Sister Lida Tonkin (Mrs L. Gill), a nursing sister from Young, NSW, first arrived at the Methodist Mission at Raluana in New Britain (Papua New Guinea) in 1916.

The photographs and post cards include events, daily life and traditional customs practiced in Rabaul in the early 20th century. Funerary and marriage customs are represented. There is a good set of photographs on traditional fishing (PMB Photo 1_31 to PMB Photo 1_46). Other images show canoe building and sailing, basket, broom and string making and traditional houses, mission life and the Malabunga hospital. Dances, such as the Kulau dance, carvings used in dances and the

This collection of 44 photographs documents time spent by Gwen and Tom Taylor at Buin Area School and Kerema in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea from 1945 to 1961. Most of the photographs relate to Buin Area School and document the physical appearance of the school and various aspects of life there. These include photographs of students in classrooms, making cane furniture, weaving, swimming and gardening. Several photographs show Gwen Taylor holding babies and being pictured with nuns. Tom Taylor is pictured in a classroom and mention is made of his role as the principal of the school at Buin. Some of the photographs depict special occasions and ceremonial events being celebrated by local people. There are good examples of houses, school buildings and a church. One photograph depicts the purchase of a new truck and there are a few photographs depicting canoes, including an outrigger canoe. Also pictured are boats, including the MV Gona. One photo appears to show artillery at Kokopo. A few photographs feature non-local adults and children posing for the camera. One photograph shows a large cloud of smoke and appears to be the burning of garden. Another shows an explosion in the sea.

Photographs documenting Methodist Missions at Kabakada, Watnabara and Vunairima, via Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea, between 1925 and 1930. Photographs taken by Reverend Francis Trafford Walker and his wife Mrs Emma M. Walker.

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.

Arthur William de Brito Savile Foljambe, the 2nd Earl of Liverpool (1870–1941), was New Zealand's first Governor-General. He was originally appointed as Governor of New Zealand in 1912, however in 1917 the office was raised to Governor-General and his term was extended until 1920.

The album, which belonged to the family of Saxon W.B. Foster, consists of approximately 100 photographs documenting Lord Liverpool’s tour in 1919 of the Cook Islands (including Rarotonga, Mangaia, Mauke, Atiu and Mitiaro), Niue, Samoa (including Upolu, Savaii, and Pago Pago), and Fiji (Suva). The photographs document official occasions associated with the Vice-Regal visit: ceremonies, feasts, dances and other performances, and military inspections, with the participants on both sides wearing impressive costumes. There are also photographs of shipping, harbours, streets, buildings, plantations, reefs and beaches. In addition there are five photographs documenting the coronation of Tinirau Ariki, in Avarua, Rarotonga, on 30 August 1921.

Photographs of Papua New Guinea taken or collected by Peter Grimshaw, possibly including some of the missing ones from the Mt Hagen series. It seems Grimshaw collected several of the photographs and some have been identified as likely taken by Michael J. Leahy in the 1930s

Ian McCallum Mack (1900-1933), born at Jan Juc, Victoria, was the great-grandson of the pioneer settler, Joseph Gardner Mack and great-great-grandson of the First Fleet surgeon, William Balmain. He was appointed as a Patrol Officer in 1926, stationed at Kokopo and later Talasea. In 1931 he was transferred to the Morobe District and in June 1933, while Acting District Officer, he was attacked by a group of escaped prisoners in the village of Aimontina, Upper Ramu. Severely wounded by arrows, he was taken to Salamaua Hospital where he died on 18 June 1933.

