This is a collection of 79 images of the Presbyterian mission in the New Hebrides, produced by the New Zealand Presbyterian Church Department of Communications in the 1950s and 1960s. The collection contains photographs of missionary families to the New Hebrides, including Rev. A.G. Horwell who was on Epi, Rev R.W. Murray, and Reverend and Mrs Hyslop. There are also several photographs of named ni-Vanautu pastors and teachers involved with the church including a Pastor Moses, Pastor Kalorib, and K.M. Shing. Many photographs relate to church and mission activities including: the Boys Brigade on Tongoa, bible classes, and Sunday school classes. There are also village scenes and images containing unidentified New Hebridean /ni-Vanuatu people.
The photographs were taken on multiple islands including Epi, Malekula and Tongoa.

The New Hebrides Mission from the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand:
The Presbyterian Church began sending missionaries to the New Hebrides (today known as Vanuatu) in the mid-19th Century. The first missionary was Rev. John Geddie of the Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia who arrived on the island of Aneityum in 1848. Subsequent missionaries came from the Presbyterian Churches of New Zealand, Canada, Scotland and Australia (Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and New South Wales).

In New Zealand an interest in supporting a Christian mission to the New Hebrides was fostered when Rev. John Inglis of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland toured the country in 1852 following a three month tour of the New Hebrides and Solomon Islands. In that same year, Inglis and his wife joined Geddie on Aneityum. Rev. John Inglis continued to send regular reports of his work to New Zealand, leading to increasing interest from the Church there in sending their own missionaries to the islands.

The Presbyterian Church of New Zealand was at that time divided up into the “Northern Church” and the “Southern Church” (consisting of the Provinces of Otago and Southland). The Southern Church was based on the ideals of the Free Church of Scotland and these principles influenced its mission work for many years. For over 40 years the two Churches worked separately, with mission activities during this time operating independently of each other.

Over several decades the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand sent a number of missionaries to the New Hebrides including the following people. The information below includes the missionaries' date of arrival in the New Hebrides, the name of the missionary and the name of the main island on which they worked:
1866, Rev. William Watt, Tanna
1870, Rev. Peter Milne, Nguna
1879, Rev. Oscar Michelsen, Tongoa
1885, Rev. Charles Murray, Ambrym
1889, Rev. Thomas Smaill, Epi
1892, Rev. Dr. Lamb, Ambrym
1899, Dr. John Bowie, Ambrym
1903, Rev. Thomas Riddle, Epi
1905, Rev. William V. Milne, Nguna (born on Nguna in 1877)
1932, Rev. Basil Nottage, Tongoa
1938, Rev. Ken Crump, Nguna
1941, Rev. J.G. Miller, Tongoa
1944, Rev. Ian Muir, Emae and Epi
1948, Rev. A.G. Horwell, Epi

In the early years there was no organised or reliable shipping service to the individual islands of the New Hebrides so it was important for the Church to have their own vessel to bring regular supplies from Australia and New Zealand. A boat was also necessary for transport to other mission stations. Although the New Hebrides missionaries were responsible for their home churches and allotted areas and islands, they worked closely together on common issues and met annually for a mission Synod meeting. New Zealand Presbyterian Church worked in conjunction with the Australian Presbyterian Church to raise money and purchased a mission supply vessel, the “Dayspring I”. This 115 ton brigantine was launched in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1863. It was lost in a hurricane ten years later and replaced by a second hand schooner, the “Dayspring II” in 1876. The Dayspring II was sold prior to 1890 as she was too small and slow and uncomfortable to sail in. The Australian missionary Dr. John G. Paton raised £6000 during a visit to Britain in 1884-1885 and later increased the donations to £7000. The “Dayspring III” was built on the Clyde in Scotland to the order of the Victorian Presbyterian Church Foreign Missions Committee. She was 157 feet long and arrived in Australia in 1895. On only her fourth voyage to the islands, she sank on the 16th October 1896 after striking an uncharted coral reef near New Caledonia. The decision was made not to replace the vessel.

