When the spears they made were works of art

From the time Rev A. H. Voyce first began living on Bougainville in 1926 as a Methodist missionary he began a wide-ranging collection of artefacts. Bows, arrows, spears, clubs and fighting axes formed a large part of that collection, which continued to grow throughout the thirties, “during a period”, he says, “when quality work on arrows and spears was available, unlike the more mass-produced articles offered for sale today”.

Mr Voyce’s book, Design Work as Shown on Bougainville Arrows and Spears, illustrates his point. The designs on the shafts and arrows, the elaborate arrow and spear heads shown in this book of pencil draw ings, illustrates the craftsmanship of the makers of native weapons in that area at that time.

The book is a simple, offset production, published by Trinity Press, Rabaul, PNG, and available through them at $3 plus postage, but the 30 pages of drawings are extremely clear and detailed, with appended notes made at the time, and the whole production is useful, informative and fascinating for both expert and layman.

The drawings themselves were made by Mr Voyce’s father, Mr H.

W. Voyce, when he lived with the missionary family for nine years in the thirties, and he began his recording work when he was 75 years old.

The Rev A. H. Voyce these days has retired to Auckland, and the bulk of the collection of weapons illustrated in this book are now in the Otago University Museum, Dunedin, and the Auckland War Memorial Museum.