In case anyone's googling away on googleblog, I thought I should mention the book I'm writing on my father's survey business that began in Papua New Guinea in partnership with Graeme Arman, in 1965, and which continues (sans Arman) today. I'd love any contributions anyone might have on the topic of surveying in PNG and Arman larmer Surveys, if, indeed they know it.
I'm almost finished and I think it will make an interesting read (all 150,000 words of it). Admittedly, the book gets bogged down occasionally in intricate—and necessary—survey details but it's also a fascinating look into life in a 'new' country and how that has progressed over 40-plus years. I use the word 'new' tentatively as I appreciate that the Papua New Guineans actually existed and happily enough, long before white surveyors happened upon their door steps, cement pegs in tow. But it was a very different world to the one these surveyors had left, and an incredible eyeopener, too. From stalking crocodiles to mozzie-infested jungles, from irate, spear-throwing locals to the mammoth gold and copper mines, it is quite an adventure and one they experienced firsthand. Long before road builders came along, the surveyors were donning their boots and trekking through...
The book is due out next July.
