The papers consist of:

1. A miscellaneous collection of 30 letters written between 1900 and 1936 by and to missionaries at Vunapope, Poporang, Koromira, Buka Passage, Mussou [Mussau], and Shortland.
2. Reports to the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda, Rome, on the history and progress of the Roman Catholic Church, North Solomons, dated 1921 to 1936.
3. A history of the Roman Catholic Mission at Buin, Bougainville, 1903-1916, by Father Francois Allotte. It is entitled 'Notice sur Buin'.
4. A daily journal kept by Father Jean-Baptiste Poncelet from May 24, 1937 to May 22, 1940 at Turiboiru, Buin, Bougainville.
5. An account by Father Maurice Boch of his arrival and early days in the Solomon Islands, April - June, 1908. Father Boch was stationed at Poporang.
6. A miscellaneous collection of documents comprising: A history of Koromira mission station, 1907-1923; a list of baptisms at Koromira, 1908-1924; a history of Choiseul, 1768-192?; a history of Choiseul, 1911-1927; a report of the Marist mission to the Committee of Inquiry into Mission Affairs, Keita, 1929; a resume of the Committee of Inquiry's report, n.d.; a history of Timbutz mission station.
7. Correspondence of Father E.M. Babonneau, S.M., of Wainoni Bay, San Cristobal [Makira], 1915-1920. (Many of the letters have been damaged or partly destroyed).

Sir Hubert Murray (1861-1940) was Lieutenant-Governor of Papua from 1908 until his death.

The letters, about 130 in all, are addressed to Sir Hubert Murray's daughter, Mrs Mary Pinney, and to his granddaughter, Miss Maura Pinney. For five of the nine and a half years covered by the correspondence, the Pinneys lived on Norfolk Island, where Mrs Pinney's husband, Captain C.R. Pinney, MC, was Administrator. The letters provide intimate glimpses of the life, thoughts and opinions of a man who presided over the destiny of Papua for 31 years, and contain numerous references to Captain Pinney's career. Several letters from H. Leonard Murray to Mrs Pinney are also included in this collection. H.L. Murray (1887-1963) was Sir Hubert Murray's nephew and Official Secretary of the Papuan Administration during the 1930's. He became Administrator of Papua after Sir Hubert's death in 1908 in Papua New Guinea.

Archdeacon Stephen Romney Maurice Gill (1886-1954), from a family of Pacific missionaries, joined the Anglican mission to Papua in 1908. He was ordained at Dogura, in 1910, and his first parish was nearby Boianai, where he remained until 1922. He then moved to the Mamba district, where he established a temporary station at Manau on the mouth of the Mamba (or Mambare) River. Two years later, at Duvira, he began work on what was to be his head station until 1942, when it was destroyed by the Japanese. In 1943, he began building a new mission station at nearby Dewade. He retired in 1952 and died in England two years later.

The letters, written from Papua New Guinea to members of Gill's family in England, are mainly of the period 1922-28. The original letters are owned by members of the Gill family in England. Those on the microfilm are typewritten copies of the originals made available by Mr David Wetherell, of Popondetta, Papua (1969).

Archdeacon Gill (d.1954), a member of a family of Pacific missionaries, joined the Anglican mission to Papua in 1908. He was ordained at Dogura in 1910, and his first parish was nearby Boianai, where he remained until 1922. He then moved to the Mamba district, where he established a temporary station at Manau on the mouth of the Mamba (or Mambare) River. Two years later, at Duvira, he began work on what was to be his head station until 1942, when it was destroyed by the Japanese. In 1943, he began building a new mission station at nearby Dewade. He retired in 1952 and died in England two years later.

Typed transcripts of Archdeacon Gill’s letters, Jan 1942-Dec 1944, photocopied for Professor Hank Nelson from the originals held in the New Guinea Collection at the UPNG Library, together with Professor Nelson’s correspondence with Nancy Lutton, the New Guinea Collection Librarian, and Professor Nelson’s notes on the letters.

See also PMB 40: Letters of Archdeacon Gill, 1897-1928.

The Reverend James L. Green (1833-1905) served as a missionary of the London Missionary Society in the Society Islands, French Polynesia, from 1861 to 1886. From May 1870 onwards, he was stationed on Tahiti, but made frequent visits to other islands.

The papers comprise:

• A diary for the period January 1, 1874 - December 29, 1879.
• Journal notes for July, 1884, to August 1886.
• A diary for the period November 12, 1884 to September 9, 1886.
• Four letters from the Rev. James Chalmers to Green, written from Rarotonga in 1875.
• Five letters from Chalmers to Green, written from Papua in 1880-84.
• Translations of two letters from a Tahitian missionary, Terai, to Green, written from Aloma, Papua, in 1882-83.

See also the Bureau's newsletter Pambu, August 1969:13, pp.1-5.