W R Carpenter & Company Limited was registered in Sydney in 1914. It was involved in buying and selling island produce including copra, cocoa, trochus, beche-de-mer, green snail shell and Fijian bananas. The company later developed shipping and pioneered an airline. Having built its trading strength in New Guinea and Fiji, the Company extended its operations to the Solomon Islands in 1922 where it established a Branch at Tulagi. The Branch was abandoned in 1942, but after the War some of the Tulagi Branch papers fell into the hands of Tom Elkington whose widow passed them on to Dr Judy Bennett.

Inward correspondence, 23 Sep 1925- 5 Jan 1931<BR>Outward correspondence, 19 Oct 1925-3 Jul 1929<BR>14-15 Dec 1930<BR>Inspection reports and related papers, 1930-1932<BR>Legal papers, 1925-1931<BR>Undated and fragmentary papers, [nd]

See PMB MS 432, material relating to the Roman Catholic Mission Fiji.

The histories are: 1. The Beginning of the Mission in Fiji (1842-1936); 2. Father J.B. Breheret, 1815-1898

The manuscripts were formerly in the possession of Captain Victor Brisson (1881-1951), a well-known sea captain based on Tahiti, who for many years was in charge of different trading ships visiting the Pacific Islands.

The papers are in two sections. The first section consists of 26 photocopied pages, the originals of which are held by Dr Bengt Danielsson, Tahiti. The second section (154pp) is preceded by a working index which gives background information on each item. The index is too long to reproduce here but is available on request from the Bureau . Subjects covered by the manuscripts: genealogies, legends, traditions and chants. Geographical names are mentioned as are names for months, seasons and moons. The papers are in various languages including English, French, Tuamotuan and Tahitian.

Gazette of the British administration of German New Guinea during World War I, 1914 - 1919

Vol. 1, no. 1 (15 Oct. 1914) - vol. 6, no. 11 (27 Nov. 1919). Some pages have been partially cut.

The governments of the United Kingdom and France signed a protocol respecting the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) in 1914 and ratified it on 18 March 1922. The copy here is the ratified version. The protocol superseded the Anglo-French Convention of 1906 which had established the Condominium of the New Hebrides in that year. The protocol strengthened the provisions of the 1906 condominium. It allowed France and the UK to govern jointly in the New Hebrides and establish exclusive sovereignty over their own citizens, subjects and optants (people of another nationality who had to choose between the jurisdiction of France or the UK). Indigenous ni-Vanuatu were placed under the jurisdiction of the condominium. The protocol declared the archipelago a region of joint influence. It confirmed and enhanced the presence of joint services in the territory, including a postal system, courts, finance department and land registry. Other administrative functions such as education, the police and health were the responsibility of the two governments. In some cases there were triplications with the condominium. For example the protocol provided for a joint health service, but there were separate British and French hospitals, clinics and physicians. The distinction between French and British services and growing duplications with some condominium functions became more noticeable as the two governments increased their spending levels in the territory in the 1960s and 1970s. For all practical purposes the Protocol was a kind of constitution for the New Hebrides. It provided the French and British Resident Commissioners with a para-constitutional framework upon which to enact new laws by joint regulation. The protocol remained in place, despite modifications, until Vanuatu achieved independence on 30 July 1980.

The Protocol consists of 83 pages and 68 articles, complete with French and English translations.

Issues of vol. 1 - vol. 15 were not available for microfilming

Vol. 16, no. 1 (3 Jan. 1903) - vol. 19, no. 10 (6 Aug. 1906)

The first three issues were compiled by Major F.R. Hewitt MC, Manager of Levers Pacific Plantations Limited, who conceived the idea of <i>The Gazette</i>. Subsequent issues were edited by R.A. Lever, Government Entomologist, BSIP, who also wrote many of the articles. <i>The Gazette</i> was printed in Sydney by W.T. Baker & Co. Resident Commissioner F.N. Ashby wrote that the Gazette aimed at “distribution among Planters of the results of the scientific researches made by Entomological Officers employed by the Government in the Protectorate and as a means for Planters to express their views and seek advice.” (Vol.3, No.4) <i>The Gazette</i> includes meteorological reports from Tulagi and elsewhere in later issues. It also includes annual reports of the Government Entomologist, correspondence and reviews. There are articles dealing with insects attacking coconut palms, native gardens, mosquito and malaria control (by H.B. Hetherington, Senior Medical Officer), wire fencing, tractors and horses, commercial possibilities of local plants, household pests, the copra market, copra driers, rice, kapok and ginger growing, export of reptile skins, Dr H.B. Guppy’s datum line at Ugi Island, and the geography of the Solomon Islands, etc.

Vol.1, No.1, Jan 1933; No.2, Apr 1933; No.3, Jul 1933; No.4, Oct 1933; Vol.2, No.1, Jan 1934; No.2, Apr 1934; No.3, Jul 1934; No.4, Oct 1934; Vol.3, No.1, Jan 1935; No.2, Apr 1935; No.3, Jul 1935; No.4, Oct 1935. (last issue, discontinued.) Vol.3, No.4 Supplement, Feb 1936. Includes index.

The oldest and longest-running news publications are those put out by the Government Information Service. This goes back to the late colonial period when the administration brought out a regular newsheet for national circulation. This was progressively upgraded until 1975 when it was decided to turn it into a weekly newspaper called The Solomons News Drum (PMB Doc 415). This was run as a general newspaper for over seven years from January 1975 until mid-1982 when it was taken over by five Solomon Islanders, renamed the Solomon Star, and run as a private newspaper. The Government Information Service has continued to publish its own newsheet (changing the name at regular intervals), using it to provide information on major policy changes, report meetings of the National Parliament, report national and provincial elections, trace developments in the public sector, cover all the main events in the political and vice-regal year, and generally provide a useful public relations outlet for whichever government is in power. (Ian Frazer, Pambu, Vol.5, No.5, May 1997)

Jul 1955-Dec 1974. Irregular in 1955-56; monthly, 1957-1963; fortnightly, 1964-1974. Includes BSI News [Magazine], Nos.1,3-6,8-11, Aug 1963-Jun 1964. See Finding aids for details.