... and there's more:
... and then some more:
Kieta Town
Kieta Harbour
... and more:
Bill Hallam had a dream to build a low-key island getaway set out like a Polynesian village with small huts on the beach largely staffed with people from the Faeds, Mortlocks and Tasmans where their families could also be based. Until then the main opportunity for men from the atolls was to work on overseas ships which meant leaving families for months on end. He wanted to celebrate local culture through the architecture and dances put on for tourists.
The customary owner of Arovo was a man from Pok Pok Main Village. When the lease for the island came up Bill, after much research, won the tender. That was in November 1969. Things were ramping up with BCL so the potential for a tourist destination was hard to ignore and after securing financial backing from private investors the project ended up much grander than initially envisaged. Construction on what was known as Arovo Tahi started in April 1970. Morobe Construction transported most of the local timber by canoe from Kieta. The Post Courier in 1971 referred to Arovo as PNG’s first true island resort.
Arovo used to put on weekly 'moo moos’ and shows. At night after dinner the staff, many who’d worked with Bill on ships since the 50s, put on amazing dances like the hula, knife-throwing and fire-twirling.
Bill died at sea in 1980 off West New Britain and was buried on Bougainville. His grave was covered in white sand and shells from Arovo and Pok Pok.
For more photos of Arovo, click here.
