The Untold Sirinumu Story

Sirinumu Dam took over the entire livelihood we had when we were 16years old Tells Mabu Maruka and Orogo Oroni both 69 years old now

Maruka has been working as the administration driver for Honibrooks construction company whilst Oroni was working as a timber mill operator with an expatriate who owned sawmill and cattle ranch near the Sirinumu area.

 They both admitted that, at first they have no idea of what the meaning of Dam was about. They both saw the Australian Kiap (Government Officer) led by one expat named Mr.Marsh who was desperately carrying out intensive lands survey within the now Sirinnumu Dam area but they have no idea of what Mr. Marsh and his team were trying to do with their land.

 At first there was a mini hydro developed by Australian Government during the colonial days and was operating at the foot of the current Sirinumu Bridge supplying electricity to Port Moresby but after seeing the demand for electricity in the city and potential at Sirinumu area, the plan to acquire the current dam area have never been explained to the land owners properly.

 The duo further mentioned that our fathers were councilors and policeman during that time but they have no idea of what Mr. Marsh and his team were planning to do. Our fathers only following orders from the Kiap and did what they were told to do with the community. There was no objection and no questions asked about what was going on with the surveys and construction machinery arriving into the site and started working on the bridge and its structures for the dam.

 With the shattered mind and confusion running all over the minds of local Koiari people in Sirinumu area, they dwelled on with their usual daily life of hunting and gardening. It was through a local Koiari interpreter Kunia Warina who explained the meaning of dam and what was going on with the surveys and the plan of the dam and Sirinumu. The interpretation of the dam created sparks and hatred tensions developed between the local Koiari people of Sirinumu and the Australian government officials but it was cooled off when livelihood benefits and cash payments were promised to them during relocation.

 There was mixture of feelings conceived by the Koiari people after hearing the breaking news about the dam. Some were happy with the relocation and benefits whilst others where sad and did not know what to do and say because they feared going to jail if they objected and protest against the dam development. Among them was my mum who broke into tears and was insisting on any developments on Sirinumu Dam.

She continued to protest in every meeting but finally gave up because majorities were convinced by the promised benefits with relocation, Maruka said. He remembered watching her mum protesting in front of Australian Kiaps and officials but she was finally ruled out by majority of the landowners who were in favor of the Sirinumu Dam. The influence to convince the landowners (Koiari) came strongly from the colonial leaders who were following the orders from the Australian Kiaps and officials to develop the dam. There was no proper consultation done to account for the plants and animals that were affected by the water when the Sirinumu River was blocked off for the river to cover the land. The food crops were charged at one pound each which is now valued at K2.00 and other plants were charged at one ceiling or now K1.00 and paid to the local. There were a lot of confusions when most Koiari people have high expectations over relocation benefits promised whilst few like my mother was reluctant to give away her home and gardens to the water to takeover; Mr.Maruka added.

The people of Sirinumu knew that a treasure box (cash box) has been brought to the Sirinumu site for landownership payment but was taken back by the Australian Kiap and officials when they realized that the Koiari landowners could not demand for more because their highest expectations were on the relocation benefits. Coincidently, many landowners were not paid cash on their accounted food crops and land given off to the dam. They expected the relocation benefits to be sufficient and waited patiently under their bush material makeshifts and then lived on with few having only electricity access to their homes now.

 Mr. Marsh was so desperate to block the river and fill up the area with water to have the dam in operational as soon as possible and those landowners who opposed were interrogated and threatened to be jailed. The government officials burnt down the SDA and Jehovah Witness Churches that were within the area which the Koiari landowners were reluctant to remove them in respect of the Christianity and fearing of the Creator above.

Complains of compensation on plants, houses, village cemeteries and gardens were ignored and none of the Koiari people complain persistently because most of the people fear being jailed if they continue to protests against the Australian Kiaps and officials.

