whilst on Bougainville. Rosslyn,Wayne and Andrew.
At the present time we are living in Kununurra Western Australia. Andrew and Rosslyn and their families are also working here at the Argyle Diamond Mine.
Wayne is living in Perth, and has his own Personal Training business.
The baramundi fishing is great here and keeps us enjoying the lifestyle.
Cheers to all our past friends, would like to hear from anyone venturing up this way. |
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Col Smith emailed from New Zealand:
Hi’ I’m Col Smith. |
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Leon Evers emailed from Victoria:
Greetings Peter, |
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Brian Barnabas sent this email from
Venus Bay in Victoria:
Hi Peter, My name is Brian Barnabas. I was the Chief Fire Officer on the project working for
Bechtel.
I arrived on site late 69 and was there until 72. I can remember a lot of the people on your website
by name but find it hard to put a face to many. The only two members of my crew who are
mentioned are Wally Kaka and Pat McEvoy. I have not had contact with these guys for many years
and it would be nice to contact them again. After leaving the Island and returning to Australia I spent
most of my working life in Fire Engineering with a few visits back to Bougainville. I did a lot of work
on offshore platforms such as Bass Strait Vic.- North West Shelf W.A.- Barrow Island W.A.- Timor
Sea. Also spent a lot of time doing consulting and testing for the petroleum industry. My last job
before retirement was as National Projects Manager for Chubb Fire. I now live at the seaside resort
of Venus Bay Gippsland Victoria. I often think of my times on the Island and the people I met there.
My wife and kids still remember the project although the youngest one who was born at Panguna
doesn't remember it. My daughter came across your web site whilst surfing the net and passed it
on to me.
It would be nice to keep in touch. Regards Brian Barnabas.
barnab@bigpond.com.
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Steve Plater emailed from Melbourne:
Hi Peter, my name is Steve Plater and I landed on Bougainville
on April Fools day 1968 as a graduate Civil Engineer and left
approximately two years later soon after the decision to mine
was made. I was transferred to Parrabadoo in WA. Some of the
names from that period include Col Bishop, Norm Brice,
Charles Stover, Graeme McKenzie (who were my bosses
at various times), Peter Symons, Bill Guthrie
(who lives in Rockhampton), Ken McDonald.
There were certainly many characters in the camp in those days.
The American Resident Engineer (name excapes me) who reportedly
drank a bottle of Gin every night; unfortunately it caught up with
him and he had a fatal heart attack. There were the tree clearing
head honcho with a silver hard hat and a matching silver front tooth.
We had some great times including the construction of a 14-foot
plywood boat which we built at Panguna and transported to Kobuan
for use on the weekends to ski and fish. The day we loaded it on
to an Isuzu for the coast was a big occasion.
It has been great to read the stories on the site but for me the
majority seem to be from those who arrived after my departure. It
will be good if more of the pre-1970 pioneers discover this excellent
site.
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Erwin Kornberger sent this email from
Guangdong, China:
Mighty pleased to read them words from a long ago time. Yes, it's rather strange how that
place took hold of so many for so long. I travelled all
my live, but never again did I get involved so deeply. |
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Barry Hamilton sent this mail from Bo'ness (short for Borrowstounness) in Scotland: (and, being an avid collector, I kept the stamps!)
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Kevin Ryan emailed from Perth:
So glad I typed Bougainville into the search engine, I have spent hours of the boss’s time
going thru the site, he would not understand what it is like to be in love with a country for 30
years ! I went to Bougainville in Nov 1971 as an electrician on Shovels and Drill . Lived in
Camp 1 and stayed for 2 years. Should have gone back but fast women etc etc took over
and I ended up in Qld for a period. Had a great group of friends, and recently caught up with
Mike Cuskelly after 27 years. Mike worked in the mine workshop on trucks.
Other names
Graham Hort, Bra! Tod and Tite from Tasmania. Mally, Franki
from Papua. My supervisor
was Dave Neville (?) and leading hand was Hans Beck.
Hans had been there 2 years in 71
and was there when I left. Travelled to Buka, by plane no road then, and Buin by road,
thought Buin was paradise in paradise.
Great memories of times at Loloho, Cricket Club , Bank johnnys parties, Kieta, Kieta club…
does anyone remember Bushfire?
Sad at the present state of things. Would love to heard someone from my period of time
Thanks |
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David White emailed from New Delhi:
Hi, My name is David White. I had the very great privilege to spend nearly two years on
Bougainville between 68-71 working for CRA.
I was initially located at Panguna in a Sac Sac (?) hut and then ran camp 2 an indigenous
integration camp. I initially worked for Charles Stover as a mining clerk doing planimetering
for a few weeks and then was given more interesting work drilling down on the coast checking
foundation substructures for the new townsites. I wound up my tour by supervising a team of
chainsaw boys clearing sites for transmission towers. We were ferried in by chopper and
often had to walk out along some very perilous ridges carrying heavy equipment.
On my second tour I came back as an accommodations officer working for Nick Quint. Nick
, his wife and I started the Casa Manana, a coffee lounge up top and made some decent
money supplying an alternative to the very heavy boozing that we all participated in.
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Henry Gatana emailed from PNG:
My best working life was at BCL working
with super guys like Steve Grant, Rod Fenwich, John Goode, Elias
Serono, Bruce Smith, Gary Young, Greg Daniel, Ian Cowie and a whole
lot of other good guys that I will forever call my friends.
Drop me a mail, you guys.
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Roger Pawson emailed from Bribie Island:
I was in Bougainville in 1982 on the flotation expansion and
ball mill 13 construction. A lot of work hours but somehow we always had time
for some fun. I was working for Comtrade ex New Zealand who were
supplying skilled labour to Minenco at the time. A great place and lots of
enjoyable memories there. Like to hear from anyone who knew me.
Em tasol
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Patrick McEvoy emailed from Uxbridge, USA:
32 years after leaving the Island, I discovered your
site. You do excellent work.
From your list,I only recall one name, Wally Kaka,the
fearless fireman. I certainly would like to
re-establish contact.
Thanks for making this chance available.
Hopefully, by now, he is able to finish a tune on his
guitar.
By the way, Uxbridge is between Boston and Worcester in the US.
On Bougainville I lived in Camp 3, my boss was Brianm Woomera, leaving when
the Blue Streak closed down.
The only contact I have had with ex-Bougainville types
was Ron Wood(Bechtel), and Jack Farmer
from Loloho (he was with the TPNG) and Hilda Meyer (Bechtel office) and
Rita Palmari.
I probably needed to find your site as I often
wondered about Bougainville.
Keep up the good work.
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Willy Herold emailed from Vienna/Austria:
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Keith Cullery emailed from Adelaide:
HIYA GUYS |
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Terri Barambi emailed from Port Moresby:
Dear Peter,
Cheers, |
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Mike & Jane Martin emailed from Houston, Texas:
My husband, Mike and myself, Jane, Martin, lived in Arawa, Bougainville from 1972 until
1978. Mike worked at the port, at first as a stevedore, then ship's pilot and assistant harbour
master.
We lived at 6/66 and then moved into section 15. We loved Bougainville and will never forget
the beauty of the place. It is like a dream when we think about it now.
We have lived in Houston, Texas, for the last 23 years. Two miles from NASA, we attended
the Bougainville Reunion in 1999, and hope to make it to another in the not too distant future.
Both of our children were born at Arawa Hospital, Sarah in 1975 and Paul in 1978. They are
very American, naturally, even though their parents are English originally.
Mike and I were married in Melbourne at the old mint, a hippy wedding according to our kids,
I wore sandals, a big straw hat and our reception was a couple of rounds of drinks at the pub
across the road, for our six guests.
