Ian Downs (1915- ) joined the Department of District Services in the Territory of New Guinea in 1936 and, as a patrol officer, served in most districts. After wartime naval service, he returned to the Territory as a district officer and later served as District Commissioner in the New Ireland, Madang and Eastern Highlands districts. He resigned from the Administration in 1956 and became a coffee planter near Goroka. He was president of the Highland Farmers and Settlers' Association from 1957 to 1968 and a member of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea in the same period.

The papers comprise:

1. Patrol reports in Morobe, Madang and New Ireland districts, 1936-49
2. Annual reports, Chimbu sub-district, 1939-40
3. Monthly reports, Chimbu sub-district, 1939-40
4. Census figures, New Ireland district, c.1949. See also PMB 609

Bishop Navarre (1836-1912) was ordained in 1872. He began a mission on New Britain in 1882. In 1884, he arrived at Thursday Island to establish headquarters and prepare for the expansion of the Catholic Mission to the mainland of New Guinea. In the following year Navarre chose Fr Henry Verjus to establish a new station on Yule Island, Papua. Navarre moved to Yule Island himself in 1886, and in the following year returned to Europe to be consecrated Bishop at Issoudun, France. He was raised to the status of Archbishop in August 1888. He remained in Papua New Guinea until just before his death on 16 January 1912.

A typescript copy of autobiographical notes, observations and reflections by Mgr Navarre on his missionary experiences and the teachings of the Catholic Church.<BR>See also Encyclopaedia of Papua and New Guinea (Peter Ryan, ed.), Melbourne University Press, 1972, vol.2, pp.840-42.

A collection of published papers by many different authors on the botany of French Polynesia, New Caledonia and the New Hebrides (Vanuatu). The papers appear on the microfilms in alphabetical order by author, and are preceded by a full index. The authors are:

Reel 1: Balansa, Benjamin to Brongniart, Adolphe Theodore
Reel 2: Brongniart, Adolphe Theodore and Gris, Arthur, to Fournier, E.
Reel 3: Fournier, E., to Jardin, Edelstan
Reel 4: Jardin, Edelstan to Nadeaud, Jean
Reel 5: Nadeaud, Jean to Spring, A.F.
Reel 6: Theriot, J., to Vouaux, L.

Investors Ltd was formed in 1936 to provide funds to equip expeditions led by Jack Hides to prospect for gold.

The film contains:

1. Correspondence, 1936-37
2. 'Report of aerial reconnaissance made from Mt Hagen over the country examined by Hides and O'Malley on the Strickland-Purari Patrol, 1934-36'
3. Radio log, 22 February - 17 August 1937
4. Hides' diary, 7 March - 9 July 1937
5. Report on Central New Guinea Expedition, 1937
6. Financial statement, 1965

The papers were used by J.P. Sinclair in the writing of his biography of Hides, The Outside Man.

A prominent Indo-Fijian lawyer and politician, A. D. Patel was born in Gujarat and educated at the Gujarat College in Ahemdabad. After a period at the London School of Economics, Patel graduated as a barrister in London and proceeded to Fiji in 1928 where he set up a legal practice in Suva. In the 1930s he moved to Ba and then Nadi, where he remained for the rest of his life. Patel was elected President of the Fiji Indian Congress and the Indian Association in 1930. He and his friend Swami Rudranandra were principal leaders of the growers in the 1943 sugar strike in Fiji. Patel was a member of the Fiji Legislative Council 1944-1950 and 1963-1969. He married Patricia Seymour in 1934 but the couple separated in 1934 and were divorced in 1943. In 1943 Patel married Leela Ben, the daughter of Professor B. N. Patel. (Reference: Brij V. Lal, A Vision for Change: A D Patel and the Politics of Fiji, 1997.)

Papers held by Mrs Patel: general documents, mainly letters, some speeches and leaflets, 1936-1970; personal files as a member of Parliament; letters of condolence to his family on his death; two of his early notebooks; an album of photographs and letters compiled by his first wife, Patricia; case files compiled for his representation of Banabans at the United Nations, 1968-69; and working papers for the Fiji Parliamentary Committee on the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Act, 1969.

Papers held by Professor Lal: a complete set of A. D. Patel’s speeches and writings, a file on the 1943 sugar strike in Fiji, compiled by Swami Rudrananda, and a set of the key Fiji sugar industry inquiry reports and awards, 1945-1970.

See reel list for further details.

Thomas Nevison Simpson was born in London on 18 March 1909. In May 1924 (aged 15 years) he came to Adelaide with the last batch of boys under the Barwell Scheme of South Australia. In 1928 he took the local preachers' examination and became a member of the Methodist Church. In 1936 he completed studies at Wesley College in Adelaide and at the University of Sydney. In August 1936 he was sent to the Methodist Mission in Rabaul, New Britain, and then to the Mission at Kavieng in New Ireland where he was Assistant Minister. In December 1936 he was sent as the first Methodist Missionary to New Hanover where he was stationed at Ranmelek. Nellie Sudlow and Tom Simpson were married in Rabaul in September 1937. Nellie and their daughter, Margaret, were evacuated from Kavieng in December 1941, but Tom Simpson stayed on at Ranmelek where he was captured by the Japanese. The last communication from Tom Simpson was dated 5 January 1942. Nellie Simpson died in July 1992.

