Bougenvilleans urban wage migrants

Oceania Publications, University of Sydney
Bougainvilleans in Urban Wage Employment: Some Aspects of Migrant Flows and Adaptive
Strategies
Author(s): R. D. Bedford and A. F. Mamak
Source: Oceania, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Mar., 1976), pp. 169-187
Published by: Wiley on behalf of Oceania Publications, University of Sydney
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OCEANIA
A JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE STUDY OF THE NATIVE PEOPLES OF
AUSTRALIA, NEW GUINEA AND THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN
VOLUME XLVI No, 3 MARCH, 1976
BOUGAINVILLEANS IN URBAN WAGE EMPLOYMENT:1
SOME ASPECTS OF MIGRANT FLOWS AND ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES
By R. D. Bedford and A. F. Mamak2
copper mine in southeast Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, has been the
subject of intensive study over the past five years. In much of the ensuing
literature emphasis has been placed on the disruptive effects.8 This is hardly
surprising, given hostile local reactions to such destructive processes as proving
the ore-body and constructing an infrastructure to handle its exploitation. In
the short space of three years Bougainvilleans were required to lease 13,000
hectares of garden, cash-crop, and bush land to the administration and mining
company and were compelled to witness the destruction of physical landscapes
and river ecologies, as towns, roads, a port, and a waste-disposal system were
established. In addition, some or all of the inhabitants of at least ten rural
communities were forced to relocate as the result of the operations of Bougainville
Copper, Ltd. The following comment by a Bougainvillean is representative of
reaction to change in the late 1960s: "Suddenly our beautiful, quiet, peaceful
island is covered with mud and dust and square miles of rock-strewn wasteland.
Thousands of glassy-eyed, heavy-booted strangers are walking all over it, and
the hills are echoing the ceaseless roar of heavy machinery, bulldozers, trucks,
construction work, drilling, blasting, digging. We did not ask for this. If we
had been given any choice at all we would not have allowed any of it»" (Kokare,
1972, 19).
1 This paper was presented at a symposium on "Alternatives for Development Strategies
in Asia and the Pacific" in Section 21 of the 46th ANZAAS Congress, Canberra, January
20-24, 1975. Financial assistance provided by the University of Hawaii's Research Cor-
poration is gratefully acknowledged for field research on Bougainville over the period
1973-74.
2 Dr. Bedford is a lecturer in the Department of Geography, University of Canterbury,
Christchurch, and Dr. Mamak lectures in the School of Sociology, University of New South
Wales, Sydney.
8 See, for example, Bedford (1974), Bedford and Mamak (1975b), Brown (1973),
Crocombe (1968), Griffin (1971), Hannett (1969), Kokare (1972), Mamak and Bedford
(1974a, 1974b, 1975), Momis and Ogan (1971), Ogan (1972), Oliver (1973), Shand and
Treadgold (1971), Thomson (n.d.), West (1972), Zorn (1973).
Oceania, XLVI, No. 3, March, 1976

170 BOUGAINVILLEANS IN URBAN WAGE EMPLOYMENT
The forces of industrialization, however, and the ways in which me
of the host society react to these are not static. By 1973 the sheer pers
of mining and the infusion of relatively large amounts of money into
economy through wages, food purchases, and compensation payments, had
in reappraisals of the costs and benefits of the enterprise. Opposition t
facets of the mining operation still exists, but new economic and social
tunities in towns are being recognised and a conscious effort made to e
them. Largely through the stimulus of a Bougainville-wide political mo
the role of the mining operation and its associated urban infrastructure
evaluated in an almost entirely different context to the one that existed in th
1960s.
In this paper we examine characteristics of Bougainville participa
wage employment associated with the recent industrial development. A
history of the workforce in the mining project provides a background t
eration of some responses to the most intensive demand for labour in the
period. In the first instance we analyse these in terms of aggregate
workers to the mine site between 1967 and 1974. The focus of our discussion
is then directed to describing certain strategies these people have adopted in their
use of opportunities to derive a cash income through urban wage employment.
Labour and the Mining Operation
Prior to 1967 the indigenous4 workforce employed by CRAE (Co
Riotinto of Australia Exploration Ltd.) in exploratory drilling in sou
Table 1
Indigenous workforce employed on the Bougainville Copper Project.
1965 - 1974
Indigenous Workforce
Total
Da
N
30.6.65 149 123 82.5 100.0
4.6.66 287 218 75.9 100.0
30.6.67 695 581 83.5 98.0
25.7.68 777 594 76.4 95.0
25.6.69 1871 1428 76.3 61.3
6.6.70 5514 3366 61.0 14.1
30.7.71 10472 6375 60.8 17.8
30.6.72 4547 3339 73.4 81.4
30.6.73 5312 4060 76.4 72.3
30.6.74 5582 4484 80.3 71.4
Sources: Monthly Reports, CRAE,
4 The term 'indigenous' is used
origin in Papua New Guinea. A
Bougainvilleans and Niuginians (n
from outside Papua New Guinea a