The New Hebrides Mission shared a practical concern for the everyday needs of island people. In addition to converting local people to Christianity, the missionaries worked to improve education, through the introduction of schools where the training of local mission teachers was initiated. The Tangoa Teachers’ Training Institute opened at Tangoa, South Santo, in 1895. The purpose of the Institute was to train local teachers and it was supported by all the Protestant missions working throughout the New Hebrides. Missionaries also worked to improve health education and services and encouraged the production of arrowroot and island trading as a means to generate revenue. Arrowroot powder was shipped to New Zealand and other countries, where it was initially distributed by women’s missionary groups and later by commercial organisations. The funds from the sale of arrowroot were used to build additional churches in the islands and, in some cases, as a donation towards New Zealand mission funds to be used elsewhere. From 1880 to 1918 on Nguna alone, over 26 tons of arrowroot was produced.

By 1910, the work of the New Hebrides Mission was declining. This was partly due to a rapidly decreasing population on the islands and a feeling that little room existed for further expansion of mission work, as by then most areas were adequately covered. The reduction in population was primarily caused by introduced European illnesses and epidemics which decimated the local population. The Queensland labour trade had also had an impact on the local population, with many locals having decided to remain in Queensland.

In 1947 there was a general consensus held among the Island missionaries that the local church was ready to assume control of its own affairs. A constitution was drawn up, and after amendments submitted by the New Zealand and Australian Mission Committees and the New Hebrides Mission Synod, it was adopted. At a Centennial Synod meeting in 1948, the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the Rev. John Geddie, the local church was placed fully in charge of its own affairs. The island mission councils for Australia and New Zealand were then limited to the affairs of their immediate mission staff. The New Zealand Church continued to provide a large financial grant to the New Hebrides Presbyterian Church. A continued focus remained on training church leaders and education more generally. The Tangoa Training Institute later introduced a curriculum of advanced theological studies.
In the early 1950s, the New Zealand Missions Committee responded to the request for assistance to establish a High School at Onesua on Efate, along with funds and personnel to set up and run a small hospital on Tongoa. The Committee viewed this project as a practical means by which the New Zealand Church could provide for a social need rather than a means for furthering evangelistic opportunities. This policy shift in Mission funding opened up other opportunities for aid from the New Zealand Church including developing Navota Farm and opening the Maropa religious bookshop in Port Vila, training local islanders to be trades people and undertake the building work. The New Zealand Bible Class volunteer scheme sent out young people during the 1960s to assist with building, administration and nursing. The Mission, at the request of the Presbyterian Church of the New Hebrides, divested itself of all remaining authority in the Islands so that the New Zealand missionaries effectively worked for the New Hebrides Church. In 1965 a memorandum was prepared which defined the terms of “responsible partnership” and sought to define the responsibilities of each partner. The Church continues today as the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu.

For more information about New Hebrides Mission collections at the Archives of the Presbyterian Research Centre, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa, and New Zealand, see: http://www.archives.presbyterian.org.nz/missions/newhebrideshistory.htm

These photographs are associated with the Department of Communications of the Overseas Mission Committee for the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. The images date from 1950-1978. Photo subjects include Onesua High School, the Boys Brigade, and construction projects for the New Hebrides Presbyterian Church. There are also numerous images of missionary families and ni-Vanautu church members, as well as some key political figures.

