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Farewell Masta Bobby
By WINGSTON WAN-RUIN
The news of Australian World War Two
hero Bobby Gibbes' passing on April 11 saddens the people of Dei
Valley, Western Highlands province, especially the tribes living
around what it is now called the Mamgol (Treamone) Coffee
Plantation, which he established during the 1950s.
History has that, Mr Gibbes was with a patrol team to Mala Patrol
Post, not far from a naturally cone shaped hill, he later name it
"Treamone Hill" and built his residence there.
He negotiated and acquired the land from the Wallei and Kinjibl
Tribes and established his first coffee plantation with a milling
factory later and a cattle paddock on the valley including an
airstrip (in used till early 1980's).
The oldies described Mr Gibbes (popularly known as Masta Bobby) as
a very talented and an intelligent air pilot, who could swing his
plane from side to side or upside down while in the air.
Stories of Mr Gibbes' shooting down many enemy war planes and
making his own escape after having been shot down were well told
stories among the oldies, who considered Master Bobby their hero.
Mr Gibbes being the pilot and owner of a plane, was able to fly
into the valley with cargoes-a large quantity of pearl shell (a
very highly treasured and priced item those days by the locals)
from the coast every month to pay his plantation labourers. Money
was of no value then to the workers.
Mr Gibbes was seen by the locals as a source of their wealth, so
they treasured and accorded him with great respect. Young men from
all around came to work for "Master Bobby" in order to get paid a
pearl shell a month's pay.
According to the oldies, Treamone Plantation was the hub of the
shell trading economic activity in the valley. The pearl shell was
used for bride price and Moka making activities along with pigs,
so the shell was highly regarded and priced during those days in
most parts of the Highlands.
Bobby Gibbes was described as a man who had a big heart for the
local people whom he worked and associated with and resided among
without discrimination or grievances.
Stories had been told that he took village locals aboard his plane
to various places, making them experiencing their first trip in a
plane. He would ask them to sing or make traditional message
sending shouts from inside the plane when about to take off or
land.
After he sold his property and left, he was always remembered.
Many children born to his associates were either named after him
or one of his family members. Thus the names such as Bobby, Julie,
Jeanie and Robyn are common names in the valley.
In the year 2000, an old, pale and wrinkled Mr Gibbes returned
(this time as a tourist) to see the remains of his Treamone
Plantation.
Despite some extensions including a new factory built on his once
popular aerodrome, the plantation was at the point of collapsing
due to mismanagement.
The paddock which once produced cattle with high quality meat and
also won Mr Gibbes awards on the Highlands Agricultural Show
Competitions were no where to be seen. The cattle paddock was
overrun with bush after the last cattle were killed during a
tribal fight in 1992.
The old coffee factory located at the foot of a small hill was
covered under a landslide soon after Mr Gibbes went finish.
The covering of a large coffee factory by a small landslide was
believed to be done by magicians hired to do the job over
compensation claims for a local man who was electrocuted by the
fallen power lines of the coffee factory's generator.
The compensation paid by the plantation owners to the victim's
Kinijibl Kamunga tribe was thought to be insufficient.
Looking at the sorry state of the plantation and the run down
coffee factory, Mr Gibbes told the onlookers most of them were the
younger generation, that if he still had the strength and energy,
he would buy back and revive the whole coffee plantation back to
its former glory days.
Standing near to his once big workshop and road junction leading
to his lovely Treamone Hill Residential Area, Mr Gibbes shed tears
to show his respect for the establishment he laboured tirelessly
for during his hey days.
He asked around for his collegues-the oldies namely Kouru, Pena
and Mel of the Wellei tribe and Rain, Mel and Worukl of the
Kinjibi tribe.
He was saddened to hear that they had passed on. However, Mr
Gibbes had the privilege of meeting some of their children, who
were small boys during his time there.
Mr Gibbes' other business establishments including his own
airways-"Gibbes Sepik Airways" in Papua New Guinea, apart from the
Treamone Plantation, were unheard of by the people in the valley.
Certainly lack of education and language barrier could have
limited and confined the people to their own physical world, than
understanding the status of their hero in the outside business
world.
Stories were told that Mr Gibbes had requested his local
colleagues to adopt their children and take them to the coast or
Australia to school. He would bring them back during the holidays
at his own expenses.
His suggestion was neither supported nor agreed to, because they
feared sending their kids to the outside world, could mean giving
them away forever.
Those kids, now grown ups deeply regret missing that golden
opportunity of getting educated.
The people of the valley pay tribute to the great man, who was
once their hero, an intelligent pilot, a brave fighter and a
developer, who modeled and groomed them to be what they are now,
from what was feared and considered to be a very swampy, mosquito
infected an/ or 'masulai' (Kur Kit) dominated, scared valley,
where no European would have liked to live in during those early
days. Master Bobby, we salute you, chief, we salute you. May your
soul remain in peace.
We send our belated sincere condolences to wife, Jeanie, daughters
Julie and Robyn for a wonderful and a caring husband and father,
the one who pioneered coffee growing in the valley, that brought a
lot of changes to the lives of our people.
The writer is a grandson of one of Mr
Gibbes' local collegues/associates. He wishes to establish some
contact with the Gibbes family for exchange of old photographs and
information of the family's days and its association with the
local people in the Treamone Plantation, Papua New Guinea.
 
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