BOUGAINVILLEANS IN URBAN WAGE EMPLOYMENT 171
Bougainville rarely exceeded 600 in any one month (Table 1). The
were unskilled labourers. In 1967 the decision to proceed with exploit
the copper deposit, and the need to maintain a stable workforce, gene
greater demand for labour and a major shift in employment policy
initially the company favoured the recruitment of local labourers, op
to mining, coupled with a general unwillingness by Bougainvillean
anything other than short term casual employment, compelled it to look els
In that year a workforce originating from 20 of the 27 census div
Bougainville was supplemented by 30 unskilled Niuginians recruited in
on six- to twelve-month contracts. Mainland labour was not new to the D
at the end of 1967 there were approximately 1900 Niuginians employe
contract on plantations in the Kieta Sub-district alone5, mainly as a r
low Bougainvillean attraction to plantation employment.
In the 1960s many potential wage employees had turned to cash cr
because of rising prices for cocoa and copra. But as information
and working conditions offered by the company began to diffuse wid
creasing number of indigenes,6 from both within and outside Bougainv
attracted to the mine site in search of jobs. Growing competition for
a concentration of large numbers of outsiders in close association wit
villeans for the first time were to produce inevitable social tensions i
towns.
Demand and supply: some local tensions
The magnitude of changes in some characteristics of the workforce required
to get the copper mine into production can best be summarized in a few tables.
Table 1 traces the mid-year workforce employed by the mining company
(Bougainville Copper Ltd., or BCL after 1967) and the large number of
sub-contractors over the period 1965 to 1974. The dramatic increase in numbers
of workers associated with the project in 1970 and 1971, and the subsequent drop
in employment to a present figure of around 5500 is clearly indicated. From 1969
onwards the local labour pool was inadequate to cope with this demand. By June
1970 and October 1971 they composed only 30 per cent of all recruits employed
during this period. In addition a number of sub-contractors who were based in
other parts of Papua New Guinea transferred entire sections of their Niuginian
workforces to Bougainville. It was not long before local residents began to oppose
this massive inflow of outsiders.
Antagonism towards Niuginians stemmed mainly from increasing social
disorder associated with the rapid growth of a male migrant workforce in the
8 Kieta Sub-district, Annual Report, 1967-68.
•Correctly pronounced as "indigeens", not as is usual in Papua New Guinea, to rhyme
with 'aborigines'.

mine area. / tambu (entry forbidden) signs were posted in front
an effort to discourage trespassers in search of entertainment an
panionship. The growing difficulty in obtaining employment was
promoting local dissatisfaction. Of 1300 Bougainvilleans who s
the copper project between April and September 1971, 30 per cent
The relevant proportion for Niuginians over the same period was on
Competition for jobs was much more severe between July 197
1972 when many of the sub-contractors completed their wo
Niuginians whose employment was terminated by a company assoc
copper project were to be repatriated to their districts of origin
however, a great number stayed in the area and sought wor
companies*7 Vagrancy became a major problem and led to gre
order, violence, and theft. Criminal cases heard by the Kieta C
from 188 during the year 1968/9 to over 3,000 in 1970/1. Pr
removal of Niuginians and cessation of recruitment outside the D
new heights in December 1972 when two prominent Bougainvillean
were killed in the New Guinea Highlands.8
Frustration generated by the drop in demand for unskilled la
competition for jobs, and a growing vagrancy problem were imp
behind the emergence of the first prominent Bougainville associ
the towns - the Panguna Mungkas Association. We have e
Association elsewhere (Mamak and Bedford, 1974b), but it is
note here the subjects of discussion which provided a major
meetings held by the PMA during 1973 and 1974. These were:
(a) repatriation of Niuginian employees at the end of their co
(b) problems of vagrancy in the towns;
(c) 'Bougainvillization' of the workforce;
(d) instant dismissal and repatriation of Niuginians caught up i
Bougainvilleans.
A second organization, the Bougainville Special Political Committ
formed during 1973 for wider political purposes, also set up a
look into the growing problem of social disorder in the urban ar
Partly in response to pressure from these quarters, BCL an
subsidiaries began to increase the Bougainville component in thei
'Between July 1971 and April 1972 some 861 Bougainvilleans and 297
had their employment terminated. While a number availed themselves o
return airfare to their home districts, many chose to seek work with
in the towns. As the demand for labour was decreasing, the number of
grew rapidly. J
• i In, March 1973 the
implored • i the governm
else . . ., House of Assembly Debates, Vol. 3, No. 13, 9 March 1973

