This collection of 540 colour photographs was taken by John Baker in Solomon Islands in 1964 and 1965, while he was working there as a volunteer under the auspices of the British Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) organisation. He was 18 and 19 at the time and was what was known as a school leaver volunteer. There were 10-15 VSOs in the Solomons in 1964, with most working as teachers in mission boarding schools. However, John was attached mainly to two District Administrations to work on various local projects.

At the time, Solomon Islands was under colonial administration known as the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (BSIP), in which virtually all senior and technical/professional positions were still held by expatriates. Thus VSOs were working within and were very much a part of a colonial culture.

The photographs in the collection were taken with a Voigtlander Vito B camera on Kodachrome 100 colour slides. The camera was stored, including for many canoe trips, in an old Sunshine Milk tin with a bag of silica gel in the bottom. Captions for the photos were written in a foolscap notebook when the slides came back from processing. Thus the names of people and places were all recorded contemporaneously and so are likely to be accurate. These captions, written in 1964-65, sometimes have a colonial tone but have been left unchanged as they are an historical reflection of their times.

John Baker’s first work as a VSO was from August-November 1964 as a teacher at the Geological Department’s survey school in Honiara. Then he transferred to Western District headquarters in Gizo and worked during December 1964 and January 1965 as a surveyor on the Wagina Island Gilbertese resettlement scheme. In February 1965 he transferred to Eastern District headquarters in Kira Kira where he spent six weeks working on local election preparations. He then moved back to Gizo and spent April to August 1965 travelling round, organising the construction of concrete drinking water tanks in various villages in the Roviana and Wana Wana lagoons and subsequently on the island of Ranonnga.

Please see PMB 532 for full entry.

Serial Numbers 04109 - 08806

Please see PMB 532 for full entry.

18208 - 23101 NOTE: the last few records are out of sequence - 22001 to 23101 precede 21202)

Please see PMB 532 for full entry.

Serial Numbers 13301 - 18207

The Medical Expedition to Easter Island was sponsored by the World Health Organization and the Canadian Government. Its purpose was to study the relative roles of environment and heredity in the Island's isolated population before an international airport was completed there in 1967. It also carried out pilot studies for the human adaptability section of the International Biological Program. The expedition reached Easter Island on 13 December 1964 and departed on 10 February 1965. For a popular account of the expedition see Helen Evans Reid, 'A World Away: A Canadian Adventure on Easter Island', Toronto, 1965.

The material has been filmed as PMB 532 to 536 inclusive.

Detailed medical records of all Easter Islanders living on the island at the time of the expedition's visit. The records include a photograph of each islander, his/her father's name, mother's name and other vital statistics. A list of the islanders examined, with the serial numbers assigned to them, appears on pp.183-222 of Georges L. Nogrady, ed., Microbiology of Easter Island, vol. 1, Montreal, 1974. The serial numbers are given for each reel of film. On this reel - Serial Numbers 00101 - 04108.

Please see PMB 532 for full entry.

Serial Numbers 08807 - 13003

Dr Robert Norton, an anthroplogist at Macquarie University, Sydney, carried out field research on politics in Fiji since the 1960s. His study of politics and government in Fiji, Race and politics in Fiji, was first published in 1977.

Political speeches, delivered in the national election campaign in Fiji in 1966, by Apisai Tora, Andrew Deoki, Ratu Josua Tonganivalu, Ratu David Tonganivalu, Ratu William Tonganivalu, Uraia Koroi, Sakiasi Sovanivalu (leader of the Fijian Teachers Assoc.), A.V. Sikivou, S.K Sikivou, Ratu Livai Volavola, Ratu Noa Nawalowalo, Ratu Livai Volavola, Ratu Filimone Loco, Loloma Livingston, Pandit Ajodhya Prasad, A.D. Patel, Deo Narayan (Sugar Mill Workers Union), S.M. Koya, C.A. Shah, Madhavan, K.C. Ramrakha, M.S. Tikaram, M.T. Khan, Irene Jai Narayan, Pratap Chandra Sharma and C.P. Bidesi.

