Hi Peter
I was a "bank johnny" with the Commonwealth Bank in Kieta around 1969 to 1971. We also staffed a sub branch at Loloho several days per week. Our colleagues worked at the Combank in Panguna and we visited sometimes. I recall driving towards the airport in the early morning hours (usually after a night on the South Pacific Lager) and doing some body surfing with Paul Mason, bank teller and Peter Doolan (the cast iron liver) (Panguna Bank Manager) on the beach. We stayed for only a one year "sentence" on Bougainville and I also worked at the Combank in Port Moresby, Popondetta and Rabaul during my time there. I now live in High Wycombe between London and Oxford in the UK.
Steve Craft aka Moondance with a 350cc Honda motorbike, Bernie Roche (175cc Yamaha), Michael Ryan, Keith Bellchambers (a real wild man who took the bank's strong box filled with money to a party after a Friday's banking at Loloho and didn't tell the Kieta manager he was going to be late - he was sent back to Australia for that one!).
We had one young girl on Kieta branch's staff nicknamed Lik Lik who lived at Arawa with her parents. As there was no public transport, us bank johnnies were rostered to get up early and take the bank's Toyota land cruiser to Arawa to pick her up. I remember putting the handbrake on near some roadworks near the top of the hill one day and when the traffic started, I couldn't release the handbrake no matter how hard I tried. As I was holding up traffic, eventually one of the native workmen came up, opened the driver's door, leaned over and released it for me. One embarrassing moment!
I also remember coming back from Loloho to Kieta one afternoon and we had to drive through Arawa and in the river there, drivers were washing their D9 tractors in the river. It looked like modern day elephants washing. A couple of guys took their D9s up the river with their blades down, side by side. They pushed the water back up the river and then in one movement, both reversed on to each side of the river bank, letting the tidal wave of water rush down on the unsuspecting drivers down stream. It could have been dangerous but at the time it all seemed in good humour and I don't think anyone was hurt, apart from their feelings!
The Kieta branch held the occasional party at the bank mess and I remember that we all chipped in to provide the booze. At one party, we went through the Bacardi rum in no time and we were down to our last half a bottle and the party had hardly got started. The guy behind the bar at the time told the accountant and he said he would fix that and took the bottle away and returned with it full. This happened a couple of times and eventually we were let into the secret - he was topping it up with tap water! Even after that, one fellow brought back a glass of Bacardi and coke to ask for more coke "as his girl friend found it too strong!!".
One a more recent note, I have recently been elected as the Deputy Mayor of High Wycombe and you can see more at: http://www.mayorofwycombe.co.uk The mayoralty goes back to 1275AD so what is an Aussie doing there? I ask myself that question often.
Keep up the good work.
Kind regards
Peter Morris
High Wycombe, UK
petermorriscpa@gmail.com
