Australia’s governance over Papua and New Guinea was that of an Incongruous Empire – one whose own relations to power fluctuated drastically depending on a motley assortment of factors. Indeed Australia’s rule was often fiscal and apathetic, subjecting Indigenous Papua New Guinean citizens to sub-human treatment under problematic power imbalances fuelled by Anglocentric concepts of…
Tag: Infrastructure
Making History Module Essay by Alexandra Nicolaidis
The selected patrol report described in this essay is ‘Jimi River #4’, located in the Western Highlands, conducted by H.A Richardson along the Jimi River in Jiwaka Province, Papua New Guinea, from 11th February 1959 to 25th March 1959. The Papua New Guinea (PNG) Highlands, in which the report was conducted, is a densely populated…
Making History Module Essay by Gabriela Valenzuela
This essay will discuss a patrol conducted within a six-mile radius of Wapenamanda which is located in the Lower Lai Valley of the Western Highlands. Robert A. Wright was the patrol officer and he was accompanied by five constables and one interpreter. The patrol occurred during a 15-day period, from the 17th September 1956 to…
Making History Module Essay by Jake Cox
The purpose of the E.R. Johnson’s patrol between 4th to the 25th of July 1957 within the Kamanuntina and Gafutina census divisions of Goroka District (Eastern Highlands Province) was “routine administration” and the collection and revision of census data.[1] By this point, the vast majority of the Highlands were under some degree of control by…
Making History Module Essay by Louis Honeyman
The Erave ‘1/56-57’ patrol of the Kagua River Valley within the District of Southern Highlands was primarily concerned with the major objective to effect the arrest of those believed to have partaken in violence and fighting within the region. The patrol report indicated that this was achieved, ‘in that fighting has now stopped’.[1] The report…
Making History Module Essay by Emma Johnson
Colonial records occupy a contentious space in historiographical thought and have inspired extensive theory surrounding their nuanced complexities and the many ways in which they can be read. The patrol reports produced by Australian patrol officers during their penetration and expansion of government influence and control in Papua New Guinea [PNG] has recently stoked this…
Making History Module Essay by Scott McCarthy
Introduction: This essay will respond to a patrol of the Kerowagi Patrol Post area in 1954, the subject matter of which is contained within a corresponding patrol report. The patrol in question took place between 9 and 18 December 1954 and was led by Patrol Officer John A. Gauci. The patrol visited the Eastern Highlands…
Making History Module Essay by Rachel Parkington
AIH399 – Assessment Two In the decades before Papua New Guinea (PNG) achieved independence from its Australian colonisers in 1975, the commonwealth administration conducted patrols of the remote interior highlands with intent to modernise the newly formed nation state to western standards, as perceived pre-conditions for self-governance. The University of California San Diego digital archives…
Making History Module Essay by Matthew Powell
Erave 2 Patrol Report: By Matthew Powell (218 273 116) Part 1: Describe the patrol which is the subject of the report. What can you say about when the patrol took place? What part of the Highlands did the patrol visit? What stage of development were the people who the patrol encountered? What were the…
Aboutness Statement for Patrol Reports of East Sepik District, Yangoru 1950’s
Aboutness statement of volume: The patrol reports from this volume discussed census information and revision, routine administration and medical inspections in the villages visited, and enforcement of hygiene practices, as observed by Officers W.M. Stokes and F.S. Martin. Agriculture and livestock management were reliable in the region, though fertility was greater along the slopes of…