Would love to hear from someone who knew us. We still keep in touch with some of the old
Bougainville types. Jane Martin......
lmartin128[AT]houston.rr.com
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Grant Smith emailed from Adelaide:
Hello Peter
I have just found your wonderful site, and after reading all the names in the letters and
seeing the pictures, so many great memories have come flooding back of my time on
Bougainville.
My Dad, Wally Smith, started there with Bechtel-WKE in 1970, in Light Vehicles, both
in Panguna and Loloho, and transferred to BCL in 1972 in the Pit Workshop. In October of
1972 my Mum, Kit, and I went there originally for 6 months, and that turned into seven years. Our
first house was at Caroona Creek, then Married Hill, and in late '76 we moved down to
Arawa. Mum and I left in November '79 and Dad finally said goodbye to the Island in January 1980.
After a chance meeting at a local shopping centre with one of his Bougainville bosses,
Bill Welsh, he was offered and accepted a job at Mt. Gunson Mine, just south of Woomera. He
worked there two and a half years until he decided to go to Ok Tedi with Bechtel-MKI where he
stayed until Bechtel handed the keys over to Western Mining. After that, Dad basically retired
back home in Adelaide, but still lived life to the fullest. Sadly, Mum passed away in
December 1988 and Dad passed away in November 2002
I know that the time we spent on Bougainville were the greatest years of our lives. I
would love to hear from anyone who remembers us and would like to drop me a line.
I find it amazing how everybody that spent time there, no matter how long or short their
stay was, we all left the Island with the same virus........I think I'll call it
"Bougainvilleitis".
Regards and best wishes to all |
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Peter Morris emailed from the U.K.:
Hi Peter
I was a "bank johnny" with the
Commonwealth Bank in Kieta around 1969 to 1971.
We also staffed a sub branch at Loloho several
days per week. Our colleagues worked at the
Combank in Panguna and we visited sometimes. I
recall driving towards the airport in the early
morning hours (usually after a night on the
South Pacific Lager) and doing some body surfing
with Paul Mason, bank teller and
Peter Doolan (the cast iron liver) (Panguna Bank
Manager) on the beach. We stayed for only a one
year "sentence" on Bougainville and I also
worked at the Combank in Port Moresby,
Popondetta and Rabaul during my time there. I
now live in High Wycombe between London and
Oxford in the UK.
Steve Craft aka Moondance with a 350cc Honda motorbike, Bernie
Roche
(175cc Yamaha), Michael Ryan, Keith Bellchambers (a real wild man
who
took the bank's strong box filled with money to a party after a
Friday's
banking at Loloho and didn't tell the Kieta manager he was going
to be
late - he was sent back to Australia for that one!).
We had one young girl on Kieta branch's staff nicknamed Lik Lik
who
lived at Arawa with her parents. As there was no public
transport, us
bank johnnies were rostered to get up early and take the bank's
Toyota
land cruiser to Arawa to pick her up. I remember putting the
handbrake
on near some roadworks near the top of the hill one day and when
the
traffic started, I couldn't release the handbrake no matter how
hard I
tried. As I was holding up traffic, eventually one of the native
workmen came up, opened the driver's door, leaned over and
released it
for me. One embarrassing moment!
I also remember coming back from Loloho to Kieta one afternoon and
we
had to drive through Arawa and in the river there, drivers were
washing
their D9 tractors in the river. It looked like modern day
elephants
washing. A couple of guys took their D9s up the river with their
blades
down, side by side. They pushed the water back up the river and
then in
one movement, both reversed on to each side of the river bank,
letting
the tidal wave of water rush down on the unsuspecting drivers down
stream. It could have been dangerous but at the time it all
seemed in
good humour and I don't think anyone was hurt, apart from their
feelings!
The Kieta branch held the occasional party at the bank mess and I
remember that we all chipped in to provide the booze. At one
party, we
went through the Bacardi rum in no time and we were down to our
last
half a bottle and the party had hardly got started. The guy
behind the
bar at the time told the accountant and he said he would fix that
and
took the bottle away and returned with it full. This happened a
couple
of times and eventually we were let into the secret - he was
topping it
up with tap water! Even after that, one fellow brought back a
glass of
Bacardi and coke to ask for more coke "as his girl friend found it
too
strong!!".
One a more recent note, I have recently been elected as the Deputy
Mayor
of High Wycombe and you can see more at:
http://www.mayorofwycombe.co.uk
The mayoralty goes back to 1275AD so what is an Aussie doing
there? I ask myself that question often.
Keep up the good work. |
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Jim "Hamish" Miller emailed from Brisbane:
Greetings, |
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Gary Coleman emailed from Borneo:
Hello Peter, |
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Peter Bazelt emailed from Germany:
Hallo, |
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Mal Paterson emailed from the Gold Coast:
Sensational website, great nostalgia and unbelievable memories.
Bougainville, I thank you!
I arrived in 1972 at the Powerstation, working on shift with Peter
Bazelt, Bruce Muffet and English contingent, later to transfer to the
Concentrator working for Bruce Machen and the gang.
Returned 1984 with my wife Michelle, who worked for Arawa Motors
while I worked with the late John Edgar, Graham Pascoe and mad
associates.
I feel very fortunate to have shared in that once-in-a-lifetime
experience, great country, great people, great company (BCL), great
workmates, a great time!
Regards and best wishes to all
M.Paterson@engpac.com.au
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Ken Nelson emailed from Balikpapan/Borneo:
Peter, my home base is Balikpapan and I have my own business. I am currently
working on a gold project in Sulawesi which is keeping me fairly active. I know
Samarinda well as I spent 12 months living there. I worked in the Supply
Department for CRA Exploration in 1965 to 1974 when I left to go to Sydney and
then joined as the Supply Representative based in Sydney until 1983 and then was
transferred to Brisbane. I came to Indonesia in 1989 with KPC and have not left
since. I am a young 60 and enjoying myself. I have actually retired twice but an ex
Bougainville-ite dragged me back into the workforce (Dave Hatch).
There are a lot of
ex-Bougainville people here: Jim Chaplin (Bechtel),
Shane Wiese (BCL), Brian
Bennett (BCL), Gary Gomersall (BCL),
Gary Coleman (BCL), and many more. The
world of email is a great way to keep in touch. |
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Marilyn & Eric Mulder emailed from Bundaberg:
How wonderful to be able to make contact with old friends. Bougainville was a big and very happy part of our lives like so many. We were all so lucky to have experienced the friendships and the beauty. We were in Panguna from Jan 77' to Nov.86'. Would love to hear from anyone that remembers us. Email mmulder5[AT]bigpond.com |
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Judy & Roger Christensen emailed from the USA:
I lived on Bougainville from 1970 to 75 with my husband Roger and our 5 children, Brian, Scott, Bonnie, Karen and Eric. Roger was Mine Maintenance Superintendent for BCL. We lived in Panguna and then moved to Arawa when he moved to Manager of Morgan Equipment. It was a great life and we all have fond memories of the friends we made and the life we shared. Roger lives in Las Vegas now, I'm still in Mt. and miss the beautiful island of Bougainville. If anyone remembers us please send me an e-mail. Your website is great, love the pictures. jmpc@excite.com |
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John Davidson emailed from Brisbane:
Hello Peter, We have a Personnel Recruitment business. I was with the project from 4/70 until close-down. There are several hundred people with a Bougainville background recorded in our database. You can find out all about us on our website. Several of our staff are ex-Bougainville. My wife worked for Ivan as a teenager. Her maiden name was Christene Heater. I was "the Bookie" for several years and for part of that time was in partnership with Stan Neal from S P Brewery. In 1972 i was running the tavern in Panguna under the management of Ken Graham of Kangaroo Club , Manila fame. Ken is now in Brisbane. |
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Veronica Clarke writes from Brisbane:
Dear Peter
Thanks for your reply. I was there from 72-82 but Colin
was there from the start. He is now working in Borneo
and I have included his email for you to get details from him.
