The Vanuatu Weekly–Hebdomadaire, which appeared every Saturday, was sponsored by the Vanuatu government. It was printed in English, French, and Bislama and had a circulation of about 2,000. An Index to the Vanuatu Weekly Hebdomadaire covering the period 1984-2001 was compiled by Peter Murgatroyd and others at the Emalus Campus Library of the University of the South Pacific in 2003. The Index is accessible online at: http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/library/online/texts/Vanuatu%20Weekly/homepage.htm.

Vanuatu Weekly : Vanuatu hebdomadaire
Reel 1 Nos.1-21, 4 Aug-22 Dec 1984; Nos.22-71/72, 5 Jan-14 Dec 1985
Reel 2 Nos.73-123, 4 Jan-20 Dec 1986; Nos.124-168, 10 Jan-12 Dec 1987
Reel 3 Nos.169-217, 9 Jan-17 Dec 1988; Nos.218-268, 7 Jan-22 Dec 1989
Reel 4 Nos.269-319, 5 Jan-22 Dec 1990; Nos.320-370, 5 Jan-21 Dec 1991
Reel 5 Nos.371-422, 1 Jan-31 Dec 1992; Nos.423-474, 9 Jan-31 Dec 1993
Reel 6 Nos.475-525, 8 Jan-21 Dec 1994; Nos.526-576, 7 Jan-23 Dec 1995
Reel 7 Nos.577-626, 7 Jan-21 Dec 1996; Nos.627-677, 11 Jan-20 Dec 1997
Reel 8 Nos.678-731, 10 Jan-23 Dec 1998; Nos.732-781, 9 Jan-18 Dec 1999
Reel 9 Nos.782-832, 9 Jan-23 Dec 2000; Nos.833-870, 13 Jan-29 Sep 2001.

Jai Ram Reddy (born on 12 May 1937 in Lautoka, Fiji) is an Indo-Fijian statesman who has had a distinguished career in both legislative and judicial branches of the Fijian government. He was admitted to the Bar in New Zealand in 1960 and in Fiji in 1961. Between 1966 and 1970 he was Crown Counsel and Principal Legal Officer in the Attorney-General’s Office. Between 1970 and 1997 he was a senior partner of a law firm.

Reddy entered politics when he was appointed to the Senate in 1972, by the then leader of the opposition Sidiqu Koya. In 1977 he became leader of the National Federation Party (NFP). In this role he was Leader of the Opposition in the Fijian Parliament between 1977 and 1984; and again between 1992 and 1999.

Judge Reddy briefly served as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice in the Bavadra Government until its overthrow in a military coup in 1987. Judge Reddy was a Member of the Constitutional Review Commission which reviewed the 1990 Constitution of Fiji and removed all discriminatory provisions against Indo-Fijians. In 1998 Judge Reddy was made a Companion of the Order of Fiji in recognition of his service to Fiji. In 2000 he was appointed President of the Fiji Court of Appeal but resigned his commission in August that year, following the overthrow of the lawfully elected government. He was re-appointed President of the Fiji Court of Appeal in January 2002, and retains his commission as Justice of Appeal (on leave).

Correspondence, 1989-1999 (reels 1-3)
Subject files (reels 4-6)
Constitution of Fiji (reels 6-9)
Filing systems (gaps) (reels 9-10)
National Federation Party and Elections (reels 10-12)
Speeches (reel 12)
Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Act (ALTA) (reels 12-15)
Files on Women's Issues (reels 15-17)
Other files (reels 17)
Printed material (reel 17-18)
Serials (reel 18)
See Finding aids for details.

Fred Palmer Archer was born in Melbourne in 1890 and died in 1977. He was with the first Australian Imperial Force, came to New Guinea in 1923 and later took over Jame Plantation, Buka Passage, in the Bougainville District of the Territory of New Guinea. Jame Plantation was one of the ex-German plantations sold by the Commonwealth Government in 1926/27 to returned soldiers. He was appointed a civilian coast watcher in the Buka-Bougainville area at the outbreak of the War in the Pacific and evacuated to Guadalcanal and then Australia in 1943. He joined the British Solomon Islands Defence Force in September 1943 and transferred to ANGAU in early 1945. After the War he returned to his plantations in New Guinea where he became one of the Territory’s most successful and influential planters.

