Bougainville Island

The largest island of Papua New Guinea’s Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Bougainville Island is part of an island chain in the Solomon Islands archipelago and has a distinct political and cultural history. The island was shaped economically by the large Panguna copper mine and politically by a long-running struggle over autonomy and governance.

The interior hosted the Panguna mine, which operated during the 1970s and 1980s and became a central issue in the armed conflict and civil unrest that followed. Coastal towns such as Arawa were major population and administrative centres during the 20th century but suffered during the period of conflict.

In 2019 Bougainville held a non-binding independence referendum in which voters overwhelmingly supported independence from Papua New Guinea; the result initiated a political process that remains subject to negotiation. The island also contains sites and landscapes associated with World War II operations in the South Pacific.

Bougainville lies in the southwestern Pacific as part of the Solomon Islands island chain but is politically part of Papua New Guinea, with its main population centers along the coast and a largely rural interior.

• Referendum: The 2019 autonomy referendum returned an overwhelming vote in favour of independence, a political development that remains subject to negotiation with Papua New Guinea.
• Recent history: The island was a major World War II battleground and later saw extended civil conflict related to mining and governance in the late 20th century.

What to See#

• Panguna mine: The Panguna mine area in the interior, once one of the world’s largest open-pit copper mines and a focal point of the island’s economic and political conflict.
• Arawa: Arawa, the former provincial capital and main urban centre during the pre-conflict period, which suffered major damage during the late 20th century conflicts.
• Coastal towns: Coastal towns and plantations in the north and south that form the primary population centers and economic nodes outside the mining area.

Bougainville Province is reached mainly by air to the Buka area. The usual access point for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville is Buka Airport (on nearby Buka Island), with scheduled domestic flights from Port Moresby and other PNG hubs (operators include Air Niugini and regional carriers). From Buka you transfer by road and short boat crossings to locations on Bougainville Island itself; internal travel on the island is by local roads, taxis and small boats.

• Treat Bougainville as a region requiring planning: check current travel advisories and obtain any necessary permits well in advance-foreign visitors often need authorization from Papua New Guinea and local Bougainville authorities.
• Use Buka (the main commercial center of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville) as your gateway-commercial flights and boats more commonly serve Buka than direct international flights to Bougainville's smaller airstrips.
• Arrange a local fixer or guide before arrival to handle transport, permits and local introductions; infrastructure and tourist services are limited, and local support will smooth logistics and security checks.