Correspondence from Tom Simpson to Nellie Ludlow and from Tom and Nellie to her family, together with press cuttings and related documents, 1936-1942, arranged and summarised by their daughter, Margaret Henderson. <P><B>See reel list for further details</B>

The Fiji Constitutional Review Commission was established by His Excellency the President of Fiji, Ratu Sir Kamasese Mara, on 15 March 1995. The President appointed the Right Reverend Sir Paul Reeves as Chairman of the Commission and Mr Tomasi Rayalu Vakatora and Dr Brij Vilash Lal as its other members. Ms Alison Quentin-Baxter and Mr Jon Apted were later appointed as Counsel assisting the Commission along with Mr Walter Gibson Rigamoto as its Secretary. The Commission was appointed to review the Fiji Constitution and produce a report on 30 June 1996 (later extended to 30 September 1996) 'recommending constitutional arrangements which will meet the present and future needs of the people of Fiji and promote racial harmony, national unity and the economic and social advancement of all communities' (Reeves, Vakatora and Lal, 1996). The Commission was required to scrutinise the Constitution, facilitate the widest possible debate on constitutional matters and inquire into and ascertain public opinion on possible ways to improve the Constitution. These papers represent the written and oral submissions which individuals, groups and organisations made to the Commission. The Commission had two rounds of public hearings throughout Fiji. The first round started on 3 July 1995 and was completed on 9 August 1995. The second round of hearings started on 22 August 1995 and was completed on 10 October 1995. This title documents the hearings.

CONTENTS The papers are divided into eight volumes of written submissions from 3 July 1995 to 14 September 1995, with the eighth volume consisting of additional submissions received by the Commission between July 1995 and January 1996. The remainder of the contents consists of verbatim notes resulting from oral submissions made between 3 July 1995 and 19 September 1995.

Reel 1 Written Submissions, Vol. 1, Nos. 001001-005007, 3-6 Jul 1995
Reel 2 Written Submissions, Vol. 2, Nos. 006001-006060, 14 Jul-22 Aug 1995
Written Submissions, Vol. 3, Nos. 006058-006081, 22 Aug-28 Aug 1995
Reel 3 Written Submissions, Vol. 3, Nos. 006082-006089, 28 Aug-10 Oct 1995
Written Submissions, Vol. 4, Nos. 006090-006118, n.d.
Written Submissions, Vol. 5, Nos. 007001-007009, 12-13 Jul 1995
Reel 4 Written Submissions, Vol. 5, Nos. 007010-009014, 010001-010020, 12-20 Jul 1995
Written Submissions, Vol. 6, Nos. 011001-016026, 25-31 Jul 1995
Written Submissions, Vol. 7, Nos. 017001-022001A, 1 Aug-14 Sep 1995
Reel 5 Written Submissions, Vol. 7, Nos. 022002-023007, 14 Sep 1995
Written Submissions, Vol. 8, Nos. 024001-024090, Jul 1995-Jan 1996
Verbatim Notes, 3-10 Jul 1995
Reel 6 Verbatim Notes, 11 Jul – 3 Aug 1995
Reel 7 Verbatim Notes, 9 Aug - 12 Sep 1995
Reel 8 Verbatim Notes, 13 - 19 Sep 1995<P><b>See reel list for further details</b>

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.

E atoga Magareva and E mau takao tupuna no Magareva, Part 1. Te mau atoga tehito, and Part 2. Te mau kapa tehito.

See reel list for further details.

In 1947 the United Nations established the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI), vesting administration with the USA. The districts within the TTPI included Ponape (then including Kusaie), Truk, Yap, Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Northern Marianna Islands. In 1960s and 1970s the US and local representatives from these districts met to discuss various options for self-determination. This resulted in the eventual partition of the TTPI. The Northern Marianas became a self governing commonwealth within the US, while the rest of the TTPI was divided between the Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), all gradually achieving independence in free association with the USA from the early 1980s through to 1990 when the TTPI was finally dissolved by the UN.

In 1978 the peoples of Truk (now Chuuk), Ponape (Pohnpei), Kusaie (Kosrae) and Yap voted to form the FSM. In the early 1980s these states drafted and implemented their own constitutions, ready for the FSM's 1986 ratification of the Compact of Free Association with the USA. On 16 March 1982 the first Yap State Convention met to draft a constitution that was ratified by plebiscite in November of that year. The constitution enshrined a four branch system of government comprising the executive, legislative, judicial and traditional. Yap became the only state in the FSM where traditional leaders were fully incorporated into a constitution; through the Council of Pilung and the Council of Tamol, representing traditional leaders from Yap's main island and the state's outer islands respectively. These councils were granted authority over matters concerning tradition and custom. The constitution is also unique in Micronesia in mandating a balanced state budget. These papers cover the debates, discussions and meetings that resulted in this constitution.

Registered files of the Yap State Constitutional Convention, including: resolutions and reports of Convention Committees; agenda, journals and verbatim transcripts (in Yapese, Ulithian and English) of the proceedings of the Committee of the Whole and Plenary Sessions; Proposals; Resolutions; drafts of the Constitution; correspondence and related administrative documents.
See reel list for further details.