Transforming “Disappointed Warriors”

Into Useful Men

How Sir Hubert Murray Has Co-operated with Missions in Establishing an Apparently Successful Education System in Papua.

By Mollie Lett

TI/JTJCH thought has been given in the last decade to the education of native people in the Pacific, and to the best methods of adapting them to quickly changing conditions. With this end in view, each Administration adopts the best methods at its command, which are shaped not only by finance and native policy, but by the economic development of the country and the stage of advance ment reached by the natives who live in it.

In Papua, where the policy of the Ad ministration has always been firmly fixed upon the need of raising the nat ives to the highest state they are cap able of attaining, the methods of educa tion were considered as far back as 1911, but postponed until the more important work of pacification had been extended.

Education was left in the hands of the various missions, who had undertaken the work without assistance since the first entry of European settlers.

By 1916 —H Government influence had been so extended that education on more advanced lines was again considered. But the Administration was faced with the usual dismal obstacle —inadequate funds.

The provision of even the simplest medical attention for the many tribes under control already required more money than the revenue could supply, and it became obvious that the extension of education services was beyond the el asticity of the Territory’s severely strained finance.

Finally, the problem was solved by the imposition of the Native Tax, and the establishment of a special fund. The Native Taxation Fund is a fund held in trust for the natives of Papua, to be ex pended solely on their general and tech nical education and “for such purposes having for their object the direct benefit of the natives of Papua as may be pre scribed,”

THE Native Taxes Ordinance came in * to force on January 1, 1919, and taxes became payable in July the same year.

Its object was fully explained to nat ives throughout the settled areas before and after its imposition, and those liable to taxation, instead of showing resent ment—as might have been expected— not only grasped the reasons for taxation but appreciated its promised benefits and paid cheerfully. They regarded the pay

ment as conferring some distinction upon their race, and a sign of the Government’s interest in their welfare.

Indeed, one village, which the Govern ment thought fit to exempt, loudly pro tested to the astonished tax collector, and ndignantly inquired what wrong they had done, to be so slighted, TN view of the educational work already undertaken by the missions for so many years without Government support and the special part they had played in native village life in close co-operation with the Government and its native pol icy, the Administration decided that the money thus made available would go further and produce better results if used to subsidise missions, rather than if it were expended on the construction and maintenance of Government schools.

The missions approving, a small grant was paid at first to each mission for every pupil passing either of two elemen tary standards of English education, to gether with an allowance for school mat erials. But, as more money became avail able, in addition to this grant, a further

sum of £l,OOO per annum was offered in 1920 to each mission, on condition that they became prepared to undertake addi tional educational facilities.

The Regulations provided for the es tablishment of Assisted Primary Schools, the schools in all respects to be under the management and control of the mis sions to which they belonged, but subject to inspection and examination by an ex aminer appointed by the Lt.-Governor; and the subsidies were granted towards the cost of the natives’ education, condi tional upon English being taught.

T>Y 1922, 4 the mission bodies had taken -■-* advantage of this offer and had widely extended their educational work.

Trained teachers were engaged, and further grants were made by the Govern ment for special educational schemes in which it was stipulated that technical education must be given. And as no resi dents were more alive than the mission aries to the urgency of using the most effectual means for giving the natives suitable occupation, they immediately set about preparing the natives for an industrial career as shown by the tech nical institutions at Kwato and Fyfe Bay. in the East end; in the Delta, at Aird Hill; and in the D’Entrecasteau Islands —all of which have been established for many years past.

Inspections were carried out by the school master from Port Moresby until 1927 when a charge was made and an nual visits were paid to the territory by an inspector of the Queensland Depart ment of Public Instruction. The change gave much satisfaction to the missions.

TN 1928, the Government, finding that the school books issued to Papuan pupils were on the whole more suitable

for English and Australian children than Papuan, and that they lacked local col our, published an Illustrated Papuan School Reader . written by the Rev. W. J.

Saville, of the L.M.S., which helped to give Papuan children not only a simple working kowledge of English but an in telligent interest in their own country.

This was impossible when books were used dealing with snow and ice, hedge rows, nightingales and meadows. More over, it became apparent that a common reader, and one that should appeal to the Papuan, would be more practical than a variety of books issued by each mission.

