Emeritus Professor R.G. Ward was Professor of Human Geography at the ANU from 1971 to 1998, and Director of the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies from 1980 to 1993.

He was Foundation Professor of Geography at the University of Papua New Guinea from 1967 to 1971. He has taught at University College London, and University of Auckland and is President of the Pacific Science Association. Professor Ward has been conducting research in the Pacific Islands since 1956, and has done fieldwork in Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

His books, as author or editor, include "Land Use and Population in Fiji", "American Activities in the Central Pacific, 1790-1870", "The Settlement of Polynesia: A Computer Simulation", "Man in the Pacific Islands", "South Pacific Agriculture: Choices and Constraints", "Land, Custom and Practice in the South Pacific", and "Samoa: Mapping the Diversity".

Professor Gerard Ward took these pictures when his ship stopped for a day in October 1956 at Niue whilst on his way to undertake field work in Western Samoa.

Professor Ward has commented on the visit: “One of the striking things about Niue was the upraised coral nature of the island. It is very difficult to cultivate and this is evident in the photographs PMB Photo 12_14 – 16. There is broken coral everywhere so parts of the land have very little soil and are unusable. These pictures show this, PMB Photo 12_26. Another feature is the lack of beaches, making access to the sea difficult and opportunities for fishing limited.”

This collection of photographs include streets and boat ramps around Alofi in Niue. The collection also includes images of local dwellings that use burnt lime plaster, village scenes, plantations, fishing techniques and outrigger canoes.

Ward died on 16 January 2023 in Adelaide.

Educated at Cambridge, Harry Maude spent the years 1929-48 working as a civil servant and administrator in various Pacific Islands, in particular the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. From 1948-57 he worked for the South Pacific Commission, following which he worked as a Research Fellow for the Australian National University Research School of Pacific Studies until 1971. He has published widely on aspects of Pacific Islands history and was a prime mover in the establishment of the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau. The bulk of his personal papers are held at the University of Adelaide Barr-Smith Library. A refined version of some of Professor Maude’s research notes on the history of the Gilbert Islands has been published as, H.E. Maude (compiler), The Gilbert Islands Observed. A source book of European contacts with and observations of the Gilbert Islands and the Gilbertese, Adelaide, Homa Press, 2006; 148pp.

Seven volumes of typescript and Ms research notes and transcripts relating to the history of the Gilbert Islands, microfilmed in the following order:
Gilbert Islands (general) 1870-1879
Gilbert Islands (general) 1880-1889
Gilbert Islands (general) 1890-1899
Gilbert Islands (general) undated
Gilbert Islands (general) to 1849
Gilbert Islands (general) 1850-1859
Gilbert Islands (general) 1860-1869
The documents in each file are arranged in chronological order. The notes were taken from such sources as the Archives of the Western Pacific High Commission and various newspapers. Interleaved is some of Maude's original correspondence relating to the Gilbert Islands. Topics covered in the notes include missions, the labour trade, copra, customs, trading activities, health, education, historical events, murders, Ocean Island and visits of ships.

Photographic slides of Papua New Guinea given to H.C. Morris by Sir Paul Hasluck in 1956 from his personal collection. In the 1950s, as Project Officer at the Manus Island naval Base, Mr Morris ran the first formal training and engineering apprenticeships in Papua New Guinea. Slides include photographs of Port Moresby Hospital, a village school, plantations and timber mills.

Kwara'ae vocabulary with English translations, followed by three stories in Kwara'ae, also translated into English, by R.N. Gallyon. The Kwara'ae language is is spoken in the north-central of Malaita Island, Solomon Islands.

Dr. Andras Balint was a linguist based at the University of Papua New Guinea from 1965-1973, with an ongoing interest in ‘the emerging New Guinean dialect of English’, or Tok Pisin. He promoted the use of Tok Pisin in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea and amassed an extensive collection of Tok Pisin publications, mainly published by the Territory of Papua and New Guinea government and various missionary presses.

Tok Pisin publications on agriculture, health, education and literacy, government, religious texts, children’s books, grammars and phrase books, etc. Also some publications in local indigenous languages (Tok Ples) such as Fore and Atzera, some English publications concerning Tok Pisin, and one short typescript manuscript in Tok Pisin on an account of a first time visit to Port Moresby.

The Balint collection is divided under the following headings: Agriculture, Bible stories, Religious tracts etc., General, Health, Literacy/Primers/Readers/Grammars and Tok Pisin pubilcations.
A summary of the content of each of the collections is below.

