Local says abandoned mining machinery belong in museum

MACHINERY left over from the gold rush of the 1920s and 1930s in Bulolo, Morobe, should be in a museum, a concerned citizen says.
Long-time resident of Bulolo town, Aaron Akui, raised the concern saying dredges and gold mining equipment from the district’s early days were lying strewn in bushes around Wau and Bulolo and a mining museum needed to be constructed for these relics.
He said the district had been the scene of one of the country’s earliest and largest gold mining operations and, thus, had historical significance.
Akui said the National Museum and Art Gallery needed to take on the responsibility of setting up the museum to showcase the district and province’s historical importance in the early development of the country.
He said at present the old mining relics were scattered around town and on the periphery and rusting away with overgrowth covering them.
Akui said no-one seemed to notice them or their part in the history of the town and district.
“We need to preserve these as those are relics that points out PNG as one of the earliest gold rush country in the region,” he said.
Akui said seeing the mining relics, including three gold dredging machines, left abandoned and ignored was disheartening.
“These relics have to be kept safe for the future generations as reminders and history of mining in the country.”
He said there were also pictures and other memorabilia in the district that could be put in the museum.
Akui called on local, provincial and national authorities to make a submission to the Government for something to be done to preserve a piece of PNG history.