The papers include: letters from Fred Archer to his family and friends, mainly from Wuvulu Island, Manus District, and from Jame Plantation in Buka, 1923-1928; Report on coast watching activitiy, Bougainville Island, 1941-1943, by W J Read; Archer’s Solomon Islands war-diaries, 1943. There is also a series of subject files, A-Z, arranged by Mrs Mary Roberts from the Archer papers for her biography of Fred Archer. The files cover many aspects of Archer’s post-War career, including some material on the Planters Association of Bougainville and the history of the Planters Association of New Guinea. A series of files of correspondence and other documents relating to Hakau Plantation in Bougainville, 1935-1967, is also microfilmed.

See Finding aids for details.

Captain Brett Hilder was born in Epping, Sydney in 1911, son of watercolourist
J J Hilder. In 1928 he joined Burns Philp Ltd as a deck cadet, which took him to the Pacific Islands and Indonesia, then the Dutch East Indies. Ten years later he had become a ship's master. Captain Hilder was called up by the Navy in World War II, but quickly transferred to the RAAF where he flew Catalina flyingboats. After the war he returned to his former profession and captained passenger and cargo liners that traded between Sydney and the Solomon Islands, including the <I>MV Malaita</I>. During this period, Hilder started painting and drawing, producing many watercolour landscapes and portraits of the people and places he visited in both the Pacific and South East Asia. These were exhibited in Sydney, Melbourne, Port Moresby, Honiara and New York. He also wrote extensively on navigation, ports, islands and other topics, such as forestry and architecture, publishing in magazines such as <I>Walkabout</I>. Hilder wrote the book <I>Navigator in the South Seas</I>, published in 1961. In 1964 he became Senior Captain of Company with Burns Philp. Captain Hilder founded the Australian Institute of Navigation. Captain Hilder died in 1981, leaving a unique artistic legacy which is closely associated with the heyday of the Burns Philp era in the South Pacific.

This research tribute was collated to accompany an exhibition of Captain Hilder's paintings at the Annual Dinner of the Retired Officer's Assocaition of PNG in Sydney on 3 December 2000. The documents include lists of paintings and drawings, lists of profiles published in <I>Pacific Islands Monthly</I>, Hilder geneaological details, maps, magazines, invitations and catalogues to exhibitions, correspondence, charts, navigation charts, descriptions of islands, indexes, passengner lists, photographs and cards, and manuscripts of Brett Hilder, including a substantial work on marine phosphorescence.

Mary Mennis is an historian who lived and worked in PNG for many years. She has published works on Tolai people, myths and social customs, a history of St. Michael's Church on Matupit Island, a reader for Pacific island primary school students and a biography of Father William Ross, first American missionary to Papua New Guinea.

M. Mennis, 'The Existence of Yomba Island Near Madang: Fact of Fiction', <I>Oral History</I>, Vol. 6, No.6, 1978, pp.3-81.
<BR>M. Mennis, 'Kilibob & Manup Myth Found on the North Coast of PNG', <I>Oral History</I>, Vol. 7, No.4, 1979, pp.88-101
<BR>Brian Mennis, 'Tolai Fish Traps', <I>Oral History</I>, Vol. 7, No.4, 1979, pp.88-101
<BR>'Oral Testimonies from Coastal Madang' Collected by Mary Mennis, Part One, <I>Oral History</I>, Vol.8, No.10, 1980, pp.1-118.
<BR>'Oral Testimonies from Coastal Madang, Collected by Mary Mennis', Part Two, <I>Oral History</I>, Vol. 9, No.1, 1981, pp.1-107.
<BR>'Oral Testimonies from Coastal Madang Collected by Mary Mennis', Part Three, <I>Oral History</I>, Vol. 9, No.2, 1981, pp.1-107.
<BR>Mary Mennis, <I>Sailing for Survival: a comparative report of the trading System and Trading canoes of the Motu people in the Port Moresby area and the Bel people in the Madang area of Papua New Guinea</I>, report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Social Science , School of Anthropology, Archaeology and Sociology, James Cook University of North Queensland, March 2000, 128pp., illus., maps, diags.

