New Book Covers Story
pp. 83-84 · Read in the full issue
Of Papuan Mission
THE record of high adventure that often lies behind missionary work in the Pacific Islands |is shown in Father A. Dupeyrat’s new book, “Papuan Con quest,” which has just been published by the Araluen Publishing Company of Mel bourne. It is the story of the establish ment of the Catholic Mission on Yule Island, on the south coast of Papua and it extends from that July day in 1885, when Father Verjus, and two lay brothers, of the newly-born Order of the Sacred Heart, landed in the savage jungle among primitive savages, right up to the present time, when the influence of Yule Island extends all over Central and Western Papua.
Father Dupeyrat, after 18 years of mis sion work in Papua, came to Australia nearly two years ago to raise the finan cial wind. Most of the Territories’ mis sions were lucky enough—if you can see it that way!—to receive Japanese bombs and bayonets and so they collected, from the Australian War Damage Commission, substantial sums in compensation which assisted materially in their rehabilitation.
Yule Island missed the bombs—and got no compensation. But the destruction of the Territories’ economy cut off many sources of the Mission’s income, and when in 1947 it lost its supply schooner in a storm, it had to take special steps to se cure financial aid.
Father Dupeyrat, a vivacious French man of charming social qualities and unusual literary ability, has raised sub stantial funds in Australia for the aid of the Mission. The publicity he will secure through this new book should assist the campaign. Father Dupeyrat proceeds shortly from Australia to the United
States on a lecturing tour which should produce further funds.
The book is a very useful addition to literature on the Pacific Islands. Much of the material therein is taken from Father Dupeyrat’s famous “Papouasie,” which won one of the highest awards of the French Academy.
The new Senior Medical Officer, Dr.
McKenzie Pollock, arrived in the Solo mon Islands on January 26, in “Morinda”.
He was accompanied by Mrs. McKenzie Pollock and two children. He was pre viously sifctioned in Palestine and during the war saw active service in Egypt and the Middle East.
Queensland’s Superintendent of Dairy ing, Mr. E. B. Rice, has gone to Fiji, where he is to make a three months’ sur vey of Fiji’s dairying industry. The con clusions reached by Mr. Rice should __be very interesting. The establishment of dairying in a tropical territory like Fiji has been a remarkable accomplishment; but it has been attended by some severe disabilities, a solution of which has not yet been found.