31 Oct 2022

Digging into the rich Culture and History of Bougainville

A day filled with important history for the Bougainvillians, which we got to see in the raw as we ventured onto the Island after our early morning arrival aboard Heritage Adventurer. A nation which has recently held a referendum and will be becoming independent from Papua New Guinea and very proud of their island. Once ashore we all loaded on to our mini buses which then took us up, to slightly cooler climes and Panguna mine - one of the largest copper and gold mines in the world, now currently decommissioned. Such a fascinating glimpse into the mine and its history, originally set up by the NZ and Australian governments when Papua New Guinea became independent to ensure they had a major income source. Rusty structures and remains of old machinery adorned the landscape, with locals still collecting the stony remains underfoot to sieve for the gold that still remains in the mines. The tailings and the local rivers still filled with the toxic remains of the mining process and blue copper sulphate was clearly evident at the site.

In the afternoon we then visited the large town of Arawa, visiting the local market and spending the last of our PNG Kina before heading to the Solomon Islands the following day. Once again the local produce, fruit, fish and handicrafts were on display and we all came away with some souvenirs reminding us of our time in PNG. Following on from this we then visited the local Cultural group who gave us a rousing welcome and ‘sing sing' with panpipes and incredible voices despite the tropical rain that decided to give us a welcome cool down. It was a chance to join the locals in dance and we all left with fabulous leis, head bands and Bougainville flags to remind us of our time on this wonderful island.

Image (c): G.Scott-Douglas