Pidgin Newspapers
p. 37 · Read in the full issue
Keen Rivalry Between Pidgin Newspapers
Prom Our Own Correspondent
Rabaul. June 30.
THERE were three European news papers in Papua-New Guinea before the war (published in Port Moresby, Rabaul and Morobe) but there are none to-day. Consequently many Europeans and Chinese are driven to reading the four Pidgin English newspapers that now flourish in the Territory of New Guinea.
The Rabaul paper is called, “Rabaul News”; the others are: “Lagasai” (pub lished in Kavieng), “Garamut” (Lae), and “Buka News’ (Bougainville).
The “Rabaul News” was started on Sep tember 21, 1946, by Mr. "F. Boisen, District Education Officer, and Mr. M. Foley, at present Assistant District Officer, Gas mata. Like the three other papers it is now a roneoed sheet; it is edited by Waiau Ahnon.
The circulation was at first 500. but this has leapt to 1,500 copies per week, with the demand still growing—it is an ticipated that by November, 2,000 copies will be in circulation weekly.
The “News” is printed every Friday night by Waiau and his staff of six natives assisted by volunteers from Mala guna Commonwealth Reconstruction Training School. Distribution gets off to a flying start at the native market on Saturday mornings, and 10 copies for every village in the Rabaul district are left with the Assistant District Officer, who gives them to the Luluai of each village during the usual Saturday com bined conference of native officials.
The Education Department has ar ranged for copies to be posted to such i
schools as Sogeri and to other districts where recruited labour from Rabaul might be serving.
The “Buka News” was' commenced at the end of 1948, by Mr. F. Boisen, District Education Officer, Sohano. The “Laga sai” published its first issue on March 15, 1947, Mr. E. Gibson, District Educa tion Officer in conjunction with District Services, being at the helm. The Lae “Garamut” was first published on October 11, 1947, the editor then being Mr. J.
Doonar, District Education Officer, as sisted by Waiau Ahnon. It is now edited by Kenyon Ahnon, Waiau’s cousin.
There is intense rivalry between these four publications. (Editorial Note: Some time ago, the Minister for External Territories. Mr. E.
J. Ward, described Pidgin as gibberish and expressed a desire that it be rooted out of the New Guinea scheme of things, root and stem. Only the missions bothered to reduce Pidgin to its written form before the war, but now that the Administration is turning out these news-sheets it ap pears that the eradication of Pidgin is one dream of Mr. Ward’s that will not come true.)