The Solomon Islands General Workers Union (SIGWU), later known as the Solomon Islands National Union of Workers (SINUW), was founded by Bart Ulufa'alu and registered on 17 June 1975. Solomon Islands trade unions ran into immediate difficulties gaining recognition from employers and, following a large demonstration in Honiara in December 1975, a number of union leaders were fined and two, Bart Ulufa'ulu (SIGWU) and James Meafa'alu (GNEWU), were gaoled. Bart Ulufa'ulu won a seat in the June 1976 general elections, as a candidate for the union-organised Nationalists' Party. He consequently resigned as SIGWU General Secretary, staying on as an adviser to the Union. Joses Tuhanuku was elected as his replacement. Mr Tuhanuku went to Denmark for training from February 1977 till June 1978, however SIGUW's registration was suspended from October till December 1977 on the grounds of misappropriation of funds (later disproved). By the time Joses Tuhanuku returned to Honiara the Union's membership had dropped from 6,000 to 300. However strong organisation among plantation workers over the next few years produced collective agreements with Unilever's palm oil operation in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands Plantations Ltd, and two other Unilever subsidiaries, Levers Pacific Timbers Ltd and Levers Pacific Plantations Ltd. By 1980 the union had rebuilt its membership to 10,000, half the Solomon Islands workforce. The name of the union was altered to Solomon Islands National Union of Workers at the at the AGM in April 1980, reflecting the Union's national representation of workers in various categories in almost all industries in the Solomon Islands. (From Joses Taungenga Tuhanuku, 'Trade Unions and Politics', in Peter Lawrence and Sue Tarua (Eds.), <I>Solomon Islands Politics</I>, Suva, USP Institute of Pacific Studies, 1983.

Bart Ulufa'ulu's SIGUW correspondence, Apr-Dec 1975; National Council minutes, 1984-1999; annual returns, 1976-1980; financial returns, 1983-1988; press releases, 1982-1992; correspondence re collective agreements with Foxwood (SI) Timbers Ltd, Honiara Town Council, Levers Solomons Ltd, Lever pacific Timbers, Solomon Islands Plantations Ltd, Solomon Taiyo, Solomon Islands Ports Authority; Trades Disputes Panel Awards, 1984-2000. See Finding aids for details.

The YWCA of Fiji was established in Suva in 1961. Anne Walker and Ruth Lechte arrived in 1962 from Melbourne to set up a YWCA kindergarten and youth program. They moved to the upstairs section of the old Suva Town Hall in 1963. By 1966 the Y was operating clubs and classes, sports and recreations as well as three kindergartens. Amelia Rokotuivuna opened a Branch in Lautoka in 1968. In 1970 tenders were let for a new centre, financed by overseas funds. The five-storey building was constructed on land next to Sukuna Park. A new specialised kindergarten was opened in Des Voeux Road in 1972. Anne Walker became Youth Director and National Programme Coordinator. Ruth Lechte was Executive Director of the YWCA of Fiji till May 1973 when she was succeeded by Amelia Roktuivuna. Ms Rokotuivuna is now President of the YWCA of Fiji.

