Talk Of Self-Government In

The New Hebrides, But It's A Long Way Off

By Robert Langdon, recently returned from Vila.

Although neither the British nor the French Government has made any public statement on the matter, Europeans in the New Hebrides believe that both Governments are working towards eventual self-government for the New Hebrideans.

aOWEVER. none of the Euro peans I have spoken to foresees he New Hebrideans governing them elves in less than a generation, and ome predict that self-government is till “at least 50 years away”.

Both the British and the French re spending much more money in he Group now than they have ever one in their 50-odd years of joint dministration. This is especially o in the field of education, but the Jew Hebrideans still have a long, 3ng way to go before they will be ducated enough to run their own ountry efficiently.

At present, few of the 55,000-odd Jew Hebrideans have had more than wo or three years’ schooling; only handful have reached high school tandard; and there are still a housand or so natives in the interior f Espiritu Santo and Malekula who save had almost no contact with Europeans and, until recently, were annibals.

The New Hebrideans are Melanesians. In their primitive state, bey were regarded as among the sast attractive and most savage teople in the South Pacific. But inder the influence of civilisation, hey have generally become tractable nd likeable people.

Missionaries of the London

Missionary Society arrived in the Group in the 1830’s, and until the last few years, the education of the natives was entirely in the hands of various missionary bodies—both British and French, This has meant that the popula tion has been divided into two camps —one with a British background, and one with a French. But as there is no common native language in the Group (dialects, in fact, differ from village to village), the English and French languages have brought the natives closer together than they would otherwise have been.

There is no joint Education Department for the Group, and it is hard to see that there ever will be.

Because of the language barrier, both Administrations seem destined to deal with education in their own ways.

Big Church Tasks Except for a small primary school at Vila run by a local Parents and Citizens Association and subsidised by the British Administration, all British schools —274 in 1962 with 7,700 pupils—are run by Protestant church missions. The missions, which prefer to be called voluntary agencies, are: Presbyterian (184 schools), Melanesian (51), Seventh-

day Adventist (23), Churches of Christ (13) and Apostolic (3).

However, since 1959, the British Administration has played an in creasing part in the work of educa tion. In that year, Mr. Albert Fowler, a former principal of the teacher training college in Uganda, took up the newly-created post of Senior Education Officer with the Administration. Since then, a British Education Advisory Committee, in cluding representatives of the five voluntary agencies, has been set up.

One of the committee’s aims is to establish a system of primary educa tion common to all five voluntary agencies, consisting of four years of junior primary education and four years of senior primary—the latter to be available to selected students.

The committee has also asked the British Administration to establish a school for secondary education, but the Administration has made no decision on this.

Teachers Trained As a first step towards a higher standard of education, a teacher training college has been built on a hill at Malapoa, about two miles from Vila overlooking the harbour.

The college, Kawenu, was designed to accommodate an annual intake of 36 students for a two-year course, and was mainly built with Colonial Development and Welfare funds.

The first batch of trainee teachers entered the college in mid-March, 1962, and the next 36 were due to start training at the beginning of February. The staff of the college comprises two Government Educa

There is much build ing of new schools in the New Hebrides.

This French one is in Vila.

British Resident Commissioner in the New Hebrides, Mr. A. M. Wilkie.

Photo: Reece Discombe.

ion Officers and three tutors from he voluntary agencies. The principal s Mr. D. F. L. Pritchard, an English nan, formerly on the staff of the Jniversity of Ghana.

At present, the highest level of jducation available in the Group is novided at a Presbyterian school at Dnesua, on the north-east coast of ifate. The top class is about equal 0 top primary classes in Australia >r New Zealand.

The only British-educated New Hebrideans who have bettered the Dnesua standard are those who have >een awarded scholarships provided >y the British Administration. Boys ;o to the King George VI secondary ohool at Auki, BSIP, and girls to iccondary schools in either New Zealand or Australia.

Nine boys are now at Auki and ive girls are in New Zealand. One >oy, Andrew Butu, sat last year for he Cambridge Overseas Certificate, he final examination at Auki after 1 course of four or five years. This s the highest standard of education i British-educated New Hebridean las reached.

The French Administration has ilso taken an increasing interest in he education of New Hebrideans in he last few years. It has now :stablished 15 free public schools, vith an enrolment of 1,060 pupils, hroughout the Group. This com )ares with only five schools in 1959.

Education Other French funds have been ised to subsidise church schools, of vhich 19, with an enrolment of 2,082 mpils, are run by Catholic missions md four (enrolment: 178) are run )y a Protestant mission. A total of :5,690 was also provided last year or students on scholarships overseas —about 95 at high school in New Caledonia, and two at university in France.

The standard of education at the "rench schools throughout the Group s generally lower than at the British ichools. But the French Admini itration is expected to establish soon i teacher training college similar to iawenu College.

Meanwhile, the British Resident Commissioner, Mr, A. M, Wilkie, md his French counterpart, Mr. M.

Delauney, have agreed that there ihould be greater co-ordination in iducation in future.

Two ways in which this will be ittempted will be by avoiding luplication of educational facilities n any area and by providing French feachers to teach French in British schools, and vice versa, when secondary education is introduced.

In an interview, Mr. Wilkie told me that the New Hebrides was faced with two great problems.

One,” he said, “is the adequate preparation of the people of the New Hebrides to take a greater part in the administration of the territory and in public affairs. This means better education and better facilities for training.

“The other great problem is economic development to increase the national production to keep up with population increase and the greater needs of the future. This involves adequate planning in the agri-

cultural, industrial and mining fields.”

At present, the main exports from the Group are copra, frozen fish, cocoa, manganese and coffee.

