Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows a Papua New Guinean man giving an account of the colonial history of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. Interviewed in the village of Kontu, he remembers the brutality of the Germans, illustrated by graphic black-and-white photographs of punishments. ‘The English’ are described as being arrogant and uncivilised, continuing a pattern of authoritarianism that was then perpetuated by the Japanese and Australians and is now carried on, he says, by his own people. English subtitles provide a translation of his story.

Educational value points

• While the speaker shown here presents a view of colonial rule from the perspective of one who was subjected to it, his is a highly personal account and his rhetorical style and surprising conclusion suggest that he regards all control from outside his village as oppressive, including the rule of ‘our own people’. While the brutality of some and the racism of others are evident in the clip, his account emphasises the recurring pattern of domination by outsiders.

• The historical photographs in the clip provide visual evidence that supports the speaker’s view that authoritarianism and inequality characterised successive colonial administrations. Photographs of brutal punishments are the most graphic illustration, but the dressing of local people in European clothing also hints at the imposition of foreign cultural norms unsuitable for the climate and daily life. Europeans are positioned at the centre of many of these photographs.

• New Ireland, an island of Papua New Guinea (PNG), was subjected to foreign rule from 1884 until PNG became independent in 1975. Germany held German New Guinea as a protectorate from 1884 and took control of New Ireland in 1886. Australia administered New Ireland from 1914 until Japanese forces occupied it from January 1942 until 1945. Australian colonial administration resumed after the Second World War under a United Nations mandate.

• Photographs of the period of German colonial rule provide evidence of cruelty and coercion under the rule of Franz Boluminski (1863–1913), district officer from 1910 until his death. Boluminski was successful in settling disputes between tribes and vigorous in developing the island, especially the road from the harbour at Kavieng south along the eastern coast, intended to open the district to plantations. However, the islander labourers were treated harshly for any ‘disobedience’.

• As there was no rule by ‘the English’ in New Ireland, the speaker may have been thinking of Australian administration between the wars. The first photograph illustrating this comment shows what appear to be Catholic nuns with New Ireland women who wear the smocks that the missionaries regarded as being necessary for ‘decency’. The second photograph appears to be of German settlers but the next two photographs could well show Australian administrators with local staff.