Saw my old single accom there C Block 215 and G Block G2. Oh such a sad scene. I can still se Peter "Pockets" Leonard and his charges in the Pool, where he coached the kids in their competition swimming. The Panguna / BCL kids did really well nationally under his guidance. Oh and my B16 truck workshop and the PM Bay which John Brown and I establische the system along with Baden Stewart and etc. That system stayed in place until mine closure. So many happy memories of Bougainville and its people.
Having lived in PNG for over 22 years, this dystopian vision is so confronting to watch. I tear up thinking back to events that led to those cataclysmic moments. What a beautiful land and people so horribly betrayed by greed, lies, mindlessness and corruption. I can only hope that the roadmap to full independence will bring about lasting peace and prosperity for Bougainville.
Seeing this video reminds me of the PNG movie ''Tukana - husat e asua' that was shot also in Panguna during its active days. I have watched it on VHS tape and have learnt so much about Bougainville since am from Vanuatu. I hope to see this beautiful island someday in the future and thanks for sharing these shots.
I worked there for a short spell mid'77 to mid'78. Lived at camp 13 . The young guys I worked with in the engineering shop were great. As a young guy of 23 every day was an education. I saw some practices that I questioned and can now fully understand their outcomes. my memories are all good ones.
My Childhood place Panguna, grew up there, and went to Panguna Primary School ( Gr 1-6 ( 1982-1988)there, when seeing all these places is so fresh in mind my mind, heart breaking... Independence is what you deserve.. Love you all My Panguna and Bougainville families, Michael Pisi, Batholomeo Vengiau and many others
Me too , was born in Arawa and we lived in Panguna.. Went to PIPS 86-89 and we were one of the last groups to leave end of May 89. I was just watching some videos of Armenia and the eerie abandoned places made me shudder and I realised why , so I had to look up videos of Panguna again. Watched a few this evening and I always cry. It was like a dream and yet I know it wasn't. It is wonderful to see the rebuilds though! Just in the last 15 years they have done great work redeveloping and claiming their land back. I still have the 1987 and 1988 Year books, bet you do too ? Funny to think I have a picture of you (unless you were off sick class photo days?! Haha) That swimming pool was my everything, I know every corner of it, it is great to see they have cleaned it out. Memories of what was, and the reality of what is, beautiful,bittersweet, heartbreaking and I know I would never be normal living in the UK. My heart is with my Wantoks ❤❤ I found out what happened to my friends after we all left (thanks to us all finding each other on Facebook) and THAT was heartbreaking, their stories were so desperately sad 😢 Forever in our hearts, our Island Bougainville 💓
I lived and worked there for 6 years until 1988. The first violent act (a power pylon destroyed) took place It still amazes me how no-one within BCL management saw this coming. Asleep at the wheel!!!! Or too busy enjoying the many benefits and too complacent.
The pylon was knocked down .. but my Dad and his team got it live again.. lying in the trees 😮 Unfortunately for my dad he was then on the radar of the BRA, he was very distinctive looking and even got a nickname. His and our lives were directly threatened , one evening during the curfew we got a late phone call. It was them. They used his nickname, and said they had our house in the sights of their guns. We left in the panic end of May 89. Dad stayed behind until August, frightening for my mum at the time. We have photos of that pylon , he said later to me that he had never done anything so dangerous before or since. He kept his cool but he also said that he had gone to his boss in 1980 about unrest with some of his crew , told them he would talk to someone higher than him, Have a guess what happened? His boss waved him off as if it was the last thing on his mind. My dad was furious , he had a real sense of decency and what was right and with how the big wigs behaved he was really angry but didn't know what to do because they weren't listening. 1980!! So yep, it festered until 1987 before the BRA formed and showed they meant business. It was not without warning. BCL ignored the warnings. A time none of us will ever forget. A place I feel lucky and privileged to have lived.
Would have been good to hear a bit of audio about what you were seeing. I lived on Buka as a child of Aussie parents at the start of the 70s, I have a picture of me standing near a truck under a huge miners hat
I was able to go through this area in 2001 when I was going from Arawa to Buin, I met a group with weapons and some of them wanted to have a ride. They got off at one place at Panguna and they advised me not to take photos. (I was going through 'no go zone for foreigners')
Thanks for sharing your experience. I lived in Arawa for a couple of years and the opportunity to visit Panguna with the right people only came up a couple of times, it certainly wasn't open to all visitors but very happy I got to experience it.
Just like , north davao mining corporation, in philippines. 30 decades since it close, pretty life in there before, just like city, but now ghost town. If someone come back there ,it will cry.😢
Its unbelievable the amount of wealth that could be unlocked for those people. PNG will always be the last frontier in the world. It is so tribal they will never get it together. I grew up in Manus & i know the mindset...they will forever be answerable to the master....
Was there as a 12 year old in 1981 /82 went to the movies there a few times it was a massive pit all these huge machine s nothing I had ever seen before driving up the mountain was a experience also
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Saw my old single accom there C Block 215 and G Block G2. Oh such a sad scene. I can still se Peter "Pockets" Leonard and his charges in the Pool, where he coached the kids in their competition swimming. The Panguna / BCL kids did really well nationally under his guidance. Oh and my B16 truck workshop and the PM Bay which John Brown and I establische the system along with Baden Stewart and etc. That system stayed in place until mine closure. So many happy memories of Bougainville and its people.
Having lived in PNG for over 22 years, this dystopian vision is so confronting to watch. I tear up thinking back to events that led to those cataclysmic moments. What a beautiful land and people so horribly betrayed by greed, lies, mindlessness and corruption. I can only hope that the roadmap to full independence will bring about lasting peace and prosperity for Bougainville.