Agriculture
This collection ranges from the late 1960s to early 1970s. It includes various guides and public awareness publications focusing on increasing agricultural skills and output. A number of topics are coveredincluding growing rubber, passion fruit and coconuts along with guides on animal husbandry. These texts are primarily in Tok Pisin and English.

Bible stories, Religious tracts etc.
This collection includes publications from the 1930s until the early 1970s. The texts focus on bibles stories, extracts from the bible translated into Tok Pisin and stories of missionaries to PNG. There are also publications of reports on PNG by Christian organizations and hymns recorded in Tok Ples (local language). Publications are either in English, Tok Pisin or bilingual.

General
These publications date from the early 1970s. They are a collection of short stories and information booklets recorded in Tok Pisin and Tok Ples. Their content focuses on public awareness and covers topics such as the introduction of currency, local and international geography, insurance and basic skills and knowledge of carpentry. There is also a collection of short stories and poems.

Health
This collection ranges from the late 1960s to early 1970s. The publications cover various illnesses and include information such as prevention, symptoms and treatment. Public awareness and treatment of Malaria is of a particular focus.

Literacy/Primers/Readers/Grammars
This collection includes publications from the 1950s to the early 1970s. It includes a number of shorts stories and grammars in both Tok Pisin and local languages. The majority of these texts are design to supplement and assist in understanding, speaking and writing in Tok Pisin. This collection also includes a trilingual English, French and Tok Pisin phrase book.

Tok Pisin
These publications range from the 1950s to the early 1970s. They examine Tok Pisin and language in PNG in detail. Some of the texts focus on currents affairs in language and also more broadly with one publication in a newsletter format.

See Finding aids for details.

Collection of 84 black and white photographs associated with the Presbyterian mission in the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu). The images were captured between c.1955-1965, and produced by the New Zealand Presbyterian Church Department of Communication. The photographs show various scenes associated with the work of the church such as the Teachers Training Institute on Tangoa, classes at Onesua High School, mission nurses at work, and church services. Other subjects include gardening and house building, as well as a number of portraits and group photographs. Named individuals within the images include Sister Mary Wells, Pastor Moses, Leckarie, Rev. Tevita Galuvakadua, Roy Fletcher, Rev. W. Francis, and Sister Gillanders. The photographs were captured on a number of islands including Tangoa, Nguna, and Makura. For many images the date and exact location was not recorded.

The New Hebrides Mission from the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand:
The Presbyterian Church began sending missionaries to the New Hebrides (today known as Vanuatu) in the mid-19th Century. The first missionary was Rev. John Geddie of the Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia who arrived on the island of Aneityum in 1848. Subsequent missionaries came from the Presbyterian Churches of New Zealand, Canada, Scotland and Australia (Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and New South Wales).
In New Zealand an interest in supporting a Christian mission to the New Hebrides was fostered when Rev. John Inglis of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland toured the country in 1852 following a three month tour of the New Hebrides and Solomon Islands. In that same year, Inglis and his wife joined Geddie on Aneityum. Rev. John Inglis continued to send regular reports of his work to New Zealand, leading to increasing interest from the Church there in sending their own missionaries to the islands.
The Presbyterian Church of New Zealand was at that time divided up into the 'Northern Church' and the 'Southern Church' (consisting of the Provinces of Otago and Southland). The Southern Church was based on the ideals of the Free Church of Scotland and these principles influenced its mission work for many years. For over 40 years the two Churches worked separately, with mission activities during this time operating independently of each other.

