“Dominion Of British Oceani”

Chance for Pacific Territories to Break Away From Dead Hands of Canberra, Whitehall and Wellington, and Form Great Tropical Administration.

By A New Guinea Planter

IHAVE noticed several references in the Australian press this year about the “shape of things to come,” after the war, in the Islands Territories.

One supposition is that the Territory of New Guinea will be merged with Papua as an Australian territory; another is that the British Solomon Islands Protectorate will come within the Australian political sphere, and that Britain’s interest in the New Hebrides Condominium will pass to Australia. And so on.

Why assume that a further and closer alliance with Australia is desired by Ter ritories people—or by anyone else, for

that matter? How can closer association with Australia benefit us?

If only Islands people will think it out for themselves, they will see that the arrangement most likely to benefit the Pacific Territories would be the creation of a new Pacific Islands Dominion or Confederation, running from east to west, within the tropics, and governing itself under the protection of Britain, or the United States, or both.

There is far more community of inter est between New Guinea, Papua, Fiji, Solomons, Samoa, and New Caledonia, say, than there is between any of those Territories and Australia or New Zealand.

Environment —vastly different condi tions of life—has created as big a gap between Islanders and Australians as between Britain and Australia, It does not matter to us, in the Islands, whether Australia has a wool pool, or closes its hotels at six or eight o’clock. But, to the Australian, these things are vital.

And why should Australians worry about the effect of immature nutfall in BSI, or the Navigation Regulations of Papua —all so vital to us?

THAT gap between Australians and Islanders is felt by many evacuees, and by men who are serving with the Forces. The Islander feels not only that he has not *a common interest, but that there is a mild hostility, especially from the ordinary working man (who, incidentally, controls the polls that con trol Australia’s Pacific territories). There seems to us to be a half-veiled satisfac tion mixed with the trite words of sym pathy uttered to us who have lost our all.

The woman evacuee, making heavy weather with unaccustomed laborious housework, is often met with such expres sions as: “A change to do your own work —um?” “No black servants to wait on you now, eh?” “Hard work does you good, you’ll find, my dear” —always with a little snigger, as though to say “the fall of the mighty is great.”

Yes, we know Australians were often very kind to evacuees en route —they were even generous—but the whole atmosphere is clearly reflected by those articles of the cow reporters in “a Southern Out post,” so often referred to in the

“Pim.”

Let us not whine about this hostility.

It is natural and human. But let us clearly recognise it, remembering that for years we have complained of the Australian smugness and complacency, and lack of knowledge and interest in the Islands Territories. Think of what we have had to endure from the fumbling bureaucratic administration controlled at Canberra.

We have a distinct accent of our own, an outlook of our own, a future and a need of our own. As Australian Terri tories, we cannot be happy or really prosperous. The Australian public has no interest in us—why should it? We have no political pull. We can get the yellow press to scream on our behalf, sometimes: but as often, they will pic ture us all as cocktail-quaffing planters, gin-soaked traders or just practising sadists. We know their stuff, only too well. Perhaps we could get the fran chise, and two members of the Austra lian Parliament —who would have as much influence on a vote-catching party ridden Parliament as the flies on the ceiling. We would have a “voice,” but it would not be heeded.

We have no common interest with Australia. Neither can we see that Whitehall has worried unduly over those of us who come under its benign influ ence, in the Solomons and New Hebrides.

THEN, why not a Dominion of our own? If Papua, New Guinea, Solo mon Islands. Gilbert and Ellice were knit in a self-governing Dominion, would not we all—native and European alike —be infinitely better off? True to our British origin, loyal to the Crown, favouring our sister Dominions of Aus tralia and New Zealand with some kind of reciprocal trade, could not we add to the wealth, strength, might, wellbeing and happiness of our Empire and its peoples?

I know it will be pointed out that we would be too small, too few, too poor, to stand alone. But should we? History tells us that Mcllwraith launched the Colony of Queensland (not then a State) with 2/- in the Treasury. We could send the hat round to beat that.

Very probably, more Territories could be added. It is doubtful if Japan will be allowed to retain the Caroline and Mar shall Islands. Mandates will be out of date. And what of Nauru?

Britain might be glad to be rid of her Colonial Office anxieties represented by the New Hebrides, and the equatorial lands controlled by the High Commis sioner for the Western Pacific. Would New Zealand mind parting with such obligations as the Tokelaus and the Northern Cooks?

I hardly dare mention such a staid and established Colony as Fiji, the inclusion of which would be an enormous asset to our young Dominion; but, even without Fiji, there are ample lands, peoples and economic wealth to add another jewel to the British Empire, as the Dominion of British Oceania, or something like that. (Continued on Page 17)

DIFFICULTIES would be many. Eco nomic, political and social problems would need great vision, tolerance and altruism. The first clause of the Constitution would provide for the pro tection and welfare of the natives. Big men with real ideals, but with their feet on the ground, would be needed, and they can be found among Islanders —men with sufficient perspective to see all the islands in their Dominion as a whole, without leaning towards their own ter ritory, The capital should be well tucked away from the present territorial capitals.

What a vision one can conjure up! A Constitution entirely new, really original, learning from the past, but not entangled with it; honouring tradition, but not of it; a complete oreak-away from the accepted party-ridden ideas of Parlia ment; of a form that would not permit of Party, No borrowed, copied, or adopted laws, but new laws, to suit a new Domi nion, in a new age, unencumbered by precedents and outmoded phraseology.

Perhaps, one spot on earth where our accursed monopolies could not operate— a veritable “new order,” without the hum bug that has grown around that term.

What a chance for those experienced civil servants who have served their respective territories so long and faith fully, to c&rry on what they know to be right, untrammelled by a distant, uncom prehending Canberra!

THIS is only the germ of an idea. But our Islands people are ready and capable of standing alone. The war and the invasion have created a unique opportunity for these numerous Islands administrations to be moulded into an independent whole. Such another oppor tunity may never arise again. No nation will give us independence, no one will mould us anew—we alone must do it for ourselves. People fight better when con ditions are hard; they are hard for thousands of Islanders now.

The hands of those serving in the fighting forces are tied: but you civilian Islanders should grasp this golden oppor tunity.