The collection consists of 21 Reports bound into two folders. The first folder contains 20 Reports (a total of 255 pages) covering the areas: Central Bainings; Biag Biag River; Kaliai Sub-District; French Island Group; East Nakanai; West Nakanai; Kilengi; Sahe; Bariai; Wariai; Kaliai; Sub Divisions D & E of Gasmata; Pulie River; Siassi Islands; Wide Bay; Waterfall & Jacquinot Bays; Sub District A of Gasmata; Unea Island, Witu Group; Kombe; Lolo; Lamogai; Biblings. The second folder (182 pages) covers the Western Sub-Divisions of Talasea and unknown country between the Itni River and the Wariai coast. Some of the pages are damaged and in many cases page numbers may be confusing, i.e. the same page number has been used twice. In addition to routine activities of collecting Head Tax, checking or taking census and generally reporting on native conditions, Mack was required to bring natives under government control. Report number 21, the second folder, contains his diary, hand-drawn maps and 45pp of linguistic material as well as general observations on plantations, missions, roads and other aspects of village life. A detailed listing is provided at the beginning of the reel.
See Finding aids for details.

H.E. Woodman (1895- ) joined the Public Works Department in the mid-1920s. After a brief period as a gold miner he took part in the Nakanai punitive expedition of 1926-27 and was then invited to join the New Guinea Administration as acting District Officer, Sepik district, stationed at Ambunti. Over the next twelve years he was at Manus, Madang, Kavieng, Namatanai, Gasmata, and Aitape. He returned to take charge of the Madang district after the war and retired to live in New South Wales in 1947.

Reel 1:<BR>1. Patrol diaries, 1927-39<BR>2. Notebooks of evidence given in Jomba Land Inquiry (Madang), 1932<BR>3. Station diaries, 1932, 1946-47<BR>Reel 2:<BR>4. Patrol reports, 1927-47<BR>5. Papers re labour matters in Madang district, 1946

The papers in the collection relate to the Paton family and their missionary service in the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) from 1858-2011. The papers include correspondence, journals, reports, lectures, circulars and photographs from that describe the early missions and the Paton family's involvement in establishing the Presbyterian Church in the New Hebrides. The papers describe and include information on family and personal life, finances, the work of the mission such as the education of local Ni-Vanuatu at the Tangoa Teachers' Training Institute and the establishment of Constitution of Synod. Also included in this collection is a slideshow of mission work most likely used to garner general and financial support for the mission work. Isobel Paton filed these papers by person and continued to add to these collections with newspaper clippings and other articles related to the work of the Paton family in Vanuatu.
Some local information included in this collection are: a local legend on the origin of yam, volcanic eruption on Lopevi Island on November 1, 1939 and some correspondence from Wilfred Paton to David Bule in local language.

Bernard Baldwin (1907-1990) was born in Preston, England. He studied at the Apostolic School, Douglas Park and later at the Sacred Heart Monastery, Kensington. He was ordained on November 30, 1933. His first appointment was to Eastern Papua, founding mission stations at Milne Bay and the Trobriand Islands. He also contributed a great deal to the islands of Sideia and Basilaki. He spent a total of twenty years in Eastern Papua during which time he wrote numerous articles, mostly on the Trobriand Islands, for <I>Annals of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.</I>

The material comprises a number of translations, grammars and vocabularies in Kiriwinian, Boyowan and Motu. Also included are some autobiographical notes, some observations on the Marist missionaries on Woodlark Island and some notes on the Pauan natives, their preservation and development. These 'Notes from Milne Bay' were written in pencil and are now a little faded.<P>Reel 1: Contains 5 items (Kiriwinian and Boyowan) manuscripts of folk tales; a Boyowan dance songs; Kiriwinian grammars; comments on Malinowski<BR>Reel 2: Grammars; Catholic Catechisms in local languages; notes on the war, Papuan natives and Marists on Woodlark; Revised Motu Grammar and Vocabular by Lister-Turner and J.B. Clarke with annotations by Baldwin; Foundation Vocabularies by A. Capell with additional material by Baldwin; exercise books with local missionary items in local languages. A detailed list of contents is available from the Bureau on request. See also PMB 41, 63 and 64 (linguistic material previously made available for copying by Father Baldwin).
See Finding aids for details.