How the currents changed
p. 55 · Read in the full issue
In 50 years of recording the events of the Pacific Islands PIM has found the political scene the source of its biggest and most important news stories.
And there is nothing better than PlM’s own pages and attitudes over the same period to demonstrate the magnitude of the changes which have swept the Pacific.
Early issues of the magazine show a pre-occupation with the affairs and the politics of Australians, New Zealanders, Britons, Americans and French who were entrenched through the Pacific Islands as adminis trators, planters, missionaries, traders and technicians.
It was perhaps not without cause that a PIM critic . . . not so very long ago, either . . . referred to our pages as The Planters’ Bible.
The main political stories in this anniversary issue alone demonstrate the change in emphasis. They are the stories of independent or near-independent Island nations, their leaders, their would-be leaders and their people. PIM writes today about Pacific Islands which have recaptured their national identities.