Perceptive

look at P-NG

An observation which she makes on the changing roles of the church and the government in Papua-New Guinea is an example of the kind of pay-dirt to be found in Elizabeth

Durack’s small book, Seeing

Through Papua-New Guinea: An

Artist's Impressions of the Terri tory.

Miss Durack notes that the church and the state are now work ing in more harmony than before, but it is now “the secular govern ment that has somehow got itself eased into the old frame of carved wood, gilt and squiggles”. She con tinues: “Pious texts and plaster images seem to have swapped places from the mission chapels to the Administration offices. The civil and administrative officials have become like the old-style missionaries.

“They speak in sanctimonious platitudes and mouth patent formali ties. Some wear a semi-apologetic air. It is as though the Australians in P-NG were suddenly obliged to fix their eyes on some impractical goal and although finding it so diffi cult, to profess belief in it. Without any voluntary staff to rely upon, very dubious that their present repair and renewal job is all for the Glory of God, with critics needling them about the top-heavy social structure that they have created and which is making things worse, rather than better, for the indigenous people, it is hard for the Administration to keep a brave face on the world all the time.”

Miss Durack found, on the other hand, that the missionaries today have no such inhibitions and that they are getting on with the job which they can see clearly in front of them. She spent a lot of time with the missions and found an ecumeni cal spirit, an air of good fellowship, almost fun.

Elizabeth Durack Clancy is a West

Australian painter and lecturer, who visited the territory in 1968 to make portraits and drawings of the women.

Some of these were recently pub lished in a book called Face Value (Ure Smith, PIM May). Her new book gives her written impressions of what she saw, and while it cer tainly is not an important book, she is obviously sensitive and per ceptive, and she captures some of the unique character of the country.

The reader comes unexpectedly on worthwhile comment, such as her observation on the changed role of the church. She is assisted by her familiarity with colonial situations elsewhere.

It is a pity that the work is uneven —she seems to have got into her stride in the final chapters—and that it has so many place names spelled inaccurately. There are also in accuracies all through the bibliog raphy.

The book is illustrated with her own drawings.—Sl

(Seeing Through Papua New

GUINEA. The Hawthorn Press, Mel bourne. $4.95) r anybody doubts that there has been an upsurge of academic interest in the Pacific Islands in recent years, they should take a

look at World Catalogue of Theses on the Pacific Islands, just published by the Australian National University Press.

It lists more than 1,000 academic theses on every Islands territory and in every field—most of them having been written in the last 10 years.

Only a small portion of these theses have been published in book form, and thus most people don’t know of their existence. The ignorant some times include scholars who them selves begin working on a thesis before realising that somebody else has already done it. H. E. Maude in an introduction, points out that, unhappily, some scholars actually finish a thesis without that know led, thus wasting research funds as well as producing inaccurate work.

This World Catalogue lists theses both under geographical headings and names of authors, and it also indicates if a thesis was later pub lished.

Most of the theses listed, were

prepared for master’s degrees or doctorates. When papers in lower levels have been mentioned, it is because they are considered by the compilers, Diane Dickson and Carol Dossor, to provide significant in formation.

The little book, which sells for $3.90, is No. 1 in the Pacific Monograph Series produced by ANU, Box 4, Canberra.

Another anu publication just out is volume five of the annual Journal of Pacific History. It’s done with the support of Oxford Univer sity Press. So long a dream of H. E.

Maude, of ANU’s Department of Pacific History, this fifth issue seems to indicate that the journal is now firmly established as a valuable part of Pacific literature, to be enjoyed by both layman and specialist.

Although the 244 pp. of this issue contain the variety of Pacific material we’ve come to expect, it’s probably not as interesting an issue as earlier ones, Deryck Scan* will for many tastes, have been given an inordinate amount of space with his “A Roko Tui for Lomaiviti”.

Other articles include Ben Finney on “Partnership in Developing the New Guinea Highlands 1948-1968”; Roger Mitchell on “Oral Tradition

and Micronesian History”; Peter Corriss on the “Pacific Island Labour Migrants in Queensland”; Christopher Legge and Jennifer Terrel on “James Toutant Proctor”, a New Hebrides recruiter and man of many parts.

Subscriptions obtainable from the ANU at 53.50, including postage— or 54.50 the single copy through booksellers.—Sl.

BACK in 1964 a quarantine con ference in Apia organised by the South Pacific Commission re quested the SPC to prepare a simple, loose-leaf, illustrated manual dealing with dangerous plant pests and diseases which should be excluded from all those territories covered by the commission, or prevented from spreading in it. Mr. B. A.

O’Connor was appointed a plant protection officer to prepare the volume—which has only just now emerged from the SPC Publications Bureau, Sydney.

It’s a large, heavy-weight volume, in black and white and colour, dealing with the pests and diseases on just about everything worth growing in the Islands, from bananas, through to cassava, citrus and coco nuts to maize, rice, sugarcane, taro, tea, tobacco and tomatoes.

It lists the quarantine measures for imports of planting materials, fruits and vegetables into the area. It des cribes the symptoms and distribution of the diseases and pests, and their control.

No price is yet available for Exotic Plant Pests and Diseases, but it’s available from the SPC head quarters in Noumea or the Publica tions Bureau, 720 George Street, Sydney.

TO describe well the geography, politics and history of Indonesia in a mere 150 pages is no mean task.

The object of Colin Mason’s exercise, in Understanding Indonesia, is to provide the raw material with which readers might be tempted to explore Australia’s immediate neighbour at closer range.

Colin Mason is at his best des cribing the people of Indonesia, particularly Java; there just isn’t the space otherwise to pay more than lip service to a history dating back to prehistoric Java Man and politics including the rise of Sukarno, the confrontation and the West Irian takeover.

What Mason says of the people is of interest to politicians and public alike. What pent-up passion allows Indonesians to be passive one second, hysterical the next? The process is so common in Indonesia— and other parts of S.E. Asia—that the Indonesian word, running amuk, is now part of our language. Candidly he comments that the army has more control now than it ever had under Sukarno. But there’s still optimism in his little book for a happier future Indonesia.—JSE.

(Understanding Indonesia. Horwitz

Publications. $2.95).

AN anonymous donor in Honolulu has given the University of Papua and New Guinea Library a number of items associated with Admiral John Moresby, who entered and named Port Moresby in 1873.

Among the items are a sketch of Port Moresby made by John Moresby, a number of letters to him by Benjamin Disraeli and W. G.

Gladstone, both former British Prime Ministers, and a copy of his book Discoveries in New Guinea, which was formerly the property of his daughter.

With the gift is a complete collec tion of the published books of L.

Adams Beck, Moresby’s daughter, who was a noted writer of the 1920’5.