BOUGAINVILLEANS IN URBAN V/AGE EMPLOYMENT 173
Table 2a summarizes changes in composition of the indigenous wo
ployed by BCL over the period 1970 to 1974. The figures show a s
in recent months in the proportion employed. Further evidence o
by the mining company to recruit local rather than Niuginian
given in Table 2b. It will be noted that more of the Bougainvillean
Table 2
Employment of Bougainvilleans and Niuginians, BCL
(a) Commencements
Period Bougainvilleans Niuginians Total
No. %x No. %x
June-Oct. 1970 147 55A 120 44^9 267
Jan.-Oct. 1971 365 31.6 789 68.4 1154
Jan.-Dec. 1972 743 37.9 1215 62.1 1958
Jan.-Dec. 1973 536 37.4 896 62.6 1432
Jan.-Aug. 1974 289 38.6 460 61.4 I
Total 2080 3TA 3480 62~6
1 Proportion of total employed in
(b) Applications for emp
Bougainvilleans Niuginians Total
Number applying for
jobs by letter
Feb. - Oct. 1974 227 1716 1943
Proportion of above
considered for
interview 70.1 60.9 62.0
Number interviewed
on site between
Jan. & April 1974 209 309 518
Proportion of above
rejected 48.3 64.7 58.1
Sources: Labour recruiting records, Department of Labour, Kieta (Table 2A).
Employee Relations Department, BCL, Panguna (Table 2B).
for jobs were accepted, or considered for employment, than Niuginians. When
the composition of the total indigenous labour force in the towns in June 1973
is examined it is evident that BCL has a greater proportion of Bougainvilleans

in its workforce than other groups of employers (Table 3)9. Th
reflects, in part, worker preferences for employers and jobs. B
Table 3
Employment in the Kieta/Arawa/Panguna Area: June 1973
Employer Bougainvilleans Niuginians Total
No. %x %* No. %x %* No. %x
BCL8 1121 57.1 35.9 2002 52.0 64.1 3123 53.7
Administration* 147 7.5 33.8 345 9.0 70.1 492 8.5
Other Emps.B 697 35.5 31.7 1503 39.0 68.3 2200 37.8
Total 1965 100.1 33.8 3850 100 66^2 5815 100
1 Proportion of total group.
a Proportion of total employed by each employer.
"Figures for April 1973.
* Employees of 33 Departments/sections of Departments who submitted labour
the Department of Labour, Port Moresby, in either 1972 or 1973. The PWD
employer of labour, did not submit returns in either year and consequent
numbers of employees cited for the Administration understates the actual
"Employees of 44 firms who submitted returns to the Labour Department in 1
firms also include various sub-contractors involved in the Bougainville coppe
(e.g. CCS, PDF).
Source: Annual Labour returns, Department of Labour, Port Moresby.
important factor is the preference given by some employers to N
seeking work. This has arisen from the widely-held belief that Bougai
are less likely to work in one job for lengthy periods. The compar
with which they can shift from urban wage employment to work in ru
has fostered this belief. There is certainly considerable mobility am
group in the urban workforce. But, as a closer examination of BCL's B
ville workforce will indicate, there have been some important vari
response to wage employment in towns by people from different part
District.
BCL's Bougainville workers
Residents in all census divisions in the District have been repres
BCL's workforce in every year since 1971.* However, numbers see
gaining employment with the mining company have fluctuated marked
as a result of changing demands for labour in Panguna; partly in re
•Two of the major construction companies operating in the towns - Barcla
Watkins (Overseas Ltd.) - employ a predominantly Niuginian workforce. In J
this component in the indigenous workforce of the companies was, respectively, 9
and 88 per cent. Within the administration, one of the largest departments for
on employees was available was the Police - 96 per cent were Niuginian in Ju

tV/J )] L ' GUINEA ^foag», BRITAIN J9V '
M ¿Hutjeno PAPUA NN A^* BOUGAINVILLErJ-
#y*/2LBUKA I -^C^ t
Sohono ^VVVpASSA6E ^/-tfi/yA^S^b^
if DISTRICT ^
Ufonua ^ ^Yi
-6°S mKuraio L ftobiri ^°S-
^ // SUB- V
/ SDISTRICTAÜ,toho
^^^ f Arowa ^^v
>v i J^ Pongano ^^
- - Sub-district Boundary j K(torotQna l
■ Towns C^ f BUIN ,^*A
%Boku **"* /
• Selected Villages X SUBNr DISTRICT
Kilometres ^V ^^W//^^^^^»
9 »P 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 ^^"^"^^^^ Jytcmfu o
Figu