Over several decades the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand sent a number of missionaries to the New Hebrides including the following people. The information below includes the missionaries' date of arrival in the New Hebrides, the name of the missionary and the name of the main island on which they worked:
1866, Rev. William Watt, Tanna
1870, Rev. Peter Milne, Nguna
1879, Rev. Oscar Michelsen, Tongoa
1885, Rev. Charles Murray, Ambrym
1889, Rev. Thomas Smaill, Epi
1892, Rev. Dr. Lamb, Ambrym
1899, Dr. John Bowie, Ambrym
1903, Rev. Thomas Riddle, Epi
1905, Rev. William V. Milne, Nguna (born on Nguna in 1877)
1932, Rev. Basil Nottage, Tongoa
1938, Rev. Ken Crump, Nguna
1941, Rev. J.G. Miller, Tongoa
1944, Rev. Ian Muir, Emae and Epi
1948, Rev. A.G. Horwell, Epi
In the early years there was no organised or reliable shipping service to the individual islands of the New Hebrides so it was important for the Church to have their own vessel to bring regular supplies from Australia and New Zealand. A boat was also necessary for transport to other mission stations. Although the New Hebrides missionaries were responsible for their home churches and allotted areas and islands, they worked closely together on common issues and met annually for a mission Synod meeting. New Zealand Presbyterian Church worked in conjunction with the Australian Presbyterian Church to raise money and purchased a mission supply vessel, the ÒDayspring IÓ. This 115 ton brigantine was launched in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1863. It was lost in a hurricane ten years later and replaced by a second hand schooner, the ÒDayspring IIÓ in 1876. The Dayspring II was sold prior to 1890 as she was too small and slow and uncomfortable to sail in. The Australian missionary Dr. John G. Paton raised £6000 during a visit to Britain in 1884-1885 and later increased the donations to £7000. The ÒDayspring IIIÓ was built on the Clyde in Scotland to the order of the Victorian Presbyterian Church Foreign Missions Committee. She was 157 feet long and arrived in Australia in 1895. On only her fourth voyage to the islands, she sank on the 16th October 1896 after striking an uncharted coral reef near New Caledonia. The decision was made not to replace the vessel.
The New Hebrides Mission shared a practical concern for the everyday needs of island people. In addition to converting local people to Christianity, the missionaries worked to improve education, through the introduction of schools where the training of local mission teachers was initiated. The Tangoa TeachersÕ Training Institute opened at Tangoa, South Santo, in 1895. The purpose of the Institute was to train local teachers and it was supported by all the Protestant missions working throughout the New Hebrides. Missionaries also worked to improve health education and services and encouraged the production of arrowroot and island trading as a means to generate revenue. Arrowroot powder was shipped to New Zealand and other countries, where it was initially distributed by womenÕs missionary groups and later by commercial organisations. The funds from the sale of arrowroot were used to build additional churches in the islands and, in some cases, as a donation towards New Zealand mission funds to be used elsewhere. From 1880 to 1918 on Nguna alone, over 26 tons of arrowroot was produced.
By 1910, the work of the New Hebrides Mission was declining. This was partly due to a rapidly decreasing population on the islands and a feeling that little room existed for further expansion of mission work, as by then most areas were adequately covered. The reduction in population was primarily caused by introduced European illnesses and epidemics which decimated the local population. The Queensland labour trade had also had an impact on the local population, with many locals having decided to remain in Queensland.
In 1947 there was a general consensus held among the Island missionaries that the local church was ready to assume control of its own affairs. A constitution was drawn up, and after amendments submitted by the New Zealand and Australian Mission Committees and the New Hebrides Mission Synod, it was adopted. At a Centennial Synod meeting in 1948, the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the Rev. John Geddie, the local church was placed fully in charge of its own affairs. The island mission councils for Australia and New Zealand were then limited to the affairs of their immediate mission staff. The New Zealand Church continued to provide a large financial grant to the New Hebrides Presbyterian Church. A continued focus remained on training church leaders and education more generally. The Tangoa Training Institute later introduced a curriculum of advanced theological studies.
In the early 1950s, the New Zealand Missions Committee responded to the request for assistance to establish a High School at Onesua on Efate, along with funds and personnel to set up and run a small hospital on Tongoa. The Committee viewed this project as a practical means by which the New Zealand Church could provide for a social need rather than a means for furthering evangelistic opportunities. This policy shift in Mission funding opened up other opportunities for aid from the New Zealand Church including developing Navota Farm and opening the Maropa religious bookshop in Port Vila, training local islanders to be trades people and undertake the building work. The New Zealand Bible Class volunteer scheme sent out young people during the 1960s to assist with building, administration and nursing. The Mission, at the request of the Presbyterian Church of the New Hebrides, divested itself of all remaining authority in the Islands so that the New Zealand missionaries effectively worked for the New Hebrides Church. In 1965 a memorandum was prepared which defined the terms of Òresponsible partnershipÓ and sought to define the responsibilities of each partner. The Church continues today as the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu.
For more information about New Hebrides Mission collections at the Archives of the Presbyterian Research Centre, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa, and New Zealand, see: http://www.archives.presbyterian.org.nz/missions/newhebrideshistory.htm

The series of photographs contained in this album covers an aspect of the life of the Tedder family in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (BSIP) between 1955 – 1974. James L.O. Tedder held various positions in the colonial administration. His family lived and travelled extensively throughout the Protectorate. His spouse, Margaret Tedder, had a firm interest in botany and this particular album is her documentation of Islanders’ horticultural practices of certain root crops, especially yams. In this photographic collection, Margaret documented the cultivation methods, garden layout, harvesting practices and storage of yams in various locations on Makira, Guadalcanal, Malaita and Santa Cruz. Margaret also captured different yam varieties and a ceremonial display at Makaruka on the Weather Coast of Guadalcanal. Besides the focus on yams in this album, there are some images of other crops such as taro, cassava and sweet potato. In its own right, this album is an ethnography of Islanders' cultivation practices of the mid-1950’s to the early 1970’s.

