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Bulolo is a town in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands ....
. It was once an important gold
Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
 dredging centre in the former Territory of New Guinea
Territory of New Guinea

Territory of New Guinea was the name given to the Australia-controlled, League of Nations-mandated territory in the north eastern part of the island of New Guinea, and surrounding islands, between 1920 and 1949....
, situated on the Bulolo River, a tributary of the Markham River
Markham River

The Markham River is a river in eastern Papua New Guinea. It originates in the Finisterre Range and flows for 180 km to empty into the Huon Gulf at Lae....
, about 32 km (20 mi) north-west of Wau
Wau

Wau is a town in Papua New Guinea, in the province of Morobe. It has a population of approx 5,000 and situated at an altitude of around 1100m. Wau was the site of a Gold rush during the 1920's and 30's when prospective gold diggers arrived at the coast at Salamaua and struggled inland along the Black Cat Track....
.

Currently, the town's major industries includes forestry
Forestry

Forestry is the art and science of managing forests, tree plantations, and related natural resources. Silviculture, a related science, involves the growing and tending of trees and forests....
, with the PNG Forest Products Limited the main enterprise. There is also an Insect Farming and Trading Agency, which promotes insect farming and conservation.

History
Dredging for gold was began on March 21, 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

Lae , the capital of Morobe Province, is the second largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast....
.






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Bulolo is a town in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands ....
. It was once an important gold
Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
 dredging centre in the former Territory of New Guinea
Territory of New Guinea

Territory of New Guinea was the name given to the Australia-controlled, League of Nations-mandated territory in the north eastern part of the island of New Guinea, and surrounding islands, between 1920 and 1949....
, situated on the Bulolo River, a tributary of the Markham River
Markham River

The Markham River is a river in eastern Papua New Guinea. It originates in the Finisterre Range and flows for 180 km to empty into the Huon Gulf at Lae....
, about 32 km (20 mi) north-west of Wau
Wau

Wau is a town in Papua New Guinea, in the province of Morobe. It has a population of approx 5,000 and situated at an altitude of around 1100m. Wau was the site of a Gold rush during the 1920's and 30's when prospective gold diggers arrived at the coast at Salamaua and struggled inland along the Black Cat Track....
.

Currently, the town's major industries includes forestry
Forestry

Forestry is the art and science of managing forests, tree plantations, and related natural resources. Silviculture, a related science, involves the growing and tending of trees and forests....
, with the PNG Forest Products Limited the main enterprise. There is also an Insect Farming and Trading Agency, which promotes insect farming and conservation.

History


Dredging for gold was began on March 21, 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

Lae , the capital of Morobe Province, is the second largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast....
. 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. 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
Pine

Pines are Pinophyta trees in the genus Pinus, in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species....
 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
Markham River

The Markham River is a river in eastern Papua New Guinea. It originates in the Finisterre Range and flows for 180 km to empty into the Huon Gulf at Lae....
 valleys.

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