a host of local conditions and personal factors favouring or d
consideration of urban wage employment. As a detailed examinatio
and temporal characteristics of Bougainvillean labour migratio
presented elsewhere (Bedford and Mamak, 1975a), we shall no
some of the more general trends and regional variations in respon
ment with BCL.
Between 1970 and 1973 there have been some major changes in the relative
proportions of workers from each Sub-district (Table 4). The Buin Sub-district
has consistently provided the greatest numbers of employees in each year since
1970, and approximately ten per cent of the average adult male population of
this area have been employed by BCL over the four-year period. The response
of Buin people to employment opportunities has increased with improved
accessibility to the mine site following completion of the trans-island road in
1972io (pjg i) However, a major drop in their proportion of the total commen-
cing work in 1973 indicates that the response to wage employment from this
part may be closely tied to participation in cash cropping. During 1973 the price
for cocoa, the major cash crop in Buin, rose sharply. Perhaps as a result of
favourable prices, interest in cash cropping increased and there has consequently
been a decline in the number of people from Buin seeking work with the company
(Table 4).
Further evidence, from aggregate data, of a relationship between the timing
of movement to towns and the village agricultural cycle is given in the proportions
of people beginning work outside their villages at different times of the year.
This relationship is examined in greater detail elsewhere, but it may be noted
here that workers from Buin in particular have tended to start work with BCL
during the slack seasons for harvesting cash crops and preparing yam gardens.
Much lower proportions of Bougainvilleans seek work during the two periods
of cocoa flush - April/May and August/September - than at other times
of the year. Such a close relationship between the timing of outmigration and
harvesting of cash crops is not found in the other two Sub-districts where copra
is the major agricultural product sold. One explanation may lie with the fact
that preparation of copra does not demand heavier inputs of labour at any one
time of the year.
North Bougainville's (Buka) contribution to BCL's workforce has been
steadily increasing, while Kieta's has steadily declined (Table 4). This situation
can be explained! in large measure by the effects that differing degrees of
accessibility to the towns have had on response to opportunities for urban
wage employment. There is as yet no road link between north and south Bougain-
ville, and because of comparative isolation from Panguna, the flow of workers
10 See M. Ward (1973) for an examination of the effects this road will have on economic
development in Buin.

Table 4
Bougainvilleans commencing work with BCL, January 1970 - December 1973
Sub-district
Year
Buka Bum Kieta fe
No. %x No. %x No. %x
7970 41 20.2 103 50.9 58 28.7 202
1971 109 22.9 241 50.8 124 26.2 474
1972 157 23.3 347 51.4 171 25.3 675
1973 162 34.0 195 41.1 118 24.8 475
Total 469 25.7 886 48.5 471 25.8 1826
Adult male
Pop. 19702 8500 39.5 7600 35.3 5400 25.1 21500
% adult male
who got work3 5.4 10.2 8.3 8.1
1 Proportion of total commencing in each yea
2 Derived from manipulation of population
The accuracy of such estimates is highly
to indicate differences in the relative siz
8 A 'mean' adult male population for the
is related to the total number of commencements.
Source: Commencement records, BCL.
from Buka has tended to develop more slowly than elsewhere in the District.
An indication of this is given by the year during which the largest group of
migrant workers left their census division to work with BCL. In Buka only
45 per cent of the census divisions had their most intensive outmigration prior
to 1973; in Buin and Kieta the relevant proportions are 100 and 75 per cent.
A gradual decline in the proportion of workers from the Kieta Sub-district
reflects, among other things, greater awareness of alternative opportunities in
the urban economy among those living in close proximity to the town., The
major sources of labour from this Sub-district are still the two census divisions
in which the mine and towns are located - the Guava and North Nasioi areas.
However, the contribution of Kieta people in BCL's labour force who came
from these two areas has been declining steadily since 1970.11 Opportunities to
gain a cash income through selling garden foods in the towns and operating
businesses have increased for this group in particular. Administration and
company policies have encouraged Bougainvilleans from the Guava and North
Nasioi areas to participate in the commercial and transport sectors of the urban
economy. Compensation payments to people living near the mine and along
11 In 1970 Bougainvilleans from the Guava and North Nasioi census divisions accounted
for 72 per cent of those employed by BCL from the Kieta Sub-district. In subsequent
years this proportion dropped to 64 per cent in 1971, 55 in 1972, and 51 in 1973.

the east coast access road have provided much of the necessary cap
investment in different forms as entrepreneurs.
The accessibility factor is also reflected in the differing degrees of s
in workforces from the three Sub-districts. The most stable group
workforce are those from Buka (Table 5). Over three-quarters of t
Table 5
Workforce Stability
(percentages)1
Sub-district . .„
Year
Buka Buin Kieta
7970 805 ¡LÌ 62A 362
1971 65.2 47.3 44.4 46.8
1972 82.3 52.6 47.4 52.6
1973 76.5 79.5 68.6 67.2
Total 76A 54A 53/7 512
1 Proportions of those commencing wo
in December 1973.
Source: Commencement records, BCL.
started work between January 1970 and December 1973 were still working for
the company at the end of the latter month. For Bougainvilleans from Buin
and Kieta the relevant proportions are much lower - just over 50 per cent
in both cases. These differences in stability are much greater when commence-
ments in the two years 1972 and 1973 are considered. The relevant proportions
from each Sub-district still working in December 1973 are: Buka, 80 per cent;
Buin, 61; Kieta 56. The much greater accessibility to their villages has
profoundly influenced the stability of the Buin and Kieta employees. For those
from Buka, it is not so easy to return home, and as a result, greater numbers
have stayed for longer periods.
While accessibility is important in explaining the differential response of
adult males to opportunities for employment with BCL, it should not be over-
emphasized. Other factors are also of weight, such as marked differences in
education levels and skills of migrants from the three Sub-districts. Those from
Buka tend to have higher levels of education, are employed in more skilled
occupations, and consequently receive higher wages than those from Buin and
Kieta (Table 6). Only 11 per cent of the Buka migrants employed by BCL
in April 1973 were labourers compared to 40 per cent of those from Kieta. In
addition workers from Buka have experienced more occupational mobility than
those from the other Sub-districts. Their occupation, wage, and job-promotion

