The Reverend Rodger Page (1878-1965) arrived in Tonga in 1908 and, as chairman of the Tonga district of the Methodist Church, worked for a reconciliation with the Tongan Free Church which was established after the Wesleyan Church split in 1885. He was president of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga from 1925 to 1946, the royal chaplain and one of Queen Salote's most trusted political advisers. He retired to Sydney in 1946 returning to Tonga in 1947 to officiate at the double wedding of the Queen's sons. The originator of the scrapbook is unknown although it may well have been the Rev. Ernest E. Crosby (1856-1926).

The scrapbook is now in a very fragile state. Many of the clippings are damaged and some are no longer complete, the missing pieces having been lost. Not all the clippings are in strict chronological order. Most relate to church matters, many of the early entries are concerned with the Rev. Shirley Baker, and there are many about the Tongan Royal Family. Tongan celebrations and notable events are included as are other items of interest such as a tortoise 151 years old, a disappearing island (Fanuafoo or Falcon), sacred flying foxes of Kolovai and the tin-can mail.

The Reverend D.T. Reddin was born in Stepney, Adelaide, in 1880. Orphaned at the age of eight, he and his brothers and sisters were fostered to different families after a short stay in the Livingstone Home - a Methodist Home for children. In 1888 he was fostered to the Nicholas family in Yundool, Victoria and joined the Royal Australian Artillery in 1900. In 1903 he bought is way out of the army and joined the Police. During this period he became involved in mission work and held evangelical meetings. He was invited to address a Home Mission demonstration in Melbourne in 1907 and in July of that year was chosen to assist the Rev. W. Vawdon at North Melbourne Central Mission. With financial assistance from a benefactor, James Morrissey, he became a theological student at Queen's College and was ordained in March of 1910. Appointed as a missionary to New Ireland, he left for Kavieng in April and subsequently spent two years at Omo village. He returned to Australia to complete his studies and married Miss Kelso in June 1914. He and his wife and three children returned to Omo in 1921 but by 1924 Mrs Reddin was in poor health due to malaria and they returned to Australia in 1925.

The typescript consists of eight chapters and covers the period 1888 to 1914. He describes his life as a farmer, a soldier a policeman and a missionary, his work with the Central Mission and his commitment as a Christian. Reddin briefly refers to the years 1914 to 1925 in the last two paragraphs of the final chapter.

Sixteen letters from Dr Walter Mersh Strong to Gladys de Groen, Alan de Groen's sister, about his Port Moresby domestic affairs and visits to Australia, one accompanied by Papua Medical College students. Others deal with the purchase of a tobacco plantation in 1934 from Beatrice Grimshaw, Strong's period as Acting Lieutenant Governor (Feb-March 1936) and his time in ANGAU. There are also five letters from Alan de Groen containing his personal comments about his career in the Health and Treasury Departments and as Boarding Inspector. The last section of the microfilm includes photographs, press clippings and a short story.

Part 1: 15 letters from Dr W.M. Strong to Gladys de Groen 1926-1944 including: references to the plantation 'MacDhui'; Government Gazette nos 1, 2, 4 and 5 (January 1936); enclosures from the National Geographic Society; references to Rigo Government Station and ANGAU.<P>Part 2: 8 letters from Alan and Nin de Groen to Gladys de Groen 1929-1941(?) mostly from Port Moresby, one from Daru and one during service with ANGAU.<P>Part 3: Gladys de Groen: photographs (unindentified); press clippings - obituary of H.A.C. Bunting; Sir Hubert Murray's report: evil spirits and gold exports; flying boats for PNG; Bulolo River floods; 'Strange stories series', unsigned manuscript, handwriting not that of Gladys de Groen (3p.)

William Torrie Robertson was a planter at Big Bay and Hog Harbour, Espiritu Santo, (New Hebrides), Vanuatu.

1. Excerpt from Sydney Nichols Shurcliff's Jungle Islands: The 'Illyria' in the South Seas: Record of the Crane Pacific Expedition of the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, New York, 1930, recording the expedition's visit to Robertson (1928-1929) and giving details of Robertson's career and labour recruitment practices.
2. Declaration made by Robertson regarding the February, 1927, inspection of Kerr Bros Ltd plantation at Turtle Bay, New Hebrides, of which Robertson was then manager.
3. List of unexpired time of labour signed on with C.G.F.H. at T.B, giving each labourer's name, village, island and date his/her contract expired.
4. Letters to Robertson from various correspondents.

Minutes of the Aoba Local Council, in English, from its inception to January 9, 1969. Content from Ambae island, Vanuatu.

Correspondence between the general secretary of foreign missions of the Methodist Church of New Zealand and missionaries - deaconesses, teachers and nurses - as follows:

Mary Addison, 1955-58
May Barnett, 1921-33
Pamela Beaumont, 1948-58
Lilian Berry, 1920-33
Lesley Bowen, 1953-57
Vera Cannon, 1932-33
Elizabeth Common, 1920-34, 1940-49
Jean Dalziel, 1925
Merle Farland, 1955-57
Lorraine Flowers, 1955-57
Myra Fraser, 1950-58
Jessie Grant, 1949-57
Norma Graves, 1953-58
Audrey Grice, 1953-58

On his return from the Middle East, Rhys Healey’s unit was abandoned so he transferred to ANGAU in early 1943. On 8 November 1948 Rhys Healey accompanied District Commissioner Horrie Niall to open Telefomin station, together with Assistant District Officer Des Clifton-Bassett and Patrol Officer Rodgers. Healey’s job as Medical Assistant was to check on the malaria situation – he noted that the disease was already in the valley. Healey also took with him his well trained Dokta Boi, Bunat, and both stayed six weeks to organise the building of the native hospital. As no European medical Assistant was available, Bunat stayed in charge to supervise the running of the hospital and Healey returned to Angoram on the Sepik River to his family for Christmas. Bunat was awarded a Government Medal for looking after Harris and the wounded Police in 1953. At the request of Sir Michael Somare Rhys Healey stayed in PNG after independence, until Christmas 1981, mainly to take charge of the Finance Department and to train indigenous staff quickly. (Notes from Mrs Dorothy E. Healey, April 2006.)