Constitution, regulations, bye-laws and other administrative and policy papers, 1978; National Council minutes, Jan 1979-Mar 1993; National Executive Committee minutes, Dec 1978-Jun 1994; Programme Committee, Aug 1963-May 1984 (gaps); Public Affairs Committee minutes, 1974-1984; Pre-School Committee minutes, 1975-1981; Youth Club minutes, 1965; annual report 1973; Convention reports, 1976 & 1990; press cuttings, 1965-2000; displat book, “Role of Women in Fiji”, 1968-1970; printed material on construction of headquarters in Suva. <b>See Finding aids for details.</b>

Oscar Rondahl’s mother, Grace Coe, was a half sister of Queen Emma. His father was Capt. J.M. Rondahl. He was born at Kabakaul, New Britain, in 1905, and took over family plantations in New Britain, including:
• Rainau Plantation, purchased from Mrs Schmidt in 1937;
• Kap Kap (Birara “B” & Kab Kab “C”), part also purchased from Mrs Schmidt in 1937; part purchased from Graham Mirfield; part purchased from Oscar Rondahl’s sisters, Ricka and Tilly; part inherited;
• Kabakaul Plantation, property formed into a private company, known as Rondahl Limited, after the death of Oscar Rondahl’s brother; all shares in the company purchased by Oscar Rondahl in 1937;
• Makurapau Plantation, transferred to Oscar Rondahl under a deed of gift from his father in 1927;
• Induna Plantation, purchased by Oscar Rondahl as virgin land from J.J. Gilmore in 1931.

Virginia Adam is a great niece of Oscar Rondahl.

Vital records of Oscar Rondahl and family, 1918-1991
Plantation titles, etc., 1935-1969
Papers on the Estate of A.J. Eilertz, 1949
Paper on August Y. Chang of Metlik Plantation, New Ireland, 1949
Trip files of Oscar Rondahl, 1969, 1974 & 1978
Correspondence, 1942-1988
Press cuttings, maps and photographs.
See Finding aids for details.

This oral history audio media project, called the Fiji Oral History Project Part 1: Part-Europeans and Europeans, comprises 28 taped interviews with 26 senior members of these communities living in Fiji and Australia. The interviews were conducted by Marsali MacKinnon from 1998 to 1999. They trace the history of a number of Part-European and European families in Fiji through the 19th and 20th centuries, beginning with the first arrival of their European ancestors. A fresh and vibrant collection of many previously un-recorded personal memoirs, as well as family stories passed down the generations, it is a significant contribution to the social history and intangible heritage of Fiji - and the South Pacific region.

PMB AUDIO 1 Moira Hedstrom (née Deitrich) p.2
PMB AUDIO 2 Hubert “Jumbo” Sabben p.18
PMB AUDIO 3-4 Bill Miller, Interview No.1, Part 1 p.36
PMB AUDIO 5-6 Bill Miller, Interview No.2 p.55
PMB AUDIO 7 Dorothy Walker p.75
PMB AUDIO 8 Maureen Southwick (née Storck) p.78
PMB AUDIO 9 Henry Sahai p.93
PMB AUDIO 10 Tui Levuka p.100
PMB AUDIO 11 George Gibson p.103
PMB AUDIO 12 William Moses p.113
PMB AUDIO 13 Dora Patterson p.120
PMB AUDIO 14-15 Capt. Fred Vollmer p.131
PMB AUDIO 16 Nicky Yoshida (née Ashley) p.146
PMB AUDIO 17 Bertha Wendt p.158
PMB AUDIO 18 Alice Mahabir p.171
PMB AUDIO 19 Sir Len Usher, Parts 1 & 2 p.193
PMB AUDIO 21 “Pa” Hazelman and Noleen Billings p.208
PMB AUDIO 22 Thomas Fenton p.220
PMB AUDIO 23 Jess Jackson p.227
PMB AUDIO 24 Betty Simpson p.241
PMB AUDIO 25 Lema Low p.250
PMB AUDIO 26-27 Rodney Acraman, Interview No.1 p.265
PMB AUDIO 26-27 Rodney Acraman, Interview No.2 p.288
PMB AUDIO 29 Judy Zundel p.298
PMB AUDIO 30 Daryl Tarte p.316
PMB AUDIO 31 Sir David Ragg, Parts 1 & 2 p.334
PMB AUDIO 33 Don Burness p.355
PMB AUDIO 34-35 Bill Clark, Parts 1 & 2 p.372