Table 6
Bougainvilleans employed by BCL, April 1973 - Some variations between Sub
(percentages)1
2%£S£ -v Buka -v Buka Bum r. Kieta
Occupation:
Unskilled 11.4 25.2 39.9 24.2
Education:
Secondary 41.9 33.3 33.6 36.3
Wage:
Over $20 p.w. 41.2 34.2 31.8 35.8
Length time employed:
Under 6 months 8.5 13.3 15.6 11.2
Occupation mobility:
At least 1 promotion 53.4 46.0 36.5 45.4
Number of persons
in workforce April 367 483 268 11212
1 Proportions of total for each Sub-district.
* Including 3 persons for whom no Sub-district could be determined.
Source: BCL employee record cards, April 1973.
characteristics reflect both their educational qualificati
commitment to urban wage employment.
In terms of aggregate migrant flows, and characteristic
workforce employed by the mining company, some major
be detected. These suggest differences in strategies associ
employment., However, in order to establish more precisel
from different parts of the District are adapting to emplo
is necessary to shift the focus of discussion from conside
responses to individual economic behaviour. Having presen
to growth of urban wage employment on Bougainville in
now examine some strategies Bougainvilleans have adopted
ment opportunities in towns.
Working in Town
For the great majority we interviewed in Kieta, Arawa, and Panguna, wa
employment was considered to be the easiest, although not necessarily the m
desirable, way of generating a cash income.12 They emphasised the importan
18 Of our 250 respondents, 53 mainly unskilled and semi-skilled employees of th
copper company were included in a workers' survey designed to elicit response
employment conditions; a further 80 were interviewed in a household survey conduc
in the three towns; and approximately 120 living in or near the towns acted as inform
over the two-year period of our research.

180 BOUGA1NVILLEANS IN URBAN WAGE EMPLOYMENT
of a continual supply of money now that cash cropping, and urba
development were transforming the economy. Repeated mention
the necessity, even for villagers, to have more and more money.
cash crops effectively, to increase livestock holdings, to invest in
societies, and even to acquire more land requires money. A d
houses from permanent materials, to own some form of motoris
to possess a widening range of consumer goods and appliances, an
children educated in towns is intensifying demands for money. S
then that many find it convenient to come to town at some stag
employment so that they can satisfy their growing monetary needs.
Three common approaches to urban wage employment can b
The first involves the spread of labour in any one year betwee
the village and wage employment in town. People who utilise this s
in towns for relatively short periods, often at certain times of th
returning for a month or more to participate in cash cropping and
based economic and social activities. This group comprises a
proportion of our unskilled and semi-skilled respondents, many of
the lowest degree of commitment to urban work and residenc
strategy is associated with much stronger commitment to wage e
sole source of a cash income. Minimal direct involvement in t
feature of this approach, and almost no income is derived from o
endeavour in town. The third approach demands participation
ployment as well as other economic puteuits in town, especi
enterprises. Only a very small proportion of our respondent
to spread their time, labour, and capital assets over a range of
activities. In order to facilitate discussion we have termed the thr
respectively 'peasant', 'proletarian', and 'entrepreneur'. While
inherent in any attempt to classify patterns of behaviour in this
realised, the present effort is justified to the extent that there is gener
in the literature on characteristics associated with each of the terms described
here13.
The 'peasant' strategy
A large proportion of workers in the towns, especially those from the Kieta
and Buin Sub-districts, could be described as peasants, because of the way
in which they regard urban wage employment. They consider their involvement
in urban work to be peripheral, while cash cropping and entrepreneurial activity
in rural areas is of primary importance. A number of higher skilled workers,
who expressed the intention of remaining in wage employment for some time,
13 In our discussion of strategies the personal experiences of certain informants are
described. Pseudonyms are used throughout to protect their identity.

also say they are working towards a long-term objective of returning t
rural homes. They see their jobs as providing them with the skills (carp
accounting, and driving and operating heavy equipment) necessary for fu
their economic endeavour in the village. Most regard their work in the
a means for providing for more satisfactory and wider involvemen
village.
Identification with the village is often made, as is shown in the following
comments by three semi-skilled workers with the mining company: "I feel that
when I am working on the land I am leaving something behind for my children.
Wage employment for me is nothing more than an extended holiday." (Truck
driver, Kieta), "There is something tangible in working my own cocoa plantation,
but working for wages is like helping someone else to make a profit." (Storeman,
Kieta) and "Working on the land from time to time helps me to establish
my future standing at home. When I decide to leave the company there will be
something to turn to." (Greaser, Buin). There is nothing unusual in such
expressed attachments to the village. Bougainvilleans, like other Pacific
peoples, have strong attachments, both psychological and economic, to rural
communities where most of them were born and have lived for significant
proportions of their working lives14.
Certain factors favour the adoption of this strategy by people from the
Buin and Kieta areas. The relative ease with which many can move between
town and village now that more extensive road networks have been established
encourages participation in both wage employment and cash cropping. The
great majority of our respondents from these areas make frequent, often weekly,
visits to their villages. Another factor currently favouring this response is a
high market price for cocoa. As noted earlier, cocoa is particularly important
in the village agriculture of the Buin Sub-district, and there has been increasing
interest in recent years in harvesting and planting. Buin workers send home
considerable amounts of cash in the form of remittances to help pay the cost
of maintaining their plantations while they are in town. We lack firm data to
show conclusively that urban wage workers deliberately plan their periods of
wage employment to coincide with the seasonal nature of the cocoa crop. How-
ever, some evidence of returns to villages between the months of July and
October the major harvest period, is indicated by the high incidence of desertions
and resignations at this time of the year, characteristic of Buin and Kieta workers.
An important social characteristic associated with the strategy of the
peasant is the predominance of village kin in networks in town. In contrast
to Bougainvilleans from further away, people from Buin and Kieta interact
14 In a household sample survey conducted in Kieta, Arawa and Panguna in December
1973 we found that 78 per cent of our respondents had spent more than 40 per cent
of their working lives in rural communities.