We are based in Brisbane. I worked for Don
Vernon and Col was in one of the vehicle workshops in
Panguna. Both our girls were born there and we
were great friends of Graeme McKenzie,
Seabags, Ken Nelson,
Kev Groom and Davo. Email Col and he
will fill you in. He will be down shortly and I have told him
we must send you some photos.
He has some of the famous Pooty League (football team??!!)
Col has since emailed from Sengata in Northern Kalimantan as follows:
I arrived in Bougainville with CRA Exploration on 24th September 1967
& departed early 1981.
The first road into Panguna had just been completed. Prior to this
it was chopper only. I worked in
the original workshop working on exploration drills and anything
else that broke down including the
mess oven.
I was there for the development of the trial adit, the pilot plant,
the change to BCL, construction and
later production.
When I departed I was Superintendent at the MEWS.
I met my wife Veronica in Bougainville after she transfered from CRA
in Melbourne. We married in
Melbourne and now have 2 children Collen (now married and living
in France) and Lauren (now
married and living in Braken Ridge Qld). Both were born on
Bougainville.
I am now Project Manager with Liebherr at the Kaltim Prima Coal
mine site East Kalimantan,
Indonesia.
Some of the early names on site were: Leo Jones,
Kevin Groom, Colin Bishop (Project Manager
during Exploration), Kevin Bowman, John Barnham,
Dennis Curren, Simon Feely,
John Craigie,
Brian
Allen, Ian Williams, Mal Woolhouse,
John Lamgman, Ken Nelson, Maurie Collis
and so it goes on.
I have a collection of old colour slides that I will sort through
when I return and will forward.
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| Gray Chandler sent this message from Adelaide: Arrived in January 1973 and left in 1985, the time frame included three tours of duty. Just couldn't stay away from the place. Lived in Camp 10, mud valley kupei road and Arawa. Lindsay Swanson stayed with us, convalescing from a bout of malaria or something of that nature!!! My experiences on Bougainville, be they good, bad, or indifferent, will remain forever memorable, especially the race with KIWI Tony McDonald to beat the 15-minute drive from ARAWA to the PINK PALACE. Regards to all. Gray Chandler (PHANTOM) |
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Bob Hamilton wrote in January 2003 from California:
It appears now that everything can be found on the Internet. On a lark, I decided to search with "google" for "Bougainville Copper" and I found your site. I worked in the Bechtel Electrical Engineering Group for Jim Gillin up at the mine site. I mostly worked in the Concentrator. The group was headed up by John Boland. I recall also working with Chris Sinka. The instrument group included Chuck Laferney and John Moller. I also remember Jim and Wendy Murren. Although it was April through December 1971 that I worked there, it does not seem so long ago. The work was good and fast paced. I recall many Sundays when we went down to the beach and snorkelled around, had a few South Pacific Lagers and then went back up the hill. I usually had a short nap on Sunday afternoons as we were on 60 hour work schedules Mon-Sat. I lived for a short time at Camp 3 then over to the dormitory type housing down from the family housing. There I shared a room with a guy named Bob Nelson and I remember his small refrigerator which he kept filled with good Australian Beer which he always shared. Since leaving and returning to the US, I have come across several of those that were at Bougainville. There were the two Australians, Allan Fitzpatrick and Lindsay Boyd who turned up on a startup team in Northern Minnesota where I was working on a Taconite Plant. That job was headed up by Glen Fuson who also had been at Bougainville. About 20 years later, I was at the Chevron Refinery in Richmond, CA building a Cogeneration Powere Plant. We were looking at subcontracting a short 115 kV transmission line and across the table was a guy named Alex Takahashi. We both thought we had met before and it turned out it was at Bougainville where he had been at the port site. Small world and it is amazing when people turn up after long times. At this time, I am working again at Chevron Richmond in their Electrical Engineering Group. I enjoyed the pictures posted on your site. I may have some slides somewhere, but I do not have an easy way to convert to digital. I have not viewed the slides in many years and wonder if they are still OK. I am considering a scanner so perhaps if I get to it and you are still wanting input, I may send some contributions. |
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Don and Llane Hadden emailed from Christchurch in New Zealand:
We lived in Panguna from 1976-1980. Don taught at Panguna International
School when it was located opposite the police station. We returned to
Bougainville in 1999 as volunteers, Don teaching at Arawa High School
and
Llane as nurse educator at Arawa Health Centre. We lived in Arawa in
Section 15 until June 2002.
Update received in August 2008: We are now living in the Northern Territory at Finke (Aputula). Haven't lived in NZ for 9 years. Finke is 200 odd kms as the crow flies, south of Alice Springs and is an Aboriginal Community. Llane is a Remote Area Nurse and so we have lived in a number of Aboriginal Communities around Australia. I retired from teaching when we left Bougainville in mid 2002 and I now work full time as a Wildlife Photographer and Writer and from time to time work as a Guest Lecturer on luxury cruise ships that travel the Kimberley coast from Darwin to Broome. I have a couple of cruises coming up at the end of next week. If they want to pay a Kiwi to tell Australians about Australian birds that's OK by me. |
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Ralph Byles writes from Adelaide:
Thanks for a great web site. We were on Bougainville from start 1980 to end 1986. Six wonderful years. I was in the Mining Division, first as Superintendent of production Control, the Drilling and Blasting Superintendent and finally Project Manager for the "Automatic Truck Dispatch System". Currently I am Business Manager for a private school in Adelaide. |
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Ivan Bell wrote from Brisbane:
I was in the Royal Papua New
Guinea Constabulary on Bougainville from 1970 to November 1975. I met my wife (Anne Manning) on
Bougainville. She was working as a Statistical typist for MKF at camp 5. We came to Aus and got
married in January 1972. Both our kids were born on Bougainville. We returned to Bundaberg, my
wife's home town, and lived there until 1994 when we moved to our present address at Jindalee one of
Brisbane's Western suburbs.
I was at camp 5 for a start. We called it Nairovi back then, Later was
known
as Birempa. I then went down to Loloho for a while and then after we got
married I was stationed at Arawa.
I have stacks of stuff on Bougainville, but half of it is on slides. Will have to put on a show one night
and get the daughter to use their new fangled digital camera and capture them for the web site.
Meanwhile I will dig out the other stuff and scan some of it and send it to you to put what you want on
the web site.
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John Gretton sent this email from Townsville:
I was with BCL started at Loloho Maintenance under Norm Fielding and Bob Staines also a Phil Baker who died a few years ago in Bowen Qld, I reached Superintendent level at Loloho Maintenace and finished up the last 18 months as the Rectification Superintendent at Panguna Maintenance also did a stint at Arawa Maintenace. We keep in touch with many ex Bougainville people had Joe and Maureen Stevens stay with us over Xmas they are travelling around Ausie with a caravan was great to see them. After Bougainville I spent 5 years at Parraburdoo WA initially working for Spike Milligan at Hamersley iron Spike is an ex Bougainvillian as well. Yvonne and myself are recently grand parents for the first time with a baby granddaughter from my son Glenn and wife Fiona they live in Emerald Qld, we have just recently moved to Townsville and am working for Wmc Resources at Phosphate Hill Fly in Fly out something different. |
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John Mason emailed from Western Australia:
A great site Peter.
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Gerhard Heinemann emailed from New Zealand:
Hallo Peter,
Ich dachte mir da ist etwas deutsch im Namen Goerman, kein
doppell n? Mit meinen deutsch hapert es etwas, ich bin in November
2003 genau 50 Jahre von Deutschland weg. Ich gebe Dir also etwas
ueber Comtrade.
