Twenty Years At The Mission In

A Tribute to the Bamu River Mission

The Mud

(Contributed)

ON June 1, 1936, the native peoples of the little-known and then little-traversed Bamu River, in the Western Division of Papua, gave an excited welcome to two young people who went to live among them as missionaries.

Specially novel was the fact that one was the first white woman to live on the Bamu —she is, in fact, still is the only European woman there.

The scene which greeted the just married Harrie and Eva Standen was anything but encouraging and both wondered, as they climbed through the calf-deep Bamu mud, ix they had made a mistake in de ciding to work on such a mud flat.

To-day, twenty years later, they realise they made no mistake, how ever much appearances were against success at the time. Recently one of the “highest in the land” was heard to express in admiration, the

thought that one knew as soon as one landed at the mission on the Bamu, that it was a happy place, ‘ You only had to watch the ex pressions, and the complete con fidence of a people in their missionaries and friends could be literally seen and felt.”

Eva and Harrie Standen have always had the warmest admiration of all sections of the Papuan Ad ministration for their remarkable work and success among a back ward people almost as unsalubrious as their land. Their outstanding success, specially in the fields of education and health and particu larly of infant-welfare is recognised by all who have had anything to do with that area, This year four local student teachers are attending the Short Teacher-Training course at the Ad ministration Training Centre at Popendetta, the remarkable thing

about this being that two of the students are from the mid-Bamu River, the first ever to leave the river for further training. More remarkable still is the fact that two are females. It is an unheard of thing for Bamu people to permit their

girls to leave their river for any other reason than marriage. It is expected the four will return to take up duties at their Mission school. Six years ago two of these students had never spoken an English word.

The Medical work at the main station of the mission is dedicated, as a Memorial centre, to the memory of the late Dr. G. H. Vernon, of Kokoda fame. The Doctor greatly encouraged the Standens in the first extremely difficult days of their work on the river.

The Mission’s 40-ft ketch, the Goodwill, carries out a unique service to the people of the River.

To hundreds of semi-nomads and nomadic children, the ketch is “Our Boat School;” to Bamu mothers who find it hard to travel to the station up-river, it is “Boat Hospital.”

Month by month the vessel visits all possible villages, services are held, teachers advised, troubles honed out, classes held on board and conversational English taught.

Infant and Maternal Welfare Clinic is held aboard at all villages, and it is a sight to see the canoes and dinghy coming out loaded with mothers and infants, all ready for the weighing, help and advice that is given. Frequently, when women must go off sago-making, the in fants are left in the village to await “Boat Hospital.”

Apart from its services to Bamu natives the Mission is a veritable “Home from home” to anyone

travelling that way so far off the beaten track. Always a ready meal, a comfortable bed and the welcome mat out.

More than one hardbitten old

time resident of Papua, with little time for missions in general, has said, in effect, “Standens of the Bamu, well, I dips me lid to them.”

That speaks volumes.