more frequently and regularly, with relatives from their place of origin
way contact with events in both the town and village is maintained
appear to be clannish and exhibit a greater degree of unity and so
amongst themselves than people from other parts of the District.
intolerant of other District groups. The system of urban social rela
work and leisure repeatedly reinforces this identification with the villa
co-members of the home area.
Persistence of the peasant strategy with its peripheral commitment to wage
employment will depend in part on the market price for cash crops and growing
experience of Bougainvilleans in urban work. Respondents from the Buin area
had little experience of wage employment in town prior to working in the copper
mine. They are also the group most dissatisfied with their jobs and wages.
Because they look at their period of employment as temporary, however, few
see the need to join the mine workers' union to better their wages and working
conditions.
Present dissatisfaction with urban employment stems largely from low wages
and the state of accommodation for labourers. Most are housed in single-men's
quarters. Although few intend sending for their immediate families, higher wages,
and provision of married accommodation for unskilled workers may lead to a
greater commitment to urban residence. In the short term, however, the majority
of unskilled and semi-skilled workers from the Kieta and Buin areas will continue
to approach urban wage employment in a manner that can only be understood
in the context of opportunities to derive a cash income in rural areas.
The 'proletarian* strategy
Urban wage employment as the sole source of monetary income is being
adopted largely by Bougainvilleans from villages located in isolated interior areas,
where avenues for cash cropping are limited, or at considerable distances from
the town. As access to their rural communities is difficult, regular participation
in the social and economic life of the village is practically impossible. Visits
are usually only made during annual holidays from work. Partly as a con-
sequence of isolation, these workers tend to be more actively caught up in urban
voluntary associations concerned with improving the way of life for the wage
earner in towns.
For a significant number, better-than-average education, job stability, and
greater urban work experience have led to considerable occupational mobility.
Qualification for a house in either Arawa or Panguna has come with occupational
mobility and higher wages. Those who are married have sent for their immoliate
families, and lengthy visits by kinsmen are not uncommon. Communication
between people living in villages and towns is also frequent via the local radio

station. Many express a desire to return "one day" to their villages,
all stated a preference for cash cropping in place of wage employmen
additional year in the towns brings with it an increasing involv
commitment. In contrast to those from villages closer to the mine, th
tend to remit much smaller amounts of money to their rural kin, e
they are usually earning more.
Bougainvilleans from Buka form the major component of this ©mer
proletariat. Skilled and unskilled workers from this area have opted
town-based employment for much longer periods of continuous
result of lengthy stays in the towns they have assumed the leadersh
worker associations such as the Panguna Mungkas Association and th
ville Mining Workers' Union15. A concern with wage rates, accom
localisation policies, management-worker relations, and social pr
manifested in their involvement in urban associations. In the recent Arawa
Town Council elections six of the eight Bougainvillean candidates were from
Buka. Of those who stood, only two, both from Buka, were elected. One is now
President of the Town Council. Largely as a result of their much wider particip-
ation in different facets of urban society, those from Buka tend to have friendship
networks that include people from a range of Districts. This is in direct contrast
to the clannishness ascribed to those adopting the peasant strategy.
The following case study describes the characteristics of a Bougainvillean
who approximates the skilled, committed urban worker:
Joseph, 24S was born in Lemankoa village, Buka, and completed his
secondary education at Catholic seminaries in Buka and Rabaul. In the latter
institution he helped organize a student protest and was summarily dismissed.
With his hopes of joining the priesthood dashed, he returned to Buka. There
he met a BCL recruiting officer who offered him a job in the mine site. He
began work for the company in 1971 as a clerk in the pay office at $11.10 per
week. During his first few years with the company, he helped to organize and
run a social club aimed at improving town life for workers from his home area.
His job as payroll clerk provided him with knowledge of the dual wage structure
(indigenes and expatriates) of the company. This led to an interest in the
mining workers' union, and the way in which the union could help better the
position of indigenous employees. In 1973 he became increasingly active
in the trade union, attending nearly every meeting, and offering suggestions
to leaders as to how they could improve their image with workers. In the same
year the union appointed him as a shop steward, and in the following year he was
elected treasurer. He played an important part in the recent negotiations for a
new wage award for mine workers and has voiced his ambition to stand for
15 An analysis of trade unionism in Bougainville's towns is presented in Mamak and
Bedford (1975).

