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!"
This email from Brian Schou prompted me to read again through some of the many comments I received over the years from men (and women) who had worked on the Bougainville Copper Project. Brian arrived on the island in December 1969 and stayed for only eighteen months, others stayed for years; all had their lives changed by the experience.
As one contributor put it so aptly, "You only have to scratch the surface and you bleed PNG ..." So next time you bleed a little and feel a bout of "Bougainvilleitis" coming on, read through some of these comments.
