Bougainville Island Explained

Bougainville
Map:Papua New Guinea
Location:Melanesia
Archipelago:Solomon Islands
Area Km2:9318
Highest Mount:Mount Balbi
Elevation M:2715
Country:Papua New Guinea
Country Admin Divisions Title:Province
Country Admin Divisions:Autonomous Region of Bougainville
Density Km2:32.19
Timezone1:UTC
Utc Offset1:+11

Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: Bogenvil)[1] is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is . The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at .

The much smaller Buka Island,, lies to the north, across the NaNm (-2,147,483,648feet) wide Buka Strait. Even though the strait is narrow, there is no bridge across it, but there is a regular ferry service between the key settlements on either side. The main airstrip in the north is in the town of Buka. Buka has an outcropping that is 175km (109miles) from New Ireland. Among the large islands of Papua New Guinea, New Ireland is the closest to Buka.

Bougainville is the largest island in the Solomon Islands archipelago. It was previously the main landmass in the North Solomons, which were associated with the German Empire. Most of the islands in this archipelago (which are primarily concentrated in the southern and eastern portions of it) are part of the politically independent Solomon Islands. Two of these islands—the closely connected Shortland Islands—are less than south or southeast of Bougainville, and about west of Choiseul, one of the settlements of which, Poroporo, faces Bougainville.

In a 2019 referendum, the citizens of Bougainville voted to become independent from Papua New Guinea by 2027, but the referendum was non-binding on the Papua New Guinea government, which has not committed to this.[2] [3]

History

See main article: History of Bougainville.

Early history

During the Last Ice Age, present-day Bougainville Island was part of a single landmass known as "Greater Bougainville", which spanned from the northern tip of Buka Island to the Nggela Islands. The earliest evidence of human settlement is at Kilu Cave on Buka Island, where the earliest remains are from 26,700 to 18,100 BC. The first settlers were Melanesian people, likely related to modern Papuans and Indigenous Australians. In the 2nd millennium BC, Austronesian people arrived, bringing with them domesticated pigs, chickens, dogs, and obsidian tools. The first European contact with Bougainville was in 1768, when the French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville arrived and named the main island after himself.[4]

British and American whaling ships visited the island for provisions, water, and wood in the 19th century. The first on record was the Roscoe in 1822, and the last was Palmetto in 1881.[5] Later, the German Empire laid claim to Bougainville in 1899, annexing it into German New Guinea. Christian missionaries arrived on the island in 1902.[6] During World War I, Australia occupied German New Guinea, including Bougainville. It became part of the Australian Territory of New Guinea under a League of Nations mandate in 1920.[7]

In 1942, during World War II, Japan invaded the island, but Allied forces launched the Bougainville campaign to regain control of the island in 1943.[8] [9] Despite heavy bombardments, the Japanese garrisons remained on the island until 1945. Following the war, the Territory of New Guinea, including Bougainville, returned to Australian control. On 18 April 1943, in Bougainville Island, during the Pacific War, the Japanese admiral, commander-in-chief of Combined Fleet Isoroku Yamamoto, died after his plane was attacked by US fighter planes and crashed into the jungle.

Attempts at independence

In 1949, the Territory of New Guinea, including Bougainville, merged with the Australian Territory of Papua, forming the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, a United Nations Trust Territory under Australian administration.[10] On 9 September 1975, the Parliament of Australia passed the Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975. On 11 September 1975, Bougainville declared itself the Republic of the North Solomons. Though it was later absorbed politically into Papua New Guinea.[11]

Between 1988 and 1998, the Bougainville Civil War claimed over 15,000 lives. Peace talks brokered by New Zealand began in 1997 and led to autonomy. A multinational Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) under Australian leadership was deployed. In 2001, a peace agreement was signed, including the promise of a referendum on independence from Papua New Guinea. This referendum was held between 23 November and 7 December 2019, with results being declared on 11 December.[12] The referendum question was a choice between greater autonomy within Papua New Guinea or full independence. Of the valid votes, 98.31% were in favour of full independence. The vote is not binding; the Government of Papua New Guinea has the final say on the status of Bougainville.[13]