The firm does not exist anymore as the proprietor Dick France died
quite a few years ago. We supplied tradesmen to BCL and quite a
few other firms throughout PNG , Northern Australia and the South
Pacific. I spent 3 years on Bougainville , had my family there for a
while , two of my boys went to Bovo School. We did some house
sitting , lived for quite some time at the hotel in Toniva and
eventually rented a house on top of Kobuan Hill. From there we
could watch the arrival of the supply ships , one was the Globe
Trader, the other name escapes me, whose captains Hermann and
Erich were great friends of ours.
This is just a short note for you by
way of intro. I shall write in more detail with names of people I
remember for the Bougainville Project.
In a letter under comments written by Denise Arnold mentioning a
NZ girl and the great fun they had on the Island together. The girl is
my daughter Cathy White nee' Heinemann. If you should have
Denise's address could you pass it on please.
So, bis bald Peter, demnaecht kommt der Beitrag fuer die
Bougainville Seite.
Gruesse, Kurt H.
ambidrextwo@clear.net.nz
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Stephen Swan emailed from Wollongong:
Would love to hear from any of our friends from those days.
email stephen@swan.com.au
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Murray Smith emailed from New Zealand:
Hi I'm Murray Smith from NZ.
Have just come across this website and have to confess I have spent
half a day and
well into the night sifting through a memory-refreshing wealth of
history. My thanks must
go to the author of this website for a very well researched and
presented site – well done!
Also my thanks to those who have supplied photos and dialogue, for
without them the
site would not be as interesting.
I worked for Morgan Equipment from 1971 - 1974. Morgan Equipment
were the agents
for the Euclid R105 dump trucks, well and truly buried by now I
expect although I still
have the service manuals amongst my memorabilia. I was based at
their workshop down
the hill near camp 5, I think the area was known as Itakara
Industrial area. I lived at
camp 6 and later at Kawerong house Panguna. My job involved the
engine overhauls
plus other odds and ends. The last 18 months were spent at the pit
workshop looking
after warranty claims and associated paper work. The personnel I
remember at the pit
workshop were Peter Robinson, Kiwi Pat, Peter Hayes, a guy with the
surname of Welch
plus there was an American or Canadian Guy named Sam, unable to
recall his surname
who I think was in charge of the pit workshop around that time.
Those on the Morgan Equipment staff that I remember were Brandon
Deal who was the
Manager and Ray Banning was the service manager. Other names I
recall are Neil
Gregg, Keith Jenner, Jim Brophy, Fred Bins, Bob Cruickshank, Alan
Roots, Len Hook,
Kevin Gill, Mike Edwards, Evan Berryman, John Balding, Eric Mier and
Titus Nasai from
Roarovana village. In 1974 I went with Eric Mier and worked for
Morgan Equipment in
Rabaul for a brief period. Eric Mier along with Bob Cruickshank plus
Bob's brother-in-law
Don and myself eventually ended up working for Shin Asahigawa who
were involved in
logging and sawmilling at Bialla (East New Britain) for 2 years.
Occasionally some of the
crew from Morgan’s at Bougainville would come over and help out when
we got busy.
Bialla is another story, which could go on forever if I got started.
I will take a brief
indulgence and mention some names. Barry and Ellee White and son
Michael, the ex-Swiss cook from Bougainville Hans Tatari (I called on Hans in
Switzerland on a couple of
occasions), Keith Williams, Barry Donohue, Ed & Jenny Spanner, Ian &
Margaret
McPherson and son Tiger, they ran the trade store, Fred Hargesheimer
of
Airmen's
Memorial School fame.
From Bialla I went to Europe for 18 months to finish of my OE which
I originally started
out to do but somehow PNG interrupted. I was 21 when I arrived in
PNG and learnt more
in the first year than I had in the previous 20! A wonderful
experience, which set me up for life and will always cherish.
I returned to NZ in 1977 and went into business with my brother in
the ready-mix
concrete, paving and building industries. I married in 1984 and have
2 Children, Son 18
and Daughter 15. 1991 we sold our ready-mix concrete business and
became involved
with Dairy Farming and we now live on the Farm which is 20K’s south
of Hamilton NZ.
When I bought the Farm I discovered my next door neighbour Noel
Watson worked for
Hornibrook at Loloho.
I have always had an interest in Aviation so when I returned from my
OE I obtained my
private pilots licence in 1979. I have owned aeroplanes since then
(C172 & C206) and
have flown extensively in NZ. In April this year we had a flying
trip in Australia,
Archerfield, Dalby, Roma, Blackall, Longreach, Birdsville, Alice,
Ayres Rock, Mt Isa,
Great Keppell island and returning to Archerfield.
My ultimate aim is to fly up to and around some of my old haunts in
and around PNG.
We are in the planning stages at the moment, ETD is tentatively 2006
so hope the
Bougainville situation improves dramatically by then. I would like
to show my family
where their inheritance is coming from and to explore the coral
reefs and Arovo Island
where I used to spend what little spare time I had. Hope I can hack
the climate. Any
Starters?
I would like to make contact with all those who have worked for
Morgan Equipment and
those at BCL. The reunion that takes place in Brisbane every year
sounds great
although I expect there would not be many ex-Morgan employees there.
Must try and make it sometime.
Em Tasol.
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Warren Johnson emailed from Crib Point in Victoria:
I found this great site while trying to find a detailed map of the
Buin area to cross reference some war time photos on the Aust.
War Memorial site.
I worked at the power station & filter / dryer
plant at Loloho for 2 years from Dec. 71 to Dec. 73 as an instrument
tech. My superviser was Don Houston. Others included
Arthur
Banks, Eric Barnes, Peter ? and our assistants Ricky Essrom,
Kokomi Tapio & little Ricky. Henry Pearson was Maintenance
boss.
We did a lot of scuba diving in the Buin area & off Kieta.
Getting to that area was a real adventure in itself, crossing all those
rivers to end up at the Buin Lodge ( got some great photos of the
owners ) Our eldest daughter was born at the Arawa hospital in
Nov. 72.
Many great evenings involved with the Arawa Hash House Harriers,
following that paper trail back to where the hares had set up the
hash thrash. Have some good photos of our time on the
island..... I will keep checking this site for any updates........ all
the best ..
Warren Johnson
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Stuart Harris emailed from Tasmania:
Happened across your site and it has bought back some fond memories. I was a
teller at the Bank of New South Wales at Kieta from February 1972 until December
1973.
I had some good friends who worked at BCL. but most of their names escape me. I
was heavily involved with sailing and in those days the club was known as 'Kieta
Sailing and Cruising Club'. I'm sure I still have one of the club pennants. I still
remember the initial meeting on a beach at Kieta starting the club and the first
race. From memory there were about 5 or 6 boats competing. A Hobie 16' owned
by Jim Smith who ran the local Trade store, a Gwen 12 (which I sailed on) and I
cannot remember the rest of the fleet. A name and photo I came across on your
website was the Commodore, a Ross Henderson (the local kiap). I don't think Ross
was the first Commodore, it was a tall blonde pommie bloke with a beard but I
cannot remember his name. Ross and his wife Judy are very good friends of ours and
we still maintain some contact with them.
I have some slides still but have not looked at them for years.
Thanks for your website.
Stuart Harris |
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Pete Maleckas emailed from Olympic Dam in South Australia:
Just found your site courtesy of Rudy Laister and Steve Mcvilly. Having a great time walking down
memory lane. I began work at the primary crusher in 1981 and shortly moved down to the coast
at Loloho maintenance working under Dick Lukoszek and John Gretton
--great to here from you
geo. I left bougainville in 1986 and moved into Barney Roger's house in Brackenridge and worked
as an electrician at AMP in Brisbane for a year and then moved down to Olympic Dam in South
Australia working u/g for Western Mining--I have 2 kids --Dave who was born at Arawa general
hospital is now 21 and living in adelaide and Jess who is now 19 and living in Broken Hill with
her partner.17 years later I am still here . Sad to see what has become of Bougainville--I had
always hoped that the mine would re-open and we could return but probably too old
now---maybe as a tourist.
