PHIL FITZPATRICK
Scenery and Seismic in Papua New Guinea by Barry Taverner, Self-published, 2014, ISBN: 978-0-9941501-0-3, 8½” x 12”, 133 pages. $40 plus postage, order directly from the author at wrenhill245@hotmail.com
I have to admit to a certain bias in this review.
Barry and I have been best mates since we met in primary school, at a time that seems like centuries ago.
We both went to Papua New Guinea together as young kiaps in 1967. We later became brothers-in-law.
He went back there in 1996 to work in oil and gas exploration with the fledgling company, Oilmin Field Services, set up by George Leahy and a couple of ex-kiaps, Ian Thompson and Clive Nicholls. I followed him a year later.
Barry took to it like a duck to water. Although the money was good, I found the work less than interesting and gave it away, drifting into the social mapping instead. Although friends, we are clearly stimulated by different things.
For Barry it was an opportunity to wander around with his camera. I often wondered how he got away with it, some of those petroleum exploration companies have some very nasty and demanding field managers.
This book is a culmination of his meanderings. It also provides a glimpse into the weird world of seismic – stress plus mud, dirt and heat.
It also chronicles the development of the company, which has expanded out of sight and is now owned solely by George.
The photographs are great. Some of the bugs he found are fascinating, as are the remarkable plants and breathtaking scenery. It is a view of Papua New Guinea that is seldom seen by visitors and even by many Papua New Guineans.
I’ve got several shelves full of Papua New Guinean picture books, some of them going back to the 1950s. I occasionally dip into them but not very often.
Most of them had a short shelf life before becoming dated. Even Jim Sinclair’s photographic books quickly fell by the wayside.
There are a couple that I cherish, James Anderson’s terribly clichéd Cannibal is one, simply because I was at Nomad shortly after he visited.
For those men and women who work in oil and gas exploration Barry’s book will probably fall into this category.
As time goes by, of course, these books will form a unique visual record and their worth will be vindicated.
That said, if you want a visual feast and an insight into what the exploration companies are doing out there in the forests of Papua New Guinea, I commend the book to you.