Geography

Bougainville is the largest island in the Solomon Islands archipelago. It is part of the Solomon Islands rain forests ecoregion. Bougainville and the nearby island of Buka are a single landmass separated by a deep 300m (1,000feet) wide strait. The island has an area of, and there are several active, dormant or inactive volcanoes that can rise to . Bagana (1750m (5,740feet)) in the north central part of Bougainville is conspicuously active, spewing out gas that is visible for many kilometres.[14] In 2013, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake was detected on the Bougainville Island; its epicenter was located 57 kilometers (35.4 miles) south of Panguna, a town on Bougainville Island.[15]

Ecology

Bougainville Island is primarily forested. Copper mining on the island by a Rio Tinto-owned mining operation in Panguna was known for their environmental impacts due to heavy metals.[16] More recently, deforestation in order to feed the growing population has affected the flow of many rivers on the island.[17] The United Nations Environment Programme has offered to facilitate the cleanup of the Panguna mine and explore reopening it with more stringent environmental standards.[18]

Climate

Bougainville Island has a tropical rainforest climate (Af on Köppen classification). The driest month is February.

Economy

Bougainville has one of the world's largest copper deposits, which has been under development since 1972. The Panguna mine is estimated to have one billion tonnes of copper ore and 12 million ounces of gold.[19] It was later shut down in a revolution against the Australian-run mine.[20]

Demographics

Religion

The majority of people on Bougainville are Christian,[21] an estimated 70% being Roman Catholic and a substantial minority United Church of Papua New Guinea since 1968.

Languages

There are many indigenous languages in Bougainville Province, belonging to three language families. The languages of the northern end of the island, and some scattered around the coast, belong to the Austronesian family. The languages of the north-central and southern lobes of Bougainville Island belong to the North and South Bougainville families.

The most widely spoken Austronesian language is Halia and its dialects, spoken on the island of Buka and the Selau peninsula of Northern Bougainville. The larger languages, such as Nasioi, Korokoro Motuna, Terei, and Halia, are split into dialects that are not always mutually understandable. For general communication, most Bougainvilleans use Tok Pisin as a lingua franca. English and Tok Pisin are the languages of official business and government.[22]

Other Austronesian languages include Nehan, Petats, Solos, Saposa (Taiof), Hahon and Tinputz, all spoken in the northern quarter of Bougainville, Buka and surrounding islands. These languages are closely related. Bannoni and Torau are Austronesian languages not closely related to the former, which are spoken in the coastal areas of central and south Bougainville. On the nearby Takuu Atoll, a Polynesian language is spoken, Takuu.[23] The Papuan languages are confined to the main island of Bougainville. These include Rotokas, a language with a very small inventory of phonemes, Eivo, Terei, Keriaka, Naasioi (Kieta), Nagovisi, Siwai (Motuna), Baitsi (sometimes considered a dialect of Siwai), Uisai and several others.

Human rights

Cut off from the outside world for several years by a Papua New Guinean blockade during the civil war, the islanders suffered many deaths from a lack of medical resources.[24]

A 2013 United Nations survey of 843 men found that 62% (530 respondents) of those have raped a woman or girl at least once, with 26% (217 respondents) of the men reported having raped a non-partner, whereas 9% (74 respondents) reported having committed gang rape. Additionally, the survey also found that 8% (67 respondents) of the men had raped other men or boys.[25]

Popular culture

The Coconut Revolution, a documentary about the struggle of the indigenous population to save their island from environmental destruction and gain independence, was made in 1999.[26]

An Evergreen Island (2000), a film by Australian documentary filmmakers Amanda King and Fabio Cavadini of Frontyard Films, showed the ingenuity with which the Bougainvillean people survived for almost a decade (1989–1997) without trade or contact with the outside world because of the PNG military blockade.[27]

Mr. Pip (2012) is a film by New Zealand director Andrew Adamson based on the book Mister Pip by New Zealand author Lloyd Jones.

