When MBGS was called on for coal mapping in the Gulf of Papua in the 1970s, John Bryan could not have anticipated the adventure that awaited.

The flight from Port Moresby to the small village of Baimaru in the foothills of the highlands was often overloaded and would make many stops at small villages along the way. Access to the field area was by a flat-bottomed boat or ‘river truck’. With his team of local tribesmen John spent many weeks travelling up the rivers and camping out, walking up creeks, locating and sampling coal seams. On the ground, they would contend with the humid climate, rugged terrain, threat of disease and not least, the deadly wildlife.

Crocodiles were frequently spotted, and John often walked extra hours upstream when his team refused to cross water that was about 1.5 m deep, only to cross at another point, equally as deep, but deemed safe by the locals. John could never understand the difference but learned to trust his team when it came to safety and crocodiles.

John carried a gun at all times to deal with the snakes, mostly death adders, which were abundant in the sandy creek beds where the bare footed crew needed to walk. The gun’s secondary purpose was to hunt for food at the end of the day. At about 3 pm, work would stop – one team would build the camp while the other team would go with John in search of something to shoot, usually pigs. Fresh water fish and crustaceans were also enjoyed when caught. Rations included rice and a tin of camp pie, so any addition to the menu was very welcome. For many years afterward, John found it hard to be excited about eating rice.

Hygiene in the camp was a constant issue, and the heavy rain most late afternoons meant boots and socks stayed wet most of the time. John took chloroquine tablets daily to ward off malaria, which he managed to avoid. Most of the locals were immune but some of them also needed treatment using John’s tablets.

Samples of all coal seams went back to Port Moresby on small trading ships that called in at Baimaru. There are no coal mines yet in this area – and none are likely in the future.