Books in the Pacific Studies series

Originally published in 1978, God's Gentlemen remains the only detached and detailed historical analysis of the work of the Melanesian Mission, which grew out of the personal vision of George Selwyn, the first bishop of the Church of England in New Zealand. Starting with its New Zealand beginnings and its Norfolk Island years from 1867 to 1920, the book follows the Mission's shift of headquarters to the Solomon Islands and beyond through the beginning of World War II. Based on a wide range of sources, God's Gentlemen is the inner history of the slow growth of an important and genuinely Melanesian church.

In this autobiographical account of life in the capital of the Solomon Islands, Michael Kwa'ioloa reflects on the challenges of raising a family in town and sustaining ties with a distant rural homeland on Malaita island. Continuing the long tradition of Kwara'ae community leaders participating in political activism, he discusses how the roles of these leaders were severely tested by the violent conflict between Malaitans and the indigenous Guadalcanal people at the turn of the century. Kwa'ioloa provides a local perspective on the causes and course of this unhappy episode in his country's history and describes a need for a way of life founded upon ancestral values, giving chiefs a role in the governance of Solomon Islands.

Fast money schemes in Papua New Guinea, collectivities in rural Solomon Islands, gambling in the Cook Islands, and the Vanuatu tax haven--all feature in the interface between Pacific and global economies. Since the 1970s, Melanesian countries and their peoples have been beguiled by the prospect of economic development that would enable them to participate in a world market economic system. Access to global markets would provide the means to improve their standard of living, allowing them to take their places as independent nations in a modern world. Managing Modernity in the Western Pacific takes a broad sweep through contemporary topics in Melanesian anthropology and ethnography. With nuanced and rigorous scholarship, it views contemporary debate on modernity in Melanesia within the context of the global economy and cultural capitalism. In particular, contributors assess local ideas about wealth, success, speculation, and development and their connections to participation in institutions and activities generated by them. This innovative and accessible collection offers a new intersection between Western Pacific anthropology and global studies.

"Australians in Papua New Guinea, provides a history of the late Australian years in Papua New Guinea through the eyes of thirteen Australian and four Papua New Guineans. The book presents the experiences of Australians who went to work in PNG over several decades before the 1970s. Australians in Papua New Guinea begins with medical practitioners: Michael Alpers, Ken Clezy, Margaret Smith, Ian Maddocks and Anthony Radford (with accompanying reflections by wife, Robin) who grappled with complex medical issues in difficult surroundings. Other contributors-John Langmore, John Ley and Bill Brown-became experts in governance. The final group featured were involved in education and social change: Ken Inglis, Bill Gammage, and Christine Stewart. Papua New Guinean contributors: medical expert Sir Isi Henao Kevau, diplomats Charles Lepani and Dame Meg Taylor, and educator and politician Dame Carol Kidu further deepen the quality of this collection. A final reflection is provided by historian Jonathan Ritchie, himself part of an Australian family in PNG. This extraordinary book balances expatriates with indigenous Papua New Guineans, balances gender, and pioneers an innovative combination of written reminiscences and interviews. The history of this important Pacific nation unfolds as do the histories of individuals who were involved in its formative decades.