Mining Spins Off

A Benefit For Buin

Prom a KIETA correspondent

A road link that will bring vast social and economic changes to the people of south-west Bougainville will be opened soon. It will straddle the precipitous Crown Prince Range and for the first time link the east coast of the island with the west.

More than 26,000 people of the Buin sub-district will benefit from road access to the commercial, indus trial and shipping centres on the east coast. They will supply vegetables to the growing and already lucrative Panguna-Arawa-Kieta market and send cocoa for shipment overseas (there are no good harbours on the west coast, ships having to anchor off-shore).

In return there will flow trade goods and eventually, it is hoped, tourists.

Barely a year ago freelance bull dozer driver “Kiwi” Blanchfield carved his own road up the foothills of the Crown Prince Range. Behind the ’dozer was dragged a four-wheel drive utility. A triumphant “Kiwi” drove the utility into Kieta claiming a notable first—never before had the

island been crossed by motor vehicle.

There has been a road from Buin to the west coast mission station at Moratona for many years. About three years ago a section of this road was upgraded at a cost of $BOO,OOO to the administration.

Then, in December, 1970, the Bougainville Copper Company finished its road from Loloho port to the copper mine at Panguna, The road, 17 miles long, cost $l4 million to build.

A trans-island road now became a real possibility, but 22 miles of road still had to be built between Moratona and Panguna. This was soon reduced by seven miles when the copper com pany constructed an access road from Panguna to the pumping station on the Jaba River.

It was then that “Kiwi” Blanchfield cut his own track to link up the two sections. Soon after the Nagovisi people, who live between Moratona and Sikoreva village (see map), and the administration commenced work on the 12-mile section of road

between the mission and the village.

It was in every sense a co operative effort. “Kiwi’s” bulldozer, government trucks and Nagovisi labour worked together on the road.

Finance was provided by the adminis tration, by the three councils in the Buin area and by the people them selves.

The Nagovisi villagers donated 52,300 in cash; laboured for no pay; freely gave land and gravel and waived compensation rights for the destruction of trees and gardens.

District Local Government Officer, Mr. Dan Duggan said the value of the people’s work was about $17,000.