President in the next union election. His friendship network includ
people from outside his Sub-district, and from Papua New Guinea
largely because of the role he has played in the mining workers' un
considers himself first and foremost as a Bougainvillean, and only secon
a Bukan. He visits his village during annual holidays. In town he liv
his wife and family in a modest house provided by the company an
satisfied with the accommodation. He frequently interacts with neighb
sometimes a Sepik woman living nearby comes to use his washing m
Because of his interest in the development of Arawa, Bougainville Distric
have asked him to help form a social club for Bougainvilleans living
urban areas. He was one of the successful candidates in the Arawa Town
Council elections, and is becoming increasingly caught up in civic affairs. In
terms of his employment status he has advanced considerably since first joining
the company. He now earns $45.00 a week and is being sponsored by the
company for an acountancy degree.16
Commitment to urban wage employment is increasing among Bougainvilleans
who have experienced some occupational mobility and have obtained married
accommodation. Company housing compares favourably with that provided
by the administration, and residents in BCL houses generally have few complaints
about their accommodation. With their families in town, and children at schools
in the area, these Bougainvilleans are becoming much more stabilized in urban
residence. Their major complaint is the high cost of living associated with town
residence, but few see this as a factor likely to compel them to return to their
villages in the near future.
The 'entrepreneur* strategy
An increasing number of Bougainvilleans from areas in the immediate
neighbourhood of the new towns and mine are supplementing their incomes from
wages with money derived through participation in other economic ventures in
the urban areas. Participation may be direct through setting up and ownership
of business enterprises, or indirect through investment and shareholding in town-
based companies. Bougainvilleans adopting the entrepreneur strategy are found
in all classes of occupation from the unskilled to those employed in senior
positions. Many of the former commute if their villages are close to Panguna
or Arawa and receive additional income from cash cropping and compensation
payments. Income from these latter sources plus savings from their wages are
invested in companies operating commercial enterprises in the towns. Recently
three Holding Companies, which are concerned with various transport, construct-
16 Since this article was written we have learned that Joseph was sacked by BCL for
having taken part in the May 1975 strike which sought to increase the wages of mineworkers.

ion, and retail businesses in the towns, have been set up by Bougai
drawing on new sources of wealth in their communities.
Innovators in this sphere are usually skilled employees in the
company who are more or less permanently resident in town. Regul
by the worker to his village and his kinsmen to town are common, how
Entrepreneurs are obviously attempting to maximize opportunities for
a cash income. But they have not cut their ties with villages and r
participate in the rural area. In this way they differ considerably from
committed wage-earning proletarian.
The following case study provides an example of the entrepreneur ap
Thomas, 41, was born in a village located only a few miles from the
town boundary. He received his primary and secondary education f
Roman Catholic Mission in Kieta, and taught for several years in various
schools in the Kieta Sub-district. In 1966 he left teaching because of a d
with the principal. He successfully applied for a job with the mining co
and was soon in charge of purchasing vegetables for the company's me
this time BCL was operating two trucks for the cartage of locally p
vegetables. With the encouragement of the company Thomas persu
people of his village and surrounding areas to purchase a truck whi
then be hired out to the company for vegetable cartage. His mothe
brother was the first to invest with $400, a part of the income derive
his cocoa plantation. Thomas himself invested $300. Soon about 50
were found, and $4000 was raised towards the purchase of an Isuzu 3-to
This was hired out to the company, and at the end of one year a p
$5000 had been realized. Over this period the truck suffered irreparable
and another collection was made for the purchase of a larger one. Soon
wards Thomas's company successfully tendered for the garbage disposal
for Arawa and Kieta. By late 1972, with financial assistance from the D
ment Bank, four subsidiaries had been formed, and this company had
into construction and property development. It has become one of the
and most successfully operated Bougainville enterprises in the town
the first few years of his employment with BCL Thomas lived in
camps and in the weekends visited his wife and children. In July
was provided with married accommodation in Arawa, and he and hi
have lived there ever since. They frequently visit their village and oft
kinsmen staying with them in town. Thomas plans to move to another
which he is building on land! belonging to his wife's clan situated on t
of town. Part of the house will be developed as a trade store to ser
needs of town residents nearby.
A new class of Bougainville businessmen who are not in wage emplo