All the best to anybody that recognises my name.
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Louis Tagovono emailed:
Dear Peter
I think your website is wonderful but I am not sure whether many
ex-BCL people know about it.
I was there is 1972, as a young lad of 16 straight out of St Josephs
High, then went off to uni in 1973. It was an exciting year because it was
the start of commercial production and I was part of the team making it
happen!
I went off to uni in 1973 then rejoined in 1979 after graduation.
As far as I am concerned, the BCL project was the best project ever
established anywhere in the world, then and now.
Cheers
Louis T
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Bob Hamilton wrote in January 2003 from California:
It appears now that everything can be found on the Internet. On a lark, I decided to search with "google" for "Bougainville Copper" and I found your site. I worked in the Bechtel Electrical Engineering Group for Jim Gillin up at the mine site. read the full story |
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Graeme Wellington emailed from Western Australia:
Hello Peter
What a nostalgic moment to find your site. It brought back so many
memories. So
many memories of the people and characters from the early days.
I grew up on Sohano and later my parents went to Kieta. So naturally
when I needed a
job after my first year at Uni I wandered around the bay to Kobuan
to see what was on
offer for a bright young lad whose only real skill at the time was a
fluent grasp of tok pisin.
I started working on the project in late 1966 when it was still CRA
Exploration. I was
based at Kobuan for a couple of months working on training (then
under Don Pearce's
area of responsibility) but was soon moved to run Barapinang Camp when
Ray Katt
(spelling probably wrong) didn't come back from a field break to
Rabaul. I then moved
to Pan Flat when the main office was established up there. At the
end of 67 I went
back to Uni in Brisbane for a year, and started back on the project
later that year.
In 1970 I married Gillian Mann who was working at the Panguna Haus
Sik (met her on Sohano a couple of years earlier). We have two boys, both born at
Arawa.
I spent all of my time up there in personnel department, first with
Basil Turner and Des
Bowlay, later under Chris Normoyle and then Ken Edwards.
Towards the end of the
time I was working for Paul Quodling , and when he became GM,
John Trezise and
then Pat Gilles took over the division.
About the same time the country and the social climate were
undergoing dramatic
changes (for the worse, alas), job satisfaction was dwindling, there
was no career path
etc. etc. and I reasoned I had to move to Australia. The move was
extremely
emotional as I was leaving the place that I had always considered
"home". I have
never since had such an emotional attachment to any place, and it's
probably made
worse by the fact that you can never turn the clock back to the way
it was.
We left in November 78 and settled in Western Australia (Gillian's
home state), got
employed by a major mineral processor, worked up the corporate
ladder to the top
level and then had the revelation that there was too much bullshit
there. Left that mob
in 91 and started my own business which Gill and I still operate.
We don't get to see many ex Bougainville people, as we are 2 hours
south of Perth.
Davo (John Davidson) dropped in a couple of times on visits from
Brisbane, we've had
Gerry Clark (Mine Geology) visit a couple of times, once with Mary.
Peter and Jenny
Searle (Coffey & Hollingworth, then BCL Mine Geology) spent a couple
of nights with
us on a visit from UK. Richard and Val Rummery (Powerhouse) live up
the road a bit in
the hills behind here. Ian Worth (Mining Engineering) and family
called in a couple of
times, we keep in touch with the Jorritsmas (Mine Maintenance) and
occasionally run
across Les and Margaret Lyons .
I've got quite a lot of early Bougainville photos which might be of
interest. I'll scan
some over the next few weeks and email them to you.
To check out one of our latest activities, see www.hypercube.com.au
Best regards
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Peter Goerman's comments from Batemans Bay:
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Mark Lintern emailed from Exmouth on the North West Cape of Western Australia:
Just found your website; looking at the photos brought back a lot of memories. My father Howard Lintern worked for BCL for about 9 years from about 1973 to 1982. We lived up at Panguna. I attended Arawa High School from 1973 to 1975. They were the best years of my life! Spent most of my school holidays down at Nukui village in the Siuai (Siwai) area with my mate Tony Kasu or walking through the hills east of the minesite. Have kept my PNG connections through my wife Winifred Gorogo who is from Doura village about 50 kms from Port Moresby. Anyway will pen off for now. A great website! |
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Lloyd McChesney emailed from Houston, Texas:
Dear Peter:
I have just spent several hours touring your website and revelling
in the
self indulgence that comes with seeing old friends and associates.
There are a
lot of good memories; we all put a lot into our efforts there, and
most
everyone who came away was a more "can do" person for the experience.
Mary and I,
and our children, David , Stephen and Mona still look back fondly on
our time at
Panguna and what a fine experience it was for our family.
Sydney B. Lhotka, (and his wife Jana,) is in Concord, CA where he is
still
running his Financial and Tax Service business.
Mary and I have been in Houston for over 25 years now, and I retired
from
Bechtel after several careers within the company, with 42 years of
service, in
July '99.
I haven't seen Ernie Wayland in many years now (15 or 20). He was in
Houston
in the early '80's. At that time he was handling the financial
affairs of Gary
Bechtel the younger of Steve Jrs. boys. At that time Gary headed up
the
Construction arm of the company, but then decided to leave the
business, and go
into car racing and as far as I know has had some success there. I
believe Ernie
followed him to Charlotte NC and continued to handle his affairs.
About that
time, Ernie lost his middle boy, a promising Accountant in Las
Vegas, in a car
accident and he took that very hard.
Following Bougainville I worked a job in Greenland out of Montreal
and had
several
old Bougainville hands on that work; Jim Adamoli,
Don Hotaling, (a young red-headed New Zealander
whose name escapes me, who was the radio telephone
technician), and the former Loloho Procurement man,
Dwayne Miller. (That last one
took some thought, but I believe it's correct.) I heard that he is
now deceased.
A story about Dwayne; a number of expats were at Arovo one weekend,
and Mary engaged Dwayne in conversation, centered around shortages of
foodstuffs, and how she would love to be able to find some Lasagna noodles. Dwayne
offered as how he thought he had some under his bunk, and next day a driver
delivered some
Green Lasagna Noodles to me at the Panguna Office with a note from
Dwayne, explaining that they were green noodles, and their colour was
natural and not due to the length of time they had been under his bunk !
Peter, I have thought of you fellows often over the years, and it's
just "super" that you've put this website together, so that we can catch
up on a time in our lives when we were all "just full of it!"
Kindest Personal Regards, |
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John Torres emailed from Darwin:
Good to see the interest in our beautiful island still as intense as ever. So many familiar names appear in the website. For those who may be wondering who the hell I am, well I used to work at the Davara Motel in Kieta as Deputy Manager. I am from Nissan Islands and therefore a Bougainvillean. My family and I moved to Darwin in 1999 to live. I do hope to return home at some point but that is looking more like hoping than reality. Well keep up the good work with this wonderful website. Hello to all who remember who I am. |
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Diane Soul emailed from Melbourne:
Dear Peter,
I spent 7¼ years on Bougainville (mid 1975 - October 1982). I moved into the single girls’ quarters (G Block)
in mid ’75 spending the first two years working in B36 for Maurie Pears, Ron Kay
and Treasury.
In ’77 I took over Secretarial Training at the Mine Training College where I spent a very happy five years.
As well as training I looked after some aspects of the girls’ welfare which I really enjoyed. I was able to leave
the island three or four times a year for recruiting trips and meetings- the best of both worlds!
Many of “my girls” were Bougainvillean and I hate to think what may have happened to them.
It’s hard to watch footage of the island now -it really is the stuff of my nightmares.
