Daniel Ringi belongs to Buini Tusu, a village in the Marovo Lagoon. However, he moved out of his predominantly Seventh Day Adventist villlage to Patutiva (the headquarters of the Methodist Church in the area) once he became a Methodist. Well-educated, he served at various times on the local council. His wife, Iula, figures in these diary entries. His diaries also refer to the Rev. Paul Havea, a Tongan Minister. Daniel Ringi was one of Rev. Havea's advisers and helpers. At first, the entries in the diaries are irregular.

Diary (photocopy of the original), 15 Jan 1951-6 Feb 1952, 1952-1956 (irregular). English translations of the above.<P><b>See reel list for further details</b>

Rev. Arthur A. Bensley (1884-1974) was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was the first New Zealand Methodist Minister appointed to the Solomon Islands, taking over Bilua Station, at Vella Lavella, Bougainville, from Rev. Reginald Nicholson in 1921 and remaining at the station till 1934. He met and married Sister Constance Olds there. He mastered the Bilua language and did a great deal of translation work. For six years, he edited the NZ Methodist Mission's children's paper, Lotu. Following his retirement from the Methodist Mission in the Solomon Islands he held ministries in Morrinsville, Greymouth and Tauranga in New Zealand. He was supernumerary from 1950.

Diary (original Ms.,.)<BR> 17 May 1926-27 Jul 1931(2 vols.)<BR> 1 May-15 Dec 1934 (Pt. 1 vol.)<BR>10 Sep-27 Dec ? (loose pages)<BR>Transcript of diary and index, 17 Aug 1926-27 Jul 1931, 1 May-15 Dec 1934<P><b>See reel list for further details</b>

Joseph Alenge (1910-1969) was born at Piniri (Munda), New Georgia, Solomon Islands. He trained as a medical dresser by the Methodist Mission at Kokeqolo. He served the Church as dresser at Mono, part of the Shortlands group, for a number of years. In 1940 he joined the Government Medical Service as a dresser at Korovou, near Faisi and continued in this capacity after the War. In accordance with Methodist custom, he kept a work diary in English until aftre his capture by the Japanese. Of this the period from Oct 1940 survives. After his capture he began keeping a diary in his own language, Roviana, and of this some fragments survive. (George G. Carter, Ti E Varane: stories about people of courage from the Solomon Islands, Rabaul/Auckland, Unichurch, 1981, p.165.

Notes on Joseph Alege; copies of letters of Joseph Alege, 1 Jan & 1 May 1943; letter of Rev. George Carter to Allen Rutter and reply re Joseph Alege, n.d.; diary of Joseph Alege (Ts., translation; annotations by Rev. George Carter), 13 Sep 1940-2 Sep 1942, 26 Jan-23 May 1943; Ms. translation of the diary by Peter Sasabule, 8 Apr-27 Jul 1942<P><b>See reel list for further details</b>

To 1969, Improvement Era was being published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City.

The articles mainly concern the work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Pacific Islands. The church was largely active in the period in French Polynesia, including Tahiti, Tuamotu Islands and Tubuai, as well as being active in the Hawaiian Islands, Samoa and Tonga. For other publications by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints see also PMB 112 for Juvenile Instructor; and PMB 113 for Contributor.

Captain Charles Robert Pinney M.C. (1883-1945) was Administrator and Chief Magistrate of Norfolk Island from July 1, 1932 to December 3, 1937. He died in Sydney on November 18, 1945.

The papers comprise: 1. An address dated July 18, 1932, from the Norfolk Island Executive Council to Captain Pinney welcoming him to their Island on behalf of island residents. 2. A petition dated July 31, 1934, addressed by residents of Norfolk Island to the Governor-General of Australia praying that an Inquiry be instituted into 'the present intolerable conditions prevailing on this island'. 3. Private correspondence between Captain Pinney and Mr J.R. Halligan, Officer in Charge of the Territories Branch of the Prime Minister's Department. The letters cover the period July 6, 1934, to October 21, 1936. 4. Private correspondence between Captain Pinney and Senator Sir George Pearce, Minister in Charge of Territories. The letters cover the period, April 3, 1935, to December 9, 1936. 5. Correspondence between Captain Pinney and Mr Kenneth Binns, Commonwealth Parliamentary Librarian, on the Norfolk Island lingo. The letters are dated December 23, 1937, January 3, 1938 and January 7, 1938. 6. A letter dated May 27, 1938 from Mrs Mildred Campbell to Captain Pinney on the opening of a branch of the Carnegie Library on Norfolk Island. 7. A lecture given in 1944 by Captain Eric Stopp on The Descendants of the Mutineers of the Bounty. Captain Stopp was Official Secretary on Norfolk Island from 1927 to 1941.

Rev. Clarence T J Luxton (1907-1979) was sent to Buka in Bougainville in 1939 with his wife, Mavis, as part of the work of the New Zealand Methodist Overseas Mission. Shortly afterwards, he was evacuated from the island. In April 1945 he returned to Bougainville, working at Bilua, Vella Lavella, then Torokina. A skilled builder, he supervised the construction of the new Church in Buka in 1947 before withdrawing from the Mission as a result of poor health in 1949.

A tribute to Rev. C. Luxton, including : <BR>an index to his diary and the diary itself, 22 Apr-4 Oct 1945<BR>Rev. C. Luxton's letters to his mother, including a letter from Mavis Luxton to Mrs Luxton, Apr-Dec 1945<BR>correspondence between Rev. Luxton and Rev. George Carter, 1976<BR>Methodist Mission, Buka Area annual report and related papers, 1946 and 1947.
<P><B>See reel list for further details</B>

Sister Ada Lee was a very influential teacher with the Methodist Mission in the Solomon Islands. She was stationed at Roviana with Sister Lina Jones from her arrival in the Solomons in 1934 till July 1937 when she was transferred to Bougainville. Absent in NZ during the War years, Sister Ada Lee returned to the mission station at Koau, Buin, in southern Bougainville early in 1947. She took leave in NZ from 1948 till 1952 for family reasons and returned to Koau in 1952. Sister Lee was Principal of the Kihili Girls School at Buin from its establishment in 1956 till her retirement in 1966.

Eleven volumes of diaries. <P><B>See reel list for further details</B>

The Methodist Church in New Zealand sent its first missionaries to the Solomon Islands in 1902, and since then has also sponsored missionaries in Papua New Guinea. See also Overseas Mission Department minute books, 1903-1955, at PMB 520-525.

Executive minute books, 1925-1931.