A Kiwi police sergeant’s letter home from Bougainville
10 April 2018
CRAIG THORNE
| Bay of Plenty Times
BUIN - I am currently on a deployment from Waihi in New Zealand to Bougainville in a town called Buin which is as far south as you can go and is the most remote part of Papua New Guinea.
Without going into too much detail, New Zealand Police are here to assist the Bougainville Police Service and advise them on policing matters. This will eventually have them being self-sufficient and enabling them to police without our influence. Three NZ Police are based in Buin.
The country is still rebuilding from the civil war of 1988-1998 which ended with between 15,000 and 20,000 Bougainvilleans dead. This all started over the Panguna mine which in its day was the largest open cut mine in the world, rich in copper and gold.
I am now a month into my 12-month deployment - so what do I miss? It is not the material things or peanut M&Ms (well, I do, but can live without). It is my partner, close family and friends. I have learnt very quickly here that, at the end of the day, that is all that really matters.
I don't want for anything here. It has been a month since I've had a trim latte and I haven't gone crazy yet although I will be looking forward to one when I return.
We go to the market every second day or so and get fresh vegies and fruit. The pineapples and bananas are the sweetest I've ever tasted and you buy them for next to nothing.
In the downtime, we exercise with what very basic equipment we have and watch all the NRL games which I don't even get to do at home.
The weather here has a low of 24 degrees at night and during the day around 37 degrees, and yes, we wear uniform, including long trousers.
The roads you wouldn't believe - it is like driving on a river bed. It is only 98km from Buin to the nearest town of Arawa but this takes us just under three hours due to the condition of the road. There are also several river crossings in this trip which are impassable after heavy rain.
In Buin, we only have power a few hours a day, no supermarket or malls to shop at.
It is very, very simple yet the people are the friendliest I have ever met.
In fact, they have nothing, yet have it all, which we could all learn from - everyone should be able to live in harmony no matter what.
Actually the Imperial code (the top Japanese code) had been broken by the British much earlier and were always careful to use any info carefully, like a bomber returning to base and hitting the required target accidentally in order for the Japanese not to twig their code had been broken.
Yamamoto was on a morale booster trip. He was a stickler for time and the British knew his itinerary, Rabaul - Buka - Buin, and told the Americans.
He was a top target for the Americans as it was Yamamoto who engineered the attack on Pearl Harbour.
The distance from Buka to Buin is 100 miles, so the Americans were able to use P38 fighters with drop-off long range fuel tanks from Henderson field Honiara. They had enough fuel for only a few minutes over the target area - north of Buin.
Yamamoto’s Betty bomber crashed in the jungle - the other bombers with generals crashed at sea.
The British were furious with the Americans as no way could this be disguised as an accident but the Japanese were so upset on losing Yamamoto they never twigged that the Imperial code had been broken, and never changed it.
Posted by: Roy Goldsworthy | 05 May 2023 at 12:23 AM
Re William Dunlop's request for info on Roger Porteous's Store at Buin.
I sold out to the local Buin people in 1978, stayed on as manager for two years before returning to Australia.
The shop and residence were burnt down some six months after I left.
Posted by: Roger Porteous | 21 October 2019 at 04:15 PM
NB I have been to the crash site of the Betty Bomber that Yamamoto was killed in
Posted by: William Dunlop | 16 April 2018 at 12:10 PM
The late Paul Mason of Innus Plantation was the Coast watcher responsible
for alerting the allied forces that Yamamoto's plane had passed over him and was heading for Buin.
I new Paul and his wife son and daughter well, as he owned the Chimbu Lodge as well as Buka Stores, and stayed at the Lodge quiet often.
Paul was a very charming but unassuming gentleman in whose mouth butter wouldn't melt.
The Australian War Memorial in Canberra has a oil painting of Paul Mason on display.
Posted by: William Dunlop | 16 April 2018 at 12:08 PM
Craig, remember Pearl Harbour. The Japanese Admiral Yamamoto who was the commander for this attack was on 18 April 1943 on an inspection tour of his troops at Buin. His mission was intercepted by American code breakers and a squadron of Lockheed Lightnings based at Henderson Field was sent to intercept him. They shot his plane down and it crashed in the jungle near Buin and Yamamoto was killed. Years after, a propeller from his aircraft was kept in the Sub-District office at Buin. Is it still there?
Posted by: Chips Mackellar | 16 April 2018 at 10:34 AM
I was asked by my fellow people when I came for holiday from Auckland in 2008 about life in a city or in a developed world. I told them that the only difference is one's experience of happiness. Thanks, Thorne for sharing your Bougainville experience with us.
Posted by: Raymond Komis Girana | 12 April 2018 at 01:18 PM
Craig - Is Roger Porteous's store still functioning in the town of Buin.
Have not been their since 1977, when I was the Plant and Transport Authority Manager for Bougainville.
The road trip to Kieta in those days took about an hour.
Posted by: William Dunlop | 10 April 2018 at 08:46 AM
".....they have nothing, yet have it all, which we could all learn from - everyone should be able to live in harmony no matter what."
I think that's what a lot of us who have worked in PNG take away when we come home Craig.
And you picked it up in only a month!
Posted by: Philip Fitzpatrick | 10 April 2018 at 08:27 AM
A really good story, Mr Thorne. My first read this morning and felt really good. In fact there is so much good in this country then there is bad. Maybe we should enjoy what's around us more than keep complaining about the bad.
Posted by: Mathias Kin | 10 April 2018 at 06:48 AM