Sir Colin Allan was an administrator in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (BSIP). He first served as District Officer Nggela, Western Solomons, then D.O. and District Commissioner Western (1946-1948), D.O. Choiseul and Ysabel (1948), D.O. Malu`u (1949) and finally District Commissioner Malaita (1950-1952) at the time of the Maasina Rule (also Maasina Ruru and Marching Rule).
After World War II, there were efforts by the colonial administration to extend European use of land. A Special Lands Commission was established to examine local land customs and make recommendations on the use of unclaimed land. He was appointed by the High Commissioner of the Western Pacific to be Special Lands Commissioner on 10 July 1953.

This set of five diaries cover a significant amount of Allan’s BSIP tenure, but not the full period. The diaries begin on 1 January, 1947, with a voyage on board the ‘Myrtle’ through the Western District, where Allan was Assistant District Commissioner, then District Commissioner. The diaries end in 1954 after the Special Lands Commission, however no diary for 1952 was transferred to Pacific Manuscripts Bureau.

Diary 1 covers the periods 1 January – 28 November 1947, 28 June – 11 August 1948, then 1 January – 28 March, 1949. There are brief descriptions for most days indicating professional and personal activities. During 1947, he describes visits to various villages in the Western District noting movement of people and vessels, trade, weather conditions, local disputes and crimes and a word list (language unknown). During 1948, he documents the establishment of the Choiseul office, notes demographic information and bureaucratic matters. From 1949, Allan takes the post of D.O. in Malu’u, Malaita during the period of Maasina Rule (also Maasina Ruru and Marching Rule). His diary entries are brief but make reference to early colonial politics, the Maasina Rule movement and associated raids, arrests and imprisonments. He also refers to land matters, native courts and census collections.

Diary 2 (1948) has only sporadic entries, mostly reporting on village visits and bureaucratic activities. This diary also contains a list of plantations and owners on Isabel/Ysabel, meeting resolutions, lists of fines and accounts. There is also a reference to Belamataga’s Guadalcanal Freedom Movement.

Diary 3 (1949) has only sporadic entries, beginning in April and ending in October. The diary begins in Malu’u, Malaita, with observations about other administrators and missionaries, as well as arrest numbers. Entries from August detail travel in England.

Diary 4 (1950-51) covers the period 29 May 1950-9 Jan 1951, having returned to Honiara from London to the news he will be posted to Malaita to take over from Acting DC Stanley Masterman. On arrival, and throughout, he writes of his concerns over the Maasina Rule situation. As he tours Malaita, he writes of colonial administrative politics, arguments around tax collection, religious affiliations in different areas, movement of workers/labour, village politics, local infrastructure matter such as schools and hospitals. He goes on tour with the Resident Commissioner. Throughout he discusses Ariari (‘Are’are) and Kwarae people.

Diary 5 (1953-54, 1956) has a typed report (11pp) relating to the Special Lands Commission inserted in the front of the diary. The report covers an investigative visit to the Western Solomons between July-September, 1953. The diary itself contains handwritten notes on the Special Lands Commission investigations, covering the period May-June 1953 in Honiara, before visiting villages throughout the Western District during the period July-September, then October-November, 1953. Allan returns to Honiara in December 1953 to continue work on the report. During 1954, he tours Central Province and Guadalcanal until 2 April, 1954. The diary resumes on 24 July 1956, explaining it was paused while the Lands Commission was suspended and he took leave in England. From July, Allan tours the Eastern District. The diary ends on his return to Honiara on 14 December, 1956.

Captain Hamilton (1852-1937) was born in Scotland and came to Australia at the age of 10. In 1882 - 1883 he made voyages from Brisbane to Vanuatu (at that time the New Hebrides), New Britain and New Ireland (Papua New Guinea) in labour recruiting vessels. For a dozen or so years from the late 1890s, he ran the Hamilton Pearling Co. with luggers operating out of Komuli in the Admiralty Islands and Gizo in Solomon Islands. This company also traded in copra, tortoise shell, black lip and green snail shell. Later, Captain Hamilton had big planting interests in the Solomons, mainly on Choiseul. He died in Sydney in November, 1937.

The papers copied on this microfilm are the most interesting and valuable historically of a large collection (in the Oxley Memorial Library) relating to Captain Hamilton's career. They comprise:

• Diary of a recruiting voyage in the schooner Lochiel from Brisbane to the New Hebrides from September 20, 1882, to December 29, 1882.
• Diary of a recruiting voyage in the schooner Jessie Kelly from Brisbane to the New Hebrides, New Britain and New Ireland from March to September, 1883.
• Two reports on voyages in search of pearl shell in New Guinea and the Solomons in 1899-1900.
• Log of the pearling lugger Nippon from April 20, 1901 to September 24, 1901, kept at the Hamilton Pearling Company's station at Komuli, Admiralty Islands.
• Log of the Hamilton Pearling Company's station at Komuli from September 27 1902 to March 10 1903.
• Logs and diaries kept by William Hamilton in the vessels Canomie, Ysabel, Gazelle and Kambin from January 1 1903 to November 14 1905. These concern the operations of the Hamilton Pearling Company in New Guinea and the Solomons.