and derive their monetary incomes solely from their own town-based
enterprises is also emerging. Policies favouring local participation in transport
and service sectors of the urban economy have encouraged an, as yet, small
number to leave wage employment altogether and run their own businesses.
Conclusion
Responses by members of the host society to wage employment associated
with rapid urban-industrial development in the southeast of Bougainville hav
undergone significant change over the past five years. This is mainly because
of changes in both the nature of demand for labour and circumstances favouri
work in towns. For those with skills required in the mining operation, continu
participation in urban wage employment is becoming more attractive with improved
living conditions for this class of worker. The unskilled labourer, however, i
finding it increasingly difficult to obtain work. Commercial and industr
growth in the new towns has been slower than expected, and the demand for
unskilled urban labour is diminishing. These changing circumstances will ensu
further modification of strategies Bougainvilleans adopt to acquire a cash incom
Particular combinations of social and economic circumstances, and such
factors as accessibility of villages and towns, influence ways of utilizing
opportunities for urban wage employment. Three of the most common strategies
currently adopted have been described. It was suggested that ultimate achievement
of economic success in a rural rather than urban context is still the primary
consideration. Recent developments in the District favour persistence of this
rural orientation. The Bougainville Provincial Government, for example, is
attempting to encourage village residence and involvement in rural socio-economic
activity by decentralizing the machinery for controlling and directing political
and economic development (Mamak and Bedford, 1974b). An expected con-
sequence of decentralization is the reinforcement and strengthening of cultural
identity.. Another factor, previously noted, favouring participation in cash
cropping is the high prices for cocoa and copra.
As part of an attempt to diffuse benefits of urban-industrial development,
local planners and politicians are at present concerned with improving access
to the towns. Communication between isolated offshore islands and Kieta is
more regular and reliable now that the Provincial Government owns a ship
designed to service these areas. A road to link up the north and the south is
high on the list of development priorities. With these improvements in surface
communication people from hitherto relatively isolated areas will be able to
participate more fully in the urban market exchange economy. Improved
accessibility will also facilitate circulation between villages and towns, thus
encouraging the persistence of strategies making for participation in rural as

well as urban locations. But as was noted in our preliminary remarks,
forces of and reactions to modern industrial development are co
changing. Periodic reappraisals of local responses to, and particip
development should be made in the light of a people's ongoing str
self-determination.
References
Bedford, R. D. (1974): "New towns on Bougainville", Australian Geographer, Vol. 12,
551-56.
Bedford, R. D. and Mamak, A. F. (1975a): Migration to Southeast Bougainville, 1966-1974,
Bougainville Special Publication No. 2, University of Canterbury, Christchurch.
Bedford, R. D. and Mamak, A. F. (1975b) : Compensating for Development: The Bougain-
ville Case, Bougainville Special Publication No. 3, University of Canterbury,
Christchurch.
Brown, M.F. (1973): "A development consequence - disposal oi mining waste on tsougain-
ville", paper presented to Section 21 at the 45th ANZAAS Congress, Perth.
Crocombe, R. Ci. (1968): "Bougainville, New (Juinea ana Australia, tne roane ana
Southeast Asia, Vol. 3, 39-47.
Gnffin, J. T. (1970) : *L»o agamviile , Australia's Neighbours, No. 68, 7-1Z.
Hannett, L. (1969) : Down Kieta way, Independence tor Bougainville: , New uuinea
and Australia, the Pacific and Southeast Asia, Vol. 4, 8-14.
Kokare, M. (1972): "The great god technology. The other aspect: from behind brown
eyes", Journal of the Papua New Guinea Society, Vol. 6, 13-31.
Mamak, A. F. and Bedford, R. D. (1974a): "Bougainville's students: some expressed
feelings towards non-Bougainvilleans, Arawa town, and the copper mining company",
New Guinea and Australia, the Pacific and Southeast Asia, Vol. 9, 4-15.
Mamak, A. F. and Bedford, R. D. with Hannett, L. and Havmi, M. (1974b): Bougain-
villean Nationalism: Aspects of Unity and Discord, Bougainville Special Publication
No. 1, University of Canterbury, Christchurch.
Mamak, A. F. and Bedford, R. D. (1975): Bougainville Copper and Trade unionism,
Bougainville Special Publication No. 4, University of Canterbury, Christchurch.
Momis, J. and Ogan, E. (1971): "Bougainville 71. Not discovered by CRA , New Guinea
and Australia, the Pacific and Southeast Asia, Vol. 6, 32-40.
Ogan, E. (1972): Business and Cargo: Socio-economic Change Among tne nosioi oj
Bougainville, New Guinea Research Unit Bulletin No. 44, ANU Press, Canberra.
Oliver, D. (1973): Bougainville. A Personal History, Melbourne University rress, Meioourne.
Shand, R. T. and Treadgold, M. L. (1971): The Economy of Papua New Uuinea:
Projections and Policy Issues, Economics Department, ANU, Canberra.
Thompson, M. (n.d.) : "Growth and underdevelopment - the economics of under-
development in Niugini. Bougainville Copper and the new imperialism", Niugini
Reader, University of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby.
Ward, M. (1973): "Koads and ueveiopment in soutnwest Bougainvuie , unpuoiisnea
West, R. (1972): River of Tears. The Rise of the Kio linto-JLinc corporation uta., zarin
Island Ltd., London.
Zorn, S. (1973): "Bougainville: Managing tue copper industry', New uuinea ana
Australia, the Pacific and Southeast Asia, Vol. 8, 23-40.
R. D. Bedford
A. F. Mamak

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