PMBPhoto 101 is a collection of 176 selected photographs of Fiji subjects taken over two weeks in August 2009. Friends living in Suva – Judith Robinson and Chris Gregory, Brij and Padma Lal and Ian and Valerie Campbell – organised several people to meet and places to visit on Viti Levu and Bau. The photos were selected from a collection of 414 photos. They complement the photos in PMBPhoto70 taken at the same time by Bill Gammage.
The subjects include places of Fiji historical and political interest such as Nukulau Island, and in Suva town, Parliament House, Government House, the Government buildings complex foundation stone, the list of Governors of Fiji 1874 to 1938 and 1938 to 1970, the Supreme Court of Fiji, buildings constructed in colonial times including the old picture theatre, the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Suva town market, the Grand Pacific Hotel, and Albert Park, and more recently the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption. A banner “We Need Rainbows Not Rambos” reflects the feelings of some people at the time. More contemporary subjects of general interest in Suva include a McDonalds fast food outlet, an artefact shop, the view across Nabukalou Creek, Pure Fiji cosmetics, and the University of the South Pacific.
Suva’s hinterland provided the following subjects: the Colo-I-Suva Forest Park and Quarry, and Nausori. Of historical and particular personal interest are the photos of the Methodist Church at Dilkusha and its attached kindergarten. Jan’s stepmother spent several months at the Dilkusha Methodist Mission after she left school in 1922. Other subjects include Takalana Resort with its lovo pit (earth oven), pineapple and other flowers and Moon Reef. For photos of dolphins see PMBPhoto70.
The Hindi wedding in Suva of Savita and Mahen is a major subject. It took place over an evening and three days, and was full of interest, colour and activity. The selection includes 50 photos.
Other major subjects are Bau, Bukuyu and Mt Tomanivi (Mt Victoria). There are 25 photos in the selection of Bau, where we were the guests of Ratu Jope Seniloli and his wife, Adi Seru Seniloli. The photos show some traditional customs as well as some of the sites of this historic island. Spending a night with Freddy and Tupou Gusulevu and family in rural Bukuyu in the Nausori Highlands was also enjoyable, and provided many subjects including kava and turmeric farming, as well as rural improvements such as local hydro electricity and football fields. The 27 photos in this selection include subjects seen on the way to and from Bukuyu including views from the Latamai Scenic View at the Tongan Hill Fort and the parabolic sand dunes at Sigatoka. Eleven photos are of subjects near Mt Tomanivi as well as the mountain itself, including Navai village and the Monasavu dam construction site.
Women are often the subject of these photographs. They are photographed working in shops, markets, as security guards, in their homes, and as participants in and guests at the wedding.

PMBPhoto 102 is a collection of 158 photographs of Vanuatu subjects Bill Gammage took between 29 June and 22 July 2007 when on a holiday with friends, David and Beryl Gowty. The photos are of people and places on the islands of Efate, Malekula, Ambrym, Espiritu Santo, and Tanna and are complemented by the photos in PMBPhoto69 taken by Jan Gammage.
Subjects in and around Port Vila include flowers, the market, the war memorial, and Ernest’s museum.
Two towns in South Malekula, Lakatoro and Lamap, were subjects as well as Uluveo Island in the Maskelynes, south east of Malekula. Subjects in Lakatoro include flowers and fruits, the main street, and the war memorial, and in Lamap, where the Tiano family made us welcome, subjects include Levi’s Store, copra drying, and the Catholic school. On the Maskelyne Islands, subjects include mangroves, coral and coastal landscapes, fruit and Sangalai school, a string band and people arriving with goods for sale in the next day’s market.
The coast of West Ambrym up to Dip Cove is photographed, and at Wakon, subjects include Jessie and Leah Saksak and family, flowers, fruit and beaches. Other subjects include the Lake Fanteng Conservation Area, a megapod nesting area and eggs, hot springs, and rock peckings.
Subjects on Espiritu Santo include Luganville town and hinterland e.g. Sarakata River, cattle and drovers on the East Coast Road, Lonnoc and Port Olry beaches, the road to Big Bay and the Bay itself, World War 2 American ammunition dumps, and a Seventh Day Adventist baptism.
On Tanna, subjects include White Beach Resort and gardens, and the beach, including corals.

PMBPhoto 47 is a collection of 25 posters produced in Papua New Guinea. Twenty four of the posters were collected in the 1970s when Bill Gammage and Jan Gammage lived there. One poster is from 2006 and was collected by Jan when working in Papua New Guinea.
Poster subjects include the 1972 Goroka show, health education, Pangu Party electioning, beer advertising, the Eight-Point Improvement Plan, and nation building and independence. An autographed portrait of M.T. Somare when Chief Minister is also part of the collection. The 2006 poster promotes human rights in relation to HIV/AIDS.

