Reaching for the rainbow (Sentinel)

A twenty man specialist Australian Army Engineers Unit is helping the Papua New Guinea government with development of one of the last frontier areas on earth, the remote Southern Highlands Province in central Papua New Guinea. Road-building and major works projects being managed by the Army unit are providing access for twentieth century knowledge and technology to a culture which has been largely isolated for the past eight thousand years.
The Australian army engineers unit began this process in 1971 in an area previously only accessible via four wheel drive tracks. Rain frequently interrupts the road building process and leads to more serious problems such as mud slides taking parts of the road with it. Local villagers are employed as laborers. Four Royal Australian engineers have responsibility for design advice, provision of materials and supervision of construction of medical centres and health care facilities on behalf of the Papuan New Guinea government. The government is also encouraging the cultivation of cash crops and herds of cattle by tribes in these areas which can be sold at markets now accessible by the road which is being built. The expansion of the road is essential for giving all Southern Highlands communities access to today's knowledge and technology.