Other Readers followed in 1932. Papuan Junior Readers , No. 1,2, and 3, compiled by the L.M.S. in collaboration with Col onel Hooper and Mr. Fox, were issued as it became obvious that the first Reader proved too difficult for all but the ad vanced pupils.

These Readers , whose lessons ranged from the most elementary ones in read ing and spelling, based on illustrated ob jects of daily use, to those on incidents of native village life, such as hunting and fishing, were received with much ap preciation by the Missions, who reported immediate improvement, and the stand ard of reading in English and of under standing, were raised.

A fourth Reader followed shortly, in continuation of the series, constructed on the same progressive plan, with lessons adapted from Papuan folk lore and fairy tales of other countries.

This year, Papuan Reader No. 5 will make its appearance which with the Papuan Villager fan illustrated news paper dealing in the very simplest Eng lish with matters of local interest, and edited by the Government Anthropolo gist. Mr. F. E. Williams, solely for Papuans) it is hoped will create even tually a love of reading and an interest in their own country amongst the more advanced pupils and those who have left school.

The Papuan Villager has been in cir culation for over seven years, and native contributions appear every month, deal ing with native customs, feasts, legends and any outstanding events of village life. Correspondents in outlying parts, such as Buna. Cape* Nelson and Kairuku. smrnly news of their districts and show intelligent interest in their paper and an understanding of its objects.

Besides the curriculum in English, which brings the advanced pupils up to Grade 5 of the Queensland standard, attention has been paid by the Missions to vernacular teaching, and to the estab lishment of imnroved social conditions, such as the formation of a Boy Scout Troup, Girl Guides and Rovers. Social Clubs, and Cricket and Football teams, throughout the settled areas, with the object of fostering a spirit of fair play and friendly rivalry and comradeship, and exercising energies expended before in tribal warfare and raiding.

By these measures, and the encourage ment of habits of industry, shown bv the establishment of Technical Schools Gov ernment Work Shops, and Native Planta tions. both the Administration and the Missionaries hope to raise the standard of the Papuan, and to assist him in his

rapid transit from the Stone Age to the conditions, iu which he finds himself to day.

To a great extent, this is being accom plished in Papua, through the close co operation and understanding that always have existed between the various mis sion bodies and the Government.

The Missions’ continuity of method and effort precludes disjointed work. Nothing confuses primitive natives more than dif ferently applied methods. Their minds must become gradually accustomed to acquired ideas, before they are capable of applying them, and it is only by confi dence and continuity of purpose that this can be achieved.

P>APUANS are by no means an unintel ligent people. For many years they have been employed as clerks, motor drivers, telephonists, carpenters, and plumbers, in the more settled districts, with remarkable success. Wallace, in his Malay Archipelago . rated their intelli gence somewhat higher than that of the Malay, and a few years previously, in 1852, a Dutch authority (Bruijn Kops) in referring to the natives of Port Dorey. boldly asserted; “It must always be taken into consideration that the Pap uans are beyond all comparison superior in vigour, both mental and physical, to those tribes of the brown race with whom they are brought into contact.”

So it seems that the foundation upon which the Administration is working of fers every encouragement to the task of educating the natives “to raise them selves to the highest state of civilisation which they are capable of attaining.”

SUGGESTIONS have been made quite recently of the need to give recogni tion to certain elements of native life and culture in formulating educational schemes, and the wisdom of incorpora ting these elements, on the plea of pro tecting native people from aggressive European contacts that disorganise their social life.

These suggestions present many ob stacles and dfficmtles not obvious to the non-educationalist; and it is only when put into practice that the difficulties be come apparent. It is quite easy to lay down broad schemes for native education.

It is quite another matter to translate them into school curriculum.

No aggressive methods of education disorganise native life in Papua.

Native education is built on a founda tion of village life from the early begin ings; vernacular teaching is carried on through the lower and middle classes from the ages of five to 10 years, in pro gressive stages, in lessons dealing with incidents in daily village life and customs.

It has been found that before natives can be taught English, they must be trained to think and use their minds, and this can only be done by means of their own language. And it is upon this foundation that the Missions have been able to bring education in English un to its present standard without disturbing native social life or disorganising those customs that seem indispensable to their Avelfare and progress.