A little history

The island of Bougainville is geographically part of the Solomon chain of islands and lays 7° south of the equator; it consists of two main islands Bougainville and Buka and a scattering of smaller islands and atolls. The islands of Bougainville were inhabited some 30 000 years ago by the Melanesian people although some of the smaller atolls consist mainly of people of Polynesian descent. The first European to sight Bougainville was the Spanish explorer Luis Vaez De Torres who passed through around 1606. The first Europeans to spend some time in the waters of Bougainville were the British ship the Swallow under the command of Phillip Carteret in 1767.

Japanese gun, Kangu Beach
The next group of people were the French and a voyage captained by Louis De Bougainville had first sightings of people, some contact was made with the people of Buka who were heard shouting this as the ship passed by and thus it received it’s name and the mainland received the name Bougainville as it was common practice in the days of exploration.
The first people to set foot on land were the people on board the Dientrecasteaux expedition and not a lot is known of the outcome of events that followed. Contact on Bougainville and Buka after 1800 was lively with whalers seeking food and other provisions, others came seeking labourers for plantation work otherwise called “blackbirders”. Many of these people went to work in the plantations of Queensland and other parts of Australia.
German influence to Bougainville began in 1886 when the Berlin declaration was passed and Germany expanded its territory to include Buka and Bougainville and some of the other southerly Solomon Islands. The first white owned plantations were established in the early 1900s and in 1905 the German Colonial Administration established it’s self in Kieta near Arawa southern Bougainville. Missionaries began there tasks in 1902 with a site also near Kieta and became the first permanent white settlers. This began a long history of contact with white settlers and marriages to the local people took place and thus the ownership of many of the islands plantations.

American jetty, Torokina
war (WWI and WWII)
Bougainville played a significant role during both WWI and WWII where troops from Germany, Japan, America and Australia dominated the pacific.
Buka was an important air base with an air strip cleared quickly. There was a major naval base at Buin in WWI. Close to Bougainville, Shortland Island, part of the Solomons, was also a major navel base. The Australian navy had good success on Bougainville during the battle for Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.

American Aircraft, Torokina
 From WWI until 1921 the German New Guinea colony was administered by the Australian military with a league of nations mandate, Papua New Guinea remained under Australian rule until independence in 1975. Early 1942 saw the Japanese move in defeating the Australians and holding most of Bougainville until the end of the war.
American forces captured Torokina on the west coast of Bougainville in November 1943, and then with Australian troops they began working south towards Buin, the war ended before any major conflict occurred.
The Japanese had huge losses, of approximately 80 000 troops; 24 000 were taken prisoner, 20 000 were killed in action and 36 000 were left in jungles and died of starvation and disease.
In 1943 on April 18 Admiral Isorko Yamamoto left Rabual (New Britain) via Buin on his way to bomb Perl Harbour in his Betty Bomber, he did not expect US fighters to be waiting for him and he was shot down near Buin were his plane wreck still remains, Bougainville and Buka have many relics form WWII including tanks, planes and bombs as well as the fortifications built by the Japanese.
After the war the district headquarters of Bougainville were moved from Kieta near Arawa to Sohano Island near Buka and then back to Kieta in 1960.

Life after the War

In 1964 mineral deposits were discovered in the Panguna area and soon a mine was established by Bougainville Copper Limited, Millions of Kina were invested (K40 000 000) on infrastructure and development on the mine.

Tank on road side near Siara, East Coast, North Bougainville
A new town was built with roads and power station and the headquarters were based in Arawa, all this took place under British Rio Tinto Zinc.
During the 1960s and 1970s the north Solomons attempted to breakaway from the Australian colonial control which erupted into disputes of land and over the mine vicinity and landowners rights for profits. In 1974 secessionist movements came about with several leaders, the leaders won the right for a provincial government but P.N.G house of assembly did not add these provisions to the constitution.
Two weeks before independence was claimed, on September the 1st 1975 rebels in Kieta raised a flag of the Republic of North Solomons soon after parliament and the provincial government was established.Soon disputed came about came about and the profits to landowners and their rights for compensation. The mine produced huge profits to only a small portion of the land owners involved and to the P.N.G government, the development at the community level was poor and the destruction to the environment was greater than the compensation received from the mine, people began to feel that they had signed away land not knowing the full consequences until it was to late.
In 1987 the landowners association (Panguna) was formed which demanded better protection for the environment as well as compensation for damages caused (US10 billion). These demands were not met and in 1988 the BRA began to sabotage the mines operations. Increasing attacks resulted in the mines closure in 1989 which devastated the P.N.G economy.

American Aircraft, Torokina
Soon after the P.N.G army moved in the conflict spread around the whole island. Whole villages were displaced, burned and people were murdered and raped, these stories will linger for a long time and Bougainville had a very bad name to the outside world.

American Tanks, about ten in total, Torokina
 In April 1995 there was hope that some peace might be restored but the one man who might achieve something was shot dead at his home on 12th October 1996. In February and March 1997 saw the controversial Sandline Affair break the headlines and the tactics of solving the problem using military actions.
Buin was a major Japanese base and was known as Little Tokyo, it has many underground tunnels. At Kangu Beach there are gun emplacements and large storage bunkers.