Mr. Wilkie said that in comparison with other Pacific territories, the economic future of the Group “appears to be hopeful”, He ac jded: “Although some copra plantations are affected by the bug Axiagastus, which is reducing pro duction, there have been considerable plantings by New Hebrideans in the past few years which should lead to a higher production.

[ “There is scope for more cocoa and coffee. The export of fish is doing well. But there has been a temporary setback in the export of manganese.” ( PIM, Feb., p. 43.) Mr. Wilkie admitted that lack Df labour was handicapping the development of the Group, but he said planters had partly overcome this by mechanisation and the use t)f cattle to keep their properties free t)f weeds.

Few of the 2,000-odd Tonkinese ivho were imported before the war to work on French plantations are now jmployed in this work. Most of them have become taxi drivers, office workers, mechanics, carpenters, slumbers, shopkeepers or market gardeners in either Vila or Santo.

New Hebrideans generally do not ;are to work on European plantations : or any length of time unless imenities such as picture shows and ; ree liquor are provided. They can nake more money working on their swn plantations.

About 500 Walli s i a n s and Fahitians and a few Fijians provide some of the skilled labour in the 3roup, but most Europeans say hey are not as efficient as the Fonkinese.

In Vila and Santo, the Europeans lo not look forward to the day when most of the Tonkinese are repatria ;ed—this being the desire of about )0 per cent, of the Tonkinese and he policy of the French Admini stration when political difficulties vith North Vietnam are ironed out.

Fhe repatriation of the Tonkinese vill mean, among other things, that fresh vegetables will no longer be available.

However, by the time the repatria tion problem is solved it is hoped that nany New Hebrideans will have ac juired skills as mechanics and build ng workers.

Meanwhile, the New Hebrideans are showing an increasing interest in the business of government and in the need for co-ordination of govern mental activities within the Group.

There is some talk of self government among them, but they are more interested in learning how government works than in pressing for a greater part in the government of the Group.

Taking part in even the simplest form of self-government is some thing quite new to the New Hebrideans. Only in the last five or six years have local councils been established; and the only body which gives the natives a say (and some experience) in the running of the Group as a whole is the Advisory

Council, established in 1957, which meets only once a year.

Twenty local councils have so far been set up. They are responsible for the maintenance of law and order and the cleanliness and sanitation of the villages in their areas, and the provision of population statistics.

The Advisory Council, which has 16 non-official members, eight of whom are New Hebrideans, has no legislative powers. Its function is merely to advise the Resident Com missioners on matters of national interest. So far there are no plans for the establishment of a Legislative Council.

Higher Training

In most Condominium Govern ment offices there are few New Hebrideans above the status of messenger. But a move is now on foot to train the natives for higher positions, and most of the clerks and counter officers’ jobs will probably be taken over by natives within four or five years.

Although some Europeans speak ominously of the day when the New Hebrideans will take over the running of the Group entirely, it seems that there will be room for European enterprise and capital for many years yet.

One senior official describes the group as “the last refuge of laissez faire capitalism”, and this is a seemingly accurate description.

Any Briton or Frenchman with capital, skills or ideas that will con tribute to the territory’s economy is welcome in the New Hebrides.

There is no income tax or company tax and the Government is normally willing to negotiate low export duties in the early years of the establish ment of new export enterprises.

These incentives apply to all over seas investors.

Although titles to many areas of land are still subject to dispute, there is nothing to stop Europeans from negotiating the purchase of land from the New Hebrideans where their titles to it have been established.

There are many acres of good land, such as the former sheep station at Erromanga, which are lying idle.

In the past, there has been far more French enterprise and capital in the Group than British. The only substantial British firm now estab lished there is Australian—Burns Philp—and except for Government officials, nearly all the British resi dents are either Australians or New Zealanders. (Several Government officials are Australians and New Zealanders, too). (Over)

Great Britain derives almost no >enefit from the New Hebrides as t buys none of the Group’s exports ind provides only a tiny fraction of ts imports.

Australia, on the other hand, pro vides about half of the imports imore than £1 million worth a year) ilthough it buys only about a fiftieth )f its exports.

It is therefore not surprising that nany Australian residents and some British officials feel that Australia should take a greater interest in the jroup.

Australian Interest Understandably, the Australian jovernment is not eager to take iver Britain’s administrative respon sibilities, as these involve much ex )ense and many headaches, but little ;lse.

But as the New Hebrides are of :onsiderable economic and strategic to Australia, an active good neighbour policy towards the Group :ould do nothing but good.

One long-time Australian resident in Vila believes that Australia could win friends and influence people in the New Hebrides by: • Providing a better service on Radio Australia. (“When you turn on the radio these days, especially on Sundays, about the only session you can get is Indonesian”, he says).

• Providing more trips to Aus tralia for leading natives. (“The value of such trips was illustrated recently by the enthusiastic account given to the British Residency’s Newsletter by Mr. Tom Tipoloamata, chairman of the Tongoa Local Council, who visited Australia as guest of the Australian Department of External Affairs”). Prov iding such things as hot air dryers so the native s can im proVe the standard of their copra, o Providing scholarships or a Colombo Plan so that talented natives could B et a better education.

Mr. Wilkie agrees that a Colombo plan would be a good idea . But he says; » The basic problem is provid ing satisfactory education within the Group to a standard which will en able New Hebrideans to take advan tage of educational facilities avail able overseas”. „ . .

Another Government official pu it this way: “Education is essential if Br j ta i n ’ an d France want to get out of tbe New Hebrides without creat ing another Congo”, • More building is going on in Vila now than at any time in its history See the "rags to riches" *cuct n 117 story ot onti, p.

There are many acres of good land lying idle in the New Hebrides—such as this former sheep station at Erromanga.