Papua's Native Policy

Fine Career Of H. W. Champion

Retiring Departmental Chief Explains Papua's Native Policy

By R. W. Robson

A FEW weeks ago, there retired from the service of the Australian Com monwealth one of its ablest and most distinguished officers—the Hon. H.

W. Champion, CBE, Government Secre tary of Papua, and many times acting- Governor of that Territory. It was typical of Mr. Champion that he sought no publicity or Ministerial notice, and went into private life without one word of appreciation from the country which owes him so much.

One hears a good deal, nowadays, of the Murray policy, as applied to Papua; and the late Sir Hubert Murray has been rightly described as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, governor of native races in the history of the Pacific Ter ritories. But behind Murray there always was Champion: it was the misfortune of a great man that he was obscured, in his own sphere, by a greater.

Sir Hubert Murray sometimes honoured me with his confidence. On one occasion, he said to me something like this:— “I have been praised, now and again, because of the work that has been done in Papua, in extending European control over native peoples always regarded as difficult and dangerous. Much of the credit given to me should go to Cham pion. He and I have seen alike on most things—and I have had him always at my side, loyal, and able, and completely dependable, cariying out Government policy and my wishes in a most efficient way. I have been unusually fortunate in my associates —and nowhere more for tunate than in having Champion as the chief executive officer of my administra tion.”

MR. CHAMPION went to Papua as a youth, 45 years ago. The adminis trators of that time soon got their eye on him. Both Sir William Mac- Gregor and G. R. Le Hunte offered him posts in the Government, which he declined: but in 1902 he accepted the position of Government Storekeeper, under Governor Le Hunte. Later, he became accountant in the Treasury.

When the Commonwealth took over, there was a Royal Commission of Inquiry in Papua: one result was that the Gov ernment Treasurer departed. The Com monwealth advertised for a Treasurer.

Prime Minister Deakin sent a high offi cial to Port Moresby to look over the accounts —and Mr. Champion was imme diately appointed Government Treasurer.

When he was only 24, Governor Barton (T 904-07) appointed him to the Executive Council —a position which he held con tinuously for 40 years. When Hubert Murray (1907-40) took over, he made Champion Government Secretary; and thus began the long and—to Australia and Papua—profitable Murray-Champion association.

Thenceforward, the history of Cham pion is the history of the Murray ad ministration. Leonard Murray (now the Administrator) later joined his uncle as Official Secretary to the Lieutenant- Governor: and the triumvirate, working harmoniously and efficieptly together, gave the Territory many long years of useful service. Mr. Champion was created CBE in 1934.

When the aged Sir Hubert died in 1940 at Samarai—as he himself wished, on active service, “with his boots on” —Canberra gave itself a headache, trying to make a selection between Leonard Mur ray and H. W. Champion, to be Adminis

trator. The appointment went eventually (in 1941) to the younger man; and it is typical of both that the natural glad ness of one and disappointment of the other made not the slightest difference in their personal or official relations. Mr.

Champion served his new chief with his old loyalty; and Mr. Murray thanked his particular gods for Champion. fIIHEIR new association was brief, how- X ever. The Jap invasion of New Guinea was followed by the evacua tion of civilians and the hurried estab lishment of military government in Papua, and the Papuan civil administra tion ceased temporarily on February 12, 1942. Mr. Murray, however, is still offi cially the Administrator of Papua.

The Champion name and the Cham pion standard of service are being car ried on by three sons of the late Gov ernment Secretary—lvan F., Claude, and F. A.—all distinguished members of the district administrative services.

WHEN I interviewed Mr. Champion recently, he would say little about himself, but he had something emphatic to say about the Murray

native policy:—

“Several people, lately, in public state ments, have described Sir Hubert Mur ray’s policy as ‘Papua for the Papuans.’

That is not the truth. Sir Hubert him self regarded this idea as the dream of an impractical anthropologist. Here is what he actually wrote; — “ ‘ . . . some will argue that the welfare and development of the natives is best assured by keeping them in the service of the white man, and others will argue that It is our clear duty to leave them alone—that any attempt to en force our laws or to maintain order is absolutely unjustified and that we should discourage all relations between the native and the European.

“ ‘The first is completely out of date and the other, however well suited for discussion in a debating club, is quite impossible in actual administration.’

“Perhaps I can briefly indicate the principles upon which Sir Hubert Mur ray based his plan of native administra tion. Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations reads:— “ ‘To those colonies and territories which are Inhabited by people not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world, there should be applied the principle that the well-being and development of such peoples form a sacred trust of civilisation.’

“Sir Hugh Clifford traces this theory back to the impeachment of Warren Hastings, in 1788, and it has been ex tended (he says) until— “ ‘it has come to be accepted among us as axiomatic that where Europeans assume re sponsibility for the administration of territories inhabited by primitive and backward races, these lands must be governed for the benefit of the native populations . . . that they can not, without gross injustice, be made to accord any special or exclusive privileges to Europeans; that the natives must be protected from unfair exploitation; and that upon them must be con ferred the largest measure of personal freedom, peace, order, security, and equality of oppor tunity.’

And, in effect, it was this policy that Sir Hubert Murray said the Common wealth directed him to carry out. He wrote: — “ ‘The Government has not only to safeguard the interests of the Papuan, in the present, but must look forward to what is best for the future of the Papuan race as a whole.’

“In his belief, the general policy of the administration is ‘to encourage the

Papuan as far as possible to take part in the development and even in the gov ernment of his own country. We are under these obligations:— (i) To pacify the Territory; to establish law and order to such an extent, at any rate, that men may go about their business by day, and sleep quietly at night without danger of attack. (ii) To prevent the spread of disease and particularly of imported disease, and generally to preserve the native population and (iii) To encourage the native population in habits of industry so as to avoid the effects of the material disturbance caused by the white man’s arrival amongst tnem.’

“Sir Hubert’s instructions to his offi cers included, inter alia; — “ ‘Justice is the prerogative of every man of whatever race, creed or colour’; “ ‘Never, under any circumstances, can the firing on natives by way of punish ment be justified’.”

Tribute by Hon. Leonard Murray

The Hon. Leonard Murray, CBE, Ad ministrator of Papua (Administration temporarily suspended ), has written the following tribute to Mr. Champion :— “1V| R - W ‘ CHAMPION, CBE, was the 111 Chief Executive Officer of the late Sir Hubert Murray for about 30 years, and he was the late Sir Hubert’s friend and confidant, as well.

“I have also had the advantage of close personal and official association with Mr. Champion for well over a quar ter of a century. I learnt early to admire his fine personal qualities. His natural dignity, kindliness, and modesty have won him wide respect and liking.

“But it is of his qualities as a high official that I wish particularly to speak His position for the last 30 years was Government Secretary, and. as such, he was the head of the ‘outside service’— i.e., the Magistracy and the Police. He has also been Acting Lieutenant-Gov ernor and Acting Administrator so many times that I believe, in the aggregate he has administered the Government of Papua for nearly four years.

“Those closely associated with him know the machine-like impartiality with which he used his powers. He was always ready to accept responsibility, and his numberless decisions and instructions were always crystal clear, with never a trace of any self-protective ambiguity.

Moreover, he was always proof against the temptations of popularity—a most important qualification in the Territory, where the subject native population out numbered the dominant white population by nearly 200 to 1.

“When I was appointed Administrator, after the death of the late Sir Hubert Murray in 1940, I considered myself most fortunate that Mr. Champion remained in his high office to give me the benefit of his long experience and sound judg ment.

“Now that he has retired, it should be widely known how much his long and distinguished service has contributed to the success of the administration of Papua.”