 I still remember this day very well; Said Mr. Maruka and gave the following accounts; it was in 1963 and beginning of the year, we (all the Koiari settlers) of the Sirinumu Plateau were asked to vacate the area and asked us to go build our makeshift shelters from bush materials and live near the hillside and mountains which were marked safe for us to settled knowing water level will not reach us.

One early morning at 10am, the manager of the dam (Mr.King) called everyone to witness lodging of the blockade into the river vent that was meant to fill up the land they vacated for the water. Most of us were told to go to Nainumu village which was safe to stay there and see the water filling up the land they been dwelling for lifetime. Most weep in their tears and could not take a rest to let the water fill up the land, instead they kept standing and watching day and night to see the water taking over their places.

We saw wild animals got stranded and cried out for help in the middle of the water, some of them we could help them sail off to nearby higher places in makeshift rafts made of bamboos whilst others could make their own way to safety or died in the water. The only animals we feared recuing and left out were snakes; otherwise we tried all our best to help the stranded wild animals on to higher grounds and nearby bushes. It was really a saddest day for me in my life and I remembered everything that unfolded that very day, you could hear those animals could really cry. We are mountain people and we have no skills to swim such a huge up surging water but young man of my age managed to do what we could to save our wild and domestic animals from drowning. We were let to a totally different world when the water took over our place, no skills to build canoes or have the courage and skills to swim. Villages were isolated by the water and we all were living further apart. Our tracks and roads to villages no longer exist since we moved to hillsides that have no roads or tracks. Fortunately we managed to curve out canoes after some help and connections from Tubuseria village along aroma coast and build new tracks from villages to villages and started to live a completely new life till today.

 We were promised good housing, hospitals, schools and better roads but there is nothing significant of those promised infrastructures actually happened in our lifetime. We all struggled to have access to the services in Sogeri station or Port Moresby city after bumpy and muddy ride on the 15 kilometer and unsealed road between Sirinumu and Sogeri daily. We have had many bad experiences from the dam and most of those experiences we keep within ourselves even we know that we are the landowners to a major impact project for the Government of PNG that serves one of the basic needs of people in Port Moresby.

 Our life without the dam was so nice and easy with many food crops and abundance of wildlife. Now they are all gone and our children now think that our life was like this before. Our children are happy of the new developments that are happening now but we older people still recalled our good old days life without the dam. Our memories of the past and what happened is somewhat traumatic but we have lived this far without any issues and adapted to this life, concluded Mr.Maruka. When asked about the recent ecotourism projects proposed within the Sirinumu Catchment area by PNG Tourism Promotion Authority, Kokoda Track Authority, NCDC Tourism, Central Provincial Government; he express the following remarks; our children’s future now is reliant on the life of the dam and ours was before the dam.

The current ecotourism development project proposed by the joint partners of Sirinumu Ecotourism Cooperative, Kokoda Track Authority, PNG Tourism Promotion Authority, NCDC Tourism and Central Provincial Government will have much impact on the lives of the Koiari people. I think we got the potential in tourism development and we are not too late to develop it now. I was in support of the feasibility study by clearing the tracks and prepared the ground work to have it done successfully and we are anticipating and supporting for the ecotourism developments.

Closer to the city of Port Moresby yet appears to be isolated society with villages scattered within the Sirinumu Catchment area are the villages belongs to the Koiari people. The place is beautiful with its natural landscape connected from the astrolabe ranges with tropical rainforests joined by savannah grasslands that leads to the dam with abundance of wildlife, flora and fauna. The area has potential for game fishing, kayaking, trekking, caving, camping, bird watching and many more still undiscovered. It’s a changing trend in life for the Koiari people of Siriumu when the tourism business activity starts. 

Things are gradually changing and the Sirinumu Market near the dam bridge has been opened to public and it is in operations for Saturdays and Sunday in which the local Koiari people sells the fresh garden produces with the signature fruit crop ‘Koiari Pineapple.’