Following the murders, an investigative patrol was flown into the area. The patrol was lead by District Commisisoner Allan Timperley and included Distict Officers George Wearne and Allan Corrigan, Cadet Barry Ryan and Medical Assistant Rhys Healey. They inspected the villages of Komdavip and Misinmin and the rest houses in the Eliptamin Valley.

Some of the documents microfilmed refer to Barry Craig published paper on the incident, ‘The Telefomin Murders: Whose Myth?’, in, Children of Afek: Tradition and Change among the Mountain-Ok of Central New Guinea. Eds Barry Craig & David Hyndman. Sydney: Oceania Monograph Nr.40, University of Sydney, 1990; pp.115-150.

Rhys Healey’s correspondence with P.J. Quinlivan, May 1954; and with J.K. McCarthy, 1958. An account of the Telefomin murders by Rhys Healey, written in 1973. A commentary by Mr Healey on a paper written by Barry Craig about the murders, 1988. Photographs taken by the investigative patrol in Nov 1953. See Finding aids for details.

Vocabulary, correspondence and prayers in languages from Vanuatu and Solomon Islands:

1. Vocabulary of the Gela language, British Solomon Islands. Compiled by Father S.G. Caulton, 1935-37.
2. Mota-Aoba [Ambae] Vocabulary. From the papers of Archdeacon A.E. Teall, Archdeacon of Southern Melanesia, d.1966.
3. Letters to Archdeacon D.A. Rawcliffe in the language of Vatuanga Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
4. Letters to Archdeacon D.A. Rawcliffe in the language of Ulawa, Solomon Islands.
5. Letters to Archdeacon D.A. Rawcliffe in the language of Ugi, Solomon Islands.
6. Vocabulary of the Vaturanga language of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Compiled by Archdeacon D.A. Rawcliffe.
7. Prayers in the languages of the Northern New Hebrides - Mera Lava, Mota, Gaua, Nduindui, Qatnapni.

Carl Diercke (1872-1915) was the son of a famous German cartographer , Carl Diercke (Snr.) who created the Diercke Atlases. Carl Diercke (Jnr.) was married to Helene Blanche (Nellie) Parkinson. Nellie was the daughter of Richard and Phoebe Parkinson. Richard was a scientist of German/Danish origin, famous for his book, Dreissig Jahren in der Sudsee (Thirty Years in the South Seas). Phoebe was Queen Emma's sister, both of the Samoan royal family Malietoa. Together with Parkinson and Diercke they created the first commercial plantations in New Guinea in the late 1800's. The letters were written and received by Carl Diercke (Jnr.) at his plantation in Tinputz (Woskawitz) German New Guinea. In general the letters are requests for foodstuffs and sundry goods which were delivered mainly by the ship Sumatra. The family were stripped of land holdings by Australian officials after WWI because of the family's German links. Rudolf Diercke, son of Carl and Nellie Diercke, stayed in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands where he managed plantations for W.R. Carpenter & Co and later for the Catholic Church at Vunapope, East New Britain. Mr Chris Diercke, who holds the letter books, is Rudolf Diercke’s son.

Carl Diercke, Letter Book No.1 (letters-out), pp.1-41, 24 Jan 1907-22 Aug 1908

Carl Diercke, Letter Book No.2 (letters-out), pp.1-47, 11 Oct 1908-14 May 1909.

Carl Diercke, Letter Book No.3 (letters-out), pp.1-100, 13 Sep 1909-4 Jul 1910.

Letters-received by Carl Diercke, Rudolf Diercke , Helmuth Bertig et al., Nos.1-40, 1888-1964.

Letters-received by Carl Diercke, Rudolf Diercke et al., Nos.41-80, 1895-1964.

Letters re publication of English translation of Richard Parkinson’s book, Thirty Years in the South Seas, 1970-1985.

Hydrographic Office, US Navy, Emergency Reproduction of German Chart, S- Stiller Ozean, Insel Bougainville, Tinputz- & Teop Hafen, Maszstar 1:25000…, 1911.

See Finding aids for details.

Father Paul Fastre, M.S.C. (born 1880), was a member of the Roman Catholic Mission in Western Papua, whose headquarters are at Yule Island. His notes were completed in 1937.

Notes on the customs of the Fujuges (English Fuyuges) people of the Mt. Scratchley-Chirima River area of the Central and Northern Districts of Papua New Guinea. Principally:

• Ceremonies, dances and songs, including the major ceremony, Le Gabe;
• Warfare;
• Chiefs (Utumi);
• Engagement and marriage;
• Conception and childbirth;
• Naming;
• Nose-piercing;
• Illness;
• Funerals and mourning;
• Treatment of murderers;
• Beliefs and cults;
• Magic;
• Legends;
• Property; and
• Fishing, hunting and agriculture.