Bulolo is a town in
Wau-Bulolo Urban LLG
Wau/Bulolo Urban LLG is a local-level government (LLG) located in the Bulolo Valley of Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.
Wards
*80. Bulolo
Bulolo is a town in Wau-Bulolo Urban LLG, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It was once an important ...
,
Morobe Province,
Papua New Guinea. It was once an important
gold dredging
Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...
centre in the former
Territory of New Guinea,
Mining History
, MRA situated on the Bulolo River, a tributary of the Markham River, about north-west of Wau. The town is served by Bulolo Airport
Bulolo Airport is an airfield serving Bulolo, in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Inde ...
.
Built in June 1930, the Bulolo strip was originally 1,150 yards by 120 yards. In 2010 it had an estimated population of 20,000.
Currently, the town's major industries includes forestry, with the PNG Forest Products Limited the main enterprise. There is also an Insect Farming and Trading Agency The Insect Farming and Trading Agency (IFTA) was set up by the government of Papua New Guinea in 1978 to regulate the exploitation and conservation of Queen Alexandra's Birdwing and other valuable butterflies. Papua New Guinea has a significant but ...
, which promotes insect farming and conservation.
History
Dredging for gold was begun on 21 March 1932, with the whole of the 1,100 ton dredge (No 1 dredge) transported to the field in pieces by air from the port city of Lae
Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...
. The largest single part was the main tumbler shaft, 12 feet long and weighing 6,870 pounds. Construction of No 2 dredge was underway before No 1 dredge was completed. In all eight dredges were constructed and operated, the last going into operations in 1939.
Dredging operations were interrupted by the war in 1941, and were not resumed until six years later. On 5 February 1942 at 11am, Bulolo was bombed by five twin-engine bombers.
Gold production in 1952 amounted to 122,035 ounces, valued at £1,311,241, and constituted 77 per cent of the gold produced in New Guinea in that year. As the gold petered out the dredges were abandoned and they can still be found along the Bulolo river bed.
Bulolo was the headquarters of a company formed to exploit the pine forests that grow in the valley. In conjunction with the milling of timber an extensive scheme of re-afforestation was undertaken to ensure perpetuity of supplies.
Since the 1950s Bulolo has been connected to Lae by a vehicular road along the Bulolo and Markham River valleys.
See also
*John Alexander Agnew
John Alexander Agnew (1872 – 2 August 1939) was a New Zealand mining engineer who worked with future United States president Herbert Hoover and later became chairman of Consolidated Gold Fields, the first chairman of the firm to be from a min ...
References
Further reading
*
* - The story of the great gold dredging endeavour.
* - An excellent resource where Sinclair acknowledges and credits the research and recollections of Ian Grabowsky, a prominent figure in early aviation in both Papua New Guinea and Australia.
External links
Bulolo University collegeInsect Farming and Trading Agency
{{Authority control
Populated places in Morobe Province
Gold mines in Papua New Guinea
Surface mines in Papua New Guinea