PMBPhoto 69 is a collection of 152 photographs of Vanuatu subjects and one poster. Jan Gammage took the photos between 29 June and 22 July 2007 when on a holiday with friends, David and Beryl Gowty, and also collected the poster. The photos are of people and places on the islands of Efate, Malekula, Ambrym, Espiritu Santo, and Tanna and are complemented by the photos in PMBPhoto102 taken by Bill Gammage.
Subjects in and around Port Vila include the waterfront, the womens’ handcraft market, and the food market. At the Vanuatu National Museum, a demonstration of the art of sandroing [sand drawing] by Edgar Hinge was photographed.
South Malekula subjects include Lakatoro, its shops and the Cultural Centre. At Lamap, the Tiano family made us welcome. Levi’s Store, kava trading, the hospital, ruins of a French convent, slit gongs and carved ferns were subjects. On the Maskelyne Islands, subjects include the local string band, pigs, beach and a starfish on the reef.
At Craig Cove on the west coast of Ambrym and Dip Cove, subjects include a cargo boat unloading, the Lake Fanteng Conservation Area, megapods, hot springs, rock peckings and a men’s ceremonial site.
On Espiritu Santo, subjects include Port Olry, Lonnoc, Vatthe Conservation Area, Matantas near Big Bay, Luganville and surrounds, a Seventh Day Adventist baptism, and real estate advertising.
On Tanna, subjects include White Beach, and at Lenakel the shops and the market, Yasur volcano, Manuapen, and Port Resolution.
The educational poster deals with environment and endangered species protection.

This collection of 54 photographs records a visit to Fiji in August 2009 by Bill Gammage. The visit was to see friends and look around. The photos were taken in Suva and around Viti Levu. PMBPhoto_101 complements these photos.
Subjects include Suva, Suva hinterland, Bau, Takalana Bay and Moon Reef, Tongan hill fort and views, Nausori Highlands and Bukuyu Village. The Sigatoka Sand Dunes and Mt Victoria (Mt Tomanivi) are also subjects.