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Bogenvil. Tok Pisin English Dictionary. 4 December 2019. 25 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210625164929/https://www.tokpisin.info/bogenvil/. dead.
  2. Web site: Bougainville referendum not binding - PM. 11 March 2019. Radio New Zealand. en-nz. 18 March 2019.
  3. News: Lyons . Kate . 2019-12-11 . Bougainville referendum: region votes overwhelmingly for independence from Papua New Guinea . 2024-10-17 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  4. Book: Braithwaite . John . Charlesworth . Hilary . Ruddy . Peter . Dunn . Leah . Reconciliation and Architectures of Commitment: Sequencing peace in Bougainville . 2010 . . 9781921666698 . 10 . 16 March 2023.
  5. Langdon, Robert (1984), Where the whalers went: an index to the Pacific Ports and islands visited by American whalers (and some other ships) in the 19th century, Canberra, Pacific Manuscripts Bureau, p.184-5.
  6. Book: Braithwaite . John . Charlesworth . Hilary . Ruddy . Peter . Dunn . Leah . Reconciliation and Architectures of Commitment: Sequencing peace in Bougainville . 2010 . . 9781921666698 . 10 . 16 March 2023.
  7. Chapter 2: History of the Bougainville Conflict . Parliament of Australia . Historical Influences (Pre-1989); 2.9.
  8. Book: Hall. R. Cargill. Lightning Over Bougainville: The Yamamoto Mission Reconsidered. 1991. Smithsonian Institution Press. 1-56098-012-5.
  9. Book: Gailey. Harry A.. Bougainville, 1943–1945: The Forgotten Campaign. 1991. University Press of Kentucky. 0-8131-1748-8.
  10. Web site: Papua New Guinea (09/09) . 2024-10-17 . U.S. Department of State.
  11. Web site: Knight . White . 2019-11-23 . Commonwealth Stamps Opinion: 1550. Bougainville Begins Independence Voting. . 2024-10-17 . Commonwealth Stamps Opinion.
  12. News: Bougainville set to hold long-awaited independence referendum . 27 September 2019 . France 24. 6 October 2019. en-FR.
  13. News: Bougainville referendum: region votes overwhelmingly for independence from Papua New Guinea . The Guardian . 11 December 2019 . 11 December 2019. Lyons . Kate .
  14. Web site: Report on Bagana (Papua New Guinea) — 7 March-13 March 2007 . 2024-10-17 . Global Volcanism Program . en.
  15. Web site: Yasin Güngör . Muhammed . September 2, 2024 . Magnitude 6.4 earthquake hits Papua New Guinea . 2024-10-17 . www.aa.com.tr.
  16. Web site: Wilson . Catherine . 6 May 2022 . Bougainville starts process to reopen controversial Panguna mine . 2024-10-17 . Al Jazeera . en.
  17. Web site: Fong Roka . Leonard . Water crisis looms from deforestation; alluvial mining . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063607/http://www.bougainville24.com/bougainville-environment/water-crisis-looms-from-deforestation-alluvial-mining/ . 4 March 2016 . 8 January 2016 . Bougainville 24 – BCL news blog.
  18. News: UNEP to help Bougainville manage clean-up of Rio Tinto mine. ABC News. 4 September 2013 .
  19. Web site: Mcdonald . Joshua . November 22, 2019 . Will Bougainville Reopen the Panguna Mine? . 2024-10-17 . thediplomat.com . en-US.
  20. Web site: 22 November 2019 . Bougainville's gold mine sparked a war that killed 20,000 - now it could be reopened . 2024-10-17 . SBS News . en.
  21. Web site: Oge . Robin . 2020-08-25 . Against amending the Constitution to make PNG a Christian country . 2024-10-17 . Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre . en-AU.
  22. Web site: Blackwood . Mark . 2023-05-05 . Languages of Papua New Guinea: A Detailed Guide . 2024-10-17 . thewordpoint.com . en.
  23. Moyle, Richard (1980). Takuu Dictionary: A Polynesian language of the South Pacific. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. p. 428. .
  24. Book: Connell, John . Papua New Guinea: The Struggle for Development . 28 July 2005 . Routledge . 9781134938322 . Growth economies of Asia . 87 . 297.
  25. Book: 2013 . Why do some men use violence against women and how can we prevent it . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030150/http://unwomen-asiapacific.org/docs/WhyDoSomeMenUseViolenceAgainstWomen_P4P_Report.pdf . 4 March 2016 . Bangkok . 1–3 . 978-9746803601 . Fulu . Emma .
  26. Web site: Coconut Revolution, The (Bougainville story).
  27. Web site: An Evergreen Island . . 19 January 2015.