Seeing this video reminds me of the PNG movie ''Tukana - husat e asua' that was shot also in Panguna during its active days. I have watched it on VHS tape and have learnt so much about Bougainville since am from Vanuatu. I hope to see this beautiful island someday in the future and thanks for sharing these shots.
I worked there for a short spell mid'77 to mid'78. Lived at camp 13 . The young guys I worked with in the engineering shop were great. As a young guy of 23 every day was an education. I saw some practices that I questioned and can now fully understand their outcomes. my memories are all good ones.
Sounds like a great experience!
I remember swimming in that Olympic pool around 1976-7 when I was a kid. The buildings next to it were change rooms/showers, and a gymnasium.
I was visit this Place in 2017 .. beautiful place, i remember the arawa beach,, very nice beach
Loloho was a fantastic beach. I would head there most weekends for a swim.
@@adamconstanza yes... most of beach in Bougainville island is wonderful and beautiful island
@adamconstanza we used to stay at Loloho, in the dongas! I loved that place!
My Childhood place Panguna, grew up there, and went to Panguna Primary School ( Gr 1-6 ( 1982-1988)there, when seeing all these places is so fresh in mind my mind, heart breaking... Independence is what you deserve.. Love you all My Panguna and Bougainville families, Michael Pisi, Batholomeo Vengiau and many others
Me too , was born in Arawa and we lived in Panguna.. Went to PIPS 86-89 and we were one of the last groups to leave end of May 89.
I was just watching some videos of Armenia and the eerie abandoned places made me shudder and I realised why , so I had to look up videos of Panguna again.
Watched a few this evening and I always cry.
It was like a dream and yet I know it wasn't. It is wonderful to see the rebuilds though! Just in the last 15 years they have done great work redeveloping and claiming their land back.
I still have the 1987 and 1988 Year books, bet you do too ? Funny to think I have a picture of you (unless you were off sick class photo days?! Haha)
That swimming pool was my everything, I know every corner of it, it is great to see they have cleaned it out.
Memories of what was, and the reality of what is, beautiful,bittersweet, heartbreaking and I know I would never be normal living in the UK.
My heart is with my Wantoks ❤❤ I found out what happened to my friends after we all left (thanks to us all finding each other on Facebook) and THAT was heartbreaking, their stories were so desperately sad 😢
Forever in our hearts, our Island Bougainville 💓
I lived and worked there for 6 years until 1988. The first violent act (a power pylon destroyed) took place It still amazes me how no-one within BCL management saw this coming. Asleep at the wheel!!!! Or too busy enjoying the many benefits and too complacent.
The pylon was knocked down .. but my Dad and his team got it live again.. lying in the trees 😮
Unfortunately for my dad he was then on the radar of the BRA, he was very distinctive looking and even got a nickname. His and our lives were directly threatened , one evening during the curfew we got a late phone call. It was them. They used his nickname, and said they had our house in the sights of their guns. We left in the panic end of May 89. Dad stayed behind until August, frightening for my mum at the time. We have photos of that pylon , he said later to me that he had never done anything so dangerous before or since.
He kept his cool but he also said that he had gone to his boss in 1980 about unrest with some of his crew , told them he would talk to someone higher than him,
Have a guess what happened? His boss waved him off as if it was the last thing on his mind. My dad was furious , he had a real sense of decency and what was right and with how the big wigs behaved he was really angry but didn't know what to do because they weren't listening. 1980!!
So yep, it festered until 1987 before the BRA formed and showed they meant business.
It was not without warning. BCL ignored the warnings.
A time none of us will ever forget. A place I feel lucky and privileged to have lived.
We lived in Panguna when i was a kid, my Dad worked as an electrician for BCL and we lived on Kupai Road.
I was there 75-78 as a child. Would love to go back for a visit.
Would have been good to hear a bit of audio about what you were seeing.
I lived on Buka as a child of Aussie parents at the start of the 70s, I have a picture of me standing near a truck under a huge miners hat
Thanks for watching. Very fond memories from Bougainville. There's plenty more videos from there on my channel, so feel free to take a look. 👍
I was able to go through this area in 2001 when I was going from Arawa to Buin, I met a group with weapons and some of them wanted to have a ride. They got off at one place at Panguna and they advised me not to take photos. (I was going through 'no go zone for foreigners')
Thanks for sharing your experience. I lived in Arawa for a couple of years and the opportunity to visit Panguna with the right people only came up a couple of times, it certainly wasn't open to all visitors but very happy I got to experience it.
Do you have any stories to share from Bougainville? Feel free to let us know.
I was a sparky in the concentrator for a couple of years back in 1986. Not much left now.
My dad was an electrician too, Norm Stokes...did you know him? We were there from 84 to 88
@@amanda_staffymum Can you remember which area did he worked in?
Just like , north davao mining corporation, in philippines. 30 decades since it close, pretty life in there before, just like city, but now ghost town. If someone come back there ,it will cry.😢
Its unbelievable the amount of wealth that could be unlocked for those people. PNG will always be the last frontier in the world. It is so tribal they will never get it together. I grew up in Manus & i know the mindset...they will forever be answerable to the master....
An audio explanation to these will be helpful to the viewers
wow changed a bit since 75
I can imagine... People that used to work there have shared lots of photos and it's certainly very different. Thanks for watching.
Was there as a 12 year old in 1981 /82 went to the movies there a few times it was a massive pit all these huge machine s nothing I had ever seen before driving up the mountain was a experience also