I keep in touch with some of my close friends from those days - Colleen and Ian Wood,
Phil and Jenny Quigley, Liz Abbott (now McQueen) in Sydney,
Bob Hutton in Adelaide, Frances Cohn in Geelong,
Russ and Remi Wilson in Brisbane and Geoff and Sylvia Westwood
in England. Ian and Jenny White were on
Lihir until quite recently - I’m not sure whether they are still there, now that they are grandparents!!
I don’t know the criteria for your “Role of Honour” - Christine Smart (who was at one time the artist at the
Mine Training College) died in a car accident involving my car in 1983. Sue Kinman went to Bougainville as a single
girl, was married to Shan Rochford for a short time and later found real happiness as Mrs. Sue Wilson. She died of
cancer after a long and brave struggle. Now I feel really depressed.
I have lots of photos (more of people than buildings) but don’t have a scanner. I’ll go through them and
see what I can find. Bob Hutton is hoping to make the reunion next year and I hope to meet him there.
How long have you had this site? - what a great idea!
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Des Smith emailed from Melbourne:
Hi there,
I worked for BCL from 1979 - 1981 (three years) as Operations
Controller for
the Computer Division. Essentially my role was to make sure that the
mines
two mainframe computers stayed up and running 24 hrs a day - 7 days
a week.
I had 12 locals reporting directly to me. As onsite personnel I
lived in
Panguna with my wife and two small boys - the eldest at that time
being of
school age. I still consider this experience to be one of the most
valuable
I have had - and like many others who were there loved the place and
the
challenges that it offered. Over the years I have met people who
were on
Bougainville (some who were there when we were - but we never
actually met)
and the conversations that we have had are as though we were old
friends.
I am now semi retired although I have never been busier with three
part time
jobs to keep the wolves from the door. My wife (Jan) and I live in
suburban
Melbourne but have plans on retiring to Flinders on the Mornington
Peninsula
within the next two years.
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Lindsay Swanson wrote this from Madang:
I arrived in Bougs with long blonde hair on 11/11/74 and was with the Central Electrical Workshop under George King (deceased), Kevin Bowman (deceased), John "Gus" Gotsalks (deceased Xmas'97), and Graham "Blue" Rodwell who is now in Indonesia. read the full story |
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Joe Fragnito wrote from Freeport Indonesia:
I was in Bougainville from 1969 for 20 years, I recognised some of the people in the pictures you have included, I also seem to remember yourself but not sure, Russ Gill was also there for 20 years, Russ will be able to identify some of the guys and Russ keeps in touch with a lot of people from that era. read the full story |
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Ivan Bell wrote from Brisbane:
I was in the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary on Bougainville from 1970 to November 1975. I met my wife (Anne Manning) on Bougainville. read the full story |
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Jerome Wallace emailed from the Cayman Islands:
What a great web site, thank you Peter Goerman!!!
Since I already sent a note to 'guestbook' I thought I'd add some comments.
For the 73 to 76 gang some more names now come to mind: Alison Colbert
(married in the US),
John Barnham, John Downie, Peter Hobday,
John Craig, Duff Ericson (AGM) and the Mining
group, Mike Blackwell, David Swain, Trevor Schultz.
Leaving Boug' in 76 with Island blood in my veins forever, I emigrated to Canada , then back to
the Islands of the Caribbean, Trinidad, then Grenada.
After there, Mexico, Venezuela and Zaire , where I was Tech Mgr for a Mine in the Northeast of
what is now Congo.
--- just look up COLTAN (Columbium and Tantalum) on the web to see extreme
'exploitation,pollution and Rival Militias'
I'm now in Grand Cayman and I'm not leaving this Island I now call home.
"Everyting is cool here, Mon"! jeromewallace@hotmail.com
PS I'll get some photos to you soon.
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Wayne Ledwidge sent this email from Shanghai:
Bougainville certainly shaped my life and the lives of my 2 boys who
spent their formative years on the beaches and in the jungles of
Bougainville.
read the full story |
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Urs Christen wrote from Brisbane:
&*%%# *(&^%#@ read the full story |
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John Davidson emailed from Brisbane:
I was with the project from 4/70 until close-down. read the full story |
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Gray Chandler sent this message from Adelaide:
Arrived in January 1973 and left in 1985, the time frame included three tours of duty. Just couldn't stay away from the place. Lived in Camp 10, mud valley kupei road and Arawa. read the full story |
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Chris O'Brien ("Irish") emailed from Townsville:
G'day bloody great job, will be great to be able to catch up on some old mates "Irish" Chris O'Brien BCL now living in Townsville Qld, will dig out some old photos when time allows and send them on, I have some from 1968 if I can only find the buggers |
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"Pioneer's wife" Maxine Dean emailed this from Argentina:
My husband, Bob Dean, went to Bougainville in 1970 as Piping Superintendent with Bechtel. read the full story |
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Denise Arnold sent this email:
My name is Denise and although we were not on the Island during the
construction stage we certainly enjoyed the fruits of your labour.
My father spent almost 15 years working in the mine from 1974-1989.
After 3 years apart, my mother, younger brother and I joined him early in
1978. This was my final year of school and I had the option of staying in
a boarding school in Australia or joining Dad and completing the year
by Correspondence. I chose to travel - which turned out to be the
start of my affection with world travel !!
I lived in Arawa for just over 10months and I learnt to drive by
taking my
brother to the International Correspondence School in Loloho - until
I was
pulled over by the local Police for having a passenger in the car
while on
"L" plates. It didn't appear to matter that the locals had the
whole family
with them !! I became proficient at driving in torrential down
pours, which
panicked my Australian instructor when I finally took lessons back
home
during winter. He wanted me to stop as it was raining "hard" but
that was
nothing compared to the windy roads I had to negotiate during
"afternoon
showers" on Bougainville.
I met many wonderful people from many Countries of the World. One
was a
young lady from New Zealand who introduced me to many people that my
Dad
certainly would not have. She introduced me to Squash and sun
bathing, and
having already obtained her drivers licence in New Zealand, was the
source
of many interesting day trips. We spent many hours of many days
together,
but for the life of me I cannot remember her name - which is
terrible
considering I often think of the fun days we had.
My younger brother got very drunk one night in Panguna as the other
guests
at a party offered to keep him supplied with cans of beer. It was a
very
interesting drive down the mountain ! He was lucky enough to spend
two
years in Arawa as he was still in school - I was unable to stay
longer than
the first year as my schooling was complete and I was not permitted
to work
on the Island. We also performed in a couple of Arawa Theatre
Performances
"The Dracula Spectacular" & "Oklahoma".
We spent many a lazy Sunday on the water at Kieta harbour, sailing.
There
was that day where the race was unwatchable due to a sudden mist
settling
into the harbour. When it cleared, there, right in the middle, was
a very
large container ship ... to this day I do not know how those sailing
in the
race managed to avoid it, nor how it appeared so quietly.
The peaceful beauty of the Island is one I will never forget, nor
the hidden
perils. My father contracted a mild case of malaria even after
years of
taking medication to avoid it. I was shocked to find that a sand
fly bite
soon became a leg ulcer when left untreated. The geckos, the
mosquitos, the
wasps and flash floods !!
It certainly was a year to remember !!
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Jim Hocking emailed:
The following names are people I have maintained contact with since
Bougainville and who I have heard of through those contacts:
Neil Turner - went to Perth some years ago - Died 2002
More to follow when I can think of them .......... Jim
P.S.
Peter - I also have a heap of stuff which will take me a while to dig up - I even have
photos from the chopper (which I coordinated the operation of for some time) - also add to the
list John Bensemen (I think that is spelt correctly) - he was one of the mechanics at the light
vehicle workshop in Panguna and now lives (up to a few years ago at least) in Brisbane.