For further details of Captain Hamilton's career and of his other papers in the Oxley Memorial Library, see the Bureau's newsletter 'Pambu' October 1968:3, pp.3-6.

Joseph Tozaka was associated with the Methodist Mission in the West of the Solomon Islands

Diaries (photographs of the original), 1-7 Jun 1925, 20-26 Feb 1936, 5-11 Mar 1936, 9 Mar-1 Apr 1942, 16 Apr-23 Aug 1942, 16 Apr-23 Aug 1942, 24 Jan-6 Mar 1946, 23-25 Mar 1950?, 21 May-9Dec 1950. <BR> Diaries (Ts. Translations of originals), 1-7 Jun 1925, 20-26 Feb 1936, 5-11 Mar 1936, 26 Mar-15 Apr 1936, 26 Mar-15 Apr 1936, 14 Jan-10 Feb 1937, 9 Mar-25 Mar 1942, 26 Mar-23 Aug 1942,5, 26-27 Sep 1942, 2 Jan 1946, 23, 26 Jan-6 Mar 1946, 23 May-9 Dec 1950.<P><b>See reel list for further details</b>

Born in 1839 near Birmingham, England, Banks spent some years in the United States where he fought in the Civil War and was also an employee of Wells Fargo, whose employment he left while under a charge of embezzlement. He settled in the Cook Islands (Atiu) in 1881. He became a trader and lived in Arorangi until his death in 1915. For a period of his life Banks adopted the pseudonym John Scard.

Two diaries with daily handwritten entries describing Banks' life and work as a trader in the Cook Islands. For other Banks diaries see PMB 1068-1070.

See entry for PMB 1067

Four diaries with handwritten entries describing Banks' life and work as a trader in the Cook Islands. Banks' diaries for 1897 and 1898 can be found on PMB 1067. Banks' diary for 1903 can be found on PMB 1069-1070.

Farquhar, a farmer of Maryborough, Queensland, visited New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands and New Hebrides (Vanuatu) in the schooner 'City of Melbourne' in November 1870 to January 1871 to recruit Pacific Islander labourers for himself and other farmers in Maryborough. He made a second voyage to New Caledonia, the New Hebrides and Banks Islands in the schooner Petrel in September 1871-January 1872 as a government agent under the Polynesian Labourers' Act of 1868.

Description of the two voyages mentioned above.

Custom stories of the Solomon Islands were published in 5 volumes.
In addition to these 5 volumes, a bound volume of stories collected by Father Peter Geerts and edited by Dick Keevil has also been microfilmed. Dick Keevil lived and worked in the Solomon Islands from 1958-1983. Father Peter served in the Solomon Islands for 25 years, of which 20 were with the Are’ Are’ people. Father Peter learned the Are’ Are’ language and transcribed the stories as he heard them in the vernacular. Keevil made two copies of the bound collection of Custom Stories of the Solomon Islands, and gave them as a gift to his daughters in August 1999.

Custom stories of the Solomon Islands, collected by Father Peter Geerts and edited by Dick Keevil, 1999.
Custom stories of the Solomon Islands, Vol.1, 1972, edited by Dick Keevil, published by the Solomon Islands Museum Association.
Vol.2, 1972, edited by Dick Keevil, published by the Solomon Islands Museum Association.
Vol.3, 1972, edited by Dick Keevil, published by the Solomon Islands Museum Association.
Vol.4, 1978, edited by Alfred Aihuni, Anna Craven, Matthew Keniparea, Christine Price, collected by the late Father Peter Geerts. Published by the Solomon Islands Cultural Association.
Vol.5, 1979 – From the Eastern Islands, Collected by W. Davenport, S.H. Elbert and B.F. Kirtley. Edited by Anna Craven, Salome Samou and John Tealiklava. Published by the Cultural Association of the Solomon Islands.
See Finding aids for details.

This collection contains research papers of Reverend Dr Sione Latukefu. The papers include articles (by Latukefu and others), copies of archival documents from various institutions as well as handwritten notes and typed transcriptions. Documents relate to governance in Tonga, including the pro-democracy movement, government and royal papers, laws and international treaties. Many documents also relate to the missionary history of Tonga and publications such as newsletters of the Wesleyan Methodist and Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga.

These documents originally formed part of the archives of the Samoan District Committee and later Samoan District Council of the London Missionary Society, and were formerly held at Malua, Western Samoa. The Samoan District Committee was replaced by the Council in 1928.

Correspondence of the Samoan District of the London Missionary Society with the New Zealand Administration, Samoa.