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 Urban *81. Wau Wau may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Papua New Guinea * Wau, Papua New Guinea ...

Morobe Province Morobe is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands Province ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. It was once an important

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

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 d ...

centre in the former

Territory of New Guinea The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian-administered League of Nations and then United Nations trust territory on the island of New Guinea from 1914 until 1975. In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of Papua were established in an adm ...

,Mining History
, MRA situated on the

Bulolo River Bulolo is a town in Wau-Bulolo Urban LLG, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It was once an important gold dredging centre in the former Territory of New Guinea,Markham River The Markham River is a river in eastern Papua New Guinea. It originates in the Finisterre Range and flows for to empty into the Huon Gulf at Lae. Course The Markham is a major river in eastern Papua New Guinea. Its headwaters (''Umi'' and ''Bi ...

, about north-west of

Wau Wau may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Papua New Guinea * Wau, Papua New Guinea * Wau Airport (Papua New Guinea) * Wau Rural LLG, (local level government) South Sudan * Wau State, South Sudan * Wau, South Sudan, city * Wau railway s ...

. 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, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island ...

. 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 Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

, 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 butt ...

, which promotes

insect farming Insect farming is the practice of raising and breeding insects as livestock, also referred to as ''minilivestock'' or ''micro stock''. Insects may be farmed for the commodities they produce (like silk, honey, Lac (resin), lac or insect tea), or fo ...

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 (, , later ) 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 on the northern coast of Huon Gulf. It is at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is ...

. 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 A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

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 The Markham River is a river in eastern Papua New Guinea. It originates in the Finisterre Range and flows for to empty into the Huon Gulf at Lae. Course The Markham is a major river in eastern Papua New Guinea. Its headwaters (''Umi'' and ''Bi ...

valleys.

References

External links

Bulolo University collegeInsect Farming and Trading AgencyHubert Archibald Williamson New Guinea Photographs 1930-1933

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

. Photographs comprising a collection of images relating to the rich holdings of gold located at Bulolo in the 1930s. {{Authority control Populated places in Morobe Province Gold mines in Papua New Guinea Surface mines in Papua New Guinea

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links