The translations are of Fijian and Hindi language speeches, but a few were originally in English as indicated. Fijian language speeches were translated by Mr Neumi Raibosa, clerk at Fijian Development Fund Board (brother of anthropologist Dr Rusiate Nayacakalou). Hindi language translations were made by Mr Pathik and Mr Ram Narayan Govind, lecturers at Nasinu Teachers College, Suva.
<b>See Finding aids for details.</b>
Audio recordings of the speeches are available at PMB AUDIO 47-62.

The Marshall Islands Journal is the newspaper of the Marshall Islands. It began in 1966 and was known as:
1967-1969 – The Marshall Islands Journal
1970-1973 – Micronitor (starting in Dec 1973 [Vol 4 no. 46], changes title to Micronesian Independent)
1974- mid-1980 – Micronesian Independent
1980-2016 – The Marshall Islands Journal Some articles in this newspaper relate to other Pacific Islands as well as the Marshall Islands.

The newspaper was established by Joe Murphy and Mike Malone, two Irish-American expatriates who were in the Marshall Islands. [They claim to have started in 1970; the first three volumes from 1966-1969 appear to have been published by others].

The newspaper was published usually once a week, sometimes monthly, although some weeks it was not published and throughout the 1980s it was sometimes produced as regularly as 3 times per week when Dan Smith, a former Peace Corps Volunteer assisted.

The newspaper set up offices in Truk (Chuuk) and Ponape (Pohnpei) and Saipan. It appeared in other Trust Territory districts under the alias of Marianas Weekly or Ponape Sun. The newspaper simply made print runs using a different masthead.

Giff Johnson became the editor in 1984 and assumed day-to-day responsibility for the newspaper. Giff continues to work as the editor today in 2016.

Tim Bayliss-Smith served on the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) program in Honiara, Solomon Islands, 1965-1966. He worked as a teacher in the Survey Drafting School in the Lands Department of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate Government and as a librarian in the Geological Survey Department. Though based in Honiara, he travelled around Guadalcanal for work, as well as to Savo, Malaita and Bellona. Tim returned to Solomon Islands in 1971 for his PhD field research into energy use on Ontong Java atoll. He joined the Department of Geography at University of Cambridge in 1973 where he has continued his research in land management in the humid tropics, with particular focus on Melanesia. Professor Bayliss-Smith has made many subsequent visits to Solomon Islands throughout his research career.

This collection of 108 digitised 35mm colour slides are mainly from the period of his VSO placement (1965-1966) and mainly feature Honiara and surrounds. The images depict VSO housing; other VSO volunteers; trainees in the Survey Drafting School; Chinatown; Honiara market; WWII wreckage and other landmarks in and around Honiara. Activities such as sporting events, Easter procession; Queen's Birthday celebrations and gardening also feature.

<i>Black & White: the Territory’s monthly magazine</i>, was edited by Henri Lachajczak and published by the Southsea Publishing Company in Boroko, Port Moresby. A well illustrated satirical magazine for the expatriate community, Black & White “set out to prove that the people of this Territory are capable of having a laugh at themselves”. It includes cartoons of Gordon Tripp, attacks on the Territory’s administration and commentary on race relations leading up to independence in Papua New Guinea. It was eventually suppressed by legislation in the House of Assembly preventing publication of written matter which could be construed as “threatening, provocative or offensive to people of other races or tribes.” See also Max Harris, “A few blacks and whites on New Guinea”, The Australian, 26 Oct 1968.

Vol. 1 Nos.1-20, Nov 1966-Oct/Nov 1968;

Vol.2, Nos.1-6, Dec 1968-Jun 1969;

Final issue (un-numbered), Jul 1969.

<b>See Finding aids for details.</b>