PMBPhoto 55 is a collection of 927 photographs by Jan Gammage of Papua New Guinea subjects, taken over 10 years from August 1996 to October 2006. The photos can be divided into three sections.
The first and main section has about 600 photos taken between August 1996 and October 2006 and relates to AusAID and some of its development project work. In this period, AusAID was the agency within the Australian government responsible for the overseas aid and development program. Subjects include AusAID staff posted from Canberra or engaged locally, Papua New Guineans engaged in implementation and management, and consultants and contractors. Subject bilateral projects include two in infrastructure - the National Roads Regravelling and Sealing Project (NRRSP) and the PNG Maritime College Project, and two in law and justice - the Correctional Services Development Project (CSDP) and the Royal PNG Constabulary Development Project (known as the Police project).
Other AusAID funded projects involved Papua New Guinean and Australian non-government organisations. Of such projects the Community Development Scheme (CDS), the Church Partnership Program (CPP), the PNG National HIV/AIDS Support Project (PNG NHASP) and the PNG Australia Sexual Health Improvement Program (PASHIP) are subjects. What came to be known as The GoodNews Workshop, organised in Madang by the ANU’s State Society and Governance in Melanesia project (SSGM) in collaboration with the Divine Word University, is also a subject.
AusAID projects worked at the national, provincial and community level across PNG. They are subjects in the National Capital District and the following provinces: Central, Milne Bay, Oro, Morobe, Madang, East Sepik, East New Britain, Bougainville and the Western Highlands. All project documents, including regular reports and reviews, should be available in PNG and Australian Government records. See also the complementary SSGM publication Development Bulletin, No. 67, April 2005, Effective Development in Papua New Guinea, edited by David Hegarty and Pamela Thomas.
PNG beyond the confines of the development project also became a subject including in Port Moresby the Ela Beach Craft Market and PNG Arts, Loloata, Samarai, a birdwing butterfly, birds including hornbills, George the white cockatoo, female and male eclectus parrots, and a goura pigeon. Volcanoes including KarKar off the Madang coast and Tavurvur off the East New Britain coast, were subjects. At Keltiga near Mt Hagen a re-enactment of the coming of the white man to the PNG highlands was a subject and military subjects include the memorial and plaque on Mission Hill, Wewak, and the War memorial and Library Institute on Samarai.
Among the subjects are the following people: Siwi Morep, Sam Inguba, Richard Sikani, Ruby Zarriga, Bart Philemon, Brunie Dangar-Christian, Helen Hakena, Delphine Lesi, Daisy Taylor, Daera Morgan and family, Sir Mekere and Lady Roslyn Morauta, Mike Manning, Relly Manning, Mel Togolo, Anna Ballinger Togolo, Janet Philemon, Pena Ou, Sir Pita Lus, Pauline Doonar (Nakmai), Dorothy Luana, Grace (Isako) Feka, and Nora Brash. Hartmut Holzknecht, David Kavanamur, Loa George, Elizabeth Cox and Regina Paim, Brother Pat Howley, Yerima Taylor, Sarah Garap, Scarlett Epstein, Thomas Webster, and Nono Gideon are also subjects.
The second section (December 1997 to February 1998) comprises over 300 photos. The subject is Operation Bel Isi, a regional initiative initially led by New Zealand, to support Bougainville in its effort to bring peace. The photos are a record from my perspective as a civilian truce monitor, selected from AusAID, over a period of two months. Subjects include the first phase of the Australian contribution to the mission from its beginnings in Sydney, and its arrival in Bougainville at Aropa airstrip, to the living conditions, training and establishment of teams at Loloho, Arawa, deployment to one of four team sites and the life and work of the Buka Truce Monitoring Team. Other subjects include the town and villages of Buka Island, Wakunai and Tinputz on the east coast of North Bougainville, Togerau inland from the east coast with the volcano Mt Balbi looming over it, Kunua, Kuraio and Torokina on the west coast, and Kalil and Balil on Nissan Island.
Among the subjects are the following people: Lieutenant Colonel Mele Saubulinayau of Fiji, Bougainville Transitional Government Minister for Local Level Government Agnes Titus, Sir Paul Lapun, Sister Lorraine Garasu, Major Dave Samuels, Helen Hakena, Getsi Tanahan, Ben Kamda, Joe Pais, Joan Jerome, Monica Smith, Paul Akoitai, Bessie Rerevate, Christine Hou, Eddie Mohin, Elma Kaskas, Josephine Sition, and Mariann Tonsala.
Complementing the photos is a chapter “A Truce Monitor” in Australians’ Experiences Monitoring Peace in Bougainville, 1997-2001: Without a Gun (edited by Monica Wehner and Donald Denoon, Pandanus Books, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, ANU, 2001) and a seminar paper Messages from the Women of Bougainville, given at AusAID for International Womens’ Day 1998. A short version of this paper was published in Amida Australia-Asia, Vol. 4, No.1, Mar-Apr 1998.
In addition, as with the projects in the first section, a large number of reports and reviews of this mission should be available in Australian Government records.
The third section is PNG people and events in Australia (about 16 photos over the period August 1998 to June 2006). Subjects include the launch by Hank Nelson at the PNG High Commission in Canberra of Bill Gammage’s book The Sky Travellers in August 1998, the PNG Mining and Petroleum Conference in November 1998 in Sydney, people who worked on AusAID projects visiting AusAID in Canberra (including December 2002 and May 2006), the visit of John Waiko for a showing of ‘Minister without Money’ a film made by his son Bau Waiko (September 2005) , and the fundraiser for people affected by Cyclone Larry organised by the PNG community in Canberra (June 2006).
This subject area includes the following people: Sir Rabbie Namaliu, Bill Gammage, Bill Searson, Robert Harden, Sir Anthony Siaguru, John Garnaut, Helga Griffin, John Waiko, PNG High Commissioner Charles Lepani, Kathy and Vertanya Lepani, Joe Tauvasa and Aivu Guise Tauvasa, Anna Chikali-Westcott and Hani Dietz.

This collection by Charles Morris Woodford includes two albums of photographs taken during a voyage to and residence in the Solomon Islands from April to October 1886, as well as additional loose photographs.
The collection includes images from the villages Aola and Fauro in the Solomon Islands. Images include village life, canoes, native animals, customs and the natural environment as well as Charles Morris Woodford’s life and Government residence in Tulagi, Solomon Islands.
Additional photographs from Rabaul, Madang, New Britain and New Ireland in Papua New Guinea.

This collection of Charles Morris Woodford includes photographs of the Woodford family; Solomon Islands, Samoa, British New Guinea (Papua New Guinea), etc.; Photographs were bundled with story as told by Solomon Islands person, 1907 (See PMB MS 1381, item 002).