Talk to you soon - lookum yu puk puk .. Jim
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Jason Garland emailed from Singelton N.S.W.:
Hi , Found your site just surfing for info on Bougainville , My cousin & a couple of good mate were also there for a while. |
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Jamie Shaw wrote:
I stumbled across your site last month and was delighted to view the
photos you've
got posted. Memories came flooding back. I had the pleasure of
growing
up in
Panguna - our parents Eric & Jacky Shaw moved us to Bougainville in
1971 and
remained there until shutdown and evacuation in April 1990.
I have attached some photos that might be of interest. Please feel
free
to use
them as you see fit. There are more where these came from. Details
are
as follows:
arovo01.jpg - Arovo Island Jetty 1986
These were taken by me around 1986 when my time in Panguna was
coming
to a close as I started university and moved to Brisbane. I flew
back
regularly with the intention of getting more but never got around to doing
it
As a long time resident we took Bougainville for granted, and never
really made a conscience effort to capture our home in photographs.
The
end came suddenly and we lost the opportunity. Your site has helps
fill
the void - thanks. My brother and sisters still consider Panguna
"home".
I'm now having difficulty explaining to my children were I grew up
and
what it was like.
Dad has hundreds of slides stashed away somewhere. Next time I go
through them I'll look out for ones relevant to your site.
Can I also suggest you get in contact with Don & Llane Hadden. Don
is
listed in your "Comments" page. Don is an avid birdwatcher and
talented
photographer - and should have some excellent images of what
Bougainville looks like now. He and Llane were teaching in Arawa
around
1999 - 2001. Don might have some photos for your "aftermath" page
currently under construction.
There used to be an annual get together of ex-BCL people here in
Brisbane. I missed last year. I don't suppose you know if it is
being
held this year by any chance ?
Hope the above is of interest.
Regards & Thanks for the Memories
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Lansell Taudevin emailed from Otford NSW:
Most would remember me as Lanse! I lived in Bougainville from 72 to 80, working first as the
company psychologist with Mike Asgill, then Superintendent Training under
Win Herry as
Manager.
Both children were born there, Robin (1977) and Allison (1979).
We left Bougainville for Port Moresby in 1981, thence to Indonesia, Bhutan, India, Pakistan,
Kiribati, East Timor and a few other places in between.
Now living in Otford, NSW, just south of Sydney in the Royal National park.
After 35 years overseas, I returned to Australia two years ago and now run a publishing
company, Otford Press. We have not yet produced any books on Bougainville, though one of
our titles had a chapter on the impact of the mine on the environment and society - that book
(Moving Mountains) is now also published overseas. So if anyone has a book in them of
exceptional quality (!!!!!!) about Bougainville, get in touch.
Email contact is lansellt@bigpond.com
phone number is 02 42948800
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Russell Somerville emailed from PNG:
Good Day Peter,
I had the dubious fortune of starting work for BCL the day Francis
Ona resigned. I was there until the end, intending to stay for the
care and maintenance. I was the Leading Hand Maintenance in the
Mills Concentrator, reporting to Graham Talbot.
I sailed out on my Yacht Butterfly after the airport was closed. We
spent some time sailing around the Solomons before sailing back to
Australia. I then returned and with a friend then sailed John
Golden's Yacht Sahaier back to Australia.
I shall check through to see if I have any old photos I can scan and
email to you.
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Theo Zachos emailed:
I was just on your website, and it brought back a lot of memories,
especially Arovo. I was up there
from 1980 till 1985 with my parents. I was only 7 years old at the
time we went up there but I have
fond memories.
The reason I'm e-mailing you is that my dad - Efthimios Zachos aka -
Makis, Markus or Mike, was up
there during the exploration days and has quite a few photos of
the exploration and stories, also as I
mention he also did the 1980-1985 stint. He worked at the Loloho
Filter Dryer during the 80's. He
also used to work at Ok Tedi as well, but I don't know if you would
be interested in those photos.
When I get the photos from him and scan them, would you like me to
either send them via e-mail or
would prefer me to burn them onto CD and send them to you.
I've also got the induction video that was give to families when
they first arrived to Bougainville, and
also videos about the exploration of Bougainville, if you interested
in those as well let me know.
I hope to hear from you soon.
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Peter Robinson emailed:
Hello, whoever you are!
I'm Peter Robinson and was on the island for exactly 7 years - 23rd November 1970 to 23rd
November 1977. I was employed by BCPL as Parts and Warranty Supervisor at the Pit Workshop. I set
up the Pit Warehouse and ran it for the first five years and then transferred to the role of Maintenance
Planning Supervisor for the next two. My wife, Colleen, and I brought three children to the island and
left with four - Jennifer being being born in the old Haus Sik at Panguna on the 18th February 1972.
We had seven very happy years there and have many nostalgic memories of the place. However, I
have no romantic illusions as I had the opportunity of a two day return visit while working for
Woodlawn Mines in late-ish 1981. In those four short years the place had gone backwards quite
significantly since the time we left. The most obvious outward signs being the drift in municipal
cleanliness and maintenance. I shudder to think what the place would be like now more than 30 years
later and after the effects of the uprising.
My first four months were spent living in Camp 3 - waiting for the houses at Arawa to be built and
made available. Those were really great days - watching the final stages of the hydraulicking and the
gradual completion of the project. I remember the old road up from the coast and how impressed we
were when we could finally travel on the new one.
There is much more I could add but will leave it there for the time being. I don't have many photos of
those days but do have many slides from which photos can be taken off. I also have a copy of
"BOUGAINVILLE, The Establishment Of A Copper Mine" a 386 page official record of the show, from
whoa to a bit past go. And also the somewhat smaller PR blurb "Progress In Action" both of which
have a number of excellent photos.
Regards
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Bob Jackson emailed from the Gold Coast:
Hello Peter
I have looked for years for a web site featuring the "expat workers" view of
Bougainville, it was a very pleasant surprise to find yours.
I was in Spain at the end of a "too long" holiday, was bored and searching
for something familiar, finding it brightened my whole day.
I was a BCL "power house pom" originally hired from Kalgoorlie West
Australia (after travelling out overland) .
I went there as a single man in 74 to work as an instrument technician in
the power house at Loloho, after a couple of years I transferred to
Operations as an "assistant unit controller".
I was in Loloho Camp 6 during the first night of the "74 rock festival" and
electrified my donga window flyscreen in the hope of "staying alive". We had
valiantly emptied our beer fridges to "save the amber fluid". The next night
we camped in the power house smoko room after welding up all the doors (but
one). We took up guard duty at the front gate armed with 24" stilsons and a
length of water pipe, fortunately the riot squad were between us and the
rioters so our weapons remained unused.
After a little over three years I left, had a couple of cruises and ended up
in Brazil (intending a big S.American trip) but after Bougainville I didn't
enjoy it much.
I went to UK got married and returned to Bougainville (after a two year
absence) to the same job, and living in Arawa Section 6/28.
My first child was born in the Arawa hospital in 82 my second child in 85 in
Brisbane (after an emergency medivac from Bougainville). I stayed in the
power house until Dec 88 ending up as a shift supervisor. I left before the
troubles really got started and as such have few bad memories of
Bougainville.
Hash house harriers. I first ran with the Loloho Hash House Harriers and on
my return joined the Arawa Hash. In the early days Arawa Hash hired a DC3
for a combined run with the Honiara Hash. Later we had 4WD trips to Sohano
Island (the old Bougainville District Office) and every one slept in the old
District Commissioner's House (or camped on his lawn).
I was a shift worker and as such missed many runs but those I did gave me a
buzz which kept me going until the next one. The adventure, the running, the
beer, it worked for me!
I moved to (and still live) in a house half way between Brisbane and the
Gold Coast in a place that I bought on a five day visit from Bougainville.
Since leaving Bougainville I've had about thirteen years in local government
(working in electrical design).