On his return from the Middle East, Rhys Healey’s unit was disbanded so he transferred to ANGAU in early 1943. On 8 November 1948 Rhys Healey accompanied District Commissioner Horrie Niall to open Telefomin station, in Papua New Guinea, together with Assistant District Officer Des Clifton-Bassett and Patrol Officer Rodgers. Healey’s job as Medical Assistant was to check on the malaria situation – he noted that the disease was already in the valley. Healey also took with him his well trained Dokta Boi, Bunat, and both stayed six weeks to organise the building of the native hospital. As no European medical Assistant was available, Bunat stayed in charge to supervise the running of the hospital and Healey returned to Angoram on the Sepik River to his family for Christmas. Bunat was awarded a Government Medal for looking after Harris and the wounded Police in 1953. At the request of Sir Michael Somare Rhys Healey stayed in PNG after independence, until Christmas 1981, mainly to take charge of the Finance Department and to train indigenous staff quickly. (Notes from Mrs Dorothy E. Healey, April 2006.)

Following the murders, an investigative patrol was flown into the area. The patrol was lead by District Commisisoner Allan Timperley and included Distict Officers George Wearne and Allan Corrigan, Cadet Barry Ryan and Medical Assistant Rhys Healey. They inspected the villages of Komdavip and Misinmin and the rest houses in the Eliptamin Valley.

These photographs were taken by the investigative patrol in Nov 1953.

Fr. Gerard Bruns was born on the 17 August 1932. He arrived in the Solomon Islands in September 1960 and worked as a Marist priest on Makira, Solomon Islands. Fr. Bruns took a great interest in the people of Makira and has documented much about the Kahua language and the culture of east Makira in the Solomon Islands. In 2008 he moved to the Marist Brothers at Tenaru Secondary School outside of Honiara. Fr. Bruns moved again and now lives at Tanagai parish centre close to the sea shore which has been his home ever since.

This collection includes typescript documents that Fr. Brun has written on his personal typewriter throughout more than fifty years of living in the Solomon Islands. The collection include grammars and vocabularly/dictionaries of the Kahua language. The collection also includes Fr John Espagne’s thesis on Makira religion, titled ‘Witless Trust’, written in 1953. Fr. Brun edited "Witless Trust" to make the text more readable and typed the manuscript himself, titled ‘Origins of Religion in Makira. Anthropological Investigations. Father Iron John Investigations 1918-2001’.
Also included in the collection is Fr. Brun's autobiography ‘Antipode’ (2015), his manuscript ‘Augunua, Among the Kahua’ (2011), which summarizes Espagne’s thesis and also the ideas of Lorensio Marau, a Makiran who had described origin stories and beliefs, developing syncretic approach to Catholicism and traditional beliefs. ‘Auguna, among the Kahua’ also contains kastom stories as well as insights into Makiran society. The collection also includes Fr. Brun's manuscript on "The evangelisation of Makira, 1845-1847; 1908-1960". Fr. Brun worked with Solomon Islanders and translated the Bible into the Kahua language.

This collection of photographs illustrates the life of Rev Isaac Neilson Whyte and Dr Mary Grace Whyte durng their service with the Australian Presbyterian Board of Missions in the New Hebrides, 1952-1957. With their children Michael, Robyn, Alistair and Peter, they were based in the village of Wintua in the South West Bay region of Malekula. Mary Grace and Neilson arrived in Wintua shortly after a hurricane had been through and destroyed much of the village infrastructure. In the years that followed, Wintua was rebuilt with the help of people from neighbouring villages, who helped to build a new church, mission house, district school and a small hospital. Rev Whyte was often away from Wintua, visiting other villages in his mission jurisdiction. He visited Big Nambas territory, which had in the previously been hostile to Europeans, and helped bring about a peace agreement between village leaders. Mary Grace practised medicine in Wintua and surrounding villages.

This collection of photographs depicts village and church life in South West Bay. It shows the reconstruction of the village, family photographs, Rev and Dr Whyte giving medical care and travel between villages by launch and canoe. There are also photos of a Big Nambas village and the Leviamp peace talks, as well as family photos taken on return to Australia.