Four-year-old Belinda with Tamboon , right, the son of a Sepik chief.

Returning to Papua New Guinea as a nurse with the Peace Monitoring Group in Bougainville had a special meaning for Navy Lieutenant Belinda Mitchell.

As a four-year-old Belinda migrated from PNG, the country of her birth, when her father left his position as a boilermaker in the village of Bulolo.

That was 1960 and Belinda has vivid memories of a country that still had a hint of colonialism, while remaining steeped in tradition and mystery.

Belinda also fondly remembers her family friend Tamboon, the son of a local chief in Sepik.

Belinda in Bougainville in 2000.

When the RAN asked her if she would serve with the Peace Monitoring Group in Bougainville Belinda rummaged through some old family photographs and packed a snapshot of herself as a four-year-old with Tamboon in the hope that he may still be alive and the two could reunite.

"I remember Tamboon very clearly," LEUT Mitchell said.

"He used to carry me to school on his shoulders and made sure nobody, not even my mother, could touch me."

Since leaving PNG Belinda has served in the Navy as both a regular and Reservist and as a registered nurse. Her mother has since settled in Toowoomba where Belinda spent many years.

"It's a great feeling to return to the country of my birth. This Operation has allowed me to realise one of my lifelong ambitions," Belinda said.

"I would now like to find Tamboon and thank him for being my guardian angel."

By Captain David Elliott
Peace Monitoring Group
Bougainville