Tabubil, Papua New Guinea
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The town of Tabubil is a small settlement of around 10,000 people, situated in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. The town was established, and exists mainly to serve the former gold mine of Ok Tedi which is currently mining copper, under a joint initiative between the PNG government, and Australian mining giant, BHP.
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[edit] Description
Tabubil itself is situated amongst dense jungle on a plateau, beside a steep escarpment leading down to the Ok Tedi river, in the Star Mountains of Papua New Guinea. The township is incredibly remote, and is only accessible from the world outside the province via air, with a 1500 m dirt/gravel airstrip, or barge along the Fly River which has a water level too low for shipping many months of the year. There are only two unsealed highways out of the town, one terminating at Ok Tedi mine, 20 km to the northwest, and the other terminating at the river port of Kiunga, 100 km to the south
The town is known unofficially as one of the wettest places on earth, with residents claiming an annual rainfall of up to 8 metres. The unique weather conditions have caused much adaptation in the local jungle flora and fauna, causing Tabubil to be particularly interesting to the scientific community.
Tabubil is served by a hotel, a hospital, a police station and courthouse, fire station, two primary schools, two supermarkets, a bakery, chemist, two banks, and a hardware store. Various other local businesses create an extremely westernised culture within this remote town. The local Hairdresser is called Curl up and Dye, and the local fast food outlet is known as Gobble and Go. The mine has sponsored various clubs around town, including the Golf Club, the Hash House Harriers, and the Gazebo club. For non drinking related recreation there is an indoor squash court, indoor cricket centre, tennis courts, a public pool, rugby fields, a gym, and many jungle tracks which may or may not be safe to walk along.
Tabubil is powered by a Hydro-electric station at Ok Menga, capable of producing 10 megawatts of electricity, and has a backup Diesel power generating plant.
Although many people in Tabubil own computers, internet is very rare. There is, however, a wide selection of cable TV stations available, from Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, PNG, and the USA. There is a local TV station called OTV. They release a news bulletin every few years.
[edit] History
The area sorrounding Tabubil was inhabited by the Min people who were pushed into the highlands from the gulf area by warring tribes, hundreds, or even thousands of years ago. Due to the almost inaccessible terrain, first contact with and recognition of the Min tribes could have occurred as late as the 1960s. For quite some time during the establishment of Papua New Guinea as a state, and later a nation, it was believed that nobody lived in the highland areas. The Min people at that time had an under-developed society, and were known for cannibalism.
BHP gained control of Tabubil in the early 1970s and established it as a gold mining town. At that time Tabubil was already a few years old, and had been set up as a small camp sorrounding an airstrip, as a base of operations for drilling sites by the Kennecott Copper Corporation.
Today, the old Kennecott camp is still standing, known locally as the 'A' houses, they are ATCO shipping crate styled houses, the 'B' and 'C' houses were built for workers by BHP further down the line.
[edit] See also
Western Province (Papua New Guinea)