That's about it (apart from the inevitable divorce and re-marriage) a few
years ago.
Keep up the good work with the web site!
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Sandra Clark emailed from Kazakhstan:
John and I arrived Bougainville in December, 1980 with our two sons
Gavin and Stuart. We left in October 1989 on our yacht Tiare which
John had built whilst on Bougainville.
We are currently living in
Atyrau in Kazakhstan which is as different from our island as could
be. Flat, no trees, biggest landlocked country in Europe/Asia.
John was on the Kutubu pipe line project in the Southern Highlands
from December 1990 - June 1992, then he started with Chevron Oil
during operations. He is now on loan from Chevron/Texaco to
Tengizchevroil and is the Training Manager. Gavin works for AI
Scientific, Redcliffe Queensland, but is currently working in Italy
setting up the robotic machines and training the service engineers
in the use and repair of the equiptment. Stuart works for BPH
Billiton at the coal mine at Mouranbah and expects to be a Mine
Manager within ten years.
We have very fond memories of our time on
Bougainville, we call it Paradise, and only last night we were show!
ing some dinner guests our photograph albums of our time there.
Regards Sandra Clark
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Danny Gekesun emailed from Dunedin in New Zealand:
It's good to see Bougainvillean faces on this site. This shows how we are proud of our people since the war started. Thanks to the webmaster who created this site for the people all around the world who want to know about bougainville and it's history. Thanks once again to the people contributing to the peace on the Island.....:) |
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Rod Powell emailed from the U.K.:
Hi folks,I have just been fortunate enough to find this great site,
regards to all.
I arrived on Bougainville for SHRM in 82 and was there for three
years. I have worked in the Middle East, Africa, the Far East, Europe
and North America but I have yet to find a place to live and work to
better my time on Bougainville.
Me bin pinim wontok tumas,long dis pella ples. Lukim yu. Rod
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Ian Johnson emailed from Tauranga in New Zealand:
Well, this certainly brings back plenty of memories.
Was there from 1977 to 1987, as a youngster of 9 when we arrived.
Will attempt to dig out some old photos and get them scanned.
Anyway, well done on the site, will keep an eye on developments.
Cheers
Ian
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David Feeney emailed from Newcastle N.S.W.:
I cannot get/purge my time on Bougainville out of my system. It's a bit of a problem now as I have a new partner in life (13 years) and she cannot fully understand the bond between ex Bougainvillians (Expats or otherwise). |
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Tony Kearsley emailed from the U.K. (but now in Kuching, Sarawak):
Greetings from Pommyland
P.S. Thanks for your prompt reply. Sure go ahead and use my email, you will be
interested to know that a few minutes after sending to you I clicked into another
part of your site and found the name of Lansell Taudevin who was the Company
Psychologist and who I knew, I emailed him and astonishingly got a reply within a
few hours !!
I was Extension Training Officer, worked out of the new training centre after it was
built and originally lived in a block in Panguna until my wife and family arrived
from Oz then moved into a house in Arawa. I was there for about two years then
went back to UK for a leave and my wife would't return. I came back for a few
months then terminated and returned to work in the UK, got divorced, went out
to work as Personnel Manager for British Aerospace in Saudi Arabia and met and
eventually married a nurse who was working out there also. Some years on I did a
job assisting with a recruitment for a UK firm who were trying to find a training
manager for Burns Hudson - could not. They offered me the job and I thought
about it for quite some time before deciding not to take it. Probably wish I had
done now. Would love to go back but guess this is highly unlikely now.
Thanks again for the response.
Update received February 2009: |
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Theo van der Meulen emailed:
Just found your website - it's brought back a lot of memories. I arrived in Bougainville on 26
August 1971 and I was part of the orginal crew which commissioned and operated Loloho
Power Station. Our group were all recruited from the State Electricity Commission of Victoria
and included Alan Wilson , Jim Watts ,
Ron McInnes, and Tom Griggs . Later, After Units 1 and
2 had been commissioned we were joined by a contingent from the UK including
John Black,
John Withers , Keith Britton and
Robin Agar . The first Power Station Manager was Tom Worth
and the first Operations Manager was John Dutton .
Henry Pearson was the Maintenance
Engineer
We had a great time, parties every few days and lots of SCUBA diving in some of the best
waters in the world. I can remember many great days at Arovo (Pub Island) and some
wonderful dinners at the Kieta Club.
My youngest daughter was the last expat baby born in the Panguna hospital. It closed
immediately after as the Arawa hospital had opened. I can remember our house number in
Arawa - it was 11/53. I have lots of 8mm movie film taken over the 3 years we were there. We
left in 1974 to take up a position in Gove, NT.
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Take time to write. For in thinking you have captured your thoughts, and in writing you have written upon the tablets of your heart. |
Hi there to all old Bougainville hands! I worked as an electrician on the
shovels from Aug'73 to Oct'74.
It's fantastic to come across this site as it brings back a lot of memories.
I arrived at Panguna from Scotland after working in the copper mines in
Zambia and worked on the shovels with 'Liquid' Les Stobbart and
Mick White, I had some drinking sessions there with me mates (I will
add pics later). Here are some of the peeps I can remember-- Kevin
Ryan, Tommy Johnson, Morrie Dealy, Laurie Fahey,
Peter Budda, 'John the Pom' Bartlett, two donga mates
Dennis O'Flaherty and Tony Eglin (moanin git he was),
Ian McNeil (we worked in Zambia and South Africa together),
Trevor Whitten, Billy Tain and loads of others whose
names have been eroded by time. If I
shut my eyes, I am back there in an instant. Oh, and before I go, one more I
just remembered, a guy called 'Nifty' who was a hell of a gambler and
another wee sparky called 'Mopsy'.
If anybody out there remembers me, you can contact me at
My only claims to fame were the winning of both the table tennis championships and the chess
tournaments in one fell swoop. An accomplishment which was greeted with much
derision from the drinking crowd in the Panguna canteen. I was on the island
during the big strike and was almost witness to a group lynching of a number
of scab laborers, not funny. I was also there for the big landslide and
was very uncomfortable knowing that the bodies of the victims were being
kept on ice alongside of our food supplies. My brother Ian White worked on Bougainville in
purchasing for a number of years and married Jenny Collins , daughter of Dave
Collins of Bechtels head of security.
I am presently Chairman of 2 telecom companies in Madagascar and
Director of a mobile operation in India, where I am stationed in New Delhi with my wife
and two kids.
The years on Bougainville have provided some of the best memories and enduring friendships that a
person can wish for. I am happy to have found this site and will be pleased to send on some
of my pictures.
Hi again,
Hi. My wife Lee and I arrived in Bougainville from Rabaul in 1983
when I was posted there with Talair. Left in 1987.
It has been a real buzz finding this site as, like so many others,
we had the greatest time of our lives on the island. So many
memories - the Bougainville Island Sub Aqua Club. Dive lessons with
Jackie Shaw and 
I'd come to the then Territory of Papua New Guinea as an audit clerk
with a firm of Chartered Accountants in Rabaul. When the local newspaper,
the POST-COURIER, began carrying ads for audit personnel on the
Bougainville Copper Project, I applied and was invited to fly across
for an interview in October 1970.
Just found your site and another covering Bougainville. Worked there 71/73 as a
Training Officer setting up the first Supervisory/Management courses.
Had emigrated to Oz in 69 and worked for Ford Australia and Ciba Geigy in Sydney
then got recruited by Maurie Pears (Training Manager
with BCL and noted poker player) to develop programs for Supervisory and bottom
end management training at Panguna. Returned to UK after PNG and have never
forgotten the people or the job. Retired in 1992 to play golf and all that
but thanks to a few websites
particularly the Australian Institute picture site am able to light up the memory
box again. Am saddened by what developed in Bougainville. Will plough my way
through your wonderful site.