"Coon "

Bishop of Melanesia Protests Against Use of Offensive Word

Letter to the Editor REPLYING in the House of Commons, some months ago, to a question on the usage of the term “nigger”, the Under-Secretary of State for the Colo nies (Mr. George Hall) said: “I am con fident that the BBC and the press of this country will entirely agree with the view that terms which are likely to give offence to any peoples of the Empire should be avoided.”

May I urge, through your widely-read journal, the discontinuance of the equally offensive “coon” which is so often care lessly applied to the peoples of these Pacific Islands.

Sincerely yours,

"+ Walter Melanesia.

Tulagi, BSI. 12/8/1941.

EDITORIAL NOTE: The term “coon”, especially applied to indentured native labourers, is in very common use in New Guinea (not Papua) and the Solomon Islands. The word, both in itself and in the manner of its application, is offen sive and objectionable, and residents of the Territories, who have a sense of responsibility, should try to discourage its use. We think that the somewhat tough lads of the Morobe Goldfields are the chief offenders, and that the Bish op’s appeal should be addressed to them.

The word is so common, now, in New Guinea, that New Guinea people may think nothing of it; but a moment’s reflection will show several good reasons why it should be made more or less tabu.